Episode B23 – Parthicus

Synopsis:  At the far point of his campaign, Trajan’s Eastern conquests begin to slip from his fingers.

“Thence he came to the (Persian Gulf) itself, and when he had learned its nature and seen a boat sailing to India, he said: ‘I should certainly have cross over to the Indi, if I were still young.’  He gave much thought to the Indi, and was curious about their affairs.  Alexander he counted a happy man and at the same time declared that he himself had advanced farther.  This was the tenor of the dispatch that he forwarded to the Senate, although he was unable to preserve even what territory had been subdued.” – Cassius Dio, Rome, Book 68 
 
The Near East c. 116AD – Provinces and Kingdoms 
 
The Near East c. 116AD – Major Cities

References and Further Reading:

https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Bloodline_Arc2.pdf

3 thoughts on “Episode B23 – Parthicus

  1. Finally all caught up. I almost didn't listen to Bloodlines because Rome usually bores me, but you approach is great and I'm enjoying learning more about the periphery to f the empire and about figures I'd only vaguely, or sometimes never heard of before.

    As for the Ancient world and the follow up Rediscovery series, they are amazing and I learned a great deal both about my own favorite subject, the near east befor the Bronze Age collapse, but about areas I had barely contemplated like the ancient new world.

    Thanks for a great series and I look forward to following the rest in real time. I hope you decide to continue after this one, though I imagine putting these together is a lot of work.

  2. Hi Vince! Thanks for stopping by. Glad you enjoyed the first series & Rediscovery, and glad you're giving Bloodline a shot. I was really concerned at the start that people would think I was just repeating "The History of Rome." The original concept was writing about the Near East (my favorite locale) between 500BC and 500AD, but I felt that was too broad a subject. I was then considering writing through the lens of a city (maybe Antioch), and then finally had the idea of focusing on a particular Syrian family line – in particular, the one that went through Julia Domna, with Cleopatra on one end and Zenobia on the other. It helped focus things, while giving me the latitude to branch off into particular topics of interest. Next episode will be one of these: I'll be covering the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek Kingdoms. Hopefully the transition won't be too jarring! Thanks again, and take care – Scott C.

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