Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Ancient Civilisations & Classical Antiquity

134 Episodes 31 Series 180 Figures 74 Events 350 Books 1 Authors

Spanning the Bronze Age through the Roman Empire, episodes examine political, military, religious and cultural developments across the Mediterranean and Near East. Series include "Afghanistan" (Achaemenids, Alexander‑era campaigns and later regional history), "Alexander" (Macedonian origins, Aristotle’s education, campaigns and legacy), "Atlantis" (Plato and later receptions), "Beards" (symbolic roles of facial hair), and bonus interviews with Mary Beard on Caesar, the Trojan War, Alexander and Spartacus. Episodes cover Uruk, Greco‑Persian battles (Artemisium, Salamis), the Bronze Age collapse, Hadrian’s Wall, Carthage’s founding, the Bar Kokhba revolt and Roman Britain. Discussed figures and texts include Helen of Sparta, Antipater, Germanicus, Herod, Aulus Plautius, Spendius, Plutarch, Alexander to Actium, Moses and Monotheism and the Gospel of Mark.

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Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 12 of 134

2021

12 episodes

Tutankhamun

Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland discuss the enduring allure of Tutankhamun, tracing it from Howard Carter's dramatic …

Empires

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook conduct a wide-ranging discussion of 'empire': what it means, how empires form,…

Pompeii

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are joined by archaeologist Sophie Hay to discuss Pompeii and Herculaneum. They…

Stephen Fry and Troy

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook welcome their first-ever guest, Stephen Fry, to discuss Greek mythology with a …

Troy

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the Trojan War: its mythic narrative, archaeological evidence, and cultural a…

The History of the Future

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the history of thinking about the future: prophecies, oracles, apocalyp…

Classics

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview Professor Mary Beard about the long reception and cultural afterlife …

Alexander the Great - Part 2

Alexander · Part 2

This episode, the second in The Rest Is History's series on Alexander, follows Alexander the Great from Gaugamela throu…

Alexander the Great - Part 1

Alexander · Part 1

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook begin a multi-part treatment of Alexander the Great, explaining why his life is one o…

Stonehenge, Ancient Ritual and the Origins of Paganism

Paganism · Part 2

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook interview Professor Ronald Hutton (University of Bristol) about paganism across…

Thermopylae & Salamis - Part 1

Persian Wars · Part 1

This episode of The Rest Is History sets the scene for Thermopylae and Salamis by explaining the broader context of the…

Thermopylae & Salamis - Part 2

Persian Wars · Part 2

This episode continues a multipart Rest Is History treatment of the Greco-Persian Wars, with Tom Holland narrating the …

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Series in this era

31 series

Bonus Interviews with Mary Beard

4 episodes Aired: 2025-10-09 – 2025-10-31

Carthage

4 episodes Aired: 2024-02-19

Cleopatra

4 episodes Aired: 2022-06-13

Emperors of Rome

4 episodes Aired: 2025-01-27

Hannibal

4 episodes Aired: 2025-05-25 – 2025-05-26

Rome's Greatest Enemy

4 episodes Aired: 2026-02-02

The Roman Conquest of Britain

4 episodes Aired: 2024-09-29

Greek Myths

3 episodes Aired: 2025-09-21

Persian Wars

3 episodes Aired: 2021-11-27

World Cup of Gods

3 episodes Aired: 2021-11-27

Historical figures

180 tagged

Julius Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar)

47 episodes

Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon)

45 episodes

Augustus (Gaius Octavius Thurinus)

41 episodes

Herodotus

29 episodes

Nero

27 episodes

Cleopatra VII Philopator of Egypt

24 episodes

Marcus Tullius Cicero (Cicero)

23 episodes

Claudius (Roman Emperor)

20 episodes

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great)

20 episodes

Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus)

18 episodes

Historical events

74 tagged

Trojan War

15 episodes

Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD, Roman Empire)

15 episodes

First Punic War (264–241 BC, Mediterranean)

14 episodes

Greco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC)

13 episodes

Roman conquest of Britain (from AD 43)

13 episodes

First Judean–Roman War (66–73 CE) / Destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE)

12 episodes

Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC)

12 episodes

Assassination of Julius Caesar (44 BC)

10 episodes

Battle of Marathon (c. 490 BC)

10 episodes

Battle of Salamis (480 BC)

9 episodes

Books

350 tagged

Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West

Author: Tom Holland

16 episodes

Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic

Author: Tom Holland

16 episodes

The Iliad

Author: Homer

13 episodes

I, Claudius

Author: Robert Graves

10 episodes

Pax: War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age

Author: Tom Holland

9 episodes

The Odyssey

Author: Homer

9 episodes

Dominion

Author: Tom Holland

8 episodes

The Histories

Author: Herodotus

8 episodes

The Aeneid (standardized)

Author: Virgil

6 episodes

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (standardized)

Author: Edward Gibbon

6 episodes

Authors

1 tagged

Homer

13 episodes