You know that the Partial Historians can’t resist talking about Ancient Rome on film, so we were thrilled to chat to Dr Jeremiah McCall about his book, Swords and Cinema.

Who is our special guest?

Dr Jeremiah McCall (or DMac as his students call him) is a teacher at Cincinnati Country Day School in Ohio with a PhD in Ancient History. 

Along with an interest in Roman military and political systems in the Republic, he has done a lot of work on pedagogy of using video games to learn about history, publishing Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History in 2022. 

He divides his research time between historical game studies and Roman history. Dr McCall’s other publications include The Cavalry of the Roman Republic (2002); the Sword of Rome (2012), Clan Fabius: Defenders of Rome (2018) and Rivalries that Destroyed the Roman Republic (2022). 

Manly Men

We will touch on the battle scenes and depiction of the Roman military in all your favourite Roman movies and TV shows.

Things to look out for:

·        The defeat of Spartacus - Spartacus vs. Rome: The Last Battle

·        The battle of Alessia (52 BCE) in HBO’s Rome - Rome Fighting with Gauls HD

·        The battle of Philippi in HBO’s Rome - HBO Rome - Battle of Philippi (Battle only)

·        The opening battle sequence in Gladiator (2000) - Gladiator 2000 Opening Battle

·        And a bit on Centurion (2010) and The Eagle (2011) to finish!

·        The Eagle | Channing Tatum Fends Off A Midnight Sneak Attack

·        The Eagle | Channing Tatum Leads Roman Centurions Into Battle

·        Centurion 2010 Best movie Scene HD

·        Plus some things that get set on fire!

You will need your popcorn for this special episode!

Our music is by Bettina Joy de Guzman. 

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire

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The sacred geese have attempted to save Rome, but the siege of the Gauls is still not over! What could possibly happen next? We continue our deep dive into the events purported to all take place In 390 BCE.

Despite the Romans apparently being surprised by the Gauls turning up on their doorstep, the Gauls have been in northern Italy for some time as far as we can trace archaeological evidence. The rumours that the Gauls came to central Italy in the search for cooler weather, but instead what they find is a city of Romans, and as the siege drags on, hygiene starts to emerge as a problem.

The siege is getting tedious for both sides, so amidst the military encounters, conversations start about maybe bringing the siege to a close through mutual agreement. The details of the siege consequences include lack of food, issues with cadavers, and spread of disease. And it seems neither the Romans or the Gauls want to keep going with this situation.

Those Gauls are pretty cheeky in the moment of coming to a monetary agreement to ensure they’ll pack up their siege and leave Roman territory. Not only to they ask for 1000 pounds of gold, but they have the nerve to add some extra items to the scales to encourage the Romans to pay even more than this sum. Perhaps even worse, are our sources really telling us a story of Rome resisting the Gauls, or could it be the case that ALL the city was taken and the Romans were legitimately and completely defeated? We explore the possibilities. 

Is he in Ardea pumping out a training montage with the locals in preparation to swoop in and rescue Rome? Or is waiting in the wings but misses his cue to come on stage leaving Rome to deal with the Gauls all by themselves? Our sources have some disagreements which we’ll delve into.

• An origin story for Jupiter Pistor (Jupiter ‘the baker’)
• The centrality or not of Camillus to the siege narrative
• Important references to “Eye of the Tiger” 
• What are the Gauls interested in?
• What might colour the Romans’ perceptions of the Gauls?
• Where did the Romans find 1000 POUNDS of gold????
• The role of the Roman matrons in saving the City
• The tricky legacy of who paid the ransom to the Gauls and what happens afterwards…

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Marc Hyden returns to the show to discuss the life and times about the second Flavian emperor Titus. The Flavians were the second dynasty of the imperial period extending from 69 CE until the assassination of Domitian in 96 CE. Titus’ reign is short, but significant. We sit down with Marc to consider details of Titus’ rule of Rome and its impact across the Mediterranean, particularly involving Judaea.

Marc’s book Emperor Titus: The Right Hand of Vespasian (2025) is out now and explores at lot of the contextual details that helps us appreciate Titus’ rule as emperor from 79-81 CE.

Nero’s death leads to a period of political chaos in Rome. If you’re keen to delve into the notorious Year of the Four Emperors, we recommend checking out our interview with Dr Rob Cromarty.

Once the dust settles, the military general Vespasian ends up as the top dog in Rome. From unlikely beginnings, Vespasian sets up the Flavian family for dominance over the next thirty years and his eldest son, Titus, was his right-hand man.

It is impossible to truly understand the Flavians’ rise without considering the foothold that they had in Judaea. Military actions in the east were part and parcel of the Roman empire, but the particulars of Vespasian as the Roman general in Judaea when relationships broke down means that Vespasian (and thus the Flavians) are substantially enriched by the sack of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Marc takes us through some of the key details including Josephus’ role in the conflict, the riots across the region

Apparently you can be a Roman a war, but still fall in love with a lady from the local aristocracy. The story of Titus and Berenice is one of the most interesting details of the Flavian era, and we don’t know as much about their relationship than we’d like, but there’s enough gossip to create something of a historical record! Tune in for the details of their seemingly on-again, off-again liaison.  

Titus comes into full imperial power on the natural death of his father Vespasian and, oh boy, is he busy. He rules over the eruption of Vesuvius, he formally opens the Flavian Amphitheatre (aka the Colosseum), not to mention a pestilence. With all this busyness, we can only wonder how his reign would have gone if he lived for longer. But sadly it is not to be. Titus dies after a short but intense illness opening wide speculation about the cause of death. We explore some here.

• Questions about the reliability of Suetonius (shock! horror!)
• Titus, the playboy?
• The marriages of Titus and Arrecina Tertulla and Marcia Furnilla
• The role of Praetorian Prefect
• Josephus’ account of the war in Judaea
• An important farm house in Sabine country

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome

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We’re back with more exciting episodes from the infamous Gallic sack of Rome.

The Bermuda Triangle? Or the Holy Trinity?

We have action in three different locations in this episode – Camillus in Ardea, the remnants of the Roman army in Veii and the Romans under siege on the Capitoline.

The siege had entered a fairly quiet stage where little was happening on either side. It was at this point that one of the Fabian clan decided that his duty to the gods was worth more than his life. Gaius Fabius Dorsuo calmy descended from the Capitol, past the stunned Gauls and went off to the Quirinal to perform an annual sacrifice that was part of Fabian tradition. His piety so impressed the Gauls that they allowed him to pass, unscathed.

The Romans in Veii had selected the centurion, Quintus Caedicius as their commander. They were growing in numbers as stragglers who fled during the attack sought refuge. Latin allies also joined the Romans.

It depends on which account you read as to what happened next. Livy claims that the forces at Veii decide that they have had enough beauty sleep and now they want Camillus recalled from exile so they can seek their vengeance. Other sources indicate that they were just trying to get word to their fellow Romans that they were, in fact, ALIVE! Either way, a sprightly young man named Publius Cominus was selected to travel to the besieged city and smuggle himself onto the Capitol to deliver his message.

The Return of Camillus

Whichever version you believe, somehow Camillus worms his way back into our narrative, and our hearts. Naturally, Camillus would not set foot outside of Ardea without all the paperwork being in order, but once his exile was officially over, he was ready to step into the role of dictator.

However, Camillus was still packing his bags when the Gauls noticed a possible route up the top of Capitoline. It meant scaling up a cliff face, so surely the Romans would never suspect it. It’s so crazy, it just might work.

Slowly, the Gauls helped each other to make the difficult climb. They were so quiet, the Roman dogs did not hear the coming. But the sacred geese sure did! They caused such a ruckus that Marcus Manlius woke up and realised what was going on. This allowed him to arouse the other Romans and lead the charge against the attackers. It gets pretty grisly at this point. Best case scenario: the Gauls were hurled to their deaths. Worst case… you’ll have to listen to find out!

Things to Look Out For:

·        Far too many songs from Dr Rad

·        Sustainable travel, Roman-style

·        LOTS of piety

·        A kamikaze Fabian

On a serious note, please be aware that this episode does include discussion of animal cruelty. 

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome

Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire

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In this episode, we discuss one of the more tragic episodes from the Gallic sack of Rome.

We Who Are About to Die…

The Romans who have remained in the city take up their defensive positions on the Capitol. The old patricians did not join them. Instead, their retired to their houses. Wearing their old robes of state, they settled down in the middle of their houses on ivory chairs to await the end.

Livy reports that some of his accounts indicate that the pontifex maximus (chief priest) led the ex-magistrates in a vow, in which they were devoting themselves to death for the sake of the city and its citizens.

The Gauls found their blood had cooled; after all, they had not had to fight the Romans to seize control of the city. They had just wandered in. They could see that the Capitol had been fortified, so they kept an eye on that area. However, it was time to go SHOPPING! All these abandoned streets and houses – it was theirs for the taking.

After some pillaging and plundering, the Gauls touched base again in the Forum. The plebeian houses in the area were locked up – they weren’t taking any chances whilst they were out of town. But the houses of the elite were mysteriously open.

As the Gauls entered the patrician dwellings, a shocking sight met their eyes. The old ex-magistrates, sitting as still as statues, dressed in their robes of state, just waiting for them. Not quite believing their eyes, one of the Gauls reached out to touch the beard of one of the patricians. How rude! The patrician clocked him in the head with an ivory mace. The Gauls were not going to show restraint now. The patricians were slain, the houses of the Roman citizens looted, and finally, the city was set on fire.

But not the whole city – these Gauls weren’t FOOLS! They wanted to keep a bargaining chip in their back pockets. Maybe these pesky Romans on the citadel might surrender to save their homes?

The Romans in question were in their own kind of hell as they sat on the Capitol and had to watch the destruction. Fortune had turned her back on them.

Did this mean that the Romans were going to give up? It most certainly did NOT! When the Gauls finally assaulted the Capitol, the Romans were ready for them. They managed to hold the line. If the Gauls wanted to seize all of Rome, they were going to have to settle in for a siege.

As the Gauls made themselves comfortable and set about plundering the countryside, over in Ardea, the exiled Camillus heard of the attack on Rome. What could he do? Could he possibly whip up an inspirational speech and persuade the Ardeates to fight the Gallic invaders? You betcha!

Things to Look Out For:

·        Dazzling rhetoric

·        Far too much bloodshed

·        Silent, manly tears from the Romans on the Capitol

·        Ye olde time Roman racism

·        The Gauls putting on a SHOW of destruction for the Romans

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Marcus Furius Camillus is an ancient Roman that it is hard to ignore, especially in the early days of the 4th century BCE. He has been regularly popping up in our episodes from the era, so we thought it would be wonderful to invite on a special guest to discuss his whole life in one handy biographic episode.

Who is Marc Hyden?

Marc Hyden is the Director of State Government Affairs at a Washington DC-based think tank, as well as being a weekly columnist for the Newnan Times-Herald, Albany Herald, and Rome News-Tribune. Marc graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in philosophy. 

Marc has authored many, many books on Ancient Rome. His most recent work is Emperor Titus: The Right Hand of Vespasian (McFarland, 2025), and we will be talking with him about that in a future episode. He has also authored Gaius Marius: The Rise and Fall of Rome’s Saviour (Pen & Sword, 2017), Romulus: The Legend of Rome's Founding Father (Pen & Sword, 2020), but our focus today is going to be on Marcus Furius Camillus: The Life of Rome’s Second Founder (Pen & Sword, 2023).

Things to Listen Out For:

·        Camillus’ controversies

·        Camillus’ rise to fame

·        The many virtues of Camillus

·        The legacy of this Roman hero

We are sure you will love hearing Marc talk about Camillus, the man who served as a role model for later Roman luminaries like Julius Caesar and Augustus.

If you would like to hear more, we have a stack of episodes in our back catalogue that feature Camillus. 

Sound Credits

Our music is by Bettina Joy de Guzman

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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We rejoin the Romans and the Gauls in 390 BCE at the place where the Tiber river intersects with the Alia river. Turns out that when a bunch of Fabians upset the Gauls, those Gauls decide to march south towards Rome… How many Gauls and how many Romans met at the rivers’ edge? Well, the numbers are probably unreliable but the Romans are pretty sure they are outnumbered.

There seems to be a few issues at this moment including the Roman failure to build a proper camp and - even worse - failure to take the auspices. Is this some foreshadowing from our friend Livy?

Stay tuned for a discussion of the slim layout of the Roman forces. Brennus, the putative leader of the Gauls, seems to be uncertain that there may be some secret tactic or force that he hasn’t been able to account for. There’s also the problem of which bank of the river the battle takes place on which may influence where Roman forces end up. 

Will the Romans take the day or will they flail in the face of the Gallic strength? Are there some tactics involved that scholars can discern from the literary accounts that aren’t immediately obvious?

When the day goes against Rome, the retreat seems to be chaotic. Some of the Romans retreat to Rome, which makes sense, and some retreat to Veii. This creates a host of uncertainty for the Romans who survive particularly those who head back to Rome and don’t find their comrades there. The assumption of Roman losses is significant.

The Gauls meanwhile continue to suspect that there is a surprise attack from the Romans coming, but after some time they decide it’s worth marching on Rome just to see what they can see.  

• Gauls getting ‘organised’ after Alia
• The priestesses of Vesta get involved
• General Akbar and the Gauls coming together
• The role of the citadel on the Capitoline Hill
• The Gauls confused about Rome - the city?
• How does the levy of the Roman army work in this moment?
• The security of the sacred objects of Rome
• The Vestal Virgins on the move!
• What happens to the eldest noble Romans now the Gauls are at the gates
• Lucius Albinus - ’the noble Plebeian’?

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome

Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire

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We’re about to embark on a stunning period of Rome’s history in the middle Republic. Strap yourself in, this one is going to a take more a couple of episodes. We are, of course, dealing with the years that were 391/390 BCE. We begin with some of the important details that emerge for the latter part of 391 BCE which will have flow on effects for 390 BCE, which is the big ticket year that we’ll be navigating in this episode.

The title may have given a little away, but the Gauls are in Italy. North Italy specifically, but they are going to be travelling south and pretty soon they arrive on the doorstep of Clusium.

The Etruscan people of the city of Clusium seek support from the Romans. Unusual, yes, good for storytelling, also yes. Clusium is deep in Etruscan territory and yet it seems the Romans are willing to send a delegation to see what the Gaulish fuss is all about. The delegation is made up solely of Fabians, who are apparently meant to be neutral, but that aspect of the situation falls away pretty quickly when one of them kills a leader of the Gauls...

Rome (and particularly the Fabians) have really upset the Gauls so much so, that the Gauls make a bee-line for Rome moving swiftly through Etruscan territory to arrive at the point where the Tiber meets the Alia, just north of Rome. The speed of the Gallic movement catches the Romans off-guard and that's just the beginning of their woes.

• Who is King Brennus?
• “All things belong to the brave”
• Quintus Fabius gets right out of line
• The Gauls send envoys to Rome
• Diodorus Siculus - more accurate than Livy?
• Did Dionysius of Syracuse hire the Gauls as mercenaries?
• The search for somewhere cool?

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We are thrilled to sit down with Dr Francesca Fulminante to chat all about the development of settlements in central Italy from the Bronze Age to the Archaic Period of Rome. Dr Fulminante shares insights from her recent monograph: The Rise of Early Rome - Transportation Networks and Domination in Central Italy, 1050-500 BCE  (2023) (Cambridge University Press).

This is a period where archaeological investigation reigns supreme requiring researchers to get into the nitty gritty layers of settlement patterns and trading networks. We’re thrilled to learn from Dr Fulminante as her research involves the investigation of complex societies in central Italy during the Bronze Age, looking at things like social stratification, settlement organisation, and craft community practices. Dr Fulminate is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Bristol, and is an Associate Professor at University Roma Tre. Her work also involves offering continuing education training at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

Coming to grips with the early evidence for Rome and central Italy involves understanding some of the overlapping terminology used by archaeologists and historians, who are coming to the evidence from different perspectives. Terms like the Bronze Age and Iron Age come to us from archaeology and anthropology while specific periods like the Archaic period and Early Roman Republic are much more society specific and tend to come from historians. This overlap can create a little bit of confusion, so here’s a rough breakdown (including some of the overlapping terms):

• The Early Bronze Age: 2300-1700 BCE
• The Middle Bronze Age: 1700-1350 BCE
• The Recent Bronze Age: 1350-1150 BCE
• The Final Bronze Age: 1150-950 BCE
• Iron Age: c. 1200- c. 500 BCE
• Villanovan Culture: c. 900-700 BCE (Etruscan)
• The Orientalising Period: c. 700-500 BCE (Etruscan)
• The Archaic Period: 800-500 BCE (Rome)
• The Early Republic: 509-400 BCE (Rome)

Dr Fulminante takes us through the early settlements of the Bronze Age and the transition to permanent structures in stone rather than perishable materials that occurs in from the 8th century BCE onwards. What does the evidence suggest for the development of ancient cities and the interconnections between them? Tune in to find out!

Things to listen out for:

• V. Gordon Childe’s ten defining features for an ancient city
• Connectivity in central Italy as an essential feature of the growth of cities
• Burial under the houses
• The movement of cities from east to west versus the network development theory
• How transportation networks develop from a physical perspective
• How transportation networks are are influenced by political organisation and relationships
• The way roads and rivers work together to create a network
• The connections between Latium vetus (old Latium) and Etruria (north of the Tiber)
• Cooperative networks versus centralised hierarchical networks

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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391 BCE is jam-packed with action, but the event that stands out is the arrival of the Gauls in centre stage. It’s time to surf the Celtic Wave!

Revenge is Sweet… and Easy

The year began well for the Romans as they recovered from the pestilence that had caused such havoc the year before. Finally, they were strong enough to take down the Sappinates and the Volsinii who had tried to take advantage of their illness. Scoundrels! And it wasn’t hard at all – these guys barely put up a fight!

Portent for a Pleb

In spite of their success on the battlefield, there were signs of trouble ahead. A humble plebeian, Marcus Caedicius, heard a god speak to him in the dead of the night whilst he was on the Nova Via. The god (Aius Locutius, the speaking voice) told him that the Gauls were coming and that he had to let the magistrates know right away! The magistrates showed zero interest in anything this lowly pleb had to say. Um, why was this lowly man even talking to them? Didn’t he know they were patricians? And the Gauls? They were so far away, the Romans had barely even heard of them! Ridiculous. 

Ciao, Camillus!

Arrogance continued to be a problem for the Romans. Having ignored a message from the GODS, they now turned on the best man who ever lived, Camillus. The last thing Camillus needed was drama as his young son had just passed away. However, the tribune of the plebs, Lucius Apuleius, cared not. He was coming after Camillus over the way he had handled the spoils captured from Veii. Rather than wait around to be convicted, Camillus went into exile – but not before asking the gods to make the Romans rue the day they had driven him away! Pretty please, gods of Rome, prove his innocence and put them in a situation which only Camillus could fix. Then they’d have to come back on their knees!

Getting Close to Clusium

Envoys from the Etruscan city of Clusium now arrived in Rome, seeking help against some troublesome Gauls who had arrived in their neighbourhood. This seems like an odd turn of events for so many reasons. The Romans did not have a strong relationship with Clusium. This was an Etruscan city quite some distance to the north. Perhaps they had been inspired by Rome’s performance against Volsinii? Although the exact details are questionable, there is no doubt that Gallic tribes had migrated into northern Italy. There are many stories associated with this Celtic wave, including some family intrigue, the lure of Etruscan fruits, wine – oh, and land! We wish we had more accounts from the Gauls/ Celts themselves, but we have to let the archaeology speak for them. The evidence confirms Celtic migration over the Alps and into northern Italy from the 5th century BCE and Livy seems to have been inspired by Herodotus in his own account of the varied Celtic peoples who crossed the Alps. Livy believes that it was the Senones tribe who rocked up at Clusium in the early 4th century, one the last to make the move. Although there is little archaeological evidence to suggest contact between these groups, let’s not interrupt Livy’s narrative. The people of Clusium were freaked out by these strangers and decided to turn to Rome. Surely the Romans would remember that they had not helped Veii out during the recent war? That must count for something? The Romans were not so sure. They decided to send the three sons of Marcus Fabius Ambustus as ambassadors to have a wee chat with the Gauls. They would issue a stern warning and hope that the new arrivals went on their merry way. No one wants a war, guys! In fact, the Romans would love to make new friends. How did the Senones respond? You’ll have to tune in for our epic multi-episode coverage of 390 BCE! 

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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