Month: March 2010

Severus had two sons, Caracalla and Geta.  Their mother was his second wife, Julia Domna. She was a great beauty and also a friend and patron of artists and writers. …

Right click on the link to download Severus Podcast (Control Click on the Mac) or just click it to listen now.   Sending a severed head is rarely a sign…

Right click on the link to download Civil War Podcast (Control Click on the Mac) or just click it to listen now.   Augustus had discovered that you could get…

One of the things I love about the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is the artful way analysis and commentary are slipped in just where they seem to…

Away from Rome things were going badly. In Gaul and Spain troops deserted and set up in bands to make a living by raiding the cities. When a belated crack…

Commodus. Not a noble character. Gibbon thought that he was more weak than evil. But perhaps it isn't very meaningful to make judgements. After all, the early life of Commodus…

If you want to be an emperor, the easiest way is to be born into it.

The whole History Books Review organisation was saddened to hear this week of the death of Michael Foot. In addition to his career as a politician he was of course also a historian of some note and his biography of Aneurin Bevan is on the list of books I intend to review. This particular book is interesting as an example of a history of his own time written by a participant in that history. This is quite a rare thing nowadays.