Since the time of the first emperor. Augustus, there had been a rough equilibrium between the empire and the German tribes.  The empire had been too big for the Germans to defeat, but too overextended to threaten their independence.  But with the Huns now about to wipe out the Germans the position had changed.  The equilibrium was wrecked.

Valens and the Goths - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 26 Part 3

I am a professional scientist, but in my spare time I read history books and I review them.  I am mainly working through Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire at the moment, but will slip in a few other titbits from time to time.  I normally get a show out every Thursday.

History

Society & Culture

In this unscripted episode I speculate about why the Holy Roman Empire tends to be written out of European history, and suggest it is time to take it a bit more seriously.

The Holy Roman Empire by Peter Wilson

In the Victorian world women were subservient to men.  It sounds great in thery, but how did it actually work? 

He Knew He Was Right by Anthony Trollope

A view from inside the Blair government in the years leading up to the war in Iraq.

The View From The Foothills by Chris Mullin

The private life of Belisarius is revealed in the Secret History.  Or is it?

The Secret History - Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 41 Part 5

Mary Beard sums up the Roman Empire for the general reader.

Valens and the Goths - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 26 Part 3

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