This podcast, hosted by historian and professor Colin Elliott, brings to life the stories and sources from the pivotal and fascinating age that followed the death of Julius Caesar and ended just after the reign of Marcus Aurelius. This period was called the Pax Romana—or the Roman Peace—and it was an age to remember—an age of emperors, wars, conspiracies, love affairs, decadence and so much more. New episodes each week, mid-week.
Professor Elliott's newest book is Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World, published by Princeton University Press.
Scholars tend to think of the Pax Romana as being at the pinnacle of prosperity and its economic and military power. And in a sense that is true, compared to the crisis that followed. But despite the high achievements of the Pax Romana, it remains an open question as to whether highly populated...
Published 05/01/24
Hadrian ruled the Roman Empire for 21 years. His legacy, however, is a tangled mess. On the one hand, he left behind impressive architectural marvels, like Hadrian’s Wall; and his epic journeys across land and sea reinforced the notion that he was not just the leader of Rome, but the...
Published 04/24/24