In AD 410, the emperor Honorius told the British communities to look to their own defense—a moment often treated as the official end of Roman rule in Britain. But by then, how much Roman power was really left? This episode traces the crisis from the late fourth century to the years just after 410: from usurpers like Magnus Maximus and Constantine III, to raids by Saxons, Picts, and Scots, to the collapse of coinage, administration and elite Roman life. Did Roman Britain really "fall" or was it abandoned, militarized, and then actively remade by the Britons themselves?

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⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In August AD 410, something happened that many Romans believed was impossible: Rome fell. After eight centuries without a foreign conquest, the “Eternal City” was breached by the Gothic king Alaric and his army. But was this really the violent apocalypse later generations imagined? This episode follows the collapse of diplomacy after the execution of Stilicho, the sieges that brought famine to Rome, the strange alliance between Gothic soldiers and Roman senators and the three-day sack that shocked the ancient world. We’ll also explore the competing eyewitness accounts: Jerome’s vision of catastrophe, Augustine’s theological response, and Orosius’s surprising claim that Goths and Romans sang hymns together in the burning city.

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Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

What does it take to hold an empire together when the emperor is a child? Who really rules— the man with the title, or the man with the army? And how long can that arrangement last before it begins to crack? In the early fifth century AD, the western Roman Empire faced precisely this problem. A boy, Honorius, sat on the throne, while a general, Stilicho, governed in his name, winning wars, managing crises, and shaping policy. For a time, it worked. The empire held together, threats were contained, and order seemed restored. But beneath that stability lay tensions—between appearance and reality, authority and power—that would eventually prove impossible to sustain.

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Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In 395, the Roman Empire did not collapse, but it lost the ability to act as a single, coordinated system. Two emperors inherited the empire—Arcadius in the East and Honorius in the West—but neither truly governed. Power lay with the men around them. Among those men, one stood out: Stilicho, the western general who claimed to act for the unity of the empire itself.

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Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

On January 19, AD 379, at Sirmium, a Latin-speaking westerner from Spain named Flavius Theodosius was invested with the imperial purple. He was a man for the times but, in many ways, a man out of place; he was expected to rule a Greek-speaking East and a church deeply fractured by doctrinal disputes. His reign, spanning nearly sixteen years, would see him outlive his imperial colleagues and briefly, yet significantly, unify the Roman Empire under his sole rule for the last time in history.

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Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

After the disaster of Adrianople, the Roman Empire struggled to rebuild its army and restore order. But in AD 390, a riot in the city of Thessalonica spiraled into one of the most infamous episodes of late Roman history. How did the arrest of a single charioteer lead to the death of a Roman general? Why did imperial troops suddenly turn on a crowd in the city’s hippodrome? And how did the aftermath bring a powerful bishop into conflict with the emperor himself?

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Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The Battle of Adrianople in August of AD 378 was one of Rome’s worst military disasters. A refugee crisis at the edge of the empire turned into a bloody afternoon battle that shattered the Roman and changed imperial policy forever. What led the Romans into the Battle of Adrianople? Why did the emperor Valens rush into battle? What did the loss mean for the future of the Empire?

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Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Jovian ruled the Roman Empire for barely eight months (AD 363–364), yet his reign reveals how imperial power functioned in moments of extreme crisis. Elevated suddenly after Julian’s death deep in Persia, Jovian faced the immediate task of saving a stranded Roman army. He chose negotiation over annihilation and stabilized Rome’s eastern frontier for generations. His death from carbon monoxide poisoning cut short what was sure to be a contentious reign.Donate: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/WZTWCMWCJJYFC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

YouTube Channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@ProfCPE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Buy Professor Elliott's book:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pox Romana: The Plague that Shook the Roman World⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.