Roman warfare: everything you wanted to know

History Extra podcast

Immediate Media

History

4.3 • 4.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 July 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Did the Roman legions actually wear red? How often was their famous 'tortoise' formation actually used? How did military leaders maintain control of an army spread across such a massive empire? And what exactly was it that made that army so formidable? Speaking to Emily Briffett, Dr Adrian Goldsworthy answers listener questions on the ancient superpower's attitude to warfare, as well as its tactics, strategy and logistics. If you’re interested in finding out more about Roman military history, Adrian recently appeared on History's Greatest Battles to chart five epic clashes of the Roman empire – from naval showdowns and brutal sieges to disastrous defeats and tales of betrayal. Listen to that now: pod.link/1794311126 The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	And what brings you to Leonardo Hotels today?
0:03.0	Our son's graduation.
0:04.5	The company team building day.
0:06.1	The central location.
0:07.6	The big match.
0:08.7	Delicious buffet breakfast.
0:10.3	The comfy room.
0:11.4	The dream bed.
0:12.9	At Leonardo Hotels, if it's important to you, it's important to us.
0:17.4	Come join us.
0:18.6	For our best rates, book direct at leonardohotels.co.uk.
0:27.4	Welcome to the History Extra podcast, fascinating historical conversations from the makers of BBC
0:35.7	History magazine.
0:41.5	Did the Roman legions actually wear red?
0:46.1	How often was their famous tortoise formation really used?
0:51.9	How did military leaders maintain control of an army spread across such a massive empire?
0:56.9	And what was it exactly that made that army so formidable?
1:03.7	Speaking to Emily Briffitt, Dr. Adrian Goldsworthy answers your top questions on ancient Rome's attitude to warfare, as well as its tactics, strategy and logistics.
1:09.5	And if you enjoy this episode and you want to find out more about Roman military history,
1:13.8	then Adrian was our expert for series one of history's greatest battles,
1:19.2	where he and Emily charted five epic clashes of the Roman Empire.
1:23.8	A new bonus episode of that series has just been released,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Immediate Media, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Immediate Media and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.