S3 E18 The Mystery of Rome
Ancient Rome, with its towering columns, sprawling forums, and grandiose temples, was a city of both monumental power and enigmatic allure. The Eternal City, as it came to be known, stood at the heart of a vast empire that stretched from the windswept hills of Britain to the sun-baked deserts of Egypt. The streets of Rome were alive with the clamor of merchants, the march of legions, and the whispers of senators plotting in the shadows of the Senate House. The grandeur of its architecture, from the Colosseum’s imposing arches to the majestic dome of the Pantheon, spoke of a civilization at the peak of its power and artistic achievement. Yet, beneath this veneer of dominance and order lay countless mysteries, shrouded in myth, legend, and unanswered questions.
The founding of Rome itself is steeped in mystery, entwined with the tale of Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers raised by a she-wolf. This story, celebrated by poets and inscribed on monuments, reflects the mythic origins that the Romans cherished, yet the true beginnings of the city remain hidden in the mists of time. Was it the act of a single great leader, or did it arise from the collective efforts of disparate tribes drawn to the fertile lands by the Tiber River? Archaeology offers clues, but the full story of Rome’s emergence as a city of power and influence continues to elude us.
As the city grew into an empire, it became a melting pot of cultures, religions, and philosophies, each bringing its own mysteries to the Roman world. The underground catacombs, where early Christians buried their dead in secret, hold tales of faith and persecution, their winding tunnels still concealing secrets of ancient rituals and forgotten saints. The Colosseum, with its intricate subterranean hypogeum, reveals the sophisticated yet brutal nature of Roman entertainment, though many questions about its inner workings and the lives of those who fought and died there remain unanswered.
Even in its decline, Rome was wrapped in enigma. The reasons for the fall of such a mighty empire are debated to this day—was it due to barbarian invasions, internal corruption, economic collapse, or perhaps a combination of all these factors? The disappearance of entire legions, the lost treasures of emperors, and the obscure practices of secretive cults all contribute to the sense that Ancient Rome, for all its achievements, remains a civilization cloaked in mystery. Its ruins, still standing against the passage of time, continue to captivate and puzzle those who walk among them, whispering stories of a world that was both familiar and strange, rational and arcane, real and legendary.
Hi everyone and welcome back to the dark history podcast where we explore the darkest parts of human history. hope everyone is well I’m Rob your host as always. Welcome to season 3 episode 18 The Mystery of Rome. Last season, I delved into the enigmatic world of Ancient Egypt, uncovering the secrets and mysteries that have fascinated humanity for millennia. But today, we shift our focus to another cornerstone of ancient history, a civilization that, on the surface, seems far more familiar yet holds just as many, if not more, secrets waiting to be unraveled. In today's episode, we’ll turn our gaze to the marble columns and bustling streets of Ancient Rome, where intrigue and enigma weave through every aspect of its vast empire.
You might think that Rome, with its well-documented history and influence on modern society, is a civilization we understand inside and out. After all, Rome's legacy is everywhere—law, architecture, government, language. But if you think we've uncovered all there is to know about Rome, think again. Just like Ancient Egypt, Rome is a civilization that continues to surprise us with its layers of mystery, its hidden stories, and the unanswered questions that linger in its ruins and records.
Beneath the grandiosity of Rome’s triumphal arches and the disciplined order of its legions lies a world filled with wonders that historians and archaeologists are still piecing together. How did a small settlement by the Tiber River grow into one of the most powerful empires the world has ever seen? What really happened to the Ninth Legion, that seemingly vanished from the pages of history?
Today, we will dive into the mysteries that continue to intrigue and puzzle scholars—the unsolved enigmas that suggest we may only know part of the story. Before we start I just want to tell you about this week's podcast of the episode is the brutal, bizarre and boozy podcast. This is another brilliant podcast on my weeklylisten list, but We will have a sneak peak of their show later on in the episode.
So without further ado please turn off those lights sit back and relax next to the fire for more dark history.
The origins of many great civilizations are shrouded in mystery, but when it comes to Ancient Rome, the enigma surrounding its beginnings is more complex and peculiar than most. Unlike other civilizations that emerged from clear historical circumstances, Rome’s foundation is a blend of myth, legend, and historical fragments that seem to raise more questions than they answer. While the stories of other ancient societies often fade into the mists of time, the tale of Rome’s birth is one that intertwines the supernatural with the mundane, creating a narrative that is as strange as it is captivating.
The legend of Romulus and Remus, the twin brothers said to have been raised by a she-wolf and destined to establish the city on the seven hills, is perhaps the most famous origin story of all. This tale, filled with divine intervention, fratricide, and the founding of what would become a colossal empire, feels more like a mythological epic than the true beginning of a city. And yet, this is the story that the Romans themselves believed and celebrated, enshrining it in their art, literature, and public ceremonies. But beneath this legendary veneer lies the question: how much of this story is rooted in actual events, and how much is a carefully crafted tale meant to unite and inspire a burgeoning people?
The legend begins with the ancient city of Alba Longa, where a king named Numitor ruled. Numitor was the rightful king, but his younger brother Amulius seized the throne through treachery, overthrowing Numitor and taking control of the city. To secure his position, Amulius killed Numitor’s male heirs and forced Numitor’s daughter, Rhea Silvia, to become a Vestal Virgin. As a Vestal Virgin, Rhea Silvia was bound by a vow of chastity, ensuring that she could not have children who might challenge Amulius’s rule.
However, the god Mars, the Roman god of war, took notice of Rhea Silvia and was enamored with her. According to the legend, Mars visited Rhea Silvia and she became pregnant with twin sons, Romulus and Remus. When Amulius learned of the birth of the twins, he was furious and feared that they might one day grow up to challenge him for the throne. To eliminate this threat, he ordered the twins to be thrown into the Tiber River, expecting them to drown.
The servant tasked with carrying out this order placed the twins in a basket and set it afloat on the Tiber River. However, instead of sinking, the basket drifted safely downstream and eventually washed ashore at the base of the Palatine Hill, one of the Seven Hills of Rome. There, the twins were discovered by a she-wolf (in Latin, lupa), who, in a miraculous twist, did not harm them but instead nursed and cared for them as if they were her own cubs. This iconic image of Romulus and Remus suckling from the she-wolf has become a symbol of Rome and is depicted in numerous works of art throughout history.
According to some versions of the story, a woodpecker, another sacred animal to Mars, also helped to feed the twins. The she-wolf continued to care for Romulus and Remus until they were discovered by a shepherd named Faustulus. Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia, took the boys in and raised them as their own sons.
As Romulus and Remus grew up, they became natural leaders and protectors of the people in the region. They were known for their strength, courage, and sense of justice. Eventually, the truth of their royal lineage was revealed to them. Determined to restore their grandfather Numitor to the throne, Romulus and Remus gathered a group of loyal followers and returned to Alba Longa. In a dramatic confrontation, they overthrew Amulius, restoring Numitor to his rightful position as king.
After restoring their grandfather, Romulus and Remus decided to found a new city of their own. They returned to the site where they had been miraculously saved by the Tiber River and the she-wolf. However, the brothers soon disagreed on where exactly to build the city and what to name it. Romulus preferred the Palatine Hill, while Remus favored the Aventine Hill. To settle the dispute, they decided to seek the will of the gods through augury—a practice that involved interpreting the flight patterns of birds.
According to the legend, Remus saw six vultures first, which he took as a sign of the gods’ favor. However, Romulus then claimed to have seen twelve vultures, which he argued was a superior omen. The brothers’ disagreement quickly escalated into a deadly conflict. In the ensuing fight, Romulus killed Remus, solidifying his position as the sole founder of the new city.
Romulus went on to establish the city on the Palatine Hill in 753 BC, according to Roman tradition. He named the city Rome after himself and became its first king. To populate his new city, Romulus invited people from neighboring regions, including fugitives, exiles, and runaway slaves, offering them asylum in Rome. This influx of diverse peoples helped Rome grow rapidly.
Romulus also faced the challenge of securing wives for his predominantly male followers. According to legend, Romulus orchestrated the abduction of women from the neighboring Sabine tribe in an event known as the “Rape of the Sabine Women.” This act led to a conflict with the Sabines, but the war was eventually resolved through a peace agreement, and the Sabine women became the mothers of Rome’s future generations, further strengthening the city’s population.
Romulus ruled Rome for many years, establishing its institutions and expanding its territory. According to the myth, Romulus’s life ended under mysterious circumstances. One version of the story claims that Romulus disappeared during a sudden storm, either being taken up to heaven by the gods or murdered by the Roman senators, who feared his growing power. In either case, Romulus was later deified and worshiped as the god Quirinus, one of Rome’s most important deities.
Thus, the legend of Romulus and Remus became not just the story of Rome’s founding, but a symbol of its divine favor, its destined greatness, and the complex interplay of conflict and unity that would characterize the Roman state for centuries to come.
If the story of Romulus and Remus is indeed a myth, then the true enigma lies in how Rome actually began and rose to become a dominant power in the ancient world. Without the divine twins, who or what ignited Rome’s rise? Perhaps Rome was already a modest city-state by the time this legend was crafted—a tale designed to bestow divine legitimacy and unite various Italian tribes under Rome's rule. This narrative might have been a tool of propaganda, creating a powerful origin story to justify Rome’s expansion across Italy and beyond.
Alternatively, Rome's beginnings could have been far more ordinary—a small settlement strategically located along the Tiber River that grew through pragmatic decisions and advantageous circumstances. Over time, this simple community of farmers and shepherds may have evolved into a formidable city, absorbing nearby villages and developing the institutions that would lay the groundwork for the Republic and Empire. Whether through military prowess, cultural adaptation, or sheer ambition, Rome’s transformation from an obscure settlement to an empire was likely a complex process, far more intricate than the legend suggests, but no less fascinating.
The Ninth Legion marched north into the shadowed lands of Caledonia, their ranks tight and disciplined as they advanced deeper into the wild, untamed territory. Clad in their segmented armor that clinked softly with each step, the soldiers of the Ninth were a testament to Rome's power, their crested helmets gleaming under the cold, gray skies. Each man gripped his shield firmly, while the aquilifer carried the aquila, the legion's sacred standard, a silver eagle that symbolized their honor and the might of the Empire.
The further they moved from the safety of Hadrian’s Wall, the thicker the forests became, the trees closing in like dark sentinels, watching their every move. The air grew heavy with an eerie silence, broken only by the rustle of leaves and the distant, haunting cries of unseen enemies. The Caledonians were out there, hidden among the hills and trees, waiting. The legionaries knew they were being watched, but their discipline never faltered. They had faced barbarians before and emerged victorious; this time would be no different.
But the land itself seemed to turn against them. As they pressed deeper into Caledonia, the paths became treacherous, the ground soggy and uneven. The dense forests and mist-covered hills made it easy for the Caledonians to launch sudden, brutal attacks before melting back into the wilderness. The legionaries fought back fiercely, their pila flying through the fog, their gladii cutting down any who dared to come close, but the enemy was elusive, and the losses began to mount.
Day by day, the Ninth Legion was worn down, their numbers thinning as the Caledonians struck with relentless guerilla tactics. The once-tight formations started to fray under the pressure, and the soldiers, despite their discipline, began to feel the gnawing edge of fear. The aquila,still held high, became a desperate symbol of hope, a reminder of Rome's strength as the legion faced an enemy that seemed more shadow than flesh.
In the end, the Ninth Legion vanished into the mists of Caledonia, their fate a mystery. No one returned to tell the tale of their final battle. The aquila was lost, and with it, the pride of a legion that had marched into the unknown and never returned. All that remained were whispers and legends, stories of a once-great force swallowed by the wilds, leaving behind nothing but echoes in the winds that still sweep across the lonely hills of northern Britain.
This is the enigmatic tale of Rome's missing Ninth Legion, a story lost to time and one of Romes greatest mysteries. The Romans were meticulous record-keepers, so when a unit disappears from history without explanation, it raises serious questions among scholars. Such is the case with Legio IX Hispana, an Imperial Roman legion that mysteriously vanished from the historical record in the 2nd century CE, leaving its ultimate fate shrouded in mystery. This disappearance has puzzled historians for centuries, sparking debates and speculation about what might have happened.
The Nineth had a storied past that likely stretched back to the days of the Roman Republic, playing a significant role in Caesar’s Gallic Wars. For much of its history, the legion’s movements and assignments were well-documented. However, its last confirmed mission came in 109 AD when it was dispatched to Britain’s northern frontier to defend against the fierce Scottish tribes. After that, the legion simply vanished, with no further mention in the records, leading to endless theories about its demise.
During the reign of Marcus Aurelius over half a century later, an inscription with all the Roman legions made no mention of Legio IX Hispana, so it is safe to assume that something happened to it during that timeframe.
The historians have dissented, theorising that the Ninth did not disappear in Britain at all. Their theory has been far more mundane - the legion was, in fact, a victim of strategic transfer , swapping the cold expanse of northern England, for arid wastes in the Middle East.
Contrary to this view, there is no solid evidence suggesting that the Ninth Legion ever left Britain. The notion that they did is largely speculative, gaining a misleading appearance of certainty over time. While three stamped tiles with the Ninth’s unit number were discovered in Nijmegen, Netherlands, these artifacts date to the 80s AD, a period when the Ninth had detachments stationed on the Rhine fighting Germanic tribes. These findings do not substantiate the claim that the Ninth permanently departed from Britain.
Were going to take a little break here, but we will be back after we hear from the brutal, bizarre and boozy podcast our podcast of the episode.
Welcome back are we already for some more Roman mysteries. In the spring of 256 AD, the ancient city of Dura Europos, perched on the Euphrates River in what is now Syria, found itself ensnared in a fierce siege by the Sasanian Empire. The Romans, defenders of this strategic outpost, were bracing against the relentless Sasanian assault, which had now turned to a more insidious form of warfare: tunnel warfare.
The siege began with the familiar thrum of conflict, but as weeks turned into months, the Sasanians devised a more cunning strategy. They dug deep into the earth, carving a labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city walls. The Romans, having anticipated a conventional siege with catapults and battering rams, were initially caught off guard by this new threat.
In the tunnels beneath the city, Sasanian miners labored under harsh conditions. The tunnels were narrow, damp, and poorly ventilated, with the miners working in near-total darkness. The air was thick with dust and the pungent odor of sweat. They used simple tools—wooden shovels, picks, and iron bars—to dig through the hard, rocky soil. The heat and claustrophobia were stifling, but the promise of breaching the Roman defenses kept their spirits high.
The Sasanian commanders, eager to break the stalemate, ordered the construction of an even more devastating weapon: the first recorded use of chemical warfare. The miners began to line the tunnels with containers of a noxious substance—likely a mixture of sulfur and other chemicals. The plan was to set these substances alight and release a cloud of toxic fumes into the Roman positions once they had breached the walls.
Meanwhile, the Romans were not idle. They had become aware of the tunnel threat through their own mining efforts. Roman soldiers, armed with picks and shovels, toiled under the same grueling conditions as their adversaries. They dug counter-tunnels to intercept the Sasanian efforts, hoping to collapse the enemy’s tunnels before they could be used against them. The air in their tunnels was similarly oppressive, filled with dust and smoke from their own torches. The constant threat of collapse and the physical strain of the labor took their toll, but the soldiers' resolve remained steadfast.
As the Romans dug deeper, they could hear the muffled sounds of the Sasanian operations and occasionally felt tremors from the digging on the other side. The tension mounted with each passing day, the sense of an impending catastrophe growing ever more palpable. The miners' efforts were aimed at preventing the inevitable: the enemy’s tunnels were nearing their target.
The fateful day arrived when the Sasanians ignited their chemical weapons. The Sasanian engineers set alight the canisters of sulfur and other compounds, causing a vile smoke to seep into the Roman tunnels. The Romans, unprepared for such an attack, were engulfed in choking fumes. The poison spread quickly, incapacitating those who had not yet managed to escape the tunnels.
In a matter of hours, the once-proud defenders of Dura Europos were succumbing to the deadly gas. Soldiers who had been digging in the counter-tunnels fell to the ground, gasping for air as their lungs filled with the corrosive smoke. The Romans' last stand became a desperate struggle for survival in the choking blackness, their bravery overshadowed by the insidious nature of their enemies’ tactics.
Despite their valiant efforts, the chemical attack was devastating. The Sasanian forces, exploiting the chaos, eventually breached the city walls and overran the Roman positions. Dura Europos fell, a testament to the effectiveness of the Sasanian siege tactics and the grim reality of ancient warfare. The city’s defenders, possibly becoming the first victims of a chemical weapons attack in history.
Thank you for taking the time out of your day to listen to this dark episode. Were Romulus and Remus real people? In a word No. The Romulus and Remus myth is merely a backstory for some people who were becoming dominant in the region, a legend like this would give them some clout and make them seem special. The origins were most likely one of the many city states on the Italian peninsula conquered the rest and maybe the questions we should be asking is why Rome? What caused Rome to grow so big, why not Carthage, Capua or Syracuse?
The Ninth Legion is a very tricky one and possibly one we will never learn the answer to, some historians say they were in Britain, some say Germany and some say the middle east. For years, the prevailing theory was that the Ninth Legion met its end around 117 AD, likely annihilated in brutal combat against the Picts in Scotland. This explanation seemed to fit with their last known deployment on the northern frontier of Britain. However, more recent discoveries have uncovered evidence of the legion’s presence in Germania Inferior after 121 AD, complicating the narrative. Another intriguing theory has emerged, suggesting that the Ninth Legion might have been sent to Judea, where it potentially faced destruction during the Bar Kokhba Revolt of 132 AD. Yet, without definitive proof, this remains speculative, adding another layer of mystery to the legion's fate.
At dura europos mystery was The exact cause of the deaths of the soldiers and it was a mystery for a long time. However, analysis of the archaeological evidence suggested that the Sassanians had used chemical agents to kill the Romans in the tunnel. The Sassanian forces are believed to have placed braziers containing bitumen and sulfur in the tunnel. When these substances were ignited, they produced dense clouds of toxic gas, including sulfur dioxide, which would have filled the narrow tunnel and suffocated the Roman soldiers almost instantly.
This use of chemical agents in warfare was incredibly advanced for the time and illustrates the lengths to which ancient armies would go to gain a tactical advantage.
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