Tag: Visigoths

  • 17. The Phantom Kingdom

    17. The Phantom Kingdom

    456 to 464 CE Emperor Majorian and his Right-Hand man Ricimer attempt to pull the empire back from the brink after the departure of Avitus. But there’s a snake in the grass, a fly in the ointment, and a bad apple in the barrel. It all leads to the creation of a new entity called…

  • 16. Speaking Frankly

    16. Speaking Frankly

    The Franks, Part I 280 to 480 CE We welcome the Franks onto the stage of Europe, and look at their origins, early history, ferocious reputation, and the way modern politics work their way into the telling of history. The floodgates have opened, and now the puns cannot be stopped. Kyrie eleison. We have arrived…

  • 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,…

  • 12. The Hun and the Saint

    The Huns Part IV 450-453 CE Attila unleashed his fury on the Western empire in two back to back campaigns. The first culminated in the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields. The second ended with the famous meeting between Attila the Hun and Pope Leo I. “Attila, in an effort to bring about the wars ……

  • 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/

  • 5. Five Kings and a Reckoning

    The Goths Part V 410 to 451 CE The Visigoths move out of Italy, into more years of privation. Along the way there’s a royal marriage, long marches, sieges and naval blockades. Ultimatehttps://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/r3j854/episode005_fivekings_edit.mp3ly the Goths find what they’ve been looking for for nearly half a century – a home. But there’s another, even greater test…

  • 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…