The Battle of Philippi: Death of the Roman Republic

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 22 October 2020

⏱️ 50 minutes

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Summary

In October 42 BC the Roman Republic committed suicide. Near the town of Philippi in northern Greece the forces of Brutus and Cassius, the famous assassins of Julius Caesar and the last surviving cheerleaders of the Roman Republic, faced off against the armies of Marc Antony and young Octavian. Two separate battles were fought, the results of which decided the future direction of Rome. I was delighted to get the brilliant Steele Brand (@steele_brand) back on the podcast to talk me through these all-important battles. From the background to Brutus’ pitiful demise Steele guided me through the final Roman attempts to restore the Republic and how they were ultimately squashed by a combination of political brilliance, suicidal blunders and outrageous luck.

Steele is the author of ‘Killing for the Republic: Citizen Soldiers and the Roman Way of War’.

Steele's Twitter: @steele_brand

Tristan's Twitter: @ancientstristan

Steele's previous appearance on The Ancients: https://play.acast.com/s/the-ancients/killingfortheromanrepublic

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Lycia was a region in southwest Anatolia that bordered the Mediterranean Sea.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	In October 42 BC, one of the most important set of battles in Roman history occurred
0:08.4	near the town of Philippi in northern Greece.
0:11.8	On the one side we had the forces of a young Octavian, the man who had later become Augustus,
0:16.7	and the forces of Mark Antony, the veteran general of Julius Caesar, and opposing them on
0:22.4	the other side you had the forces of Brutus and Cassius, two of the most famous assassins
0:28.1	of Julius Caesar.
0:30.1	These battles would decide the future of Rome, the future of the Roman Republic, and
0:35.2	to talk through these battles, the background, the battles themselves and their significance,
0:40.4	I was delighted to be rejoined by Dr. Steele Brand.
0:44.0	Steele has been on the podcast once before to talk about citizen soldiers during the Roman
0:47.7	Republic period, and that podcast is called Killing for the Roman Republic, and it was
0:52.2	brilliant to get him back on the show, to talk through the battles of Philippi.
0:57.2	Steele.
0:58.2	Steele, it is great to have you back on the show, how you been?
1:08.2	I have been doing okay, given the circumstances, and it's fantastic to be back.
1:13.2	Another great topic with our match today, we are talking about the battles of Philippi.
1:17.6	I guess it's right to say battles, right?
1:19.6	Correct, yes.
1:21.0	And this is a defining moment in Roman history.
1:24.6	This is when the Roman Republic, can we say it dies?
1:28.2	I think we have to be a little more dramatic in our phraseology there.
1:32.1	It commits suicide.
	...

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