The History of Rome
The early years of Tiberius's reign were defined by his growing jealousy of his nephew/adopted son Germanicus. After winning victories on the far side of the Rhine, Germanicus was sent east, where in 19 AD he died under mysterious circumstances.
Direct download: 57-_Germanicus.mp3
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Direct download: 56-_The_King_is_Dead.mp3
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The Julio-Claudian family was rife with conflict, but nothing compared to the battle fought against the Germans in the Teutoburg Forest.
Direct download: 55-_Teutoburg_Nightmares.mp3
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Augustus promoted his steps sons Tiberius and Drusus to high office long before they were technically eligible. He hoped they would share power with him until Gaius and Lucius Caesar came of age, but Drusus died young and Tiberius went into self-imposed exile.
Direct download: 54-_All_In_The_Family.mp3
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After attaining power, Augustus set about reforming the Empire.
Direct download: 53-_Reigning_Supreme.mp3
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The Senate bestowed upon Octavian the title Caesar Augustus during the constitutional settlement of 27 BC. Four years later Augustus and the Senate altered their power sharing agreement.
Direct download: 52-_Caesar_Augustus.mp3
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On Sept 2, 31 BC Octavian defeated Antony at the Battle of Actium. Antony and Cleopatra fled back to Alexandria where they committed suicide the next year, following Octavian's invasion of Egypt.
Direct download: 51-_Actium.mp3
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After Antony failed to conquer Parthia, the Triumvirate partnership broke down, leading to a declaration of war.
Direct download: 50-_The_Donations_of_Alexandria.mp3
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After winning the Battle of Philippi Antony and Octavian divided the empire into two halves. Antony took control of the east where he formed an alliance with Cleopatra, while Octavian commanded the west.
Direct download: 49-Apollo_and_Dionysus.mp3
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In 43 BC Marc Antony, Octavian and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate. After initiating proscriptions to raise funds and purge their enemies, the Triumvirs headed east, where they defeated Brutus and Cassius at Philippi.

Direct download: 48-_The_Second_Triumvirate.mp3
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Caesar posthumously adopted his great nephew Gaius Octavius and the 19-year-old was thrust into the center of Roman politics. In the months following the assassination Octavian and Mark Antony vied for the support of the legions.
Direct download: 47-_Octavius-Octavian.mp3
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In the last months of his life, rumors swirled about Caesar's monarchical ambitions. On the Ides of March 44 BC, a group of Senators put the issue to rest by assassinating Caesar during a session of the Senate.
Direct download: 46-_Sic_Semper_Tyrannis.mp3
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Caesar took the overland route back from Egypt back to Rome and along the way pacified what little resistance he came across. After a brief stay in Italy he sailed for North Africa where he defeated the regrouped Republican army. Having emerged from the Civil War triumphant he returned to Rome and began his ambitious reform programs.
Direct download: 45-_The_End_Of_The_War.mp3
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Following a setback at Dyrrachium, Caesar decisively won the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. After defeating Pompey, Caesar sailed for Alexandria, where settled a civil war by placing Cleopatra on the throne.
Direct download: 44-_Caesar_Triumphant.mp3
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In 49 BC Caesar led a single legion across the Rubicon River, sparking a civil war that would lead to the death of the Roman Republic.
Direct download: 43-_Insert_Well_Know_Idiom_Here.mp3
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While Caesar was fighting the Gallic Wars, events in Rome and beyond exacerbated the political tensions that would eventually lead to Civil War.
Direct download: 42-_Meanwhile_Back_in_Rome.mp3
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From 57-52 BC Caesar slowly conquered Gaul. Along the way he crossed into Germania twice and led the first Roman expedition to Britain. Finally, the last Gallic army was forced to surrender at Alesia.
Direct download: 41b-_The_Gallic_Wars.mp3
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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.
Direct download: 41a-_The_Gallic_Wars.mp3
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In 59 BC Julius Caesar served a controversial year in the consulship. He pressed for land and administrative reforms the conservative Senate opposed.
Direct download: 40-_In_the_Consulship_of_Julius_and_Caesar.mp3
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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.

Direct download: 39-_The_Young_Julius_Caesar_Chronicles.mp3
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In 63 BC an embittered two-time consular candidate named Catiline conspired to overthrow the Roman government. He was stopped by Rome's greatest politician and orator, Marcus Tullius Cicero.
Direct download: 38-_The_Catiline_Conspiracy-_The_History_of_Rome.mp3
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After clearing the Mediterranean of pirates in 67 BC Pompey was put in charge of the war with Mithridates. He promptly conquered his way to Jerusalem.
Direct download: 37-_Go_East_Young_Man.mp3
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From 73-71 BC a gladiator named Spartacus led a slave revolt in southern Italy. Despite defeating the Romans on numerous occasions, the slave army was eventually defeated by Marcus Crassus (with an unsolicited assist from Pompey).
Direct download: 36-_I_Am_Spartacus.mp3
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After Sulla's death two men emerged as the vanguard of Rome's new political generation: Marcus Crassus who would become Rome's richest man and Pompey the Great, who would become Rome's greatest general. In a few years these two men would join forces with Julius Caesar to form the first Triumvirate.
Direct download: 35-_Crassus_and_Pompey.mp3
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Sulla returned from the east and after winning a short Civil War was made Dictator for Life. After purging his enemies and reorganizing the consitution he inexplicably stepped down in 80 BC.
Direct download: 34-_No_Greater_Friend_No_Worse_Enemy.mp3
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Direct download: 33-_Marius_and_Sulla.mp3
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Direct download: 32-_The_Social_War.mp3
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Direct download: 31b-_Marius.mp3
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Direct download: 31a-_Marius.mp3
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Direct download: 30-_Gaius_Gracchus.mp3
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Direct download: 29-_Tiberius_Gracchus.mp3
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Direct download: 28-_Taking_Stock.mp3
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Direct download: 27-_Mopping_Up.mp3
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Direct download: 26-_The_Third_Macedonian_War.mp3
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Direct download: 25-_The_Syrian_War.mp3
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Direct download: 24-_The_Second_Macedonian_War.mp3
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Direct download: 23e-_The_War_With_Hannibal.mp3
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Direct download: 23d-_The_War_With_Hannibal.mp3
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Direct download: 23c-_The_War_With_Hannibal.mp3
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Direct download: 23b-_The_War_With_Hannibal.mp3
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Direct download: 23a-_The_War_with_Hannibal.mp3
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Direct download: 22__Prelude_to_the_Second_Punic_War.mp3
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Direct download: 21-_Interbellum.mp3
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Direct download: 20b_The_First_Punic_War.mp3
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Direct download: 20a-_The_First_Punic_War.mp3
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It was inevitable that the Romans and Cartheginians would run into each other one day.
Direct download: 19-_Prelude_to_The_First_Punic_War.mp3
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Many of the traditions that surround modern Christmas have their roots in Saturnalia and the Feast of Sol Invictus.
Direct download: 18-_A_History_of_Rome_Christmas.mp3
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The Greek cities of southern Italy called on King Pyrrhus of Epirus to protect them from Roman encroachment. Though Pyrrhus was undefeated in battle, his victories were so costly that he was forced to withdraw from Italy in 275 BC, leaving Rome in control of Magna Graecia.
Direct download: 17-_Pyrrhic_Victories.mp3
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Rome battled a combined army of Samnites, Etruscans, Umbrians and Gauls for control of Italy. At Sentinum, the two sides fought the largest battle in Italian history up to that point.
Direct download: 16-_The_Third_Samnite_War.mp3
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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 Roman civilization.
Direct download: 15B-_The_Second_Samnite_War.mp3
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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.
Direct download: 15A-_The_Second_Samnite_War.mp3
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The Roman army abandoned the Greek phalanx in favor of a new system based on a three line deployment organized by age and experience.
Direct download: 14b-_A_Phalanx_With_Joints.mp3
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For hundreds of years the Roman Army used the Greek phalanx, but during the Samnite Wars they were forced to develop a new distinctly Roman system.
Direct download: 14a__A_Phalanx_With_Joints.mp3
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The Romans fought a final war against their Latin neighbors from 340-338 BC. The Romans won a decisive victory and the Latin League was abolished once and for all.
Direct download: 13-_The_Latin_War.mp3
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From 343-341 BC Rome fought a brief war against the Samnites, a powerful hill tribe who would plague the Romans for the rest of the century. The Romans won an inconclusive victory, but the war was only the opening salvo in a long running struggle between the two peoples.
Direct download: 12-_The_First_Samnite_War.mp3
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In the decades after the Gauls abandoned Rome to its fate, the Romans were forced to battle both external threats and internal sedition. The Plebes, saddled with debt from the reconstruction, forced through reforms in 367 BC that finally gave them access to the most powerful office of state: the Consulship.
Direct download: 11-_The_Morning_After.mp3
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Soon after the war with Veii, Rome was sacked by invading Gauls. The event traumatized the Romans and left their city in ruins. It would be the last time a foreign army breached the walls until the fall of the empire 850 years later.
Direct download: 10-_Barbarians_at_the_Gates.mp3
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Economic necessity forced a final conflict with Veii, Rome's Etruscan rival to the north. After years of inconclusive fighting, Marcus Furius Camillus was appointed dictator and lead the Romans to victory.
Direct download: 09-_A_Trojan_War.mp3
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The years after the creation of the Twelve Tables were hard. Political discord, grain shortages and famine all conspired to weaken the city, but the Romans soldiered on in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity.
Direct download: 08__Decades_of_Gloom.mp3
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Cincinnatus was famously appointed dictator of Rome in 458 BC and then resigned soon after, securing his place in history as a paradigm of republican virtue.
Direct download: 07-_The_Roman_Washington.mp3
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In 451 BC a committee was ordered to compile and then condense Roman law into a single text called the Twelve Tables of Law. Despite tyrannical machinations by the committee, the Twelve Tables secured an objective rule of law for all Roman citizens regardless of wealth or class.
Direct download: 06__The_Twelve_Tables.mp3
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The infant Roman Republic faced many challenges as it grew into adolescence, both internally and externally. Most significantly class divisions led to a confrontation between patricians and plebs that resulted in the creation of the office of Tribune.
Direct download: 05-_Trials_and_Tribunlations.mp3
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The monarchy had been overthrown and the Roman Republic was now established. Despite the appearance of a free democratic republic, the Romans were beset with economic and political divisions that threatened the unity of the young State.
Direct download: 04-_The_Public_Thing.mp3
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The last days of the Roman Kingdom were ruled over by the three members of the so-called Tarquin Dynasty: Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and Tarquinius Superbus. The last proved to be such a tyrant that he was overthrown and monarchy was forever outlawed by the Romans.
Direct download: 03b-_The_Seven_Kings_of_Rome.mp3
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This week we cover the first three of Romulus's successors to the throne: Numa Pompulius, Tullus Hostilius and Ancus Marcius, who they were and what affect they had on the evolution Roman law and culture.
Direct download: 03a-_The_Seven_Kings_of_Rome.mp3
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Last time we discussed the events that lead to the birth of Rome, covering the arrival of Aeneas in Italy and the story of the twins Romulus and Remus. Today we will cover the remainder of Romulus's life, his questionable morality and ultimate disappearance from the world of men.
Direct download: 02-_Youthful_Indiscretions.mp3
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Welcome to The History of Rome, a weekly series tracing the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. Today we will hear the mythical origin story of Rome and compare it with modern historical and archaeological evidence. How much truth is wrapped up in the legend? We end this week with the death of Remus and the founding of Rome.

Direct download: 01-_In_the_Beginning.mp3
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