The Gepids seek to retake their lost capital at Sirmium, all while dealing with a resurgent Roman empire and ambitious new players on the board. Here’s what the Balkans looked like in 535 CE. Note the key cities on either side of the Danube, as well as the arrival of new peoples on the borders…

Having led the war of independence against the Huns, the Gepids take the wealth of their former overlords and establish a kingdom on the lands of the original province of Dacia. Their efforts then turn to securing themselves a spot in the new Mediterranean world created by the collapse of half the Roman empire. Below…

Attila aims the full force of the Hunnic confederation against the western Roman empire, and the resulting confrontation leads to tectonic changes for the Romans as well as for the peoples beyond the frontiers. Transcript Hello and welcome to A history of Romania. Season 1, Episode 23: Dominoes Before we begin today, I want to…

As Attila scourges the Roman empire and outmanoeuvers its forces, the emperor in Constantinople seeks a way to stop the ongoing ravages, and so a conspiracy is hatched to assassinate the Hunnic ruler. In this episode, we follow a writer named Priscus who was part of a Roman embassy to Attila. Invited to dinner with the…

The Huns shatter Germanic kingdoms and Roman defenses as they establish their powerbase in the Pannonian Plain. Their relentless attacks devastate the Balkans and push the tribes of Europe to flee to the safety of the western empire – with disastrous consequences. Transcript Hello and welcome to A history of Romania. Season 1, Episode 21:…

Gothic chieftains seek to gain more influence in the province of Gothia, but as they work to assert their power in relation to the empire, an unexpected threat appears from the steppes to the east: the Huns. Transcript Hello and welcome to A history of Romania. Season 1, Episode 20: Cries from the other shore…

A grand capital fit for a Christian emperor is built on the shores of the Bosphorus, and in order to ensure its safety, Constantine decides to retake the province of Dacia established by Trajan two centuries earlier. Below, you can see the Balkan portion of the Roman empire. Constantinople’s location near the Danubian frontier allowed…

Diocletian initiates a great persecution of the Christians, and his reformed Roman empire undergoes the ultimate test as the time for succession arrives. This is the Chi Rho symbol. It’s formed by putting the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek – Χριστός – over one another. Image from Wikimedia Commons user Dylan Lake. Here you can…

Diocletian transforms the Roman world through rational and autocratic reforms, discarding the system Augustus had built nearly three centuries earlier and forging an entirely new order. Below, you can see Diocletian’s reformed empire in the year 300 CE. The Mediterranean world was divided into four regions, each ruled by an emperor with a capital near…

Aurelian campaigns relentlessly to restore the Roman empire, and the inhabitants of the former province of Dacia must negotiate a working relationship with the migratory peoples that are now settling near them. Transcript Hello and welcome to A history of Romania. Season 1, Episode 16: The empire minus one Last episode, we covered the tumultuous…