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Intelligence Squared

Rome’s Golden Age with Tom Holland

Intelligence Squared

Intelligence Squared

News, Society & Culture, Arts, News Commentary

4.21.2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2023

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What was Rome like during its zenith? In July 2023 acclaimed historian and co-host of The Rest Is History podcast Tom Holland came to Intelligence Squared to paint a vivid picture of Rome during the Pax Romana, when Rome was the world’s great superpower. Drawing on his new book Pax: War and Peace in Rome’s Golden Age, Holland described how at its peak the Roman Empire was the wealthiest and most powerful state the world had then seen, stretching from Scotland to Arabia, and containing perhaps a quarter of the human population then alive. Joining Holland in conversation is Hannah Cornwell, Associate Professor of Ancient History at the University of Birmingham and author of Pax and the Politics of Peace: Republic to Principate. We’d love to hear your feedback and what you think we should talk about next, who we should have on and what our future debates should be.  Send us an email or voice note with your thoughts to podcasts@intelligencesquared.com or Tweet us @intelligence2.  And if you’d like to get ad-free access to all Intelligence Squared podcasts, including exclusive bonus content, early access to new episodes and much more, become a supporter of Intelligence Squared today for just £4.99, or the equivalent in your local currency .  Just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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super-sized superyots, and there's no end to high-end shops.

0:21.0

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0:30.0

A city-sized playground in a vast desert, where the tallest building in the world dwarfs

0:37.0

super-sized superyots, and there's no end to high-end shops.

0:42.0

So go big, go bold, go beautiful, and fly to Dubai with Virgin Atlantic, book now.

0:58.0

Welcome to Intelligent Squared.

1:03.0

I'm Senior Producer Connor Boyle.

1:05.0

We're welcoming back a friend of the show today, the historian, author, and co-host of the

1:10.0

rest's history podcast, Tom Holland.

1:12.0

His latest book is PAX, War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age.

1:16.0

And joining him to discuss it is Hannah Cornwell, associate professor of ancient history

1:21.0

at the University of Birmingham.

1:23.0

If you'd like to hear this episode, add free, and enjoy the full-length version,

1:27.0

you can support our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations by

1:31.0

heading to IntelligentSquared.com slash membership, or by subscribing to our channel via Apple.

1:37.0

Let's join Hannah Cornwell and Tom Holland in conversation.

1:40.0

Tom, welcome and firstly, many congratulations on your latest book PAX.

1:45.0

So as a way into our discussion, I thought we might start with addressing a point

1:49.0

that you raised in your preface, which is as readers, we seem continually fascinated

1:54.0

with the ancient world and with Roman particular, which you attribute to their sort of

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