Autocrat- A Roman History Podcast

The reign of Tullus Hostilius includes the year 660 BCE- the same year that, half a world away in Japan, a certain individual named Iwarehiko no mikoto, descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu, invaded the Japanese islands and created an imperial line that is still with us until today. Time period : 660- 585 BCE Relevant individuals : Jimmu, 1st Emperor of Japan; Suizei, 2nd Emperor of Japan Sour...

War has come between Rome and Alba Longa, but in a bid to avoid both powers battering themselves into the dust before being swept aside by the Etruscans, they settle it via single combat. Well... more like triple combat. Join us for the We Hate Horatius Club, dictators called Foof, and the origins of walking under the yoke. Time period : Between 672 and 640 BCE Relevant individuals : Tullus Hostil...

With Numa gone, we now see the election of Tullus Hostilius- the grandson of Sabine war hero Hostius Hostilius- to the Roman throne. He is a lot more belligerent than old Pompilius ever was, and immediately sets about engineering a war with Alba Longa. Time period: c. 672- 671 BCE Relevant individuals: Tullus Hostilius, Gaius Clulius Sources for this episode: TBA

The empire has a Princess Imperial as of 2026, but we do not have a formal regent established. Well, this episode sets up two of them...

The second king of Rome may be dead, but his story isn't quite. Today, we scrape together the crumbs of evidence our primary and secondary sources give us concerning Egeria. Is she a nymph? A goddess? Is she Numa's second wife or his lover? And what's the deal with her maybe turning into a spring? Let the defence and prosecution assemble! Time period: 716- 627 BCE Relevant individuals:...

In the spirit of having fun with the show, here's another Imperial Edict sorting out the year count for the empire. 2026 is now also Year IV/V... Sources for this episode: TBA

Numa Pompilius' rule is a lot less exciting than that of Romulus in terms of warfare. Instead, we get a whole lot of religious restructuring, instilling piety into the rabble that is Roman society, and a mysterious burial with sacred texts the later Republic will never address again... That and calendar administration. Time period: 716- 672 BCE Relevant individuals: Numa Pompilius Sources for...

Between 716 and 715 BCE, Rome undergoes what becomes known as an interregnum- an inter regnum, or period between kings. Senators take five-day turns ruling the country, and then one year into it, Numa Pompilius becomes elected king! However, our Sabine protagonist just refuses to become monarch until all sorts of hoops have been jumped through... Sources for this episode: Dio (1961), Dio's Rom...

It's 5th July, 716 BCE. Campus Martius. One way or another, King Romulus of Rome disappears. But how? Did he become a god? Did the Senate do him in? Was there an uprising by the people? Let's pick our way through the different versions of events... Sources for this episode: Dio (1961), Dio's Roman History (Volume I). Translated by E. Cary. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William H...

We march through the years from 752 to 716 BCE, polishing off the remaining thirty-six years of Romulus' rule. Along the way, we'll watch Rome hit a bunch of opponents until they stay down one after another and Romulus take on some tyrannical airs the Senate don't like. Also, is it Dionysus of Halicarnassus- or is it John? Sources for this episode: Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The...

Romulus may have founded a city and invited a bunch of criminals who need asylum in, but there's still a problem to overcome. Namely, there are no women in Rome. Well, nothing a good old-fashioned bit of mass kidnapping, brutal warfare and Stockholm syndrome can't overcome! Let's watch Vince decide he can't spell the word 'the' and Cassie decide she can't pronounce... t...

Let's take a look at what's going on in China at the time Rome is founded! Today, we give a bit of context for Chinese mythology and history starting in the 27th century BCE and skipping through the Xia and Shang dynasties all the way up until the mess that is the Zhou in 753 BCE. Along the way, we get so many opportunities to mess up the pronunciation of Zhou! Shoe? Joe? Shou? Take your p...

Now that we've reached the founding of Rome, let's see what some areas in the rest of the world look like at this time. Today, we'll be exploring Egypt, which is currently in the middle of it's 22nd and 23rd dynasties. Fair warning- there will be a lot more people called Sheshonq and Osorkon than you might be able to handle... NOTE: The book we have been working with as a source mentions pharaohs...

WE MADE IT! One hundred episodes in and we finally got to the founding of Rome. Just under thirty-nine hours of content later, we finally get to the point of the podcast. Romulus and Remus set out to found a city, but will it be Rome or Remoria? Will it be on the Palatine or the Aventine hill? Only one combination can win- and only one twin will leave the founding alive... Sources for this episode...

We've covered a lot of ground between the 1180s and 754 BCE. So, let's recap that in a bit more of a barebones recap today. Along the way, let's revisit the stories of Camilla, Remulus the hubristic king and Dido of Carthage. We'll also watch the co-hosts sass each other a lot more than necessary and pretend they don't know what a Rome is!

Romulus and Remus have been ejected into the Tiber by their granduncle/possibly father Amulius- but Fate has other plans. The boys wash up near a fig tree and survive by getting suckled by a she-wolf- all of which spells bad news for Amulius of Alba Longa... Sources for this episode: Boitani, L., Phillips, M. & Jhala, Y. V. ( 2023)   Canis lupus  (amended version of 2018 assessment).  The IUCN...

Today is a day of great rejoicing. Sometime over the past month, we became parents! Say hello to Her Imperial Highness, the Princess Imperial, Duchess of Constantinople and heiress presumptive to the Roman empire. We are very excited, but you may have to bear with us in terms of the schedule as we navigate through the waters of early parenthood. Thank you for your patience!

With the reign of Proca in the rear view mirror, we turn our attention to his two sons- Numitor and Amulius. A murderous plot and a usurpation leads to a young woman being condemned to a life as a Vestal Virgin. However, that doesn't stop her getting pregnant somehow. Oh well, let's put those twin boys in the Tiber... Sources for this episode: Appian (1972), Appian’s Roman History in Four...

In our main narrative, a certain Italian city state is not far away from being founded. So, let's talk today about the myth of another famous city- Athens- and its beginnings. Expect olive trees, salt springs and a half-snake king whose descendants get up to all kinds of divinity-adjacent tomfoolery. Sources for this episode: TBA

Aventinus and Proca take us all the way down to the 790s BCE. Along the way, we see another hill of a certain famous city gets its name, the city chugs along quietly in the background, and the Herbology teacher from Harry Potter gets a cameo story in Ovid's Metamorphoses. Wait... What was that last part? Sources for this episode: Appian (1972), Appian's Roman History in Four Volumes (Volum...

This episode is very, very frightning- me! But Bohemian Rhapsody references aside, we continue our story of the kings of Alba Longa down to 856 BCE. Join us for the arrogance of Remulus, earthquakes, divine punishments, and Cassie's intense dislike of an Alban king called Acrota. Sources for this episode: Appian (1972), Appian’s Roman History in Four Volumes (Volume I). London and Cambridge, M...

Quite a few reigns come and go as we head towards 916 BCE. Perhaps the most noteworthy of them all is that of Tiberinus- who drowns in the Albula river during a battle and becomes a god... Sources for this episode: Appian (1972), Appian’s Roman History in Four Volumes (Volume I). London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press. Dio (1961), Dio’s Roman Histo...

Sometimes we like to pause to reflect on what's going on in the world around us at the time of our narrative. Well, at around about the time our Alba Longan kings are ruling, the narratives of the Old Testament and Josephus have David and Solomon ruling over Israel! Let's examine the shenanigans going on in the courts of Hebron and Jerusalem, starting with David and working through twenty...

From about 1030 BCE, all of our sources about Alba Longa and its kings crumble into disagreement. Get ready for tales of heirs saving puppies in housefires, three kings at once, and whether the recording room of Autocrat is still haunted. Sources for this episode: Appian (1972), Appian’s Roman History in Four Volumes (Vol. I). London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard...

He's finally here! Aeneas II of Alba Longa! Long may he reign gloriously! Get ready for mighty battles, great conquests, soaring triumphs and... what's that? Ovid, Livy and Cassius Dio want to have a word? Well of course, I- what do you mean the history books are empty? Sources for this episode: Appian (1972), Appian’s Roman History in Four Volumes (Volume I). London and Cambridge, Massach...