With Numa gone, we now see the election of Tullus Hostilius- the grandson of Sabine war hero Hostius Hostilius- to the Roman throne. He is a lot more belligerent than old Pompilius ever was, and immediately sets about engineering a war with Alba Longa.

Time period: c. 672- 671 BCE

Relevant individuals: Tullus Hostilius, Gaius Clulius

Sources for this episode:

TBA

The empire has a Princess Imperial as of 2026, but we do not have a formal regent established. Well, this episode sets up two of them...

The second king of Rome may be dead, but his story isn't quite. Today, we scrape together the crumbs of evidence our primary and secondary sources give us concerning Egeria. Is she a nymph? A goddess? Is she Numa's second wife or his lover? And what's the deal with her maybe turning into a spring? Let the defence and prosecution assemble!

Time period: 716- 627 BCE

Relevant individuals: Numa Pompilius, Egeria

Sources for this episode:

TBA

In the spirit of having fun with the show, here's another Imperial Edict sorting out the year count for the empire. 2026 is now also Year IV/V...

Sources for this episode:

TBA

Numa Pompilius' rule is a lot less exciting than that of Romulus in terms of warfare. Instead, we get a whole lot of religious restructuring, instilling piety into the rabble that is Roman society, and a mysterious burial with sacred texts the later Republic will never address again... That and calendar administration.

Time period: 716- 672 BCE

Relevant individuals: Numa Pompilius

Sources for this episode:

• Cassius Dio (1961), Dio’s Roman History in Nine Volumes. Volume II. Translated by E. Cary. London, United Kingdom and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.
• Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities of Dionysus of Halicarnassus. Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
• Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Selincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
• Marks, A. and Tingay, G. (date unknown), Romans. London: Usborne Publishing.
• M's Chronicle of the Roman Republic (TBA).Plutarch (1938), Plutarch's Lives (Volume I). London and New York: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. and E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc.
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Via Sacra (online) (Accessed 27/10/2025).

Between 716 and 715 BCE, Rome undergoes what becomes known as an interregnum- an inter regnum, or period between kings. Senators take five-day turns ruling the country, and then one year into it, Numa Pompilius becomes elected king! However, our Sabine protagonist just refuses to become monarch until all sorts of hoops have been jumped through...

Sources for this episode:

• Dio (1961), Dio's Roman History (Volume I). Translated by E. Cary. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.
• Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities of Dionysus of Halicarnassus. Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
• Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Selincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
• Plutarch (1938), Plutarch's Lives (Volume I). London and New York: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. and E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc.
• Sextus Aurelius Victor (TBA).
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Olympiad (online) (Accessed 27/10/2025).

It's 5th July, 716 BCE. Campus Martius. One way or another, King Romulus of Rome disappears. But how? Did he become a god? Did the Senate do him in? Was there an uprising by the people? Let's pick our way through the different versions of events...

Sources for this episode:

• Dio (1961), Dio's Roman History (Volume I). Translated by E. Cary. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press.
• Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities of Dionysus of Halicarnassus. Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
• Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Selincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
• Ovid (1968), The Metamorphoses of Ovid. Translated by M. M. Innes. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
• Pliny's Natural History (TBA).
• Plutarch (1938), Plutarch's Lives (Volume I). London and New York: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. and E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc.
• Sextus Aurelius Victor (TBA).
• Wiseman, T. P. (1983), The Wife and Children of Romulus. The Classical Quarterly 33(2): 445-452.
• Author unknown, NASA (date unknown), Solar eclipses of historical interest (online) (Accessed 27/10/2025).
• Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), List of solar eclipses in antiquities (online) (Accessed 27/10/2025).

We march through the years from 752 to 716 BCE, polishing off the remaining thirty-six years of Romulus' rule. Along the way, we'll watch Rome hit a bunch of opponents until they stay down one after another and Romulus take on some tyrannical airs the Senate don't like. Also, is it Dionysus of Halicarnassus- or is it John?

Sources for this episode:

• Dionysus of Halicarnassus (1960), The Roman Antiquities of Dionysus of Halicarnassus. Translated by E. Cary. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd.
• Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Selincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd.
• M’s Chronicle of the Roman Republic (TBA).
• Pliny’s Natural History (TBA)
• Plutarch (1938), Plutarch's Lives (Volume I). London and New York: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. and E. P. Dutton & Co. Inc.