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If you are just now getting to this episode of this week, I initially passed along a listener recommendation for 1421, the year China discovered the world.

However, I must confess that I did not do my usual due diligence on researching the merits of the book,

and so just now discovered that 1421 is basically pseudo-historical nonsense that relies on no good evidence whatsoever,

speculates wildly beyond the facts, and that the author, Gavin Menzies, is basically a novelist pretending to be a historian.

I am embarrassed to have given 1421 the history of Rome's seal of approval.

It is not good history, and I sincerely apologize for what can only be described as a sloppy recommendation.

How about next time I just recommend the history of the world in a hundred objects,

or maybe one of those Star Wars books that people keep wanting me to plug?

Just remember to go to audiblepodcast.com forward slash Rome, so that they know who sent you.

Hello, and welcome to the history of Rome.

Episode 146, The Spear of Destiny.

Last week, we covered the wide range of reforms Julian initiated after becoming emperor, though he is usually remembered as the man who tried to stem the tide of Christianity.

We should not forget that he was interested in more than just religion, and given enough time, it is possible that we could have been sitting here talking about Julian as a major transformative figure.

But instead, we talk about him merely as a brief detour, an accidental left turn, noticed and corrected within a block of the mistake.

This week, we will get into why Julian's imperial course correction never got the empire further down his pagan, principal side road.

...