A collection of 24 posts
Jonathan Kay speaks with History of Byzantium podcast host Robin Pierson about the Christian traditions and imperial culture that took root in the eastern half of the Roman Empire.
Jonathan Kay speaks with scholar Paula Fredriksen, whose new book describes the theological diversity that existed among Christian communities before Nicene Christianity was adopted as Rome’s state religion in the fourth century.
From Achilles to Anakin Skywalker, the messiah myth has evolved from religious prophecy to cautionary tale.
How a supply chain failure brought down an ancient civilisation: a tale with disturbing implications for present day societies with their brittle energy logistics.
Quillette editor Jonathan Kay reviews three newly published history books about the Assyrian Empire, the fall of the Romanovs, and the travels of Marco Polo.
The institution of monogamy in Classical Greece may have led to a host of phenomena that shaped the modern West: from individualism and abstract thinking to liberalism and democracy.
Daisy Dunn’s new book argues that the great female poets, heroines, and martyrs of the ancient world tied history together with a ‘missing thread.’
Quillette podcast host Jonathan Kay speaks with Joan Smith, whose new book critically examines the 2,000-year-old propaganda campaign against imperial Rome’s leading women.
In a new book, Joan Smith critically examines the historical mistreatment of Ancient Rome’s leading women—including Emperor Augustus’ daughter Julia, who was denounced as a nymphomaniac and cast into exile.
The real history of the era portrayed in Gladiator II is much more interesting, tumultuous, and murderous than Scott’s simpleminded yarn.
A new version of Tinto Brass and Bob Guccione’s notorious 1979 film ‘Caligula’ provides a valuable record of one of the most fascinating disasters in cinema history.
In the eleventh instalment of ‘The So-Called Dark Ages,’ Herbert Bushman describes the dramatic events preceding the death of Attila the Hun.
In the ninth instalment of ‘The So-Called Dark Ages,’ Herbert Bushman describes a Roman diplomat’s famous fifth-century journey into the heart of Hunnic territory.
In the eighth instalment of ‘The So-Called Dark Ages,’ Herbert Bushman describes the Huns’ increasingly violent incursions into the Eastern half of the Roman Empire.
In the seventh instalment of ‘The So-Called Dark Ages,’ Herbert Bushman describes how disparate Hunnic tribes coalesced into the unified force that would terrorize Europe.