Julius Caesar’s Invasions of Britain

07/11/21 • 42 min

2 Listeners

On the day of the Euro 2020 final, we’re talking England versus Italy...Ancients style (well, sort of). Historian and archaeologist Dr Simon Elliott returns to the podcast to talk us through Julius Caesar’s two invasions of Britain in 55 and 54 BC. Hear what the Romans knew about Britain before the expedition, why Caesar wanted to invade, and what the “greatest PR man of the ancient world” learnt from the first, less successful, campaign. Simon’s book, Roman Conquests: Britain is out at the end of July 2021.

Previous Episode

Begram: Crossroads of the Ancient World

Bagram, also known as Begram, has been in the news a lot recently. Over the past couple of days, the last US and NATO troops have withdrawn from Bagram air base, which they have occupied for some 20 years. But this area of Central Asia, situated south of the Hindu Kush mountain range, also has some remarkable ancient history. In the area around Bagram lie the remains of ancient Begram (Kapisi). The city witnessed several waves of ancient superpowers. The Persians came here, as did Alexander the Great and his successors. But it was during the age of the Kushan Empire (1st – 4th centuries AD) that it appears the rich, ancient city of Begram enjoyed its golden age.

In this fascinating podcast, University of Freiburg’s Lauren Morris brilliantly guides us through Begram’s ancient history and why this site is so extraordinary. Lauren also tells the remarkable story behind the excavations at Begram during the 1930s and how it could be a big hit Netflix show in its own right.Part 2 will be out soon and will be centred on the Begram’s most remarkable archaeological discovery: the Begram Hoard.

Next Episode

Carthage vs Greeks? The First Sicilian War

480 BC is a year widely-celebrated in Greek history. When Leonidas' Spartan core and their Hellenic allies fought a powerful Persian army at Thermopylae, and an outnumbered, Athenian-led navy defeated a mighty Persian armada at Salamis. Yet it was not just off the coast of Athens that one of antiquity’s most well-known battles was fought that year. 600 miles to the west of Salamis, supposedly on the same day the naval engagement occurred, another battle was fought: the Battle of Himera. In this episode, Ancient World Magazine's Dr Joshua Hall talks us through the battle and highlights why it was so significant in the story of ancient Sicily.