Tag: history

Sidequest 20 – Madeleine Duperouzel on Empress Theodora

In an effort to help bridge the gap between “Byzantine” and Roman history, I reached out to Madeleine Duperouzel to see if she’d be interested in talking about Empress Theodora. Madeleine was more than happy to, so the result is an outstanding episode regarding a legendary figure in Roman history. After briefly covering finicky weather patterns, we discuss Theodora’s life, her historical significance and how she has been treated by her contemporaries and by later historians. This naturally involves a discussion about the historical inkblot that is The Secret History (I explain the inkblot reference in the episode, but if you search for “Bork 9th Amendment inkblot”, you’ll find what I’m talking about). We also cover the general hostility that a specific group of men felt towards Theodora and the unique control over her life that she possessed.

To get more updates on history from Madeleine, please check subscribe to her Substack, The Empress of Byzantium. It’s really good!

Your reading assignments include The Alexiad, Doppelgänger and The Name of the Rose.

The theme music is from Brent Arehart. Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Sidequest 12 – Anthony Kaldellis on the “Byzantine Empire” and Roman Identity

In the latest episode of the Sidequest, Anthony Kaldellis, author of many books including The New Roman Empire, stops by to discuss his podcast Byzantium & Friends, how the academic community is starting to embrace podcasts as a medium to communicate with a wider audience, the narratives surrounding Antiquity, including when it “ended”, in the Western and Eastern imperial provinces and the importance of the “Byzantines” to Antiquity and the Classics. We also discuss the naming convention behind use of the term “Byzantine” and the important role the Crimean War played in that. Dr. Kaldellis wrote an article about that which I highly recommend and link to here.

One of the more interesting parts of this interview involved me learning about how widespread the Greek language was throughout the Empire. It turns out that the city of Rome had a large population that spoke Greek including one Julius Caesar. We also have a discussion about “Late Antiquity” and whether we should consider that as a transitional period which I discuss more in the intro to the podcast. I think my views on it come from the way I view things as a trial lawyer which may not entirely overlap with the way that historians approach their work. I could be way off about this. It’s just a thought I had as I edited the podcast.

Your reading assignment from this episode is “Black Earth: The Holocaust as History and Warning“.

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Sidequest 11 – Jeremy Swist on Late Antiquity

Dr. Jeremy Swist, a professor at Grand Valley State University, stopped by to discuss the historical period of time known as “Late Antiquity“. This is an era of time I know very, very little about, so I enjoyed the introduction to what is a fascinating area of study. It turns out that this is an evolving field that covers a period of transition for the Roman Empire from generally 200 CE to 700 CE (the precise time is open for debate). As the focus moves away from the Italian Peninsula, the Roman state evolved and changed. This set the stage, to some extent, for the next era of the Empire. I’m sure this is somewhat of an oversimplification, but it’s how I conceptualize it my mind.

During the interview, we discuss philosophy, how Late Antiquity as a concept came to be, what Late Antiquity means and the arbitrary nature of classifying historical periods. Dividing up history into specific areas of time naturally creates problems and creates incomplete or misleading narratives which includes terms like “Classical Antiquity”. Late Antiquity breathes life into what was previously thought of as a period of decline and reexamines this period. We also discuss the evolution of religious practices that a saw move towards Christianity from “Paganism” that occurred during this era. And, hey, there’s some new tribal / social / ethnic groups that arrive during Late Antiquity. There’s a lot to unpack here, folks.

Your reading assignments include The World of Late Antiquity by Peter Brown, A Companion to Late Antiquity and Anthony Kaldellis’ The New Roman Empire (one of these authors may be a guest in an upcoming episode).

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Sidequest 10 – Zachary Herz on Elagabalus and Toxic Roman Masculinity

Dr. Zachary Herz stopped by to talk about one of the more interesting emperors in Roman history, Elagabalus. Despite having a fairly short reign (ruled from 218 CE – 222 CE), he’s become a significant historical figure. Elagabalus was a teenage emperor who ruled during what turned out to be a transitional era for the Empire. The Roman elite, threatened by this young ruler, embarked on a campaign to denigrate and insult him by attacking him as feminine and a woman. This involves a discussion about Roman sexual norms. So, just prepare yourself for a somewhat more explicit subject matter than we normally delve into here at the Sidequest. These attacks have created a complicated picture surrounding Elagabalus that creates an impression that he may have been transgender. We discuss that issue during the podcast and the complex history surrounding whether he was trans and whether use of that term is appropriate in the context of Roman Imperial Antiquity.

Your newest reading assignments are The Crimes of Elagabalus and Emperor of Rome by Mary Beard.

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.

Classical Antiquity Sidequest 1 – Alexander the Great with Victor Lamas

Listen here.

We’re kicking off the Classical Antiquity Sidequest podcast with an episode about the ultimate historical figure from Antiquity – Alexander the Great! My friend Victor Lamas stopped by the podcast to talk about one of the most studied and most influential historical figures. Topics of discussion include how Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, his skill on the battlefield (the dude never lost a battle!), his successes as a diplomat and the movies that have been made about Alexander. We also delve into a sidequest about the 1970 masterpiece Waterloo. Highly recommend that to all. I think it’s on YouTube.

In addition to talking to about Alexander, we discuss Phillip of Macedon, Alexander’s father. He’s a very important historical figure who set the stage for Alexander to succeed and is worthy of your time and attention.

For further reading on Alexander the Great, check out the following –

Generalship of Alexander the Great

The Nature of Alexander

Alexander of Macedon

On the opening theme music, for now it’s from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):
https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/folk-round
License code: SHTJJRTVTRXQAID1

Please call the pod (540-632-0160), leave a message and you’ll get in an episode. Let me know what you think about what we think in the comments or on Twitter.

And never forget that The Classical Antiquity Sidequest is a podcast without end.