Episodes

What is this podcast about? Why am I making it? Should you listen? Find out in this 1.5 minute introduction to The March of History. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contribute to The March of History with a monthly donation, click the link below! https://www.patreon.com/themarchofhistory PayPal If you want to contribute to The March of His...

A generation before Julius Caesar etched his name into the history books, Republican Rome was dominated by two larger than life personalities, Marius and Sulla. To understand the world Julius Caesar was born into, you need to understand the great feud between these two titans. A feud that tore the Republic apart and bathed the city in blood. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.036296...

Marius and Sulla compete in a contest of ‘who can terrify Rome the most’. All concept of restraint, pity and mercy are forgotten. In this civil war between two Roman titans, it is the Roman people themselves who are made to bleed. Amidst all the chaos and bloodshed, a young Julius Caesar makes his entrance onto the stage of history in dramatic fashion. Correction: At one point I mistakenly say Caesar’s uncle and cousin’s heads were mounted on the Rostra. This is only true of young Marius (cousin...

A young Julius Caesar journeys to the eastern half of the Roman Empire in the hopes of adventure and glory. Military life suits Caesar well and he is soon a rising star in the Republic. Even the fearsome pirates of the Mediterranean come to respect his name. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contribute to The March of History with a monthly ...

Julius Caesar returns to Rome with a splash. Determined to make his name known he enters the law courts to prove his prowess as an orator. Enter onto the statge Marcus Tullius Cicero. Correction #1: It was Livy that characterized Rome as conquering the world in self-defense. Correction #2: Arpinum is Southeast of Rome Correction #3: Cicero was aided by his grateful Sicilian clients when he was Aedile. Not having the money to throw elaborate games, he was instead able to provide food sent from Si...

Led by the legendary Spartacus, a massive slave revolt seizes Italy. Barbaric measures are taken to return the Republic to its status quo. Enter onto the stage Pompey Magnus and Marcus Licinius Crassus. Note: As best I can tell, academics continue to debate the origins of gladiatorial games. This was the case even in ancient times with Nicolaus of Damascus stating that gladiatorial games were Etruscan in origin and Livy stating they were Campanian in origin. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and ...

Julius Caesar makes a name for himself in Rome as a womanizer. A view into the women of the Roman Republic and the women in Caesar’s life. Enter onto the stage Marcus Porcius Cato and Servillia. Note #1: Suetonius tells us Caesar drank very little wine and that even his enemies admitted that. Correction: While Servillia’s affair with Julius Caesar was embarrassing for Cato, Servillia would have fallen under the authority of her husband when married, not Cato. Note #2: It would probably be more a...

Julius Caesar continues to climb the political ladder even as personal tragedy strikes at home. Nothing is ever apolitical in ancient Rome though, not even funerals. Personal tragedy soon turns to political fuel. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contribute to The March of History with a monthly donation, click the link below! https://www.pa...

Pompey aims to gain an unprecedented command to wage war on the Mediterranean’s pirates. Julius Caesar works to get in the General’s good graces. Correction #1: In this episode I say Julius Caesar visits Transalpine Gaul after his Quaestorship. In fact, he visited Transpadane Gaul which is in the area of the Po Valley within the province of Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy). Transalpine Gaul did not have Latin Rights. Correction #2: In this episode I say Lucullus raised catfish. While I can't find...

Julius Caesar gains a new enemy with his extravagant spending as Aedile. The ghost of Marius raises more controversy as Julius Caesar openly challenges the Optimates and emboldens the Populares. Enter onto the stage Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus. Corrections: Cicero was from an Equestrian family. I referred to the god Victory when talking about the trophies to Marius. In fact, this was a goddess and her name was Victoria. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below...

Cato causes a ruckus as Quaestor, reopening old wounds from the days of the Dictator Sulla. In a bizarre trial, Julius Caesar uses an archaic law dating back to the Kings of Rome to prove a political point. Note: The other religious college I mentioned is the Augurs. Correction: At one point I say Julius Caesar’s speeches as the prosecution do not survive in the Gaius Rabirius case. While it is correct that his speeches did not survive, he was not the prosecution, he was the judge (albeit not a ...

Julius Caesar gambles his entire career on a single election with the odds stacked against him. A deeper dive into the character of Julius Caesar and the state of the Republic during his life. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contribute to The March of History with a monthly donation, click the link below! https://www.patreon.com/themarchof...

Welcome to the dark twisted world of Lucius Sergius Catilina, a Populare and shadowy reflection of Julius Caesar. Catiline has the nerve to gamble like Caesar but does he have the skill needed to pull it off? Correction: New Man or Novus Homo meant you were the first in your family to enter the Senate. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contr...

After Cicero’s famous denunciation of Catiline, Catiline flees Rome during the night under the pretext of going into exile. A rebel army continues to grow in Etruria and the Roman Republic’s fate hangs in the balance. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contribute to The March of History with a monthly donation, click the link below! https://w...

Civil war erupts, brother fights brother as the Roman Senate attempts to put down Catiline’s insurrection once and for all. Catiline and his supporters fight for their lives. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contribute to The March of History with a monthly donation, click the link below! https://www.patreon.com/themarchofhistory PayPal If ...

Julius Caesar’s year as Praetor gets off to a rocky start. Bedlam at a Forum meeting and false accusations combine to make political life exceedingly difficult. It will take all Caesar’s political acumen to avoid a fall from power and to continue the climb to greatness. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contribute to The March of History wit...

Julius Caesar’s Praetorship ends with a scandalous bang. Cross-dressing combines with sacrilege to create a scandal the likes of which Rome has never seen. We introduce you to a new individual whose appetite for personal vendettas is unparalleled in history. While Julius Caesar attempts to extricate himself from the controversy without destroying his political career, his creditors grow impatient. Enter onto the stage, Publius Claudius Pulcher. Correction: While the Claudii go back to some of th...

Julius Caesar sets out for Further Spain to take up his post as Pro-Praetorian Governor. There he is determined to find himself a war in which he can win glory and riches to pay back his debts. Showing early flashes of the brilliance that will make him famous in Gaul, Caesar establishes himself as a rising military commander in the Republic and silences critics. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&crea...

Pompey Magnus has been away from Rome for 5 years waging war and reorganizing the Eastern half of the Roman empire. He returns to Rome as perhaps the richest and most accomplished Roman General of all time up to that point in history. Despite this, in Rome he finds nothing but jealous and obstructive aristocrats looking to knock him off his high horse. Seeing the opportunity of a lifetime, Julius Caesar races back to Rome to hold his triumph and run for Consul. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode a...

Julius Caesar wins the Consulship in a landslide. Despite this, he is put in a political corner by Cato and the Optimates’ maneuverings ahead of his year in office. Caesar will need to use all of his charm, charisma and political acumen to find a creative solution around that immovable object that is Cato. Necessity is the mother of invention and soon one of history’s most famous alliances is born. Caesar then starts off his consulship with a bang, unleashing a flurry of major legislation to the...

Julius Caesar refuses to allow an obstructive Senate led by Cato to stonewall his legislation. Ignoring the Senate altogether, Caesar takes his bills directly to the people. At the first and most important of these votes, chaos breaks out in the Forum and fists (and much smellier substances) start to fly. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to co...

Julius Caesar continues his blitzkrieg of legislation as Consul. His enemies can barely keep pace. The Triumvirate reigns supreme… or so it seems. The ground they stand on is not so sure as they think. In the background, the Optimates are priming a clever trap for Caesar. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&printed=1 Patreon If you want to contribute to The March of History w...

Vettius comes forward with another conspiracy that has all of Rome in confusion. Julius Caesar does his best to capitalize on it. Plot twists compound on plot twists to turn this into one of the most confusing conspiracies in ancient Rome. Clodius gains the Tribuneship and immediately gets to work building the foundations of his revenge. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=1680471101.0362968&pr...

Julius Caesar sits silently outside of Rome pulling the strings of politics like a spider perched on a web. Clodius wins the Tribuneship and immediately goes after his enemies, namely Cicero. In the ever escalating feud between these two senators, the norms of the Republic are being eroded at an alarming pace. Violence and brute force now rule the day. Venmo If you enjoyed the episode and want to leave a tip, click the link below! https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3764325529420842984&created=168047...