Welcome to Totalus Rankium.

I'm Jamie.

And I'm Rob, ranking all the emperors from Augustus to Augustulus episode 31.

Wow.

Balbinus.

Ah.

That well-known guy we've been talking about for so much in the last few episodes. Yeah. Yeah, I've not mentioned him at all. No. No. Because there are no pennies dropping here. No, there are no pennies dropping. I haven't thrown any pennies at you. Some lunch should drop. Not for a few years anyway. No, not since the court order came through.

Yes. Anyway, let's have a recap of the Year of the Six emperors, because we're still in it. We're still in two, three, eight, year of the Six emperors. This is the fourth or fifth? Fourth. We've had Thrax, Gordian one, Gordian two. This is Balvinus. Who's the fourth of the sixth? Yes. We have the fifth one today as well, double episode again today.

Okay.

Which you'll find out why later. And then we have the final one next week. Okay, so let's do a quick recap of the year of six emperors, just in case people have lost the thread slightly. Thrax killed Alexander and took over the empire. Yes, Big Thrax. Big Thrax. Max Thrax. He spent the next couple of years up north fighting the Barbarians. Yep. If you remember, and then he had to pay the army even more

than usual crippling the economy. Yeah. But he kept trying to steal money, didn't he?

Yes. Rich people. He sent a network of tax collectors throughout the empire and they started charging anyone

with money or anything that looked like money.

So like chocolate coins, bits of tinsel, anything that Sean shined.

So sent some magpies?

Yeah.

And yeah, so... Oh my pretty. Go on, they all sheepies. Yeah. And yeah, so... Oh my pretty.

Go and they all flew off.

Yeah.

Yeah, so he charged people with treason or anything he could think of and claim all their money.

Meanwhile in Rome, things were getting a little bit tense because you couldn't walk down the street without someone in the employ of the emperor mugging you essentially. The Praetorians were behind the emperor,

but the senator and everyone else in the city hated him. They didn't like him at all, didn't like him,

...