Entirely Unofficial Rest is History Catalogue and Interrogator

Ancient Civilisations & Classical Antiquity

128 Episodes 29 Series 173 Figures 70 Events 345 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.

Timeline Subway

Episodes Series Figures Events Books Authors

Episodes by year

Showing 12 of 128

2023

2 episodes

The Fall of the Roman Republic

Julius Caesar · Part 2

This episode continues the hosts' multi-part examination of Julius Caesar's assassination and its aftermath. Picking up…

The Greatest Female Pharaoh

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the life, career and legacy of the Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut. They pl…

2022

10 episodes

RIHC: Señor Sandbrook de Buenos Aires, climbing volcanoes, and puddings

This episode is a wide-ranging mailbag and end-of-year discussion by hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook. They begi…

Jesus Christ: The History (Ep 2)

Life of Jesus · Part 2

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the historical evidence for the life, death and legacy of Jesus of Nazareth. …

Jesus Christ: The Mystery (Ep 1)

Life of Jesus · Part 1

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook begin a two-part examination of the life of Jesus, framing the subject as both …

Serbia: The Birthplace of Civilisation

Great World Cup Saga · Part 26

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook examine the Vinča (Vincia) culture of the central Balkans, prompted by excavati…

Tunisia: Dido of Carthage

Great World Cup Saga · Part 8

In this episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook focus on Dido (Elissa), the legendary founder-queen of Carthage, usin…

Portugal: On the Edge of the World (Ep 1)

Portugal · Part 1

This episode inaugurates a multipart history of Portugal. The hosts trace Portugal's long, layered past from ancient ti…

Roman Holidays (Ep 4)

Holidays · Part 4

This episode examines holidays and tourism in the ancient world, comparing Roman elite leisure — villas, spas and the B…

RIHC: Holidays, Yorkshire, and disease

Holidays · Part 5

In this bonus episode Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook chat informally about recent work and listeners' contributions.…

Plague and the decline of the Roman Empire

Hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook welcome Professor Kyle Harper (University of Oklahoma) to discuss his book The …

RIHC: Greece, Downfall, and Rishi's shoes

This bonus episode features Tom Holland welcoming Dominic Sandbrook back from holiday for a wide-ranging informal discu…

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Series in this era

29 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

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

Alexander

2 episodes Aired: 2021-11-27

Historical figures

173 tagged

Julius Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar)

47 episodes

Alexander the Great (Alexander III of Macedon)

44 episodes

Augustus (Gaius Octavius Thurinus)

41 episodes

Herodotus

28 episodes

Nero

26 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

70 tagged

Trojan War

15 episodes

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

15 episodes

First Punic War (264–241 BC, Mediterranean)

13 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)

11 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

345 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