podcast – blog

Theoderic The Great Was A Barbarian General Cloaked In The Language And Political Concepts Of The Past

As the central institutions of the Roman Empire in the west crumbled and the provinces splintered off and went their own way over the course of the fifth century, new kingdoms popped up to take their place. Today, we tend to identify these new political units with specific barbarian groups: the Visigoths in southwest…

The Late Roman Empire Army Was A Changing, But Still Massive, Force

If there’s one piece of the Roman Empire that has managed to weave its way into popular culture, it’s the army. Every decade or so, we get a new movie featuring the heroics of a Russell Crowe (Gladiator), Clive Owen (King Arthur), or Michael Fassbender (Centurion, which is an awesome action flick), and images of…