The Partial Historians

You know that the Partial Historians can’t resist talking about Ancient Rome on film, so we were thrilled to chat to Dr Jeremiah McCall about his book, Swords and Cinema.

Who is our special guest?
Dr Jeremiah McCall (or DMac as his students call him) is a teacher at Cincinnati Country Day School in Ohio with a PhD in Ancient History.
Along with an interest in Roman military and political systems in the Republic, he has done a lot of work on pedagogy of using video games to learn about history, publishing Gaming the Past: Using Video Games to Teach Secondary History in 2022.
He divides his research time between historical game studies and Roman history. Dr McCall’s other publications include The Cavalry of the Roman Republic (2002); the Sword of Rome (2012), Clan Fabius: Defenders of Rome (2018) and Rivalries that Destroyed the Roman Republic (2022).

Manly Men
We will touch on the battle scenes and depiction of the Roman military in all your favourite Roman movies and TV shows.
Things to look out for:
· The defeat of Spartacus - Spartacus vs. Rome: The Last Battle
· The battle of Alessia (52 BCE) in HBO’s Rome - Rome Fighting with Gauls HD
· The battle of Philippi in HBO’s Rome - HBO Rome - Battle of Philippi (Battle only)
· The opening battle sequence in Gladiator (2000) - Gladiator 2000 Opening Battle
· And a bit on Centurion (2010) and The Eagle (2011) to finish!
· The Eagle | Channing Tatum Fends Off A Midnight Sneak Attack
· The Eagle | Channing Tatum Leads Roman Centurions Into Battle
· Centurion 2010 Best movie Scene HD
· Plus some things that get set on fire!
You will need your popcorn for this special episode!

Our music is by Bettina Joy de Guzman.
For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome
Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire
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We’re back with more exciting episodes from the infamous Gallic sack of Rome.

The Bermuda Triangle? Or the Holy Trinity?
We have action in three different locations in this episode – Camillus in Ardea, the remnants of the Roman army in Veii and the Romans under siege on the Capitoline.

The siege had entered a fairly quiet stage where little was happening on either side. It was at this point that one of the Fabian clan decided that his duty to the gods was worth more than his life. Gaius Fabius Dorsuo calmy descended from the Capitol, past the stunned Gauls and went off to the Quirinal to perform an annual sacrifice that was part of Fabian tradition. His piety so impressed the Gauls that they allowed him to pass, unscathed.

The Romans in Veii had selected the centurion, Quintus Caedicius as their commander. They were growing in numbers as stragglers who fled during the attack sought refuge. Latin allies also joined the Romans.

It depends on which account you read as to what happened next. Livy claims that the forces at Veii decide that they have had enough beauty sleep and now they want Camillus recalled from exile so they can seek their vengeance. Other sources indicate that they were just trying to get word to their fellow Romans that they were, in fact, ALIVE! Either way, a sprightly young man named Publius Cominus was selected to travel to the besieged city and smuggle himself onto the Capitol to deliver his message.

The Return of Camillus
Whichever version you believe, somehow Camillus worms his way back into our narrative, and our hearts. Naturally, Camillus would not set foot outside of Ardea without all the paperwork being in order, but once his exile was officially over, he was ready to step into the role of dictator.

However, Camillus was still packing his bags when the Gauls noticed a possible route up the top of Capitoline. It meant scaling up a cliff face, so surely the Romans would never suspect it. It’s so crazy, it just might work.

Slowly, the Gauls helped each other to make the difficult climb. They were so quiet, the Roman dogs did not hear the coming. But the sacred geese sure did! They caused such a ruckus that Marcus Manlius woke up and realised what was going on. This allowed him to arouse the other Romans and lead the charge against the attackers. It gets pretty grisly at this point. Best case scenario: the Gauls were hurled to their deaths. Worst case… you’ll have to listen to find out!

Things to Look Out For:
· Far too many songs from Dr Rad
· Sustainable travel, Roman-style
· LOTS of piety
· A kamikaze Fabian

On a serious note, please be aware that this episode does include discussion of animal cruelty.
For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome
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In this episode, we discuss one of the more tragic episodes from the Gallic sack of Rome.

We Who Are About to Die…
The Romans who have remained in the city take up their defensive positions on the Capitol. The old patricians did not join them. Instead, their retired to their houses. Wearing their old robes of state, they settled down in the middle of their houses on ivory chairs to await the end.
Livy reports that some of his accounts indicate that the pontifex maximus (chief priest) led the ex-magistrates in a vow, in which they were devoting themselves to death for the sake of the city and its citizens.

The Gauls found their blood had cooled; after all, they had not had to fight the Romans to seize control of the city. They had just wandered in. They could see that the Capitol had been fortified, so they kept an eye on that area. However, it was time to go SHOPPING! All these abandoned streets and houses – it was theirs for the taking.
After some pillaging and plundering, the Gauls touched base again in the Forum. The plebeian houses in the area were locked up – they weren’t taking any chances whilst they were out of town. But the houses of the elite were mysteriously open.

As the Gauls entered the patrician dwellings, a shocking sight met their eyes. The old ex-magistrates, sitting as still as statues, dressed in their robes of state, just waiting for them. Not quite believing their eyes, one of the Gauls reached out to touch the beard of one of the patricians. How rude! The patrician clocked him in the head with an ivory mace. The Gauls were not going to show restraint now. The patricians were slain, the houses of the Roman citizens looted, and finally, the city was set on fire.
But not the whole city – these Gauls weren’t FOOLS! They wanted to keep a bargaining chip in their back pockets. Maybe these pesky Romans on the citadel might surrender to save their homes?

The Romans in question were in their own kind of hell as they sat on the Capitol and had to watch the destruction. Fortune had turned her back on them.
Did this mean that the Romans were going to give up? It most certainly did NOT! When the Gauls finally assaulted the Capitol, the Romans were ready for them. They managed to hold the line. If the Gauls wanted to seize all of Rome, they were going to have to settle in for a siege.

As the Gauls made themselves comfortable and set about plundering the countryside, over in Ardea, the exiled Camillus heard of the attack on Rome. What could he do? Could he possibly whip up an inspirational speech and persuade the Ardeates to fight the Gallic invaders? You betcha!

Things to Look Out For:
· Dazzling rhetoric
· Far too much bloodshed
· Silent, manly tears from the Romans on the Capitol
· Ye olde time Roman racism
· The Gauls putting on a SHOW of destruction for the Romans
For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome
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Marcus Furius Camillus is an ancient Roman that it is hard to ignore, especially in the early days of the 4th century BCE. He has been regularly popping up in our episodes from the era, so we thought it would be wonderful to invite on a special guest to discuss his whole life in one handy biographic episode.

Who is Marc Hyden?
Marc Hyden is the Director of State Government Affairs at a Washington DC-based think tank, as well as being a weekly columnist for the Newnan Times-Herald, Albany Herald, and Rome News-Tribune. Marc graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in philosophy.
Marc has authored many, many books on Ancient Rome. His most recent work is Emperor Titus: The Right Hand of Vespasian (McFarland, 2025), and we will be talking with him about that in a future episode. He has also authored Gaius Marius: The Rise and Fall of Rome’s Saviour (Pen & Sword, 2017), Romulus: The Legend of Rome's Founding Father (Pen & Sword, 2020), but our focus today is going to be on Marcus Furius Camillus: The Life of Rome’s Second Founder (Pen & Sword, 2023).

Things to Listen Out For:
· Camillus’ controversies
· Camillus’ rise to fame
· The many virtues of Camillus
· The legacy of this Roman hero

We are sure you will love hearing Marc talk about Camillus, the man who served as a role model for later Roman luminaries like Julius Caesar and Augustus.
If you would like to hear more, we have a stack of episodes in our back catalogue that feature Camillus.

Sound Credits
Our music is by Bettina Joy de Guzman
For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

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Read our books
Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome
Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 167 - The Gallic Sack of Rome - Part 2

We rejoin the Romans and the Gauls in 390 BCE at the place where the Tiber river intersects with the Alia river. Turns out that when a bunch of Fabians upset the Gauls, those Gauls decide to march south towards Rome… How many Gauls and how many Romans met at the rivers’ edge? Well, the numbers are probably unreliable but the Romans are pretty sure they are outnumbered.

The Battle at the Alia

There seems to be a few issues at this moment including the Roman failure to build a proper camp and - even worse - failure to take the auspices. Is this some foreshadowing from our friend Livy?

Stay tuned for a discussion of the slim layout of the Roman forces. Brennus, the putative leader of the Gauls, seems to be uncertain that there may be some secret tactic or force that he hasn’t been able to account for. There’s also the problem of which bank of the river the battle takes place on which may influence where Roman forces end up.

Will the Romans take the day or will they flail in the face of the Gallic strength? Are there some tactics involved that scholars can discern from the literary accounts that aren’t immediately obvious?

The Roman Retreat

When the day goes against Rome, the retreat seems to be chaotic. Some of the Romans retreat to Rome, which makes sense, and some retreat to Veii. This creates a host of uncertainty for the Romans who survive particularly those who head back to Rome and don’t find their comrades there. The assumption of Roman losses is significant.

The Gauls meanwhile continue to suspect that there is a surprise attack from the Romans coming, but after some time they decide it’s worth marching on Rome just to see what they can see.

Things to listen out for:

Gauls getting ‘organised’ after Alia
The priestesses of Vesta get involved
General Akbar and the Gauls coming together
The role of the citadel on the Capitoline Hill
The Gauls confused about Rome - the city?
How does the levy of the Roman army work in this moment?
The security of the sacred objects of Rome
The Vestal Virgins on the move!
What happens to the eldest noble Romans now the Gauls are at the gates
Lucius Albinus - ’the noble Plebeian’?

For our full show notes and edited transcripts, head on over to https://partialhistorians.com/

Support the show
Patreon
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Read our books
Rex: The Seven Kings of Rome
Your Cheeky Guide to the Roman Empire
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.