Gothic chieftains seek to gain more influence in the province of Gothia, but as they work to assert their power in relation to the empire, an unexpected threat appears from the steppes to the east: the Huns.

A grand capital fit for a Christian emperor is built on the shores of the Bosphorus, and in order to ensure its safety, Constantine decides to retake the province of Dacia established by Trajan two centuries earlier. Below, you can see the Balkan portion of the Roman empire. Constantinople’s location near the Danubian frontier allowed…

Diocletian initiates a great persecution of the Christians, and his reformed Roman empire undergoes the ultimate test as the time for succession arrives. This is the Chi Rho symbol. It’s formed by putting the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek – Χριστός – over one another. Image from Wikimedia Commons user Dylan Lake. Here you can…

Diocletian transforms the Roman world through rational and autocratic reforms, discarding the system Augustus had built nearly three centuries earlier and forging an entirely new order. Below, you can see Diocletian’s reformed empire in the year 300 CE. The Mediterranean world was divided into four regions, each ruled by an emperor with a capital near…

Aurelian campaigns relentlessly to restore the Roman empire, and the inhabitants of the former province of Dacia must negotiate a working relationship with the migratory peoples that are now settling near them.

The Roman empire nears collapse as the Goths overrun the Balkans, the Persians invade the East, generals fight for the throne, and provinces secede to form new states, all while plague kills millions of people. As the inhabitants of Dacia stand against the chaos, messengers arrive bearing an imperial decision that will forever alter their…

The character of the Roman empire evolves as all of its free inhabitants are granted citizenship, spurring ever more growth and prosperity in Dacia. Yet that very wealth draws the attention of two powerful tribes living on the periphery of the empire: the Dacian Carpi and the Germanic Goths.

Dacia recovers from the crisis that had defined Marcus Aurelius’ reign and becomes more urban than ever before. At the same time, the province strengthens its defenses, and its soldiers grow more attached to the local communities they defend. Here is a look at Dacia in 198 CE after emperor Septimius Severus elevated several settlements…

Plague decimates the population, the frontiers are breached, and barbarians ravage Dacia as emperor Marcus Aurelius fights to overcome the empire’s direst crisis in living memory. ​For extra content that didn’t make it into the episode, head to A history of Romania‘s Facebook page.

The diverse society of the Dacian provinces flourishes during the reign of Antoninus Pius as colonists from across the empire bring their local beliefs to the region and blend them with Roman ones. Meanwhile, the identity of the Dacians living inside the empire begins to change in relation to their ancestors as well as to…