The Partial Historians

It’s 387 BCE and Rome is working on getting back of her feet. What’s even happening in Rome? It can be hard to tell because of the nature of the extant sources and just how much seems to be missing. The Gallic Sack casts a long shadow over Rome, it was just a couple of years ago but the consequences of the situation linger. Livy notes that Rome is continuing its rebuilding program. Land Allotment...

We feel extremely fortunate to sit down and talk to Jess Venner and her debut book, The Lost Voices of Pompeii . This book takes you through the final twenty-four hours in the lives of several of the residents of the city, from slaves to politicians to business women. Dr Jess Venner Dr Jess Venner earned her PhD in Classics, Ancient History, and Archaeology from the University of Birmingham in 201...

Welcome back to Rome’s rebuilding era! It’s a year of reasserting dominance, crafting fancy hewn stones for building works, and getting the citizen body back in order. Camillus in Triumph After seemingly managing to defeat three of Rome’s enemies at once, Camillus was back in Rome, basking in his glory. Unfortunately, his success seems to have meant a life in slavery for many of the conquered peop...

The Emperor Julian with Jeremy Swist We are thrilled to welcome Assistant Professor Jeremy Swist back to the show to discuss all things emperor Julian! Julian’s rule as Roman emperor was short, but it also created quite a stir because Julian was keen to turn Rome away from Christianity and to bring back the paganism. How did he do it? Why did he do it? And what’s the legacy that he left behind? We...

We return to 389 BCE to see just how Rome recovered from the Gallic Sack. Camillus is dictator in Rome and Ahala is his trusty master of the horse. It’s time for Rome to make things right in their immediate area. There are a bunch of neighbours to deal with, including the Etruscans, the Volscians, and the Aequians. We’re in a hazy period where our sources appear out of sync with each other. Livy o...

We were very fortunate to be joined by the delightful Dr Simon Elliot in this special episode about his latest book, The African Emperor: The Life of Septimius Severus . Dr Elliott (now forever known as Dr E) is a historian, archaeologist and broadcaster. His PhD is in Classics and Archaeology from the University of Kent. Dr E is the author of nineteen books (yes, nineteen!) on the ancient world,...

Welcome to the Partial Recap for the 390s BCE! I’m Dr G  And I’m Dr Rad This is our highlights edition of the 390s in Rome. We’ll take you through from 399 to 390 in an epitome of our normal episodes.  Perfect for those mornings when you don’t want some lengthy rhetoric with your coffee - but please be warned - the Roman world is a violent one.   Get ready for a recappuccino.&n...

As we emerge, bleary-eyed and slightly peckish from the Gallic Sack of Rome, we find ourselves in a new era – a new Republic, one might say! It is 389 BCE and Rome is in its rebuilding era. A Turning Point? Livy would like us to see 389 BCE as a turning point. He has more sources, better sources than ever before, just you wait! Historians are less confident than he is about how reliable his materi...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, one of our lovely Patreons requested that we talk about archaic Roman religion. Religion is Dr G’s favourite topic, so we decided it was well and truly time for us to chat about what the Romans were up to in their early days. As with all aspects of the archaic period, it can be difficult to find reliable and detailed source material for certain aspects of...

We have finally reached the LAST part of our coverage of the Gallic Sack of Rome. Once again, whilst there are similar elements in our sources, it is astonishing to see the different way the authors weave the details together. Another Amazing Camillus Montage   It is not often that Diodorus Sicilus is praised for his accuracy, but this is one of those rare moments. Savour it, everyone! Dr G t...

You know that the Partial Historians can’t resist talking about Ancient Rome on film, so we were thrilled to chat to Dr Jeremiah McCall about his book, Swords and Cinema . Who is our special guest? Dr Jeremiah McCall (or DMac as his students call him) is a teacher at Cincinnati Country Day School in Ohio with a PhD in Ancient History.  Along with an interest in Roman military and political sy...

The sacred geese have attempted to save Rome, but the siege of the Gauls is still not over! What could possibly happen next? We continue our deep dive into the events purported to all take place In 390 BCE. Despite the Romans apparently being surprised by the Gauls turning up on their doorstep, the Gauls have been in northern Italy for some time as far as we can trace archaeological evidence. The...

Marc Hyden returns to the show to discuss the life and times about the second Flavian emperor Titus. The Flavians were the second dynasty of the imperial period extending from 69 CE until the assassination of Domitian in 96 CE. Titus’ reign is short, but significant. We sit down with Marc to consider details of Titus’ rule of Rome and its impact across the Mediterranean, particularly involving Jud...

We’re back with more exciting episodes from the infamous Gallic sack of Rome. The Bermuda Triangle? Or the Holy Trinity? We have action in three different locations in this episode – Camillus in Ardea, the remnants of the Roman army in Veii and the Romans under siege on the Capitoline. The siege had entered a fairly quiet stage where little was happening on either side. It was at this point that o...

In this episode, we discuss one of the more tragic episodes from the Gallic sack of Rome. We Who Are About to Die… The Romans who have remained in the city take up their defensive positions on the Capitol. The old patricians did not join them. Instead, their retired to their houses. Wearing their old robes of state, they settled down in the middle of their houses on ivory chairs to await the end....

Marcus Furius Camillus is an ancient Roman that it is hard to ignore, especially in the early days of the 4th century BCE. He has been regularly popping up in our episodes from the era, so we thought it would be wonderful to invite on a special guest to discuss his whole life in one handy biographic episode. Who is Marc Hyden? Marc Hyden is the Director of State Government Affairs at a Washington...

Episode 167 - The Gallic Sack of Rome - Part 2 We rejoin the Romans and the Gauls in 390 BCE at the place where the Tiber river intersects with the Alia river. Turns out that when a bunch of Fabians upset the Gauls, those Gauls decide to march south towards Rome… How many Gauls and how many Romans met at the rivers’ edge? Well, the numbers are probably unreliable but the Romans are pretty sure the...

We’re about to embark on a stunning period of Rome’s history in the middle Republic. Strap yourself in, this one is going to a take more a couple of episodes. We are, of course, dealing with the years that were 391/390 BCE. We begin with some of the important details that emerge for the latter part of 391 BCE which will have flow on effects for 390 BCE, which is the big ticket year that we’ll be n...

We are thrilled to sit down with Dr Francesca Fulminante to chat all about the development of settlements in central Italy from the Bronze Age to the Archaic Period of Rome. Dr Fulminante shares insights from her recent monograph: The Rise of Early Rome - Transportation Networks and Domination in Central Italy, 1050-500 BCE   (2023) (Cambridge University Press). This is a period where archaeo...

391 BCE is jam-packed with action, but the event that stands out is the arrival of the Gauls in centre stage. It’s time to surf the Celtic Wave! Revenge is Sweet… and Easy The year began well for the Romans as they recovered from the pestilence that had caused such havoc the year before. Finally, they were strong enough to take down the Sappinates and the Volsinii who had tried to take advantage o...

In this special episode, we tackle the second half of the 1963 epic, Cleopatra. In the first part of this double-header, we tried to keep our focus on Cleopatra and Caesar and the initial challenges faced by #TeamCleo. However, today we get to delve into the second half of the movie when Cleopatra and Antony get it on. This means we finally get to discuss ‘Le Scandale’, aka the Taylor-Burton affai...

392 BCE, the year that went down in history for “a campaign in no way memorable”. Ah, that Livy, he paints quite a picture, doesn’t he? All About the Consuls The campaign in question involved our consuls for the year. Yep, consuls! The plebeians were still in a blissful mood after receiving some of the land from Veii in the previous year and so they didn’t fight for military tribunes. The consuls...

Cleopatra was released in 1963 and has gone on to herald the end of the golden age of the historical epic in Hollywood. Known as one of the most expensive films to ever be made, its troubled production and the on screen connection between Taylor and Burton have both cemented its place in cinematic history. A Troubled Production We have a look at some of the issues that led to production delays and...

We’re still in the year 394 BCE and we’ve seen Camillus has had a run in with the Falsican Schoolmaster. In this episode we move on further into the action of 394 BCE and look at 393 BCE as well. Is Camillus learning how to keep a low profile? He is praised from his success over the Faliscans and he doesn’t rush for a triumph this time. But the challenge remains, that Camillus’ forgotten vow to Ap...

In this episode, we continue to follow the adventures of that most amazing of Romans: Marcus Furius Camillus! This is one of his real shining moments of virtus. Although the Romans have just conquered Veii, there was tension on those mean city streets. The patricians and plebeians were locked in a disagreement over what they should do with this new territory. However, Camillus had military matters...