Real Roman History

Real Roman History

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Real Roman History episodes

  • Episode 15. The First Punic War: Rome Goes to Sea
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Polybius. Histories, Book 1 (c. 140 BCE). The essential primary source. Available free online via the Perseus Digital Library.
    Secondary Sources
    • Goldsworthy, Adrian. The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265–146 BC. 2000. Accessible and reliable on military detail; very good on the military narrative.
    • Hoyos, Dexter. Mastering the West: Rome and Carthage at War. 2015. The most balanced single-volume overview of all three Punic Wars. See also his Rome, the Gracchan Crisis, and the Struggle of the Orders for the political context.
    • Lazenby, John. The First Punic War. 1996. Detailed specialist study, good on the naval battles.
    • Miles, Richard. Carthage Must Be Destroyed. 2010. Good on the Carthaginian perspective and the war’s structural causes.
    • Tusa, Sebastiano, and Jeffrey Royal. “The Landscape of the Naval Battle at the Egadi Islands (241 BC).” Journal of Roman Archaeology, 2012.
    Note on the Egadi Excavations
    • The work done since 2010 on the Egadi Islands wreck site, which has recovered several bronze rams from the Battle of the Aegates Islands, has given genuine archaeological confirmation of Polybius’s account of the battle’s location and character. The rams are now in the Museo Regionale Interdisciplinare di Trapani in Sicily.
    37 min
  • Episode 14. Carthage: The Other Power
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Aristotle. Politics, Book II (c. 340 BCE). The primary source for Carthaginian constitutional arrangements. Available in translation via the MIT Internet Classics Archive.
    • Polybius. Histories (c. 140 BCE). For the treaties with Rome and the Punic Wars; the most reliable ancient source for the period.
    Secondary Sources
    • Hoyos, Dexter. Mastering the West: Rome and Carthage at War. 2015. Best single-volume account of the Punic Wars, reliable and accessible.
    • Lancel, Serge. Carthage: A History. Translated by Antonia Nevill, 1995. The standard modern history of Carthage, by the archaeologist who excavated the Punic residential quarter on the Byrsa. Essential.
    • Miles, Richard. Carthage Must Be Destroyed: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization. 2010. Excellent popular history, good on cultural context, sympathetic to Carthage.
    • Quinn, Josephine. In Search of the Phoenicians. 2018. Challenges some conventional narratives about Phoenician identity; important for the foundation period.
    • Warmington, B. H. Carthage. 1960. Older but still useful, particularly on the constitution and institutions.
    Note on the Tophet
    • The tophet debate is ongoing and technical. Listeners who want to dig into it should start with Quinn’s In Search of the Phoenicians for a skeptical view of the sacrifice interpretation, and Xella et al. in Antiquity(2013) for the strongest recent case for sacrifice. The Oxford University press release (2014) on Quinn, Vella, and collaborators is freely available online and gives a readable summary of the archaeological evidence. The debate is not fully resolved, and honesty requires saying so.
    43 min
  • Episode 13. Pyrrhus of Epirus: The King Who Won Himself to Death
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Appian. Samnite History (Samnitica), fragments. Additional material on the Italian Greek perspective.
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities. Books 19–20 (fragments). Provides some detail on Heraclea, with substantially inflated casualty figures.
    • Eutropius. Breviarium 2.11–14. Concise, reliable summary from a fourth-century CE epitomizer; good on the Roman perspective and the final defeat at Beneventum.
    • Livy. Periochae 13–14. Summaries of the lost Books 13–14 covering the Pyrrhic War. Brief but consistent with other sources on the main events.
    • Plutarch. “Life of Pyrrhus.” Plutarch’s Lives. The essential source; written c. 100 CE, drawing on Hieronymus of Cardia and others now lost. The anecdotes (Fabricius, Cineas, Appius Claudius) were canonical Roman tradition by Plutarch’s time.
    Secondary Sources
    • Champion, Jeff. Pyrrhus of Epirus. Pen and Sword, 2009. Solid military biography; best single-volume modern treatment.
    • Goldsworthy, Adrian. The Fall of the Roman Empire and The Roman Revolution. His treatment of the manpower argument frames why Pyrrhus’s strategy could not succeed regardless of tactical brilliance.
    • Hunt, Patrick. Hannibal. Discusses the ranking of Pyrrhus by Hannibal with appropriate skepticism about the Plutarch transmission.
    • “The Pyrrhic War.” Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. VII, Part 2. Standard academic overview with full source discussion.
    On the “Pyrrhic Victory” Phrase
    • The phrase “Pyrrhic victory” entered English usage in the seventeenth century CE, derived from the Plutarch account of Asculum. The underlying Greek tradition about Pyrrhus’s remark at Asculum—“another such victory and we are lost”—is reported in multiple ancient sources and generally accepted as historical in substance, though the exact words are Plutarch’s rendering.
    Note on Sources for the Italian Campaign
    • The Pyrrhic War is an area where ancient sources disagree substantially on numbers and sequencing. Casualty figures for Heraclea and Asculum should be treated as orders of magnitude rather than precise counts. Hieronymus of Cardia, cited through Plutarch, is the closest to a contemporary source and generally preferred by modern scholars over Dionysius.
    56 min
  • Episode 12. The Samnite Wars, Part Two: Sentinum and the Conquest of Italy
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Cicero. De Senectute; Valerius Maximus, Facta et Dicta Memorabilia. Preserve the main anecdotes about Manius Curius Dentatus, including the turnips story and the Samnite ambassadors.
    • Diodorus Siculus. Library of History. Books 19–21. Partial parallel account; less complete than Livy for this period but useful for cross-checking key events.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. Books 9–10. The principal narrative for the Second and Third Samnite Wars. Book 10 (covering 294 to 293 BCE) is particularly detailed and is regarded as among Livy’s stronger work for this period.
    • Livy. Periochae, Book 11. The summary of the now-lost eleventh book covers the final campaigns of the Third War, 292 to 290 BCE, including the capture of Gaius Pontius and the final peace.
    • Velleius Paterculus. Compendium of Roman History. Records the speech of Pontius Telesinus before the Colline Gate.
    • Waldron, Byron. “Fabius Maximus Rullianus and the Capture of Gavius Pontius.” Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, 2024. Examines the historicity of the final capture of Pontius and the father-son command of the Fabii.
    Secondary Sources
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Routledge, 1995. Essential on the Roman Italian alliance system and what the Samnite Wars meant structurally for Roman expansion.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press, 2005. Critical assessment of the Livy sources for the Third War and the problems with the Fabian family tradition.
    • Roberts, Mike. Rome’s Third Samnite War, 298–290 BC: The Last Stand of the Linen Legion. Pen and Sword, 2021. Recent detailed military history; good on the coalition-building, the Aquilonia campaign, and the final years.
    • Rosenstein, Nathan. Rome at War. University of North Carolina Press, 2004. On the human cost of continuous mobilization and its effects on Roman and Italian peasant households.
    • Salmon, E. T. Samnium and the Samnites. Cambridge University Press, 1967. The foundational study; still the most complete treatment of Samnite culture, politics, and the experience of the Roman conquest.
    56 min
  • Episode 11. The Samnite Wars, Part One: The Road to the Caudine Forks
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Appian. Samnite Wars. A fragmentary account that preserves some details not in Livy.
    • Cicero. De Re Publica; De Officiis. Several passages discuss the devotio, Manlius Torquatus, and the moral significance of the Latin War settlement.
    • Diodorus Siculus. Library of History. Books 16–19. A parallel Greek account; his silence on the First Samnite War is one of the principal reasons scholars question Livy’s account of that conflict.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. Books 7–9. The principal narrative for the First and Second Samnite Wars, the Latin War, and the Caudine Forks. Books 7–8 cover the First Samnite War and the Latin War; Book 9 opens with the Caudine disaster and covers the recovery.
    Secondary Sources
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Routledge, 1995. Essential on the Samnite Wars, the Latin War, and the settlement of 338 BCE. Cornell’s analysis of the citizenship spectrum remains the standard treatment.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press, 2005. Particularly useful on the historiographical problems of the First Samnite War and the reliability of Livy’s sources.
    • Goldsworthy, Adrian. The Fall of the West (2009) and Roman Warfare (2000). Good on the manipular army’s development and the military context of the Samnite Wars.
    • Rosenstein, Nathan. Rome at War. University of North Carolina Press, 2004. Essential on manpower, the economics of Roman military expansion, and what sustained warfare meant for the Roman peasant farmer.
    • Salmon, Edward Togo. Samnium and the Samnites. Cambridge University Press, 1967. The fundamental study of Samnite history, society, and culture; the most thorough treatment of the Samnites as a people rather than simply as Rome’s adversary.
    44 min
  • Episode 10. After the Fire: Rome Rebuilds and Rome Remembers
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Cicero. De Re Publica, Book II; De Officiis, Book III. On Ahala, Manlius, and the patrician duty tradition.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. Books VI–VII, translated by B. O. Foster, Loeb Classical Library; also translated by Betty Radice, Penguin Classics.
    • Plutarch. “Life of Camillus.” Makers of Rome, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert, Penguin Classics, 1965. The fullest account of the post-sack career.
    Secondary Sources
    • Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Profile Books, 2015. Chapter 5.
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Routledge, 1995. Chapters 14–15. Essential on the rebuilding and the Licinian-Sextian laws.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press, 2005. Chapters 10–11.
    • Richardson, L., Jr. A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. On the Servian Wall (pp. 434–435) and the temple of Concordia.
    On Marcus Manlius Capitolinus
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome, pp. 326–329; Livy VI.11–20.
    • Flower, Harriet. Roman Republics. Chapter 3, for the connection to the later populares tradition.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome, pp. 255–260, for the political interpretation.
    On the Manipular Reform
    • Adcock, F. E. The Roman Art of War under the Republic. Heffer, 1940.
    • Goldsworthy, Adrian. The Complete Roman Army. Thames and Hudson, 2003. Chapter 2.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. VIII.8, the best ancient narrative account; Polybius VI.19–26, the most detailed ancient description of how the system worked in practice.
    On Roman Emergency Procedure and the Calendar
    • Brunt, Peter. Italian Manpower 225 BC–AD 14. Oxford University Press, 1971.
    • Fowler, William Warde. The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic. Macmillan, 1899.
    On the Licinian-Sextian Laws and Camillus’s Role
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome, Chapter 15; Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome, Chapter 11; Livy VI.35–42.
    39 min
  • Episode 9. Vae Victis: The Gallic Sack of Rome
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Diodorus Siculus. Library of History. Books XIV–XV. Preserves the Greek dating tradition.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. Books V–VI, translated by B. O. Foster, Loeb Classical Library. Our fullest account.
    • Plutarch. “Life of Camillus.” Makers of Rome, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert, Penguin Classics, 1965.
    • Polybius. Histories. Book I.6. Important for the 387 BCE date.
    Secondary Sources
    • Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Profile Books, 2015. Chapter 5.
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Routledge, 1995. Chapters 13–14; pp. 308–322 on the date and historiographical problems.
    • Cunliffe, Barry. The Ancient Celts. Oxford University Press, 1997. On Gallic culture, warfare, and the carnyx.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press, 2005. Chapter 10.
    On Specific Topics
    • On Quintus Fabius Ambustus and the fetiales: Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome, pp. 314–316; Livy V.35–36.
    • On the civitas sine suffragio granted to Caere: Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome, Chapter 14; on the status of the Caerites as a model for later Roman provincial administration.
    32 min
  • Episode 8. Virtue and Its Discontents: Coriolanus, Cincinnatus, and Camillus
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities. Books VI–XIII. Fuller on Coriolanus than Livy.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. Books II–V, translated by B. O. Foster, Loeb Classical Library.
    • Plutarch. “Life of Coriolanus” and “Life of Camillus.” Makers of Rome, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert, Penguin Classics, 1965. Essential for both figures.
    Secondary Sources
    • Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Profile Books, 2015. Chapter 5.
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Routledge, 1995. Chapters 11–13.
    • Flower, Harriet. Roman Republics. Princeton University Press, 2010. On the civic virtue tradition.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press, 2005. Chapters 7–9.
    On Specific Figures and Episodes
    • On Coriolanus: Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome, pp. 338–340; Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome, pp. 205–210; for the Alcibiades pairing, see Plutarch’s introduction to the Life.
    • On Cincinnatus: Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome, pp. 229–234; for the Spurius Maelius episode, see Livy IV.13–16 and Dionysius XII.1–4.
    • On the fall of Veii: Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome, pp. 309–322; Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome, pp. 239–244; on the white-horses triumph, see Plutarch, Camillus 7.
    29 min
  • Episode 7. Rome and Its Neighbors, the World of the Early Republic
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities. Books VI–IX.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. Books II–V, translated by B. O. Foster, Loeb Classical Library; also translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt, Penguin Classics.
    • Polybius. Histories. Book VI, on the Roman army and its organization.
    Secondary Sources
    • Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. Profile Books, 2015. Chapter 5.
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Routledge, 1995. Chapters 11–12.
    • Flower, Harriet. Roman Republics. Princeton University Press, 2010. On the civic culture of the early Republic.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press, 2005. Chapters 7–8.
    • Goldsworthy, Adrian. The Complete Roman Army. Thames and Hudson, 2003. On equipment, camp life, and the citizen levy.
    On Specific Topics
    • On the siege of Veii and the introduction of pay: Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome, pp. 309–322; Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome, pp. 239–244.
    • On the Latin League and the Foedus Cassianum: Cornell, The Beginnings of Rome, Chapter 11; Forsythe, A Critical History of Early Rome, Chapter 7.
    27 min
  • Episode 6. The Struggle of the Orders, Part Two: Law in Bronze
    Works Cited Primary Sources
    • Cicero. De Re Publica, Book II; De Legibus, Books I–III; De Oratore, I.44.195, on schoolboys memorizing the Twelve Tables.
    • Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities. Books V–XI.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. Books II–X, translated by B. O. Foster, Loeb Classical Library; also translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt and Betty Radice, Rome and Italy, Penguin Classics, 1982.
    • Twelve Tables (Duodecim Tabulae). Fragments collected in E. H. Warmington, Remains of Old Latin, Vol. III, Loeb Classical Library, 1938; and Michael Crawford, ed., Roman Statutes, BICS Supplement 64, 1996.
    Secondary Sources
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Routledge, 1995. Chapters 10–12. Essential.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome. University of California Press, 2005. Chapters 6–8.
    • Lintott, Andrew. The Constitution of the Roman Republic. Oxford University Press, 1999. The standard reference on Republican institutions.
    • Mitchell, Richard. Patricians and Plebeians: The Origin of the Roman State. Cornell University Press, 1990.
    • Nicolet, Claude. The World of the Citizen in Republican Rome. University of California Press, 1980.
    • Raaflaub, Kurt, ed. Social Struggles in Archaic Rome: New Perspectives on the Conflict of the Orders. Blackwell, 2005.
    On the Decemvirate and the Verginia Story
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Pp. 272–280, on the historicity of the decemviral crisis.
    • Livy. Ab Urbe Condita. III.33–58, the primary account; extremely detailed and overtly literary in character.
    • Ogilvie, R. M. A Commentary on Livy, Books 1–5. Oxford University Press, 1965. Pp. 444–506.
    On the Twelve Tables
    • Crawford, Michael, ed. Roman Statutes. Vol. II, BICS Supplement 64, 1996. The authoritative scholarly edition.
    • Mommsen, Theodor. Römisches Staatsrecht. 1871–1888. Foundational, though dated.
    • Watson, Alan. Rome of the XII Tables: Persons and Property. Princeton University Press, 1975.
    On the Licinian-Sextian Laws
    • Cornell, T. J. The Beginnings of Rome. Pp. 334–340.
    • Develin, Richard. “The Integration of the Plebeians into the Roman Senatorial Class.” PhD thesis, University of Sydney, 1975.
    • Forsythe, Gary. A Critical History of Early Rome. Pp. 284–292, on the consular list inconsistencies.
    On Debt, Land, and Economic Inequality
    • Finley, Moses. The Ancient Economy. University of California Press, 1973.
    • Garnsey, Peter. Famine and Food Supply in the Graeco-Roman World. Cambridge University Press, 1988.
    • Harris, W. V. War and Imperialism in Republican Rome. Oxford University Press, 1979. On the relationship between warfare and economic disruption.
    On Women in the Struggle of the Orders
    • Gardner, Jane. Women in Roman Law and Society. Indiana University Press, 1986.
    • Treggiari, Susan. Roman Marriage. Oxford University Press, 1991.
    On the Urban Poor and Everyday Life
    • Purcell, Nicholas. “The City of Rome and the Plebs Urbana.” Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. IX, 2nd ed.
    • Wallace-Hadrill, Andrew. Rome’s Cultural Revolution. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
    40 min

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Real Roman History is a comprehensive, chronological account of Rome from its origins to its end—told with the depth the subject deserves. This is not a highlight reel. Every major figure, every…

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  1. Number 1: Episode 36. Sertorius: The Republic in Exile
    48 min
  2. Number 2: Trailer/Preview
    2 min
  3. Number 3: Episode 35. Sulla, Part Three: Dictatorship, Reform, and the Resignation
    28 min