The AskHistorians Podcast is a project that highlights the users and answers that have helped make /r/AskHistorians one of the largest history discussion forum on the internet. You can subscribe to us via iTunes, Stitcher, or RSS, and now on YouTube. You can also catch the latest episodes on SoundCloud. If there is another index you'd like the cast listed on, let me know!
This Episode:
/u/Celebreth covers the history of the Roman Republic through its military development and campaigns, reflecting on how conquest, politics, and society are intertwined. With host /u/Jasfss, they cover everything from the initial militias of the city of Rome, up through the battles against Hannibal in the Second Punic War. Part 1 of 2.
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Thanks all!
Coming up next fortnight: /u/celebreth and /u/jasfss continue the conversation, moving into the late and final years of the Republic.
Sorry for being so late to the party! If anyone's interested in the chart I mentioned (or just supplementary reading because why not), it's in this doc. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me! :)
How have I missed the fact that you folks have a podcast for so long? Dammit... I have to start my catchup binge tonight.
As ever, nice podcast! I think I'm a fairly substantial chunk of the way through but you guys namechecked /u/ScipioAsina so I thought I'd try and summon him here: Hoyos has a new book out this year about the Punic Wars- a) have you been able to read it yet? b) is it better or worse than Goldsworthy's mighty "Fall of Carthage"? and c) is it worth a purchase regardless?
Fingers crossed.
/u/Celebreth I was wondering if you could answer a few questions I had about the roman scotum. I have always found its use a little puzzling. It's a large plywood shield, which is great against incoming missiles (like the later pavise) but I would imagine makes it rather heavy and unwieldy. Its use seems to make the most sense in a relatively close formation where you have buddies either side of you and aren't in danger of being flanked. The Romans weren't the only people to fight like this though so I have to question why other nations didn't utilise shields of a similar size. I'm also a little confused by the pairing of such a massive shield with substantial body armour. Body armour can be expensive, time consuming and finicky to make, and a good shield seems to be a way around the problem of equipping an army with sufficient armour for a lot of nations.
So, 1) Why was the scotum so effective? 2) Why have a massive shield that covers the majority of a soldiers body, AND various forms of mail/segmentata/squamata? and 3) If it was so effective, why was it abandoned in later centuries (and never adopted by other nations)?
Can you put it on pocket casts? I love it so far!
Thanks for this podcasts, I think you are great!