5. Battling Bureaucrats

11/08/23 • 27 min

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What does it take to run an Empire? Armies and slaves, of course, but also bureaucrats. At its height the Roman Empire employed thousands of men charged with keeping Rome and its provinces fed, watered and content. This was no easy job. A remarkable set of papyrus scrolls reveals the life of Roman Egypt's very own David Brent, preparing for a a visit from the fearsome Emperor Diocletian.

Infuriated by hopeless staff and venal local politicians and continuously harassed by his superiors, Apolinarius of Panopolis becomes increasingly desperate as Diocletian approaches and the tension cranks up. Mary Beard follows Apolinarius's story to reveal the messy realities of Roman administration.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Expert Contributors: Colin Adams, Liverpool University and Margaret Mountford

Cast: Apolinarius played by Josh Bryant-Jones

Special thanks to Jill Unkell and the Chester Beatty collection, Dublin

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Expert Contributors: Colin Adams, Liverpool University and Margaret Mountford

Cast: Apolinarius played by Josh Bryant-Jones

Special thanks to Jill Unkell and the Chester Beatty collection, Dublin

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4. What We Lost in the Fire

For an aspiring medic it was a dream assignment- official team doctor to the gladiators of Pergamon. The top names in the arena were worth a lot of money and it was up to young Galen to keep them alive. Slash and stab wounds had to be closed quickly and cleanly and diets devised to maintain the perfect balance of fat and muscle for the finest fighters. It gave Galen unrivalled insight into the workings of the human body, knowledge he would use as he went on to treat emperors and write the textbooks that would guide doctors for hundreds of years.

Mary Beard traces the career of Rome's greatest medic from its highs to its lowest of lows- the moment when a great fire swept through Rome, threatening to wipe out his life's work.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Expert Contributors: Helen King, Open University and Matthew Nicholls, Oxford University

Special thanks to the British Museum and the Parco Archeolgico del Colosseo, Roma

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6. Love in the Borderlands

At the very edge of Empire, inscribed on a beautifully carved tombstone, there’s a story of love across the tracks. On Hadrian’s Wall a slave girl from Hertfordshire and a lonely traveller from Syria meet and marry. The story of Regina and Barates has inspired poets and writers eager for a simple love story to illuminate a dark and dangerous world. But how true might this be? What brought this couple together across cultures and thousands of miles? Was their alliance true love or forced marriage?

Mary Beard tracks our couple from Palmyra to South Shields, revealing the cultural mix of the Empire and the power dynamics of slave and master with the help of Syrian poet, Nouri Al-Jarrah.

Producer: Alasdair Cross

Expert Contributors: Greg Woolf, University of California Los Angeles and Frances McIntosh, English Heritage

Cast: John Collingwood Bruce played by Josh Bryant-Jones and reading of The Stone Serpent by Tyler Cameron

Translation of The Stone Serpent: Catherine Cobham

Arabic Translation: Samira Kawar

Special thanks to Alex Croom and Tyne and Wear Museums