Autocrat- A Roman History Podcast

110- Thunderbolts and Lighting Part II: House Fire or Murder?

Tullus Hostilius' time is drawing to a close. Today, we see a plague overtake Rome, and Tullus himself die alongside his wife and children in a tragic housefire caused by a lightning strike. But- hang on... what's this? Ancus Marcius, what were you doing with that lighter? And why is your sword dripping? Oh, food colouring, you say? All right, carry on... Time period: 640 BCE Relevant individuals: Tullus Hostilius, 3rd King of Rome; Ancus Marcius, 4th King of Rome Sources for this episode: * Appian (1972), Appian's Roman History in Four Volumes (Volume I). London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press. * Caseau, B. (2018), Too Young to be Accountable: Is 15 Years Old a Threshold in Byzantium? Chapter in: Ariantzi, D. (ed.), Coming of Age in Byzantium. Berlin: De Gruyter Brill. * Cassius Dio (1961), Dio's Roman History (Volume I). Translated by E. Cary. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press. * Diodorus of Sicily (1993), The Library of History Books IV.59- VIII. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. 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. * Eutropius (1760), Eutropius: Epitome of the Roman History. London: Printed for W. Johnston et al. * Harkness, A. G. (1896), Age at Marriage and Death in the Roman Empire. Transactions of the American Philological Assocation 27: 35-72. * Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Selincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd. * Matyszak, P. (2008), Chronicle of the Roman Republic: The Rulers of Ancient Rome from Romulus to Augustus. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. * Orosius (1936), History Against the Pagans. Translated by I. W. Raymond. Available at Attalus. * Robinson's History of the Roman Republic (TBA). * Sextus Aurelius Victor (1825), Galerie Romaine, ou les Hommes Illustres de Rome et les Cesars. Translate by A. Caillot. Paris. * Author unknown, Convert Units (date unknown), Convert stade to mile - Conversion of Measurement Units (online) (Accessed 12/07/2026). * Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Ancus Marcius (online) (Accessed 02/11/2025).

109- Sneaky, Sneaky Mettius

Alba Longa goes out with a bang today. Mettius Fufetius, having been beaten by Tullus Hostilius in the duel between triplets, rises up once again- and this time doesn't get off with a warning. Alba Longa itself will be razed to the ground before this episode is over... Content warning: if you are sensitive to gore, even if there's not a lot of description, you might want to skip between 13:40 and 14:40. Time period: Between 672 and 640 BCE Relevant individuals: Tullus Hostilius, 3rd King of Rome; Mettius Fufetius, Dictator of Alba Longa Sources for this episode: * Cassius 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. * Eutropius (1760), Eutropius: Epitome of the Roman History. London: Printed for W. Johnston et al. * Livy (1971), The Early History of Rome. Translated by A. de Selincourt. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd. * Matyszak, P. (2008), Chronicle of the Roman Republic: The Rulers of Ancient Rome from Romulus to Augustus. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd. * Noonan, J. D. (2006), Mettius Fufetius in Livy. Classical Antiquity 25(2): 327-349. * Orosius (1936), History Against the Pagans. Translated by I. W. Raymond. Available at Attalus. * Sextus Aurelius Victor (1825), Galerie Romaine, ou les Hommes Illustres de Rome et les Cesars. Translate by A. Caillot. Paris. * Author unknown, Convert Units (date unknown), Convert stade to mile - Conversion of Measurement Units (online) (Accessed 04/06/2026).

Bonus XXI- In Other News: The First Emperor of Japan

The reign of Tullus Hostilius includes the year 660 BCE- the same year that, half a world away in Japan, a certain individual named Iwarehiko no mikoto, descended from the sun goddess Amaterasu, invaded the Japanese islands and created an imperial line that is still with us until today. Time period: 660- 585 BCE Relevant individuals: Jimmu, 1st Emperor of Japan; Suizei, 2nd Emperor of Japan Sources for this episode: TBA

108- Triplets Fighting Triplets

War has come between Rome and Alba Longa, but in a bid to avoid both powers battering themselves into the dust before being swept aside by the Etruscans, they settle it via single combat. Well... more like triple combat. Join us for the We Hate Horatius Club, dictators called Foof, and the origins of walking under the yoke. Time period: Between 672 and 640 BCE Relevant individuals: Tullus Hostilius, 3rd King of Rome; Horatii brothers; Curiatii brothers; Mettius Fufetius, Dictator of Alba Longa Sources for this episode: TBA

107- The War Hero's Grandson

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, 3rd King of Rome; Gaius Clulius King of Alba Longa Sources for this episode: TBA