We are thrilled to sit down with Neil, The Ancient Blogger and host of the Ancient History Hound podcast to explore space and place in the Roman regal period. Neil, or ancientblogger as he’s more commonly known, studied ancient history at degree level and then completed an MA in Classical Civilisation. Though he has a full time job he spends most of his time creating content on  Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok – just search for ancientblogger. He also has a website ancientblogger.com and several years ago started what is now the Ancient History Hound podcast, where he covers a wide array ..read more

Who is Servius Romanus you might ask? Well, in this episode we’re about to find out. But when we tell you it’ll be brief – we are telling only the truth! On the back of the putative introduction of pay for Roman soldiers in 406 BCE (a much disputed idea in scholarship), Rome is facing challenges from their neighbours. These challenges are coming from many directions, so it’s no doubt a relief when someone helps them out. Enter: Servius Romanus. Episode 149 – The Brief Life and Times of Servius Romanus Siege at Veii! Watch out Veii, Rome is coming for you! Veii seems to be well aware of the Rom ..read more

It is not often that we are fortunate enough to get to chat to one of our amazing guests a second time, but sometimes the gods are just that kind. We sat down to speak to the one and only Dr Victoria Austen about Augustus’ mausoleum. Special Episode – Augustus’ Mausoleum Dr Victoria Austen holds a MA and PhD from King’s College London. She has lectured in the Classics at the University of Winnipeg and is currently the Robert A. Oden, Jr. Postdoctoral Fellow for Innovation in the Humanities and Classics at Carleton College, Minnesota. Her monograph Analysing the Boundaries of the Roman Garden ..read more

Money, money, money! We’re in 406 BCE and although its well before ABBA’s pop hit, let’s this be a small hint of things to come. Rome finds itself in a bit of a tricky situation. Not only are they navigating the fallout of their conflict with the Volscians, but with the long running tensions with Veii seem to be coming to a head. Episode 148 – It’s All About the Money, Honey! There’s a distinct lack of enthusiasm for more fighting from the people who would be levied. Things are not looking positive on the morale front! Combine that with some meddlesome tribunes of the plebs and the recipe is r ..read more

This is a very exciting special episode all about the Roman military. We were incredibly fortunate to speak to an expert in the field about the Roman army in the early and middle republic.  Special Episode – The Early Roman Military with Dr Bret Devereaux Dr Bret Devereaux is a historian specialising in the ancient world and military history. He holds a PhD in ancient history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MA in classical civilizations from Florida State University. He teaches at North Carolina State University.  His research interests include the Roman e ..read more

Back in 409 BCE, the Romans had captured the fortifications of Verrugo from their Volscian foe. Unfortunately, in this episode we must discuss the bloody fall of Verrugo. Episode 147 – The Fall of Verrugo The Romans had seized Verrugo after Carventum was retaken by the Aequians, allies of the Volscians. Verrugo was located in Volscian territory to the south of Rome. This had seemed like a huge triumph as they had secured lots of booty along with the fort. In 407 BCE, the garrison that had been left behind sent an urgent message for help, hidden in a small droid. The Romans took their sweet tim ..read more

It’s here! We delve into the wonderful world of Roman names. How do we understand who’s who? How did the Romans understand who was who? We’re here to consider the complexities of Roman naming conventions. Special Episode – Roman Naming Conventions We look into some of the key elements of the Roman naming conventions of the Republic and the Early Imperial period. This includes the praenomen (the first name), the nomen (a reference to the clan or gens that the person came from), the cognomen (this name could have a variety of meanings!), and the agnomen (nickname). This is by no means the extent ..read more

We’ve all been waiting for YEARS for this… more power to the plebs! Yes, you heard us correctly. For once, the patricians will not get exactly what they want. Episode 145 – Power to the Plebs Icilii, Icilii, Icilii It is 409 BCE and another exciting year in the conflict of the orders (allegedly). The plebeians were enraged when elections were held for consuls instead of military tribunes with consular power. The plebeians decided to channel the advice of the First Wives Club. Don’t get mad, get everything! Denied the chance to elect their hero from the previous year, the plebeians rallied toge ..read more

What a confusing decade the 410s have been. It’s definitely time for a Partial Recap! We run through what the ancient sources tell us about this decade. The Partial Recap – The 410s BCE Want to get all the details? Jump in at Episode 140: The Commonwealth of Slaves. Sound Credits Our music was composed by Bettina Joy de Guzman. Transcript Dr Rad – Welcome to the Partial Recap for the 410s BCE! Dr G – I’m Dr G  Dr Rad: and I’m Dr Rad Dr G: and this is our highlights edition of the 410s in Rome. We’ll take you through from 419 to 410 in an epitome of our normal episodes.  Dr Rad: Perf ..read more

Carventum enters the annalistic narrative of Rome and raises some questions. But in order to get there, we need to consider what Rome faces in 411 BCE. And it seems that the Roman elite are having a run on consuls recently, which, if we follow Livy, means that the plebeians continue to be locked out of the highest magistracy… Episode 144 – Where in the World is Carventum? 411 BCE – A Year Better Forgotten? Sadly there’s not much to report about 411 BCE and what there is to know if the kind of thing the Romans would probably rather forget. Turns out that there’s a pestilence on the loose! To co ..read more