202 Decades of Western History

Gordian III lives long enough to die in mysterious circumstances soon after a battle with the Persians. In Gordian's place, the legions hailed Philip (the Arab) as Emperor. Philip ruled for 5 years and had the privilege of leading the celebration of Rome's 1000th year. The celebrations were interrupted by the invasion of a new people into Moesia, the province north of Thrace, along the Black Sea c...

Severus Alexander saves Roman Mesopotamia from the Persians. Soon after though, he, the last of the Severans, is killed by his soldiers. In his place they hail Maximinus Thrax as emperor. He wasn’t a senator, a politician, or a soldier; he was nearly a barbarian. Maximin will rule for 3 years before a significant revolt breaks out in Africa and The Year of the Six Emperors begins. In this decade,...

The Parthian Empire falls to the House of Sassan. A new Persian Empire rises from its corpse, ready to challenge Rome for the right to rule Syria and beyond. With internal instabilities and aggressive neighbors, Rome would need a strong, stable ruler. Instead they got a teenager. Follow the series on X: https://x.com/202decades?s=21

The Roman conquest of Caledonia fell apart when Emperor Septimius Severus died. His feuding sons, Caracalla and Geta, divided the government and nearly the whole Empire between them. They each tried to finish the other off, but Caracalla schemed most successfully. He exterminated his brother and wiped his memory from the public record. As sole emperor, Carcalla issued a decree granting every free...

Septimius Severus returned to Rome after his conquests in the east. Huge celebrations greeted him as he entered the Eternal City. Out of all the governors who attempted to replace Commodus, Severus now stood alone as Roman Emperor. Actually ruling the Roman Empire was very different from conquering it, though. Severus did not enjoy the administration burden of ruling. He stepped back from his duti...

In this second end of century episode, we discuss the process of " provincialization " which came to fruition during the 2nd century. We also check up on two neighbors of Rome: The Parthians of Persia and the German tribes across the Rhine and Danube Rivers. Both of these neighbors will present an even greater danger to Rome in the 3rd century, than they did in the 2nd. Understanding the...

Do you remember what happened during the Second Century? If it's all a little foggy, you're in luck. Here's a summary of the 10 decades of the Second Century, as well as a few superlatives. Who was the best emperor of the century? Who was the worst? And why was it Commodus? Subscribe to the Substack for this series: https://202decades.substack.com/

The fall of Commodus brought civil war back to the Roman World. In a single year, five men were hailed as emperor: Pertinax, Julianus, Niger, Albinus, and Severus. All but one met violent ends. Two died in Rome, one died trying to escape from Antioch, and one took his own life as his enemies streamed into Lugdunum. The sole survivor of these wars will found a new dynasty and lurch Rome toward mili...

As Marcus Aurelius finally passes from the scene, his son, Commodus, takes over as Roman Emperor. Surely, the son of the Philosopher King will share his fathers stability, sobriety, and dedication... right? This decade we see a revolving door of advisors rise and fall as Commodus dallies. The senate is continually unhappy but remains impotent. Anxiety rises across the empire as inflation, military...

Marcus Aurelius transforms himself from a bookish philosopher to a master of war as he holds back the onslaught of the Marcommanic coalition. For the first time in centuries, Italy is threatened. Barbarians raid within a dozen miles of Rome. Slowly and painfully, Marcus and his army drive back the invaders. Just as he seems to be achieving a final peace, a betrayal in the east of the empire draws...

The Pax Romana fractured during the reign of Marcus Aurelius under the pressure of war, plague, and invasion. Part 1: Shared Duties (02:13) Part 2: War (09:23) Part 3: Plague (31:17) Part 4: Invasion (46:41) You can now support the series by subscribing on Patreon! patreon.com/202Decades

202 Decades is back in action. This update is to let you know that there is a new way to support and engage with the 202 Decades series: Patreon . In this update, I detail the tiers of support, which old episodes will be exclusive to Patreon members, how new member exclusive content will work, and other benefits of supporting the series on Patreon. I also want to assure you that a large majority o...

Did anything happen during the 150’s? Almost certainly! But the Roman Peace was at its height and the empire was quiet, peaceful, prosperous. Here’s what did happen: a few troubles drew military attention. Antoninus passed legal reforms. Marcus Aurelius waited almost too patiently for his turn to be come Emperor. This peace allows us to pause and take a survey of literary works of the age. And, wh...

Hadrian chose Antoninus as his successor to be a stable bridge before Marcus Aurelius came of age. But Antoninus lived and reigned far longer than anyone expected. For the people of Rome, that was a good thing. His steadiness, his justice, and his fiscal aptitude ensured Italy and the provinces flourished. The Pax Romana reached its golden heights during the reign of Antoninus Pius. Part 1: Pius (...

In the 130's, Hadrian's reign turned from vision to pain. He suffered the loss of two things he held dear: in Egypt, his lover and in Judea, his idealism. His final days were marked by gloom and suffering as he attempted to preserve his legacy for the next generation.

We follow Hadrian as he tours the provinces, visiting more of the empire than any emperor before him. As he went from place to place, he inspected the defenses, drilled the legions, and granted gifts to the cities. The central theme of his journeys was a new vision for the Empire. Hadrian saw Rome not as a collection of conquered provinces ruled by the Romans, but as an assembly of peoples and pro...

Rome reaches its greatest territorial heights as Emperor Trajan does his best Alexander the Great impression. His conquests took him through Armenia and into Parthia - spurred on by a Parthian civil war. The western half of Parthia including Babylon, Ctesiphon, and all of Mesopotamia were captured. Then, revolts ripped across Cyrenaica, Egypt, Cyprus, and Mesopotamia, tearing all of Trajan's c...

Trajan begins his reign in earnest and shows everyone why he deserved the title Optimus Princeps. Part 1: Unbowed, Unbroken (04:13) Part 2: Dacia, Round 2 (16:34) Part 3: Arabia Petraea (29:18) Part 4: Trajan in Rome (33:31) Part 5: Sources, Columns (42:02)

This episode seeks to explain what life was like during the First Century in the Roman Empire. I hope you come away with a sense of Rome's vibrancy and energy that helps to color the background as we move forward with the decades Here's what we're covering this time: Metals 04:03 Concrete 06:46 Machinery 08:20 Aqueducts 09:58 Sanitation 17:39 Transportation 20:31 Communication 29:04 Po...

In this second of three End of Century episodes, we'll discuss a few listener questions. These questions will take us from discussing the incentives for expansion, the makeup of the legions, the history of a specific location within the city of Rome, a counterfactual about Roman Britain, and what was going on in other advanced civilizations of the world during the first century.

In this first of three End of Century episodes, we'll review what happened over the past 10 decades and talk about two trends.

The last of the Flavians descended into paranoid persecutions. The Senate had always hated him, but in the late years of his reign his household also grew to hate him. In fear for their lives a plot was hatched and Domitian was assassinated. The Senate was overjoyed. They seized the moment and appointed one of their own to rule as Princeps: Nerva. This Nerva was a competent if not extraordinary me...

In 81 AD, Emperor Titus inaugurated the Colosseum with 100 days of games. Not long afterward, he died of disease. His younger brother, Domitian, was then proclaimed as emperor. Domitian gets a lot of flack from the ancient historians, but the people and the army loved him and he administered the Roman Empire well. [Please submit end-of-century questions to 202decades@gmail.com] Part 1 - The Days o...

The 70's saw a new dynasty come to power in Rome: the Flavians. Led by Vespasian, their first order of business was in restoring stability, order, and unity to the empire, after the chaotic Year of the Four Emperors. Part 1 - The Sack of Jerusalem (01:53) Part 2 - The Revolt of the Batavi (23:49) Part 3 - The Flavian (38:00) Part 4 - Vesuvius (54:10)

The 60's were a tumultuous decade for Rome with multiple rebellions and uprisings, a war with Parthia, a great fire, an emperor more interested in playing the lyre than leading the armies, and after his downfall, four emperors in a single year. Part 1 - The Revolt of Boudicca and the Iceni (3:34) Part 2 - The Conclusion of the War for the Armenian Succession (10:01) Part 3 - Nero and The Great Fir...