Uploaded June 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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In this episode of the Toldinstone Podcast, Adrian Goldsworthy and I discuss his forthcoming book on the long rivalry between the Roman and Persian Empires. You can preorder "Rome and Persia" on Amazon or through your favorite bookstore.

Check out my other channels, @toldinstone and @scenicroutestothepast

Chapters:
0:00 Introducing Persia
4:55 Comparing Rome and Persia
10:36 Contrasting political institutions
22:57 Border zones
30:20 The Battle of Carrhae
43:23 Caesar's Parthian plans
49:27 Trajan's Parthian war
1:02:28 The armies of Rome and Parthia
1:09:54 Why were the Sassanians so successful?
1:17:29 Dura-Europus and Sassanian siege warfare
1:24:49 The role of religion
1:29:52 Centuries of limited warfare
1:40:10 The final war
1:48:55 The Arab Conquests