Month: June 2011

9 – Suetonius, Part-Time Mountain-Climber and Full-Time Jerk.

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This episode covers the years 54 CE to 60 CE and the major characters are…

Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes and unhappy wife
Venutius, King of the Brigantes and unhappy Husband
and Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, governor of Britannia… and probably unhappy as well.

There is a new Emperor ruling over Rome. What impact will this have upon how Britain, one of the Empire’s newest properties, is administered. Meanwhile, how will the tribes within Britain, such as the Kingdom of the Brigante, cope with the brewing cultural conflict between the Britons and the Romans? This episode will address those questions and will also talk about how Romanization was carried out, and the sheer chaos that would have created among the Britons.

(History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History)

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8 – Caractacus, the Home-Wrecker

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This episode will cover the years 42 to 54 CE

The main characters will be…

Caractacus, leader of the British resistance and exiled king of the Catuvellauni.
Aulus Plautius, the general who took Britannia for Emperor Claudius
Publius Ostorius Scapula, a Roman governor of Britannia
Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigante
and Venutius, King of the Brigante

The Governance of Aulus Plautius is over and a new Governor is brought to command, and subjugate, the Britons. A brutal man named Publius Ostorius Scapula. But the British resistance was not over. Caractacus might have lost the fight against Plautius, but he wasn’t defeated. The fight for Britain continues.

(History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History)

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7 – The Claudian Invasion of Britannia

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This episode covers the invasion of Britannia in 42 CE by emperor Claudius. The major characters we’ll be talking about today are…

Emperor Claudius – Emperor of Rome and man in need of a serious PR campaign.
Aulus Plautius – His General, and the man tasked with invading Britannia.
Vespasian – Leader of the Second Legion and future Emperor of Rome (though he didn’t know it yet).
Togodomnus – Son of Cunobellinus and leader of the Catuvellauni.
Caractucus – Brother of Togodomnus, and other leader of the Catvellauni

“Whoever were the first inhabitants of Britain, whether natives or immigrants, has never been answered: don’t forget we are dealing with barbarians.” – Tacitus, Agricola.

Emperor Claudius, driven by politics and a need to establish his value, has dispatched the Second, Ninth, Fourteenth, and Twentieth legions to Britannia. The British warriors tribes managed to hold their own against the power of Rome twice before, and against Rome’s most famous General, but will they be able to withstand the sheer destruction that four legions can bring? Only time will tell.

(History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History)

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6 – The Heir of Caligula and the Son of Commius

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We are rocking through about 100 years of history… from about 54 BCE to 42 CE, and we will cover the events that eventually lead to the Roman Occupation of Britannia. The major characters of this episode will be….

Octavius Augustus – the First Emperor of Rome
Caligula – one of Rome’s more colorful Emperors.
Cassius Chaerea – The Commander of the Praetorian Guard
Claudius – One of the more underestimated emperors in Roman history
Caractacus – Leader of the Catuvellauni, son of Cunobellinus, and all around tough Celt.
Verica – Son of Commius, King of the Atrebates, and Roman ally.

A lot of time has passed since Caesar left these shores and became a human pin cushion. But despite being distracted by internal troubles, Britannia wasn’t fully forgotten in the Roman halls of power. In this episode we are going to learn about Caligula’s ambitions in Britain, and with the rise of Emperor Claudius the stage is set for another clash of titans between the warrior tribes of Britain and the Roman Empire.

(History of Britain, History of England, History of Wales, Celtic History, Roman History)

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5 – The Island at the Edge of the World – Part 3

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A storm rages across the Channel, mirroring the chaos brewing in Britannia. Caesar, Rome’s golden boy, returns with a vengeance, his legions thirsting for conquest. But this time, the Britons are ready. A cunning warrior king unites the tribes, whispering promises of freedom in the face of Roman might. Alliances shift like desert sands, betrayals bloom like poisonous flowers, and victory hangs precariously in the balance. Will Caesar forge an empire, or become the next chapter in Britannia’s bloody legend? Dive into the epic saga, where history hangs by a thread, and the answer to Britannia’s fate lies just beyond the horizon…

4 – The Island at the Edge of the World – Part 2

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Caesar’s Britannia invasion was a disaster with a victory party! Storms raged, chariots thundered, and near-annihilation loomed as Caesar battled Britons, only to escape with hostages and a twenty-day Roman rave. Though he achieved barely nothing, his PR machine spun the chaos into epic success, proving that even botched invasions could be a hit in the Eternal City. Buckle up for the wild ride, because round two in 54 BC promises even more mayhem!