Echoes of Empires

In AD 272, the Emperor Aurelian's eastern offensive was in full swing. His army recaptured Antioch while, in the south, the Roman navy reconquered Egypt. But Palmyra was far from finished and great battles were still to be fought. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

In the AD 270s, the Roman Empire was fighting for its life. But the Emperor Aurelian was one of the best generals in Rome's history. He managed to defeat a German invasion of Italy and then pushed the Goths back over the Danube. He was now ready to turn east to face the might of Palmyra. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

When Claudius Gothicus died of the plague in AD270, it seemed as if the Roman fight back against the barbarian invasions might be stalled. But his deputy, Aurelian, quickly assumed the purple and led the Roman armies to even greater glories. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

In the late AD 260s, under the leadership of the soldier-Emperor, Claudius 'Gothicus', the Roman army started to turn the tide against its enemies. So, how and why had the Roman army changed? Find out in this episode! Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

We've now reached one of the most exciting parts of Roman history. With the break-up of the Roman Empire in the AD 260s, the situation looked extremely bleak. But this was the catalyst for revolution, and the emergence of a new breed of tough soldier-Emperors who would save the Empire. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

One of the most fascinating parts of Roman history is the little known "Fall before the Fall". This was the period from around AD 250 to 275 when the Roman Empire broke up into three separate parts. It was a close-run thing if the empire would survive. Find out more here! Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

You might not immediately associate climate change with the Roman Empire but in fact it was critically important both to Rome's rise to power and also to its fall. Find out why here! Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

The decline of the Roman Empire was not only due to barbarian invasions and civil war. In the second century AD, it was hit by the first pandemic known in human history: the Antonine Plague. Was it germs rather than Germans that brought down the empire? Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

More than any other Germanic tribe, the Goths would dominate Roman history from the third to the sixth centuries. In this episode, we hear how they were the first of Rome's many enemies to precipitate the crisis of the third century. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

The third century was a time of crisis for the Roman Empire. Not only was Persia revived by the Sasanians but, in the West, the Germans posed a far greater threat than ever before. Find out why in this episode!  Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

In the third century, Rome faced a reinvigorated Persia, led by the Sasanian dynasty. In 260 AD, the Roman Emperor Valerian was defeated and captured. Allegedly, the Persian King used him as a footstool to mount his horse before flaying him and displaying his skin in his palace. How did the Sasanians triumph over the Romans? Find out in this episode. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blo...

Tacitus wrote that the Year of the Four Emperors, in 68-69AD, revealed "The Secret of the Empire." It was a secret that would lead to the near collapse of the Roman Empire in the third century. Find out in this episode what that secret was! Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

Marcus Aurelius was the last of the 'Good Emperors'. His son, Commodus, proved to be the exact opposite of his father. A bloodthirsty tyrant, his reign is often seen as marking the beginning of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

Augustus' Roman Empire produced over two hundred years of peace in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It was called the 'Pax Romana', or Roman Peace. It has never been achieved before or since. So, how did the Romans do it? Find out in this episode. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

Julius Caesar lies dead on the floor of the Senate. What will happen now? The answer lies with a man called Octavian, who will surprise and astonish the ancient world by reinventing the Roman state and ensuring two hundred years of peace - he is better known by his honorary title of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmes...

In this episode, we look at the collapse of the Roman Republic, and the man whose brilliance and whose greed for power, caused a crisis in the Roman world. This was Julius Caesar, the most famous Roman of all. Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

We continue with the story of Rome's rise to power in the third and second centuries BC, and ask two vital questions: first, did the Romans simply get lucky? Second, how did the Roman legions become the most feared fighting machine of the ancient world? Support the show For a free ebook, maps and blogs check out my website nickholmesauthor.com

Welcome to Echoes of Empires! If you’re looking for a podcast about history, you’ve come to the right place! Because you’ll find over a hundred episodes here about the Roman Empire, Byzantium, the Arab Caliphates, Charlemagne’s Empire, the Dark Ages, the Crusades and I’m adding to them all the time. The purpose is to tell exciting narrative history in bite-sized chunks of about 20 minutes or so fo...