History of the World podcast

44 BCE - 14 CE - Rome recovers after the death of Julius Caesar, and the constitution of Rome would change for good.  One man emerges from all others to become the most trusted leader of the entire Roman Republic.

We continue our short break from the narative by exploring the grim and sinister act of trepanation which explores the widely practised act of boring a hole in the human skull as we try to understand the reasons behind this high risk procedure.

An informal look at the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, topped off with the usual updates from the HotWorld forums.

60 - 44 BCE - The continuation of Caesar's story covering the First Triumvirate, The Gallic Wars and Caesar's Civil War.  Rome could never be the same again.

100 - 60 BCE - The story of the chaotic Roman world that Caesar was born into, and what it would take for a charismatic and talented young man with connections to climb the political ladder of the Republic.

47 BCE - Veni, vidi, vici.  Julius Caesar was short handed when he felt obliged to deal with the Pontic problem.  Discover how Pontus still caused headaches for the Romans, even after the reign and lifetime of the great Mithridates VI.

52 BCE - The Battle of Alesia is the story of a siege under siege.  We meet Julius Caesar, who had the Gallic confederation in a precarious spot.  The Gallic leader, Vercingetorix, was entrusted to defend Alesia.  This battle was historically signifant as this was a pivotal part of the wider Gallic Wars between Rome and Gaul.

53 BCE - The first major encounter between the Romans and the Parthians involved the mighty Roman army taking on an extremely unusual army.  It was an army with absolutely no infantry.  Find out what Crassus would do to deal with this unique threat.

73 BCE - The story of the first acts of rebellion by the group of slaves involving Spartacus.  It would be one thing for a few dozen gladiators escaping captivity, but how did this become a problem of national significance?

146 - 44 BCE - The story of the Optimates and the Populares and the characters who witnessed Rome's gradual decline from its being the most powerful entity in the world to a republic fragmented by civil strife, and introducing the incredible life of Julius Caesar.

202 BCE - This world isn't big enough for both of us.  Carthage under Hannibal takes on Rome under Scipio.

216 BCE - If crossing the Alps with 37 elephants wasn't enough to impress you, then what Hannibal achieved at Cannae just a couple of years later defies belief on the deadliest day in the history of Europe before this battle.

221 - 146 BCE - The incredible story of how Hannibal crossed the Alps with tens of thousands of men and a number of war elephants and penetrated the lands of the Romans in such a way that Rome's very existence was under threat.  Who won the war and what was the ultimate consequence?

264 - 219 BCE - After King Pyrrhus of Epirus left modern Italian lands, much tension existed between the societies and the eventual escalation led to the First Punic War centred in and around the island of Sicily.  See what happens to the economies of two mighty powerhouses when each of them refuses to back down.

509 - 272 BCE - With the monarchy abolished, Rome would still continue to have political and social issues as the Conflict of the Orders brought tensions between the patricians and the plebeians and threatened to halt Roman expansion before it even began.

753 - 509 BCE - The story of Romulus and Remus and the Seven Kings of Rome, but just how much of it was actually true and how much was pure mythology?

1523 - 1668 - The House of Vasa was predominantly the royal house of Sweden, but also of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.  Its greatest member was Gustavus Adolphus the Great.

336 - 30 BCE - A deeper look at the chronology of the Hellenistic world with special attention to some of the academic advances.

1200 - 336 BCE - From the fall of the Mycenaeans, to the rise of Alexander the Great, and everything else in between.

323 - 30 BCE - The sudden imperial expansion of Alexander the Great's Macedonian kingdom had a profound effect on the vast area's diverse cultures.  This episode explores that effect.

323 - 281 BCE - Meet Philip III and Alexander IV, Antipater, Craterus, Antigonus, Demetrius, Cassander, Eumenes, Seleucus, Polyperchon, Ptolemy, Lysimachus and Peithon among others.

331 BCE - The inevitable showdown between Alexander the Great and Darius III took place at Gaugamela, in a battle which would change the world as everyone know it forever.

333 BCE - Alexander the Great had ventured deeper into Persian territory than any other invader.  So Darius decided to make a surprise move to cut him off from his supply lines entrapping him in a narrow mountain pass.

356 - 323 BCE - In our second profile episode, we look at a man who is arguably the greatest military leader ever, the Macedonian king, Alexander the Great.

362 - 335 BCE - With the southern Balkan poleis exhausted through continued warfare, one leader in the north was holding all the cards.  This is the story of Philip II of Macedon's achievements.