038- The Catiline Conspiracy

Julius Caesar had an eventful career on his way up the Cursus Honorum. He won the Civic Crown in Asia, was captured by pirates on his way to Rhodes, and served as Governor of Hispania Ulterior. 

In 59 BC Julius Caesar served a controversial year in the consulship. He pressed for land and administrative reforms the conservative Senate opposed. 

After beginning his proconsulship of Cisalpine Gaul in 58 BC Caesar was asked to halt the advance of a migrating Celtic tribe. He managed to turn them around, but was immediately called to face an even deadlier threat at the banks of the Rhine River. 

In the 1st century B.C.E., competition between Roman senators was stiff — even deadly. When a politician named Catiline learned he'd been knocked out of the running, he organized a coup to overthrow the Roman government entirely. And let's just say, he didn't end up getting his w ... Show More

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas developed by Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43BC) to support and reinvigorate the Roman Republic when, as it transpired, it was in its final years, threatened by civil wars, the rule of Julius Caesar and the triumvirates that followed. As Con ... Show More

<p>Marcus Tullius Cicero is one of the most famous orators in ancient history, and a central figure during the final years of the Roman Republic.</p><br><p>To explore his life and career, Tristan is joined by Dr Henriette van der Blom from the University of Birmingham. Together t ... Show More

As the power struggle in Rome continued and generals waged their war on the battlefield, Cicero took to the floors of the senate, confronting Antony with the greatest weapon in his arsenal: the spoken word. He called his speeches the Philippics, and they were influential in turni ... Show More

Caesar Octavian, Mark Antony, Decimus Brutus and Cicero: the Battle of Mutina, April 43 BC, was a clash of giants. It also became the beginning of the end for one of Ancient Rome’s greatest orators, Cicero. For this episode, Steele Brand came back to take Tristan through the batt ... Show More

In 37 CE, Caligula became the third emperor of Rome, ushering in a brief era of prosperity before pilfering the treasury and embarking on a quest to conquer Britannia. Before too long, his sadistic — and sometimes darkly comedic — rulings inspired a fatal conspiracy. Learn more a ... Show More

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life, work and reputation of Julius Caesar. Famously assassinated as he entered the Roman senate on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Caesar was an inspirational general who conquered much of Europe. He was a ruthless and canny politician who becam ... Show More

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the life, work and reputation of Julius Caesar. Famously assassinated as he entered the Roman senate on the Ides of March, 44 BC, Caesar was an inspirational general who conquered much of Europe. He was a ruthless and canny politician who becam ... Show More

In this episode, we look at the collapse of the Roman Republic, and the man whose brilliance and whose greed for power, caused a crisis in the Roman world. This was Julius Caesar, the most famous Roman of all.Support the showFor a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website n ... Show More