Historia Dramatica
A podcast where I tell the story of lesser-known and or misunderstood events and people from history in a way that is hopefully as entertaining as it is informative.
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Episodes
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
Saturday Mar 18, 2023
In this episode of our series on Julian the Apostate, we follow Julian as he goes to war against his cousin, Constantius I, to determine who would rule the Roman Empire. We then follow the first period of Julian’s reign as the sole emperor of Rome.
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Works Cited
Bowersock, G.W. Julian the Apostate. Harvard University Press, 1997.
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. 1-3, Everyman, 1993.
Julianus, Flavius Claudius. The Works of Emperor Julian. Literary Liscencing LLC, 2011.
Marcellinus, Ammianus. The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus. Benediction Classics, 2011.
Murdoch, Adrian. The Last Pagan. Inner Traditions, 2008.
Cover Image: Statue of Emperor Julian, displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "The Passage of Time" by Richard Beddow
Saturday Mar 04, 2023
Saturday Mar 04, 2023
In this episode of our series on Julian the Apostate, we follow Julian as he is christened as Caesar (junior co-emperor) by his cousin Constantius and subsequently dispatched to Gaul to halt a barbarian invasion and restore stability to the troubled province.
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Works Cited
Bowersock, G.W. Julian the Apostate. Harvard University Press, 1997.
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. 1-3, Everyman, 1993.
Julianus, Flavius Claudius. The Works of Emperor Julian. Literary Liscencing LLC, 2011.
Marcellinus, Ammianus. The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus. Benediction Classics, 2011.
Murdoch, Adrian. The Last Pagan. Inner Traditions, 2008.
Cover Image: Statue of Emperor Julian, displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "The Passage of Time" by Richard Beddow
Saturday Feb 18, 2023
Saturday Feb 18, 2023
In our first episode on the life and times of the man known to history as Julian the Apostate, we first take a look at the state of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century to better understand the circumstances that led to Julian’s rise to power, and the reasons why his reign is considered so historically significant.
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Works Cited
Bowersock, G.W. Julian the Apostate. Harvard University Press, 1997.
Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. 1-3, Everyman, 1993.
Julianus, Flavius Claudius. The Works of Emperor Julian. Literary Liscencing LLC, 2011.
Marcellinus, Ammianus. The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus. Benediction Classics, 2011.
Murdoch, Adrian. The Last Pagan. Inner Traditions, 2008.
Cover Image: Statue of Emperor Julian, displayed at the Louvre Museum in Paris
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "The Passage of Time" by Richard Beddow
Saturday Feb 04, 2023
Saturday Feb 04, 2023
In the final episode of our series on the Meiji Restoration, the Imperial government moves to suppress the Satsuma Rebellion- the desperate last stand of the former samurai class against the forces of modernization. We then recap the series and discuss the long-term effects of these events.
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Works Cited:
Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World 1852-1912. Columbia University Press, 2002.
Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Revolution: the Dawn of Modern Japan through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.
Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1615-1867 Stanford University Press, 1998
Cover Image: Illustration of a Military Review by Toyohara Chikanobu, 1887
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "Miyasan, Miyasan," performed by the Daiei Company Male Choir
Saturday Jan 21, 2023
Saturday Jan 21, 2023
In this episode of our series on the Meiji Restoration, the victorious Imperial restoration government continues its work of reforming Japanese society, culture, and politics. As these changes begin to alienate some of the Emperor’s former supporters, the specter of rebellion begins to once again haunt the country.
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Works Cited:
Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World 1852-1912. Columbia University Press, 2002.
Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Revolution: the Dawn of Modern Japan through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.
Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1615-1867 Stanford University Press, 1998
Cover Image: Illustration of a Military Review by Toyohara Chikanobu, 1887
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "Miyasan, Miyasan," performed by the Daiei Company Male Choir
Saturday Jan 07, 2023
Saturday Jan 07, 2023
In this episode of our series on the Meiji Restoration, the civil war between the supporters of the Emperor and the Shogun rages on. Meanwhile, the young Emperor Meiji makes the first steps towards reforming Japan into a modern, centralized nation-state.
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Works Cited:
Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World 1852-1912. Columbia University Press, 2002.
Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Revolution: the Dawn of Modern Japan through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.
Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1615-1867 Stanford University Press, 1998
Cover Image: Illustration of a Military Review by Toyohara Chikanobu, 1887
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "Miyasan, Miyasan," performed by the Daiei Company Male Choir
Saturday Dec 24, 2022
Saturday Dec 24, 2022
In this episode of our series on the Meiji Restoration, imperial loyalists embark on their plan to restore the political authority of the Emperor, resulting in the outbreak of armed conflict between Shogunate and Imperial forces at the Battle of Toba-Fushimi.
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Works Cited:
Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World 1852-1912. Columbia University Press, 2002.
Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Revolution: the Dawn of Modern Japan through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.
Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1615-1867 Stanford University Press, 1998
Cover Image: Illustration of a Military Review by Toyohara Chikanobu, 1887
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "Miyasan, Miyasan," performed by the Daiei Company Male Choir
Saturday Dec 10, 2022
Saturday Dec 10, 2022
In this episode of our series on the Meiji Restoration, the people of Japan struggle to enact the agenda of “enriching the country and strengthening the army” as events push erstwhile rivals Chōshū and Satsuma closer towards an alliance against the Tokugawa Shogunate.
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Works Cited:
Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World 1852-1912. Columbia University Press, 2002.
Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Revolution: the Dawn of Modern Japan through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.
Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1615-1867 Stanford University Press, 1998
Cover Image: Illustration of a Military Review by Toyohara Chikanobu, 1887
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "Miyasan, Miyasan," performed by the Daiei Company Male Choir
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
Saturday Nov 26, 2022
In this episode of our series on the Meiji Restoration, we continue to discuss the political fallout of Japan’s fateful encounter with the west, as tensions between the Shogun, the Emperor, and their respective supporters continue to escalate.
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Support the show on Patreon
Works Cited:
Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World 1852-1912. Columbia University Press, 2002.
Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Revolution: the Dawn of Modern Japan through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.
Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1615-1867 Stanford University Press, 1998
Cover Image: Illustration of a Military Review by Toyohara Chikanobu, 1887
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "Miyasan, Miyasan," performed by the Daiei Company Male Choir
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
Saturday Nov 12, 2022
In the first episode of our series on the Meiji Restoration, we discuss the state of affairs in Japan prior to and immediately following the arrival of an American fleet in Edo Bay on July 8th, 1853. Having previously been isolated from the rest of the world, the ‘opening’ of Japan was certain to have grave political and social consequences that would be felt for decades to come.
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Support the show on Patreon
Works Cited:
Beasley, W. G. The Meiji Restoration. Stanford University Press, 2019.
Keene, Donald. Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World 1852-1912. Columbia University Press, 2002.
Hillsborough, Romulus. Samurai Revolution: the Dawn of Modern Japan through the Eyes of the Shogun's Last Samurai. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.
Jansen, Marius B. The Making of Modern Japan. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000.
Ravina, Mark. The Last Samurai: The Life and Battles of Saigo Takamori. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011.
Sansom, George. A History of Japan 1615-1867 Stanford University Press, 1998
Cover Image: Illustration of a Military Review by Toyohara Chikanobu, 1887
Opening Theme: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, "From the New World", Op. 95, B. 178 by Antonín Dvořák
Closing Theme: "Miyasan, Miyasan," performed by the Daiei Company Male Choir