It’s almost like you have no idea what you’re talking about.

Neither - Goldsworthy doesn’t know the sources very well and is overly focused on the military; Heather has some strange ideas about barbarian ethnicity and is way, way too happy to blame everything on the Huns. Guy Halsall is the best bet for a general overview. https://www.amazon.com/Barbarian-Migrations-Roman-West-3…

I hope you enjoy it, thank you!

Sicily is an interesting case, because it was a (for a while, the) major supplier for a lot of the Republican period and then into the Empire as well. It fell out of favor between 300 and 430, but then it became the major supplier again after North Africa fell. Although Rome shrank drastically after the middle of the…

Thank you! I’d suggest Mary Beard’s SPQR as a starting point on Roman history from the founding of the city to the third century- she’s awesome.

This isn’t about Egypt - it’s about Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya (the three Mauretanias, Numidia, Africa Proconsularis, Byzacena, and Tripolitania). If I were talking about Egypt, I would have said Egypt.

She was talking about earlier and simplifying a complex situation just a bit. Aside from Iberia, there were also silver mines in Dacia (across the Danube, modern Romania). Rome’s supply of olive oil was diffuse; Iberian oil was common and even dominant at some points during the second and third century and there were…

No, that’s not exactly the case - Egyptian grain was generally imported to Rome during emergencies, not as a matter of regular supply. You’re wrong about the city’s grain supply; the annona system expanded after the third century, the population remained far too high to be fed from the hinterland, and the sourcing…

I hope you enjoy it!

“The First World War” documentary is shorter - 10 episodes - and it’s also excellent, if you’re looking for more on that topic.

I know, I’m just joking. Thank you!

Thank you! Any Alamanni homers in the crowd? No? Jutes? Any Jutes?

Yeah, it’s a bit counterintuitive, but it was one of the wealthiest areas in the entire Empire.

Egypt was the breadbasket of the eastern half of the Empire. Egyptian grain rarely went to Rome, especially after the third century, but it was the major source for Constantinople after it was founded.

How’s that working out for you?

Sure, I can do one on the Huns.

That’s been the exact opposite of my experience - academics mistake the public not knowing the technical language of their area of expertise for a lack of interest in the general topics and themes, and specialists’ inability to bridge that gap is more of a problem than one of the dullness of the material.

Large-scale production of consumer goods, especially pottery and metalwork.

It’s an awesome book. I’m a huge fan of the way she focuses on all segments of society, and in general, Beard is just a fantastic communicator. She’s a firecracker of a person, too.

I think it’s a great narrative approach to Roman history, specifically to high politics - emperors, wars, etc. - and it’s well worth listening to if that’s your jam. He’s a sharp, interested, interesting guy.