Tag: Huns

  • 2-2. The Usurper

    2-2. The Usurper

    Odoacer is a name that is little known and little celebrated. This episode illuminates the career of the soldier who closed the book on the Roman empire, who he was, and why don’t we know him better?

  • 15. Unmitigated Gaul

    15. Unmitigated Gaul

    418 CE to 456 CE A senator by the name of Eparchius Avitus is dragooned into filling the imperial shoes left behind by the well-aimed brick that took out Petronius Maximus. His life gives a framework for discussing the place of southern Gaul within the Roman empire, and how the Visigoths were settling in. And…

  • 14. More Serpent than Dove

    14. More Serpent than Dove

    The Vandals Part III 439 to 455 CE “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be therefore as wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” Matthew, 10:16 Gaiseric weathers Roman attempts to recover the African provinces, and begins to set his house in order. Marriage deals are made and broken,…

  • 13. The Apostle of Noricum

    13. The Apostle of Noricum

    The life and times of Saint Severinus c. 450 to c. 482 CE “At the time of the death of Attila, confusion reigned in the two Pannonias and the other borderlands of the Danube. Then Severinus, the most holy servant of God, came from the east to the marches of Noricum, and tarried in a…

  • 11. Beyond the River

    Priscus’ embassy to Atilla. 448 CE In the spring, a diplomatic mission set out from Constantinople for discussions with Atilla the Hun. One of the men on the trip later wrote out his experience in one of the most detailed accounts of life among the Huns. This episode condenses the writing of Priscus of Panion,…

  • 9. The Vandals

    The Vandals Part I c. 200 BCE to 408 CE I introduce the Vandals with a cold.  The Vandals don’t have a cold, I have a cold. So, sorry about that. The Vandals rose up next door to the Goths, with whom they would have a complicated relationship.  This episode tracks their early migration into…

  • 8. Attila Invictus

    The Huns Part III 435 to 446 CE The scourge of God rises from the Hunnic horde.  The Romans have to deal with him while also facing earthquake, flood, and plague.  Straight up not having a good time, bro. Map of the Roman road network. Another map of the geography of the Balkans “The Britons”…

  • 7. All the Sun Shines Upon

    The Huns Part II 395 to 435 CE Contact with the Roman world changes the Huns, as prosperity creates politics. A series of chiefs and warlords set the stage for their most famous ruler. Map of Roman Provinces “The Britons” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • 6. The Whirlwind of Nations

    The Huns Part I c. 370 to 395 CE Where had the Huns come from? Who were they? How did they fight? What made them so scary? The answers are theory and speculation, and maybe one day someone will figure it out. Information on cranial modification is here and here An image of the patera…

  • 4. The Sack of Rome

    The Goths Part IV 408 to 410 CE The death of Stilicho leaves Alaric and the Visigoths high and dry.  Negotiations break down, and Alaric takes drastic action.  The Sack of Rome of 410 is pointed to as one of the points where the Roman Empire fell, and the resonance of the event would be…