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

Quick note:

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