Echoes of Empires

When the emperor Theodosius died in 395, he left the empire to his two young sons, Arcadius in the east, and Honorius in the west. It proved to be an unhappy legacy. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

The emperor Theodosius I is sometimes called 'The Great'. But if he was so great why was the city of Rome sacked by the Goths only fifteen years after his death? Find out in this episode. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

This is just to let you know that you can get my ebook called The Roman Revolution, which accompanies the first part of my podcast, at a discounted price at Amazon for the next few days (until 29th September). It focuses on the transition from the classical Roman Empire to Constantine's Christian-centred empire run out of Constantinople. It's priced at 99 cents or pence in the US, UK, Ca...

After its disastrous defeat at the Battle of Adrianople, you might think the late Roman Empire had enough problems already. But in Theodosius' reign, the Romans decided to add a few more in the form of civil wars and a bitter theological dispute.  Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

On the 9th August, AD 378, the eastern emperor Valens rode north from Adrianople to give battle to the Goths. The outcome of this conflict would prove decisive in the history of the fall of the Roman Empire. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

In the summer of AD 376, a vast mass of Goths, maybe 200,000 men, women and children, appeared on the river Danube, begging for asylum. They were fleeing from the Huns. The eastern emperor, Valens, was at that moment preparing for war against the Persians. What should he do? The next few years would prove decisive for the future of the Roman Empire. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blog...

In AD 376, a huge host of Goths, maybe 200,000 strong, appeared on the banks of the river Danube. But this was not the usual raid for plunder. Instead, the Goths appealed for asylum on Roman territory from a terrifying new enemy - the Huns. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

After Julian's death on campaign in Persia in AD 363, his successors struggled to stave off growing barbarian invasions in the west and Persia's new-found dominance in the east. They did their best to keep the show on the road but the cracks in Rome's armour were beginning to show. Indeed, for the emperor Valentinian, it all proved too much when he literally burst a blood vessel and...

In March 363, the emperor Julian led one of the largest Roman armies ever seen into Persia. He thought his destiny was to be the next Alexander the Great. Things didn't work out quite as he'd hoped. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

In March 363, the emperor Julian led a vast army east to fight Persia. Why did he want to risk his own future and the future of the Roman Empire by taking on its most powerful adversary? Find out in this episode. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

Julian the Apostate is best remembered for his epithet 'the Apostate', referring to his anti-Christian policies. But what was he really like and how did he want to change the Roman Empire? Find out in this episode. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

In late August, 357, Julian, the new Caesar in Gaul, watched as a massive German army, 35,000 strong, crossed the Rhine to face him outside Strasbourg. Julian was heavily outnumbered with a Roman army of only 13,000 men. But he decided to fight what would become one of the most famous battles in Roman history: the Battle of Strasbourg. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my...

This is just to let everyone know that my book covering the early part of this podcast is now available on Amazon priced at $2.99 or equivalent in other countries. It has 10 maps and 15 images which I hope will bring the podcast to life as well as more detailed written content! Print version will be available to all retailers (not just Amazon) in the next week or so.  Here is the link to the book...

Julian the Apostate was one of the most extraordinary emperors in all Roman history. Find out in this episode how the bookish young man began his ascent to power.  Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

In the middle of the fourth century, the emperor Constantius II faced not just a revitalised Persia in the east, but the agony of civil war as Magnentius, a popular general in the Rhine army, seized power in the west. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

After Constantine's death, political instability returned to the Roman Empire as his three sons jostled for power. But just as disturbing was the resurgence of a powerful Persia led by the formidable new King of Kings, Shapur II. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

Constantine's reign was a watershed moment for the Roman Empire - with his conversion to Christianity and the founding of Constantinople. But what happened when he died? Find out in this episode! Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

If you'd met a fourth century Roman and asked them what they thought of their emperor, Constantine, you might have expected them to talk about Christianity or Constantinople, but instead, they would probably have shown you a gold coin called the 'Solidus' which was to become the dollar of both the ancient and medieval worlds. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check o...

The Emperor Constantine is probably best remembered for his conversion to Christianity. But his founding of the city of Constantinople was another landmark event that was to shape the entire future of the Roman Empire.  Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

The Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity shortly before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in AD 312 is seen as a landmark event in not just the history of the Roman Empire but of Christianity, and indeed of the entire world. But what really happened? Find out in this episode. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

One of the most remarkable aspects of the Roman Empire was the rapid rise of Christianity in the late third and fourth centuries. While much attention has been focused on the roles of emperors, like Diocletian, who persecuted the Christians, and Constantine, who championed them, in this episode, we'll look at one of the questions which has always puzzled historians - what were the underlying...

In the late third century, the Roman Empire was changing rapidly. Civil war had done much to contribute to its near destruction. Now, the radical  Emperor Diocletian came up with an innovative solution for this - the Tetrarchy. He also decided to confront a strange new religion that was increasingly a threat to the traditional Roman gods - Christianity. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and...

Diocletian's greatest innovation may sound mundane but it was to form the basis of the financial strength of the Roman and Byzantine Empires for centuries to come. It was the reform of the Roman tax system. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

In AD 284, a new Emperor seized the purple. His name was Diocletianus, or Diocletian, as he is better known to us. He had a new vision of the Empire which was as revolutionary as that of Augustus, three hundred years before.  Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

Having defeated Palmyra in AD 272, Aurelian turned west to face the breakaway Gallic Empire. Could he now reunite the Roman Empire? Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com