Severus Alexander was an emperor who spent much of his reign at war, but he was ill-suited to it and would likely have preferred to be elsewhere. His main enemy was the Sasanians, an empire that rose out of the ashes of the Parthians, and would be a leading regional power for the next 400 years.

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Severus Alexander was a young boy when he came to power in Rome in 222CE, in the wake of the death of his unpopular cousin, Elagabalus. He would reign for 13 years but struggle to assert authority, bringing the once proud Severan dynasty to a chaotic ending.

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Spartacus is an epic historical film based on the life of a Roman gladiator who led a slave rebellion against Rome in the 1st C BCE. In this episode we’ll take a fond look at this cinematic classic, in memory of its leading man, Kirk Douglas.

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Lupercalia was a Roman festival which took place in the middle of February, and had the effects of purifying and cleansing the city. Participants would take part in a blood sacrifice, strip off their togas, and run naked through the streets of Rome.

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The Romans had some strange ideas when it came to medical practice, but you have to give them some leeway, and a lot has changed in 2000 years. Some of the thoughts and techniques showed forward thinking, but you might have to ignore the cabbages.

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Rhiannon Evans, Caillan Davenport and Matt Smith each share three Roman topics of interest for three minutes! You will hear:

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For the fifth time, listeners provide questions and Rhiannon and Matt answer!

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Gaius Gracchus - awe-inspiring and passionate to exaggeration, a demagogue pure and simple, seemingly shunned the family business, at least to begin with. But however much you may try to defer your fate, sometimes decisions are made for you.

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Tiberius Gracchus had introduced property laws that, while unpopular with the ruling elite, went down well with the people of Rome. You can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time. But that’s just politics, isn’t it? Nothing to lose your head over.

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