

The Dark Ages Podcast
Herbert F. Bushman
The history of Europe from 376 and beyond the Fall of Rome.
Barbarian invasions, kings, queens, and saints, myths and legends.
It’s the history they skipped.
Barbarian invasions, kings, queens, and saints, myths and legends.
It’s the history they skipped.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 18, 2024 • 31min
48. The Kingdom of the Suevi
The Kingdom of the Suevi
C.418 to 470
The Suevi have been the unloved stepchildren of the Dark Ages Podcast for far too long, and finally get their own episode! They’re going to have to be happy with it because I don’t see anything else coming their way. We’ll trace their origins in the forests of Germania, their establishment of a kingdom in northwestern Hispania, and the fortunes of their three most successful kings, before it all turns to mush in the end.
Webpage for this Episode https://darkagespod.com/2024/06/17/48-the-kingdom-of-the-suevi/
Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod
Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com
And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Jun 10, 2024 • 33min
47. Roman Hispania
C.406 to 452
And we’re back! Thank you to everyone for your patience and kind emails and messages, they meant a lot to me and kept me motivated to come back.
Hispania was a peaceful and prosperous part of the Roman Empire for much of its history, and a popular retirement destination. The arrival of the Vandals, Suevi, and Alans, followed by the Visigoths, put all that peace and tranquility firmly in the rear view mirror.
Webpage for this Episode darkagespod.com/2024/06/10/47-roman-hispania/
Buy me a coffee with ko-fi.com/darkagespod
Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com
And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Mar 4, 2024 • 36min
46. The Fall of Italy
The Fall of Italy
March 538 - May 540
The Gothic War grew in intensity after the siege of Rome, and Belisarius had to deal with threats both from without and from within his own army as he fought to bring it to a successful conclusion. The war spread across northern Italy, with devastating consequences for the civilian populace.
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Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com
And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Jan 29, 2024 • 19min
Bonus: Macarius and the Mare
What happens when I wander off topic into the wilds of Magical Practice in Byzantine Egypt? You get a bonus episode, that’s what!
This one explores a story of one particular Egyptian saint, and the strange case of the woman transformed into a horse. It’s just a bit of anthropological fun. We’ll be back to Belisarius in the next episode.
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Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Other Music:
"Ritual" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Rites" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Shaving Mirror" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com
And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Jan 29, 2024 • 22min
45. Wives, Lovers, and the Worst Year Ever
Wives, Lovers, and The Worst Year Ever
This episode is all over the place. It features marital infidelity, official corruption, Swiss glaciers, an Icelandic volcano, and an attempt at an Irish accent that inevitably slides into a Scottish one in less than four words. Enjoy.
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Support the Show
Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com
And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Jan 9, 2024 • 35min
44. The Siege of Rome v1.0
November 536 to March 538
Belisarius continues moving up the Italian Peninsula, to bring his army to attack the greatest prize: Rome itself.
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Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com
And https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Dec 18, 2023 • 33min
43. Theodahad’s Thirty Pigs
Theodahad’s Thirty Pigs
535 to 536
The death of Amalasuintha triggered the Gothic Wars, wherein the Eastern Empire, under Justinian, attempted to claw back what it had lost in Italy. This episode follows the war up to the siege of Naples by Belisarius in the autumn of 536.
Transcript
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Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com

Dec 4, 2023 • 34min
42. Queen of the Goths
Queen of the Goths
526 to 535
The death of Theodoric brought his youngest daughter Amalasuintha to power, as regent to her son Athalaric. She was the first queen of a post Roman state to openly wield authority, and inherited a realm divided against itself. This episode tells her story.
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Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Additional Music:
"I Walk With Ghosts", by Scott Buckley | www.scottbuckley.com.au
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"The Epic 2" by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5384-the-epic-2-
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Music promoted on https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
"Nordic Wist" and "Pippin the Hunchback" by Kevin MacLeod (https://www.incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"We Three Celtic Kings" by Alexander Nakarada | https://creatorchords.com
Music promoted by https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/
Creative Commons CC BY 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com and https://www.chosic.com/free-music/all/

Oct 23, 2023 • 28min
41. Treasures of Carthage
September 533 - March 534
Things go from bad to worse for the Vandals in Africa.
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Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com

Oct 9, 2023 • 30min
40. The Vandal War
533
The first of Justinian’s wars in the West begins, as Belisarius leads an army to Africa. Early victory makes the war seem like a slam dunk, and Procopius is there to tell us all about it.
Instagram
Sources
Support the Show
Title Music:
"The Britons" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Sound effects from freesound.com