The ’’Greats’’ of History

Herod's last few years were defined by soaring monuments of unsurpassed beauty, scale and sophistication that marked him as one of the greatest builders of all time. Oh, and a bunch of frenzied killing that made him a villain of (literally) biblical proportions. But, how much of this was the "real" Herod? What was this complicated man's true legacy?

Herod is firmly in control. He quickly becomes hated by his people. Some try to kill him. But then, he also tries to save many through personal and - if I do say so myself - quite thoughtful action. So, is this guy awful? Of maybe misunderstood? Or, somehow, a little of both. 

Let's follow along as Herod rises to become king of Judea, a development that seems to have caught everyone off guard, including Herod himself. But gaining the throne didn't end his troubles; in many ways, they were just getting started. 

For the final subject of season one, let's meet Herod, and cover about 1,000 years of interesting, chaotic, and, to some, sacred history. 

With Gladiator II out, let's switch things up and get to know not a great of history, but one of the very worst ever: Roman Emperor Caracalla (and briefly, his less-bad brother, Geta). Content from this chapter is drawn in part from the book Evil Roman Emperors.  https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Roman-Emperors-Shocking-Caligula/dp/1633886905/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

The final (no, really) episode in our sprawling series on the life and career of Pompey Magnus. Let's track the culmination of his war with Caesar, and consider his life and legacy. 

The late Roman Republic was chaotic, with violence and bloodshed the norm. As the crisis reached its apex, two factions emerged: one led by Pompey, one led by Caesar. In time, of course, only one would be left standing...

Pompey finally encounters some political challenges that he can't solve on his own. Fortunately, he's got a couple of guys lurking in the shadows who are ready to help him -- and themselves. Their collaboration would change history, and the course of Pompey's life and career. 

Woah. This guy has already been called "The Great," just in his twenties?! Where on earth can he go from here? Whelp. It turns out that his remarkable career is just getting started. 

Let's track Pompey as he pushes in his chips and chooses sides in Rome's first major civil war, -- already! -- gets the name "The Great," and becomes the indispensable man of Rome, all before age thirty. 

So, if you haven't figured this out yet, I am a nerd. Nothing brings out my inner nerdery like Rome. Buckle up; we're going to be here for a while!

The story of The Poison King reaches its violent apex. We've spent lots of time with this guy. Would you consider him to be "Great?"

HI. If you've already listened to this, then you realized that I messed up the RSS feed, and published part three BEFORE part one. So, yeah. Six months in and this is my first major flub. But the story is awesome so hopefully you will forgive me. 

The king is back from his self-imposed exile in the wilderness. Let's see what he does now that he is back in control of his kingdom. 

Part one of our series on Mithridates, a larger than life figure and the deadliest enemy of those obnoxious Romans. You're going to love this guy. 

Wu is firmly in control. Let's follow him across his long reign to see if he earns his epithet of "The Great."

We shift our attention to the unification of China under its first Emperor, the spectacular fall of his short-lived dynasty, and the rise of the powerful Han and their greatest of rulers, Wu the Great. 

Today moves us to China, where we meet all sorts of fun people, like Yu the Great, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Sun Tzu, and many more! Ancient China was an amazing place. 

The conclusion of our look at Ashoka, considered by many to be the greatest ruler in India's history, even if it didn't start out that way.