014a- A Phalanx With Joints

The Roman army abandoned the Greek phalanx in favor of a new system based on a three line deployment organized by age and experience. 

After a decade of peace, the Romans and Samnites returned to war. The early years of fighting went well for Rome, but in 321 BC they were handed a humiliating defeat at Caudine Forks. 

After a five year break, hostilities resumed between the Romans and Samnites. Despite early setbacks, Rome eventually emerged victorious in 304 BC. During these years a controversial politician, Appius Claudius, initiated a series of ambitious public works projects that advanced ... Show More

<p>Augustus&apos; Roman Empire produced over two hundred years of peace in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It was called the &apos;Pax Romana&apos;, or Roman Peace. It has never been achieved before or since. So, how did the Romans do it? Find out in this episode.</p><p ... Show More

Las aptitudes militares de Espartaco y su carisma personal convirtieron una limitada revuelta de gladiadores en la mayor rebelión de esclavos que conoció la antigua Roma; apenas tenían armas, pero eran fuertes y sabían combatir, y bajo su mando, los insurrectos batieron a seis ge ... Show More

<p>The Romans were renowned for their military prowess and skill. Their legions successfully conquered vast swathes of the Mediterranean world, led by battle-weathered centurions trained in the art of war and strategy. But did the Romans owe any of their military success to the a ... Show More

<p>We continue with the story of Rome&apos;s rise to power in the third and second centuries BC, and ask two vital questions: first, did the Romans simply get lucky? Second, how did the Roman legions become the most feared fighting machine of the ancient world?</p><p>For a free e ... Show More

The Roman empire was used to getting its own way – but there was one power it was never able to overcome. Despite frequent bouts of warfare, the Parthian and later Persian empire managed to hold its own against Rome for more than six centuries, until a new force emerged that woul ... Show More

En la antigua Roma, las burlas y los chistes formaban parte del día a día de los ciudadanos, y no perdonaban a nadie. Los soldados eran especialmente dados a las pullas, incluso en momentos de gran solemnidad como los desfiles triunfales de los generales victoriosos en Roma. 

In this episode, we discuss Spartan imperial policy at home and abroad in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War at Sparta from 404-396 BC, including their war with Elis, the imperial ambitions of Lysander and the ascension of Agesilaos, Kinadon's foiled socio-political revolutio ... Show More

Piet explains codices, the oldest manuscripts in book form, looking in particular at a fragment of the Hebrew text of the book of Ecclesiasticus (ch. 40) from the Cairo Genizah, and the four Gospels in Syriac. Around the ancient Mediterranean the prevailing form of book was the r ... Show More

How do you surface the stories of women in the Roman empire, when the majority of ancient texts were written by men, telling of military victories and losses, or intrigues in the political arena? Speaking to Elinor Evans, Emma Southon chronicles the Roman empire through the stori ... Show More

A finales de la República y durante el Imperio, los miembros de la élite romana se divorciaban con cualquier pretexto mediante un sencillo trámite.