Relevant History Dan Toler

In the first century BC, the Roman Republic is expanding rapidly across the Mediterranean basin. As the legions venture eastward into Anatolia, the Romans are able to divide and conquer all of their enemies, except for one: Mithridates VI of Pontus, also known as the Poison King.
 
Mithridates is more than a mere historical figure; he’s a mythic hero, born under the sign of a shooting star and nearly murdered by his own mother before spending much of his youth in the wilderness. These details may sound made up, but truth is often stranger than fiction, and the story of Mithridates is one of the strangest ever told.
 
Map of Anatolia during Mithridates’ reign: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/Asia_Minor_in_the_Greco-Roman_period_-_general_map_-_regions_and_main_settlements.jpg
 
My Interview with Sean McFadden of Deep Noetics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eecCdz7cbug
 
SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE!
Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF
Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo
Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q
Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub  
Relevant History on Twitter/X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk
Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm
Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4
 
Episode transcript (90% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRmqvP5OKsISkJeh798lUhzBaublU3RwXtQJm78gx0jBSn5i5rM7PlmXIC7RXxs2G6bjymLQKKX8Kgn/pub
Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan
 
SOURCES:
Appian: https://www.livius.org/sources/content/appian/appian-the-mithridatic-wars/
Cassius Dio: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html
Justin: https://www.attalus.org/translate/justin6.html#37.1
Livy: https://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/baker-the-history-of-rome-vol-6 (Livy’s work on Mithridates is lost. Only a summary remains.)
Philip Matyszak, Mithridates the Great, Rome’s Indomitable Enemy: https://www.everand.com/read/444975669/Mithridates-the-Great-Rome-s-Indomitable-Enemy
Adrienne Mayor, The Poison King, the Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy
Valerius Maximus: http://attalus.org/info/valerius.html
Brian McGing, The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus: https://archive.org/details/foreignpolicyofm0000mcgi/page/n13/mode/2up
Brian McGing (Encyclopaedia Iranica article on Pontus): https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/pontus
Plutarch’s Parallel Lives:
                -Sulla https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Sulla*.html
                -Lucullus https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Lucullus*.html
                -Pompey https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Pompey*.html
                -Sertorius https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Sertorius*.html
Rank-Raglan mythotype and scores: https://everything.explained.today/Rank%E2%80%93Raglan_mythotype/
Laurence M. V. Totelin (study on antidote): https://www.jstor.org/stable/4130095?read-now=1&seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Bonus Episode – Why Capitalists Make the Best Communists
In this bonus episode, Dan delves into the nitty-gritty of far-left politics and the history of various ideologies dedicated to the establishment of communism.
Then he asks the question: What if the best way to build an egalitarian utopia is via the power of capitalism?
Apologies for the constant birdsong in the background. It was a gorgeous day and I decided to record with the window open. Never again!
SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE!
Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF
Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo
Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q
Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub  
Relevant History on Twitter/X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk
Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm
Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4
Episode transcript (90% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQJPex4SmcO4a7c-p2sh7OEz0VaDlS1_oxinP_qlwWz5IhxwBgGnkyYw11LPKY6XxzmsdevibU40VYL/pub           
Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan

In the sixth and final installment on the French Revolution, Dan takes a deep dive into one of history’s most influential and controversial figures: Napoleon Bonaparte.
After winning victory for France in Northern Italy, the brilliant young general has the attention of the French Directory. A campaign in Egypt and victory in another war will put Napoleon in a position to become Emperor. But across the English Channel, Great Britain continues a naval blockade and a diplomatic campaign to unite Europe against the new French Empire.
To hold onto power, Napoleon will battle a series of coalitions, each time hoping it will be the last. Win or lose, one thing is certain: Europe – and the world – will never be the same.
NOTE: Because this is a very long episode, I have included timestamps for each chapter at the end of this description.
 
SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE!
Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF
Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo
Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q
Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub  
 
Relevant History on Twitter/X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk
Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm
Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4
 
Episode transcript (90% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSX7OwjHODNJxt3aNlynA1e2SPLsHaavqDrhe4RmhOWBJwB23UlY84yO6nIXdutScKLplri9xQVUIwi/pub
Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan
 
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS:
Introduction – 0:00:00
Chapter 1: The French Directory – 0:5:09
Chapter 2: The Invasion of Egypt – 0:33:03
Chapter 3: The Second Directory – 0:55:04
Chapter 4: Napoleon Takes Command – 1:10:32
Chapter 5: The War of the Second Coalition – 1:41:18
Chapter 6: The French Consulate – 2:20:01
Chapter 7: A Changing Continent – 2:47:07
Chapter 8: Emperor Napoleon – 3:08:54
Chapter 9: The War of the Third Coalition – 3:32:04
Chapter 10: Austerlitz – 3:52:41
Chapter 11: The End of an Empire – 4:13:22
Chapter 12: The War of the Fourth Coalition – 4:30:35
Chapter 13: The Continental System and the Peninsular War – 4:48:09
Chapter 14: Re-Painting the Map of Europe – 5:02:30
Chapter 15: The War of the Fifth Coalition – 5:21:38
Chapter 16: Life in Napoleonic France – 5:42:49
Chapter 17: Spies and Diplomats – 5:54:01
Chapter 18: The Grande Armée – 6:10:27
Chapter 19: The Arson of Moscow – 6:31:46
Chapter 20: The War of 1812 – 6:41:45
Chapter 21: The War of the Sixth Coalition – 6:49:15
Chapter 22: The Fall of an Emperor – 7:28:24
Chapter 23: Elba – 7:44:39
Chapter 24: The Bourbon Restoration – 7:56:20
Chapter 25: The March to Paris – 8:13:11
Chapter 26: The Hundred Days – 8:28:31
Chapter 27: Waterloo – 8:43:24
Chapter 28: The Death of a Legend – 9:02:22
Chapter 29: The World After Napoleon – 9:14:19
Epilogue: What Did the French Revolution Achieve? – 9:42:38

The Reign of Terror reaches a climax when the French Revolutionaries begin to turn on one another. Jacques Hébert and Georges Danton are executed, and Robespierre rules briefly as a dictator, verging on a god-king. After the Festival of the Supreme Being, he too will face the guillotine.

When the young French Republic declares war on the Netherlands, all hell breaks loose. Within a month, the French find themselves facing a coalition that includes Austria, Prussia, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, and most of Italy.
At home, a counter-revolution in the rural Vendee region threatens to tear the country in two, and smaller federalist revolts break out in several major cities. In Paris, Robespierre and the Mountain seize control of the government from the Girondins, and send a flurry of people to the guillotine.
SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE!
Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF
Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo
Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q
Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub  
Relevant History on Twitter/X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk
Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm
Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4
Episode transcript (90% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRusOl_rHgnMfqWl2_2gfj95U_IWl5Jfqh8xm9edKVP5iOZ76DH9nk6QnqVSXwFKe9Xpk_3SDjhVsG6/pub
Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan

After the Flight to Varennes, the Parisian public turns decisively against Louis XVI. The French constitutional monarchy teeters on the brink, reliant on a war with Austria to maintain public confidence. When the war turns against France, the French people turn against their government and overthrow the King for good.
A new legislature is formed, and the revolutionaries struggle to achieve their goals on the battlefield and in politics. Meanwhile, the French Revolution cannot move forward with a deposed King who sits in limbo. As 1792 comes to a close, Louis XVI is put on trial for his life.
***CONTENT WARNING***
Since we’re coming up on the Reign of Terror and a lot of people are about to get guillotined, the last portion of this episode is an addendum on the history of capital punishment. This addendum covers both the pre-modern and modern world, and I talk about both state and non-state actors. There are graphic descriptions of torture and execution, so proceed with caution.
SUBSCRIBE TO RELEVANT HISTORY, AND NEVER MISS AN EPISODE!
Relevant History Patreon: https://bit.ly/3vLeSpF
Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/38bzOvo
Subscribe on Apple Music (iTunes): https://apple.co/2SQnw4q
Subscribe on Any Platform: https://bit.ly/RelHistSub  
Relevant History on Twitter/X: https://bit.ly/3eRhdtk
Relevant History on Facebook: https://bit.ly/2Qk05mm
Official website: https://bit.ly/3btvha4
Episode transcript (90% accurate): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSyb6ZCzMdX7smyU089I2hTLvboZamoo7WXWBYlTRXAld0Tszm80D5g1_e2MYW8x0HwNAR_yNxRd71K/pub
Music credit: Sergey Cheremisinov - Black Swan