Grimdark History

With the unexpected death of Aurelian and no designated heirs to the empire Rome suffers a number of emperors in quick succession with several only lasting months to a few short years. Looking like the Roman Empire might fracture yet again except for a shrewd officer named Diocletian who through good fortune and good planning is able to wrest the control of the empire and enforce stability upon it once more. Diocletian establishes what is known as the Tetrarchy, a rule of four emperors (two senior and two juniors), and though there is no clear Eastern or Western Roman Empires, Diocletian and his co-emperor Maximianus set the base upon which Rome will continue to endure for hundreds of years. First they must finally come to terms with the Franks and other Germanic tribes that have been decimating the Rhine frontiers for 30 years, and then jointly deal with yet another revolt in the form of breakaway claimant Carausius and his Britannic North Sea Empire before returning jointly to the east again and dealing with yet more revolts in Egypt. This is the era Saint George lived through. The reformation and reimagining of what the Roman Empire could be. Being fortunate enough to take advantage of the reforms of Gallienus only a couple of decades ago as enabled Christians to seek advancement in Roman society, and have career prospects in the Roman legions as Maximian and Diocletian work to enforce peace across the Roman borders. As 303 comes around, Saint George’s fortunes were to take a turn for the worse. With peace at last across the empire Maximian, Diocletian, and Diocletian’s jr emperor Galerius look to stamp out the Manichean Christian faith in the east, widely believed to be behind the most recent revolt in Egypt, before taking a broader anti-Christian stance to the rest of the empire. Saint George, caught up in the famous Christian persecutions under Diocletian in the east suffers martyrdom possibly at the hands of Galerius while a now old Diocletian looks to retire and leave the empire in the hands of the next generation. This bonus episode of Grimdark History Podcast winds down with a look across Season 1 of the podcast and a preview of Season 2 starting in January 2025. Sources Used in this episodeRoman Empire from Severus to Constantine - Patricia Southern Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 260 CE the fortunes of the Roman Empire are at the worst they could ever be. In a matter of months the Empire has shrunk to a third the size, the senior Emperor Valerian is a prisoner of the Persians, and most of the treasury has been lost during Valerian’s defeat and the subsequent declaration of one of Valerian’s generals (Macrianus) of his own candidacy as new Emperor. Macrianus raises the Roman eastern provinces into revolt, securing the regions of modern day Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Israel, only to be usurped by Odenathus, and local non-citizen Palmyran. In the west the governor of Gaul (Postumus) fearing that Emperor Gallienus will pull legions away from Gaul to retake the eastern provinces and attack the Persians to free Valerian instead opts to declare himself as Emperor and vows to defend Rhine frontiers against the near constant raiding of the Franks, Alemanni and various Germanic tribes. Britannia and Spain declare for Postumus setting up a rival Roman Empire in the west centered in Gaul. Gallienus, the now senior Emperor is forced to radically transform what was left of the Roman Empire in order to ensure his survival. The loyalty of what legions he had left to him was paramount, and his reforms transformed what was left of Rome into an empire that was entirely subordinated to the legions. Left with a motley crew of legionaries who had been fighting with Gallienus for a decade, he’s also forced to radically reimagine what it means to be a legionary, how the army should fight. Under Gallienus the core of Rome is transformed back into the apex predator it had been under the likes Pompey and Vespasian. Setting the state of a nobody Roman plebian named Aurelian to eventually take the reigns and perform what must have at the time seemed the unthinkable, and that was to crush Postumus, retaking Gaul, Britannia, and Spain and then to retake the vasty wealth of the eastern provinces by now under the control of one of history’s most badass women, Zenobia. Sources Used in this episodeRoman Empire from Severus to Constantine - Patricia Southern Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 200 CE the Roman Empire is at the tale end of a period of relative internal peace and stability across the empire known as the Pax Romana. No one could imagine that within 30 years the empire would begin to crumble with almost nightmarish speed. The first non-Roman emperor, Maximinus finds his moment at the very pinnacle of Roman power by virtue of the Edict of Caracalla which only a few decades earlier made all free people in the empire Roman citizens. Maximinus Thrax, a Thracian with a name that would make any comic villain jealous, is thrust into ultimate power and yet powerless to stop the revolts springing up around him. This is just the start of a period of convulsion and transformation of the Roman Empire as Franks, Goths, and other Germanic tribes threaten the western provinces, while a transformed Persian Sassanian Empire under Shapir I seek to retake ancient lands in the East. As successive emperors try and fail to tackle the problem of how to be in multiple places at one time provincial governors take the defense of their homelands into their own hands breaking free from Roman control in an attempt to preserve precious soldiers needed to defend their lands. The Roman senate is left completely powerless and feeling like the wallflower at the prom as legions thousands of km from Rome take it upon themselves to elect competing emperors. Events reach a low point in 260 as the empire finds its own emperor a prisoner of foreign powers, multiple provinces have declared independence, piracy runs rampant in the black seas, the Germanic tribes always a perpetual psychological fear of the Romans are raiding freely, and Persia is retaking ancient lands that have been Roman possessions for 200 years. Such a succession of events leads to an average turnover rate of one emperor every 2.8 years. It is a period of time referred to as The Crisis of the Third Century. It is into the apex of this crisis that Saint George (if he existed at all) would have been born. Growing up in, and then becoming apart of the Roman machine that stitches back together the shattered empire. But before we tell that story, we look at Crisis of the Third Century. Sources Used in this episodeRoman Empire from Severus to Constantine - Patricia Southern Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 110 CE Pliny the Younger is appointed governor of the Roman province of Pontus-Bithynia. Within just a few months of starting the job he uncovers a community of Christians, some of which are executed. This just scratches the surface of a much more pervasive spread of the strange religion as more and more Christians are uncovered, either through anonymous accusations or as a result of torture. Pliny discovers the Christian community is widespread throughout the entire province and writes to the Emperor Trajan seeking advice. Pliny’s letter to Trajan is the very earliest non-biblical account of Christians and provides a fascinating look at the spread of early Christianity, what their religious practices were, what Roman law was concerning Christians, and why they were seen as such a threat (or not).  Just 90 years later, in the now Roman city of Carthage in 203 CE, two young Christian women (Perpetua and Felicity) are arrested and brought before the governor Hilarion for trial. Perpetua’s family are wealthy enough to be able to bribe the guards of the prison to allow visits, provide materials for writing, and opportunities to beg Perpetua to recant and return to her family. What follows next is a handwritten diary of the last days of two of Christianity’s earliest saints. Outlining Roman procedures of trial, prison life, and execution. The heart felt thoughts and anxieties are recorded as two young mothers face their last days before embarking on what they see as a Passion and a guaranteed short-cut straight to the gates of Heaven.  80 Year’s following Perpetua’s martyrdom Roman attitudes towards Christianity seem to have softened somewhat. Mauritius (Saint Maurice) is a Roman citizen, an open Christian who leads the Theban Legion, an entirely Christian Roman legion, under the banner of Emperor Maximian. The legion is sent into modern day Switzerland and ordered to slaughter a Christian settlement. What follows next is a tale of an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force as devout Christians face the choice of death for defying a direct order from a Roman emperor, or eternal damnation for murdering other Christians.  Saint George (if he existed at all) was born sometime around the time of Maximian and Saint Maurice. An era commonly known as the Crisis of the Third Century. Beginning our journey into the real-world and history of the time of Saint George we start by examining the earliest non-biblical accounts of Christians, exploring Roman attitudes and law towards Christians, and Christian attitudes towards Roman authority. Sources Used in this seriesMillennium - Tom HollandRoman Empire from Severus to Constantine - Patricia SouthernThe Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity - PerpetuaDominion - Tom HollandComplete Letters - Oxford World Classics Pliny the Younger Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 66 CE a nobody, and minor priest by the name of Eleazar stood up to the oppression of Rome and declared “No more” in the bloodiest way imaginable. Sending a message to Rome that would have devastating effects on the nation of people who lived in Judea.  Yoseph ben Matityahu (better known to us as Flavius Josephus) is likewise a minor priest, but of noble birth. Sent to defend the northern borders of Judea against Roman reprisals. He thinks he’s going there to set up defenses but finds himself caught up in a civil war amongst his own people while facing off against the might of Roman legions and future emperor Vespasian.  Caught up in the siege of Jotapata (Yodfat), Joseph and Vespasian face off in a 2-month long siege culminating in one of the most controversial moments in Jewish history.  Yoseph, now a slave to Vespasian is forced to witness the destruction of the Jewish countryside as Roman forces obliterate rebel and civilian forces with equal vigor and dispassion, and yet the land of Judea is not so filled with the resistance Roman forces expected. Coming across the river Jordon already so full of bodies the current of Jordan carries them down to the Dead Sea. A Telling tale of a darker, internal conflict amongst the rebel leaders simultaneously fighting a civil war and war against Rome.  Those who fight a war on two fronts often find themselves unable to win either. As Rome closes in on Jerusalem a stranglehold on the city yields starvation, atrocities, and more internal fighting amongst the rebels. The inevitable grind of the Roman legions can only end in one result so significant it marks the end of an entire period of history known as the Second Temple Period. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“What Caesar wants, Caesar gets”. Famous words that would change history forever in 66 CE.Since the start of Roman intervention (and then later rule) in Judea there’s been a sense of unfinished business so to speak. The culture shocks that have been happening over the last 200 years still have not fully resolved themselves. Those events that had taken the form of violence against some communities, rejection of the authority of the Sanhedrin, rejection of foreign goods, culture and ways of doing things, and a general inward turning culture has been forced open by the presence of Rome.The great Republic and now Empire still defining itself, the role of Caesar and what it means to be ruled by Rome is itself in the midst of culture shocks. Recovering from the civil wars of first Caesar and Pompey, and later Octavian and Antony and Cleopatra; Rome is trying to figure out how the Senate and a succession of Caesars can share power (or at least pretend to).Herod the Great who first backed Antony in the failed civil war hopes that a huge bribe and successive acts of contrition to Octavian (the new Caesar and now, Augustus) will save both his skin and his kingdom from the ravaging of the legions that had scoured Gaul and shattered the Carthaginians and Egyptians. His plan pays off; but Herod continues a policy of peacefully embracing Rome to keep the legions at bay. Building temples, baths, raising statues, embracing Roman art, even naming cities after Caesar. These are all attempts to show Rome Judea can be a peaceful part of the still forming Empire. No legions are needed here.Herod’s embracing of Roman culture, and later the light presence of direct Roman authority wasn’t helping ease those unresolved issues. Judea itself was still recovering from generations of civil wars. Unresolved social issues, the generational trauma of having your city destroyed, or forced conversion to the Jewish religion are still in recent living memory. On top of all this, living the pure life, or the way God intended still hasn’t finished defining itself to the satisfaction of several thousands of the population.The generational trauma, the sense that no one is following the laws of God, the insanity of allowing a foreign power to rule a country that had so recently won its independence from another power rival to Rome; these are things driving a feeling that the end is neigh. That the world should come to an end. Messianic figures come out of the countryside. No less that two Jesus’ and one Egyptian all show up with thousands of disciples to claim the mantle of Christos and free the people. Rome crushes them all.After that famous fire of Rome in 64 CE Nero takes a personal interest in the fabulously wealthy Judea. Personally appointing a friend of the family as the new governor, Gessius Florus has only one job, extract wealth in order to pay for the rebuilding of Rome. What Nero wants, Nero gets and no less than two years later the first Jewish Roman war begins in the form of a Jewish revolt led in part by a man named Yosef, but who history remembers better as Flavius Josephus. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In Episode Two of our series, we dive deep into the story of the Maccabee family. Beginning with Mattathias and his sons daring murder of Seleucid government officials and following through the revolt first with Judas Maccabeus and his gorilla war, and later all out war for independence with Judas’ brother Simon. A vicious cycle of power struggles take place that rock the Judean countryside as the Hasmonean family and heirs of Mattathias via internally and externally to expand control, seize power, and enforce beliefs upon the countryside. The power struggles internally within the Maccabee family tell fascinating stories to rival Game of Thrones, with backstabbing, murders, betrayals, and civils wars as each generation of Maccabee seeks to leave their mark. The Kingmaker, Alexandra Salome reveals her political chops being able to successfully manipulate and win over the court to her side and have her husband and brother-in-law killed, she later proclaims Alexander Jannaeus king and then promptly marries him, solidifying her rule and the rule of her heirs, before ruling the kingdom on her own after Alexander’s death. Lastly, we end with the last heirs of the Hasmonean Dynasty, Hycanus II, Aristobulus II, and Antigonus II as the country is plunged into yet another power struggle for the throne of Jerusalem, before Pompey, and later Mark Antony flex Roman muscle and impose their will on Judean kingship, ending the dynasty of Mattathias and beginning the rule of Herod the Great. It’s an epic episode of freedom, power struggles, civil war, and betrayals as we dig into the story and history of the dynasty that won and lost the independence of Jerusalem within 4 generations. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Getting at the heart of the first Jewish Roman Revolt war in 66 CE has a long history attached to it. Working my way backwards through time using the works of Jewish Historian Flavius Josephus as my literary sources raised more questions than answers. I found myself tugging on the threads of history and going all the way back almost 200 years in time to Modin Mattathias and his 5 sons who triggered a popular revolt against their Seleucid overlords and changed the course of history forever.Getting into the heart of this world, even understanding the time leading up to the event was itself a struggle. To help me untie the knot and understand the nuanced and complex world of Judea leading up to the time period known as the Maccabean Revolt, Dr. Boris Chrubasik, Associate Professor of Ancient History and Chair of the Dept. of Historical Studies at the University of Toronto joins me to help me understand this world rushing towards its independence.The world of Judea leading up to the start of the revolt is a complex one where what it means to be Jewish is still being defined, and at times swallowed up by the influences of the Greek world on Judea, Jerusalem, and the surrounding lands. The nobility of Jerusalem, and in and amongst the countryside are divided on the influence of Greeks being a positive or negative on their people. Yet even as some of these groups try to figure out what it means to be Jewish in an increasingly Greek countryside, clashes of violence begin to flash across the land and threaten to plunge the Judean landscape into rebellion.A movement and rejection of these things as a negative influence begins to form. Led ultimately by the sons of Mattathias, the Maccabee family walk a fine tight rope between politics, and outright war against the Seleucids, against Samaria, and against Edomia. Even as they outwardly navigate the world of larger, more powerful neighboring kingdoms like Egypt, the still forming nation of Judea begins to take shape as the internal culture clashes with the Judean countryside and internally with the Maccabean family tell a story of a not yet fully defined Jewish identity.Join me as I discuss the land, the people, the culture, and political dynamics of the world Judea during the Maccabean Revolt with Prof. Chrubasik and come to see the re-forging of a Jewish identity as an independent Jerusalem takes shape as we uncover the all important context that will flow into the next episodes in this series.Books written by guest Boris ChrubasikHellenism and the Local Communities of the Eastern Mediterranean: 400 BCE-250 CEISBN: 9780198805663Kings and Usurpers in the Seleukid EmpireISBN: 9780198786924 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having just broken 10,000 downloads after only a year in running I thought it appropriate to mark the moment with a thank you episode. Since this milestone happened to coincide with almost exactly 1 year to the day of launching the podcast I thought I would commemorate the moment with a year in review of what was looked at, why we looked at it. Next up looking at the last two topics for Season 1 and what's coming up for Season 2 of the Grimdark History.Thank you so much for everyone who's been enjoying the show and giving it a listen. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the death of Darius III and Bessus, Alexander is without a doubt king of the former Persian Empire. He’s left staring at huge chunks of former Persian provinces now declared independence standing between him and mysterious India, birthplace of his distant half brother Dionysus and rumoured tomb of Hercules laying somewhere in foreboding mountains. As Alexander begins the conquest of what is now modern-day Uzbekistan and Afghanistan but then Bactria and Sogdiana tensions that have been simmering since the start of the invasion begin to boil over to murderous levels of betrayal. Callisthenes, Cleitus the Black, Parmenion and Philotas all become victim to the cultural tensions tearing at the seems of Alexander’s unified forces. His Macedonian and Greek generals and court fear Alexander is rejecting what makes him Greek and a superior being, he’s making demands on them that he be worshipped like a god by them and his subjects. The king and general who so thoroughly embodied all that was greatest in Greek men is becoming Persian before their very eyes, and the results of bloody and create unreconcilable divisions. In India the very gods themselves attempt to thwart Alexander’s progress by sending lightning bolts, floods, sickness, and monsoon rains to kill, weaken, and suck away the morale of Alexander’s already morale reduced forces and Alexander is forced to turn around and return to Babylon having only made it to the Hyphasis river in order to avoid a revolt by his army. As Alexander returns to Babylon, not realizing death is only weeks away he allows those Greeks who want to retire or return to Greece to do so. Draining his treasury to pay off the debts of his forces, purchase more mercenaries, and buy loyalty he begins training and raising a brand new army as he plans to invade Arabia, only to be thwarted by his mysterious and sudden death. Most people know about Dionysius the god of wine, and perhaps many will know of Dionysius the god of suffering and rebirth, but most do not know of Dionysius the human demi-god. We wrap out our episode exploring Dionysius the man who was Alexander’s distant half brother and what he had to do to achieve apotheosis to godhood and whether or not that may have had an influence on Alexander’s entire campaign. Lastly, we wrap up our 5-part epic on Alexander the Great by exploring whether or not Alexander ever “wept when there were no more worlds to conquer.” Did Alexander Weep when there were no more worlds left to conquer? Thanks to William Elder for his research.https://www.youtube.com/@williamelder6788https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlkWA-8r9Ro&t=319s-         No More World to Conquer – Real Quotes From Made-up Sources Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.