Life Of The Caesars

As we near the end of our little tale, Caesar is being granted unprecedented honours, including being declared a GOD and the SAVIOUR of Rome. We also talk a little about the SON OF GOD – Caesarion.  The post Julius Caesar #43 – The Divine Julius appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .

It’s the beginning of 44 BCE. Caesar is 56. He’s planning to leave in three months to campaign against the Dacians and the Parthians. The Senate and the People bestow upon him unprecedented honours. Yet he remains polite, lenient and generous, even to his slaves. But was it enough to stop his “friends” and “former enemies” from […] The post Julius Caesar #42 &#8...

Four years of bloody Civil War, with 100,000 Romans dead, all comes down to this place, this day, this battle – The Battle of Munda. Julius Caesar uses his big balls to take on Pompey’s brat sons and his old mate Labienus. According to Plutarch, Caesar later said “In the past I fought for victory – […] The post Julius Caesar #41 – The War Is Over appeared first on Lif...

Caesar realises that he has to go to Spain in person to deal with Pompey’s two brat sons – Cnaeus and Sextus – and his old bottom bitch Labienus. It quickly turns into a bloody and brutal affair – people are getting slaughtered, beheaded, crucified – and that’s just the people that Ray works with! The post Julius Caesar #40 – The Spanish Campaign 46 BCE ap...

As dictator, Julius Caesar initiates a sweeping range of political and social reforms that even his enemies have to concede make a lot of sense, including a colonisation program, reforming the grain dole, building a great library, and reforming the calendar. The post Julius Caesar #39 – Caesar’s Reforms appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .

Even while the Greatest Party Ever™ is going on, Caesar is getting down to the business of changing the way Rome works – forever. He’s rewarding his supporters with positions in the Senate, forgiving more of his enemies, creating new settlements in far off lands.. And we talk about lesbians. The post Julius Caesar #38 – It’s Business Time appeared first on Life Of The Caesa...

Well we are back with episode 37 and we’re also back to one hour episodes (more or less). Even though we recorded 3.5 hours today, we’re going to cut them up into three episodes. Listen to the show for an explanation. On this episode, we see Julius Caesar return to Rome after the battle of […] The post Julius Caesar #37 – Caesar’s Four Triumphs appeared first on Life...

Nearly three hours of mayhem sees Caesar sail to Africa to finish off Metellus Scipio, Labienus, Cato and the rest of the Pompeians. The post Julius Caesar #36 – AFRICA appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .

Caesar leaves Cleopatra and Alexandria behind to return to Rome. But before he can deal with Rome, he has to pay some debts, borrow some funds and deal with our old mate Pharnaces, son of Mithridates of Pontus. Meanwhile back in Italy, Mark Antony is getting drunk, Cicero is worried that no-one loves him and […] The post Julius Caesar #35 – VENI VIDI VICI appeared first on Life Of The...

Father forgive us, we have sinned! It’s been nearly 4 weeks since our last episode (Ray took his family to Disney World!) but we’re back with 3 1/4 hours of madcap history! We follow Caesar as he puts on his Sherlock cap and follows Pompey to Egypt, only to discover he is three days too late. […] The post Julius Caesar #34 – Alexandria & Cleopatra appeared first on Lif...

Whew. Another 2.5 hours of mayhem! In this episode, Caesar and Pompey finally face off in the battle to determine the fate of Western civilization. Two men enter – one man leaves! It’s August in 48BCE. Caesar withdraws from Dyrrachium. He arrives at Gomphi who close their doors to him – so he lays siege […] The post Julius Caesar #33 – The Battle Of Pharsalus appeared...

Julius Caesar resigns his dictatorship after a mere 11 days in Rome and chases Pompey to Greece! Bibulus blockades half of fleet so Caesar spends a few months trying to secure food supplies. Caesar keeps trying to open negotiations with Pompey but gets nowhere (as usual)! It all comes to a head at Dyrrachium – […] The post Julius Caesar #32 – Caesar Goes To Greece appeared first...

This. Show. Is. Insane. 2.5 hours. A crazy opening courtesy of Jessica Robles. More songs than ever. Caesar lays siege to Massalia (modern Marseilles). Then he heads to Ilerda (modern Lleida) in Spain. Did it rain? Yes. A lot. He fights against Pompey’s legions. His takes care of a mutiny from one of his legions. […] The post Julius Caesar #31 – The Rain In Spain appeared first o...

Julius Caesar tries to block Pompey’s departure from Italy but fails. So he heads to Rome for the first time in 9 years. Cicero laments that Pompey is going to destroy Italy and wants to become a tyrant and that Caesar’s clemency is turning the people against the Senate – and Pompey. The post Julius Caesar #30 – Run Away, Pompey appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .

Another massive two hour show! In this episode, Julius Caesar advances on Rome. Pompey and the Senate run for the hills. Cicero doesn’t know what to do or who to trust. Caesar keeps begging Pompey to meet with him so they can work out a deal – but Pompey refuses. Caesar shows mercy towards his […] The post Julius Caesar #29 – The Pardon Of Corfinium appeared first on Life O...

We go into excruciating detail about the political machinations between Caesar and his enemies in Rome that lead up to the fateful day (10 or 11 January 49 BCE) when Caesar declares “The Die Is Cast” and crosses the Rubicon river that marks the boundary between Gaul and Italy, taking the 13th legion with him. The post Julius Caesar #28 – The Die Is Cast… Bitches appeared fi...

We jump back to 54 BCE and talk about what’s been happening in Rome while Caesar has been stomping on Gaul. Massive political corruption. Pompey is made sole Consul. Laws are deliberately passed that make it impossible for Caesar to return to Rome without facing near-certain exile and ruin. After this episode, it’s hard to […] The post Julius Caesar #27 – Meanwhile Back In...

You’d think that after they got their ass smacked HARD (and not in the good way) at Alesia, the rest of Gaul would have just crumbled – but not so. A few tribes still thought they could bring Julius Caesar down and so he spent his winter of 52/51 BCE taking on the Bellovaci, the […] The post Julius Caesar #26 – Gaul Is Conquered appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .

Well…. This is where it all comes together. Arguably the greatest military victory in history. Julius Caesar lays siege to the walled city of Alesia, the stronghold of Vercingetorix, who sends for reinforcements. When they arrive, Caesar is massively outnumbered… He claims 5 to 1. Historian say it was probably more like 3 to 1. […] The post Julius Caesar #25 – The Siege of...

A mammoth 2 and a half hour episode! Vercingetorix continues to make trouble for Julius Caesar. Now almost all of the Gallic tribes are his allies. Yet he still avoids a frontal assault and uses a combination of brilliant tactics and treachery to keep Caesar busy. Caesar lays siege to the walled cities of Avaricum […] The post Julius Caesar #24 – The Sieges of Avaricum & Gergovia...

Jamie Jeffers joins us to chat about Caesar and ye olde Britannia! JJ is the host of the excellent British History Podcast. He is not a huge fan of Caesar or the Romans, but he does have a deep knowledge of ancient British history that he shares with us. The post Julius Caesar – CONSUL #11 – Jamie Jeffers appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .

Caesar spends this episode chasing Ambiorix of the Eburones to revenge the deaths of Sabinus, Cotta and their legion at Atuatuca. We also talk in depth about Caesar’s leadership style and why he was so loved by his troops. We also answer important questions like “what is a yew tree?”, “why does an elk have […] The post Julius Caesar #22 – The Annhilation Of The...

Here’s the show you’ve all been waiting for! Mike Duncan, much beloved host of The History Of Rome and Revolutions podcasts, joins us to talk about Julius Caesar. What more could you ask for? The (un)holy trinity of history podcasters right here for your audio pleasure.   The post Julius Caesar – CONSUL #9 – Mike Duncan appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .

Our guest on this VIP episode is Tom Holland, author of the excellent book RUBICON. Follow Tom on Twitter, buy a copy of Rubicon by clicking the image below and check out the rest of his books!   The post Julius Caesar – CONSUL #8 – Tom Holland appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .

The Romans had a term – vastatio. It meant “laying waste”. Total destruction. That’s what Caesar decided to do to the Gallic tribes that had the temerity to rebel against his control of their lands.   The post Julius Caesar #21 – VASTATIO appeared first on Life Of The Caesars .