The Roman War Machine

5/18/1999

This episode features the points in history where the powerful new Roman military turned against its own leaders. During Roman versus Roman we’ll focus on these civil wars and the reign of the first Emperor of Rome: Augustus.

5/19/1999

Roman Siege Warfare details logistics and the mass mobilization of its troops which allowed Rome to conquer all before it. This episode examines the Roman siege equipment, including the devastatingly deadly bolt-firing catapults and stone-throwing ballistae. Furthermore, we’ll investigate the sieges of Jerusalem (in 66 AD) and Masada in Judea. This is followed by a description of common soldier life at a Roman fort, such as Vindolanda on Hadrian’s wall.

5/24/1999

Barbarians at the Gate documents that by the second century AD, the people ancient Rome had vanquished had developed territorial ambitions of their own. In this final episode the steady decline of the Empire is sketched, the military reforms of Diocletian and Constantine are touched upon, as is the process of barbarization of the army, before the collapse of the Western Empire in the fifth century.