We've discussed how Nero blamed the Great Fire in Rome on Christians. And that brings up a question: why were Christians seen as a potential scapegoats, especially so early in their history--less than 40 years after the crucifixion of Jesus? This episode takes a look at why many Romans thought Christians--despite such a small membership--so dangerous to public safety.

July, AD 64. Much of Rome is still smoldering. Hundreds of buildings had been completed destroyed in the voracious blaze that burned unchecked for over a week in Rome. Thousands of people were dead. As we learned last time, Nero spent huge sums of money to provide relief. He also tortured and murdered Christians—claiming that these blasphemers and atheists were to blame for the calamity. But, deserved or not, Nero was still held responsible. In subsequent years, the chaos surrounding Nero...

Nero was finally free of his mother’s influence. Agrippina had been stabbed to death over and over again by Nero’s soldiers in her belly—the place from which her treacherous son had sprung. Nero was 19 and without parents, but he had plenty of help. Many senators believed that this was finally their moment. If the pro-senatorial policies that had characterized the early years of Nero’s reign were a sign of what could be expected in the decades to come, the age of Nero would become a golden...

Agrippina—daughter of Germanicus, brother of Caligula, niece and wife of Claudius and now mother to the newly appointed emperor—likely enjoyed the greatest moment of her life on the day her son Nero was inaugurated as Rome’s fifth emperor. She had murdered so many people—including members of her own family—to get here. And there he was—her little boy, now 17 years old, the great grandson of Augustus—raised to the purple. The praetorian guard took Nero’s money, and would therefore support him....

Through deft social and political maneuvers, seduction and pure survival skills, Agrippina—age 34—has won marriage to the fourth Roman Emperor Claudius, her own uncle. Into the marriage she brought her only son—a twelve year old boy who would grow up to become the great villain known as Nero. Although the emperor Claudius already had a son to succeed him—the eight year old Britannicus—he adopted Nero as his own, making Nero legally his son, and older brother to Britannicus. With this move,...

It is easy to think of Roman emperors as omnipotent rulers who could (and did) whatever struck their fancy. But as we’ve seen so far on this podcast, the truth was far more complex. The senate may not have been in charge anymore, but they still needed managing. The soldiers, especially the praetorians, were a source of power, but had also shown they could topple emperors. In the reign of Claudius, we see a third group that could both support and channel the emperor: his own household. The...

Claudius was often ridiculed by his family members, as well as senators. He may not have been as cruel as Caligula, but neither was he sufficiently deferent to the nobility. Claudius, however, carried on as he wished—and ended up creating a sustainable power base with the common people and his former slaves. He won popularity by securing the Roman food supply, and enthusiastically supporting Rome’s growing entertainment scene. But the senate remained hostile. How could the same emperor be so...

Much of what we’ve talked about on this podcast has been focused on events in Rome, and especially with the major players in what would become Rome’s first imperial dynasty. But during the reign of Claudius, the Roman legions invaded the island of Great Britain, and this monumental event gives us an opportunity to better understand the wrecking ball that was the Roman military. Claudius never had the senate on his side, but his successes in Great Britain made many Romans feel like Rome was...

The conspiracy to assassinate Caligula was a smashing success. But did the senate really wish to keep the principate going? Why not go back to the republic? Well, the choice would be made for them; by the praetorian guard. For the first of many times, the right to rule the Roman Empire was simply purchased. Primary sources Referenced: Suetonius, Life of Claudius 3, 30. Claudius Coin ('Emperor Received'). Claudius Coin ('Praetorians Received'). Cassius Dio, Roman History 60.3.2-3 Buy...

Was the emperor Caligula mad or just bad? No one really knows. But on todays podcasts, we recount some of the worst excesses of Rome’s third emperor. At this point, not only was the republic dead and gone, but it seemed the arrangements put in place by Augustus were also reaching a devastating end. As Caligula’s antics, eccentricities and outright malice created a climate far worse—far more deadly—than any living Roman could recall, it became clear that a new member of Augustus family needed...

Caligula—one of the most infamous names in Roman history. But before he became the cruel and debased monster that history would remember, he began his reign with all signs pointing to a return to the good old days of Augustus. Unlike the previous emperor Tiberius, Caligula was engaged and active—a princeps prepared to fulfill the calling of his office, to be an example of morality and nobility that would provide a renewed sense of purpose to a senate that had lost its way during the treason...

Tiberius rules Rome—the second man now to serve as princeps—a new autocratic ruler with a lifetime term—an all-powerful guardian to keep the Republic from descending into civil war. But Tiberius seemed a reluctant emperor. He refused titles and honors—undermining his own regime’s propaganda. He lacked patience for senatorial politics—alienating the Roman nobility. And, in the year AD 26, just twelve years into his reign, he abandoned Rome forever. The imperial capital was rudderless. And into...

Augustus was a tough emperor to follow. When he died in 14 AD, his personal state was passed on to a man who seemed unsure of whether he wanted it—Augustus’ adopted son Tiberius. Tiberius was clearly not Augustus’ first choice—only being adopted after Augustus’ grandchildren conveniently died. And Tiberius would only be in charge a few years before many others in Rome also began to question whether this new emperor was up to the job. Primary Sources Referenced: Tacitus Annals 1.4 Tacitus...

Despite Augustus’ attempt to project his reign as unquestioned and unifying, he in fact faced several forms of rebellion, from culture wars to outright conspiracies. How did the Augustan regime come to an end? Primary Sources Referenced: Ovid, Amores 1.9 Tacitus, Annals 1.2-3 Buy Professor Elliott's newest book: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, published by Princeton University Press.

Octavian’s new name, Augustus, signified Augustus’ new job; he was now personally responsible to preserve the newly won peace. The gods demanded a Roman representative. The chaos of the late republic was a direct result of impiety: the Romans had grown lax in their worship and committed grievous sins. Rome needed an anointed one—a messiah. How did Augustus convince Romans to place him at the center of a major religious reformation? Primary Sources Referenced Kneeling Parthian Denarius...

The victory against Antony at Actium won Octavian sole control over Rome’s empire. No opposition remained, and Octavian was just 33 years old. For the next four and a half decades, Octavian thoroughly reshaped Roman society—from religion, to politics, to the social hierarchy—into an autocratic system centered upon a single semi-divine, all-powerful emperor. How did he unify an empire which had been torn apart by factionalism, political purges, violence and civil war? Find out on this episode...

The battle of Phillipi was over. Tens of thousands of Romans were dead, including Brutus and Cassius—leaders of the last republican faction. The victors in that battle—Mark Antony and Octavian—parted ways. Octavian marched back to Rome, and its furious elites who had been taxed, stolen from and murdered. And Rome's poor were starving. Mark Antony, meanwhile, found his way into the arms of Cleopatra, and a tragic romance that changed history forever. Primary Sources Referenced: Plutarch,...

Mark Antony, Lepidus and Caesar—and their combined armies—marched into Rome late in the year 43 BC. Thus began a reign of terror and atrocities that ended all hope of restoring the Roman republic. But there was the matter of Caesar’s assassins to contend with, and the triumvirs needed to move before they lost the advantage gained by their sudden alliance and drastic power grab in Rome. Primary Sources Referenced: Appian, Civil Wars 4.2.7 Plutarch, Life of Antony 19 Plutarch, Life of...

Everyone gathered for Julius Caesar's funeral—Caesar’s friends, as well as his enemies. It was perhaps the most awkward funeral in history. Everyone just wanted the thing to be over, so the city could move on, and the republic could heal. But that's not what happened. Instead, one man gave a fiery eulogy that turned this sham of a funeral into a raging riot. That arsonist was Mark Antony. Primary Sources Referenced: Plutarch, Life of Antony 14-15 Suetonius, Life of Caesar 88 Cicero,...

Caesar's death left a power vacuum that sucked the breath out of Rome. Who of Rome’s surviving elites were most prepared to rally the shell-shocked city? The derelict drunkard Mark Antony held formal power, but would anyone follow him? Caesar’s general Lepidus had an army in the city, but would he have the guts to use it? Then there were the assassins themselves; they held their daggers in their hands as they marched through the city, but could they really expect to revive the republic after...

To many in Rome, Caesar was a heroic figure. Caesar’s family, the Julii, were older than the Roman Republic itself. And yet he was a populist through and through—a man who had disregarded many of the norms of his fellow elites. Many Roman senators saw Caesar’s violent politics, excessive honors and increasing popularity as threatening to tear down the Roman Republic, only to replace it with a monarchy. Rome had not had a king for almost 500 years, and many senators would stop at nothing—even...