The Pax Romana Podcast

Professor Colin Elliott
  • 4.9 (29)
  • HISTORY
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY
The Pax Romana Podcast

The assassination of Julius Caesar 2,000 years ago unleashed a wild era of Roman emperors, dark conspiracies, intense battles, economic booms and busts and profound religious shifts. Was this truly the Roman Empire's golden age? On the weekly Pax Romana Podcast, Historian Colin Elliott brings gripping stories from Roman history to life. Dive into history starting in episode 1 , or pick your poison from our catalogue: the birth of the empire in the Age of Augustus, Nero's Great Fire, the rise of Christianity, the wisdom and wars of Marcus Aurelius or the military chaos of the third century AD.

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    The Plague of Cyprian - The Pax Romana Podcast 75

    In AD 249, the Plague of Cyprian swept through the Roman Empire. Named after Cyprian of Carthage, who vividly described its horrors, this plague led to loss of life and increased imperial destabilization during an already turbulent time. Accounts from Cyprian and Dionysius of Alexandria highlight the plague's severity, noting it seemed to threaten the very existence of humanity. At the same time, the emperor Trajan Decius issued an edict requiring universal sacrifice to Roman gods across the entire Empire, putting Christians in the crosshairs. How did the Christian community respond to both the plague and the persecution under Decius?

    17 min

  2. FEB 14

    The Collapse of the Roman Peace - The Pax Romana Podcast 74

    The Crisis of the Third Century began with the assassination of Severus Alexander, leading to Maximinus Thrax's brief and unpopular rule. Maximinus treated Rome like his own personal piggy bank--looting everything from senatorial estates, to local funds for festivals and celebrations. he was assinated in AD 238, also known as the Year of the Six Emperors. By the end of that year, a pre-teen boy sat alone on the throne. It was his task to try to save a beleaguered and besieged Roman Empire.

    18 min

  3. FEB 5

    The Collapse of the Roman Monetary System - The Pax Romana Podcast 73

    The Roman monetary system--one of the worlds most stable and trusted monetary systems for nearly 500 years, seems to have collapsed in the third century AD. Rapid debasements made Roman silver coins nearly valueless. This economic instability may have prompted inhabitants of the Roman Empire to stop using currency in some regions. In just the AD 270s alone, prices rose by around 1,000%. What happened to Roman currency and could anything have been done differently?

    20 min

  4. JAN 29

    The Crisis of the Third Century AD - The Pax Romana Podcast 72

    Was the third century AD a period of crisis or transformation? The prevalence of war, economic strain and demographic collapse certainly seems compelling. And yet, this same period could be viewed as a transformation where Rome adapted, with power shifting from traditional elites to military figures, and where cultural, religious, and social structures evolved. Was the constant warfare a sign of an empire's decline, or was it forging a new and more sustainable system?

    19 min

  5. JAN 23

    Could One Senator Have Saved the Roman Empire? - The Pax Romana Podcast 071

    Cassius Dio, a Roman historian and senator, seems to have foreseen the tumultuous times the Roman Empire was about to experience in the Crisis of the Third Century. His proposed reforms come to us through the lens of his famous debate between Agrippa and Maecenas in his epic history of Rome. Dio envisioned a stable, centralized Roman Empire, including a professional standing army, fiscal responsibility and a nuanced balance of power between the Senate and the Emperor. I analyze these prescient warnings and discuss the extent to which they might have been successful.

    31 min

  6. JAN 15

    The End of the Severan Dynasty - The Pax Romana Podcast 070

    Alexander Severus, Roman Emperor from 222 to 235 AD, ascended to power under the guardianship of his mother and grandmother. He offered a serious foreign policy--aimed at stabilizing increasingly fragile borders to both the north and east of the Empire. But the Crisis of the Third Century was looming, and Rome's legions apparently no longer wished to have peace--preferring instead the profits of foreign and civil wars.

    18 min

  7. JAN 9

    Rome's Emperor of the Sun - The Pax Romana Podcast 069

    Elagabalus, the 14-year-old priest-king, became emperor in AD 218 and tried to impose the sun god El-Gabal as Rome's chief deity. His reign was marked by multiple marriages, accusations of effeminacy and unrest in Rome. He was such a disaster of an emperor that his own grandmother sough to replace him with his cousin, Alexander.

    18 min

  8. JAN 1

    Macrinus: Emperor for a Moment - The Pax Romana Podcast 068

    Four days after Caracalla's assassination, the outsider Macrinus was in charge of an unstable Roman Empire. He bribed his way into a temporary peace with Parthia, but alienated his own soldiers. Was Macrinus' short reign a case of good intentions gone awry, or was he simply out of his depth?

    14 min
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4.9
out of 5
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About

The assassination of Julius Caesar 2,000 years ago unleashed a wild era of Roman emperors, dark conspiracies, intense battles, economic booms and busts and profound religious shifts. Was this truly the Roman Empire's golden age? On the weekly Pax Romana Podcast, Historian Colin Elliott brings gripping stories from Roman history to life. Dive into history starting in episode 1 , or pick your poison from our catalogue: the birth of the empire in the Age of Augustus, Nero's Great Fire, the rise of Christianity, the wisdom and wars of Marcus Aurelius or the military chaos of the third century AD.

Information

  • Creator
    Professor Colin Elliott
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    77
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Professor Colin Elliott
  • Show Website
    The Pax Romana Podcast

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