Shows
Empire-BuildersHow (And Where) Did Romans Build Their Roads?They really were quite good at it.--Produced by David MainayarWritten by Eduardo D'Ambrosio & David Mainayar3D visualization by Eduardo D'Ambrosio Edited by David Mainayar, kingfrick, @KnowHistory Music from Epidemic Sound & Total War: Rome
2025-10-1913 minEmpire-Builders7 Levels of Roman EmperorsWhere are the Romans now? You're looking at em.0:00 - Intro 1:20 - Level I: The Calamities13:12 - Level II: The Blunderers 21:43 - Level III: The Benchwarmers25:38 - Level IV: The Patriarchs31:12 - Level V: The Firefighters36:59 - Level VI: The Imperialists43:49 - Level VII: The Founders
2025-10-0148 minEmpire-BuildersEmpires of the Normans: Makers of Europe, Conquerors of AsiaChapters:Intro - 0:00Chapter I: The Early Normans - 1:26 Chapter II: The Italian Normans - 1:00:57 Chapter III: The English Normans - 1:53:51 Chapter IV: The Crusader Normans - 3:34:00Chapter V: 4:29:56 Primary Sources:Adémar de Chabannes. Chronicon and related forgeries. Early 11th century.Amatus of Montecassino. L'Ystoire de li Normant. ca. 1080.Anna Komnene. The Alexiad. ca. 1148.Dudo of Saint-Quentin. Historia Normannorum (History of the Normans). ca. 996–1015.Geoffrey Malaterra. De Rebus Gestis Rogerii Calabriae et Siciliae Comitis (The Deeds of Count Roger of Calabria and Sicily). ca. 1099–1101.Henry of Huntingdon. Historia Anglorum (History of the Engli...
2025-09-244h 32Empire-BuildersWhen Alexander Ruled 25% of the World's Population (Chapter III)The final installment in a three-part series on Alexander the Great. Sources:Arrian. Anabasis of Alexander. Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt.Bolitho, William. Twelve Against the Gods. 1929.Freeman, Philip. Alexander the Great. 2011.Plutarch. Life of Alexander and Life of Caesar. Translated by Rex Warner.“How Did Alexander the Great Sustain His Army?” https://www.historyhit.com/how-did-alexander-the-great-sustain-his-army/“Philip II and Macedonian Logistics.” History Hit. https://www.historyhit.com/philip-ii-macedonian-logistics/The Cambridge Companion to Alexander the Great, ed. Daniel Ogden. Cambridge University Press, 2024.The Oxford World History of Empire, eds. Peter Fibiger Bang, C. A. Bay...
2025-09-0646 minEmpire-BuildersThe 7 Levels of Empires1:10 - Level I: The Fakes6:39 - Level II: The Traders13:46 - Level III: The Exploiters22:31 - Level IV: The Survivors35:55 - Level V: The Meteors38:49 - Level VI: The Superpowers45:20 - Level VII: The Architects
2025-09-0551 minEmpire-BuildersThe 7 Levels of Empire-Builders0:00 - Intro 2:06 - Level I: The Frauds6:28 - Level II: The Pretenders9:16 - Level III: The Phantoms13:43 - Level IV: The Progenitors22:02 - Level V: The Icons30:25 - Level VI: The Comets34:30 - Level VII: The World-Builders
2025-09-0546 minEmpire-BuildersHow Alexander Conquered the Known World (Chapter II)The second installment in a three-part series on Alexander the Great. Sources:Arrian. Anabasis of Alexander. Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt.Bolitho, William. Twelve Against the Gods. 1929.Freeman, Philip. Alexander the Great. 2011.Plutarch. Life of Alexander and Life of Caesar. Translated by Rex Warner.“How Did Alexander the Great Sustain His Army?” https://www.historyhit.com/how-did-alexander-the-great-sustain-his-army/“Philip II and Macedonian Logistics.” History Hit. https://www.historyhit.com/philip-ii-macedonian-logistics/
2025-09-052h 05Empire-BuildersThe Making of Alexander the Great (Chapter I)The first installment in a three-part series on Alexander the Great. Sources:Arrian. Anabasis of Alexander. Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt.Bolitho, William. Twelve Against the Gods. 1929.Freeman, Philip. Alexander the Great. 2011.Plutarch. Life of Alexander and Life of Caesar. Translated by Rex Warner.“How Did Alexander the Great Sustain His Army?” https://www.historyhit.com/how-did-alexander-the-great-sustain-his-army/“Philip II and Macedonian Logistics.” History Hit. https://www.historyhit.com/philip-ii-macedonian-logistics/
2025-09-051h 02Empire-BuildersThe Normans: Chapter III (England)The third installment in a four-part series on the Normans. This part is focused on William the Conqueror's life & times. Play War Thunder for FREE on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, and mobile! New & returning PC/console players get a massive bonus pack: premium vehicles, the “Eagle of Valor” decorator, 100,000 Silver Lions & 7 days of Premium.https://wtplay.link/empirebuildershttps://wtm.game/empirebuilders--The third installment in a four-part series on the Normans. This part is focused on William the Conqueror's life & times. Chapters:0:00 - King & Conqueror 1:51 - Intro4:34 - Fulk Nerra13:03 - Emma, "Jewel of Normandy"28:23 - Edwa...
2025-09-051h 42Empire-BuildersBurgundy: Chapter III (The Architect of Burgundy)The third chapter in a six-part docuseries on the Burgundians. This part is focused on Philip the Bold.
2025-07-011h 07Empire-BuildersThe Normans: Chapter I (Normandy)The first chapter in a four-part series on the Normans. This one traces their journey from Scandinavia to Normandy.
2025-07-0159 minEmpire-BuildersThe Normans: Chapter II (Italy)The second chapter in a four-part series on the Normans. This one traces their journey from Normandy to Italy.
2025-07-0153 minEmpire-BuildersBurgundy: Chapter I (Europe’s Lost Barbarian Kingdom)This is the FIRST chapter in a docuseries on the Burgundians, covering the events of 406-534. The series will culminate with the Grand Dukes of the West (the Valois).
2025-07-0130 minEmpire-BuildersFrederick II (Antichrist of the Middle Ages): All PartsFrederick II (1194-1250) was once the most powerful ruler in Europe. He was a Renaissance Man before the Renaissance. A scientist before the scientific method. An enlightened despot before the Age of Enlightenment. Yet his wide-spanning interests and unconventional methods eventually brought him into conflict with the papacy, who declared him "the forerunner of the Antichrist." Was he as bad as the popes say, or was he simply ahead of his time? Find out in this comprehensive documentary about the life & times of Frederick II Hohenstaufen.
2025-07-011h 14Empire-BuildersCadaver SynodIn January 897, Pope Stephen exhumed the corpse of Pope Formosus and put it on trial. He had a deacon serve as Formosus’ voice and proceeded to scream at the corpse at the top of his lungs...Why did he do it? And could it be that this infamous trial, known as the Cadaver Synod, invalidates the whole papal succession from Formosus to Francis?
2025-07-0119 minEmpire-BuildersBurgundy: Chapter II (The Missing Piece of Medieval Europe)This is the SECOND chapter in a docuseries on the Burgundians. This chapter covers the events of 534-1361. Remaining parts will focus on the Valois Dukes, continuing to the 16th century.
2025-07-0131 minEmpire-BuildersThe Napoleon Film We SHOULD Have GottenVideo essay about THE GREATEST MOVIE NEVER MADE
2025-07-0119 minEmpire-BuildersWhy America Is The New Roman RepublicAudio-only. Video is available on YouTube.
Sources:
Arendt, Hannah. On Revolution (1963)
Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Paganism (1995)
Hamilton, Alexander; Madison, James; Jay, John. The Federalist Papers (1788)
Polybius. The Histories (c. 2nd century BC)
Ricks, Thomas. First Principles: What America's Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country (2020)
Tacitus. Agricola and Germania (Penguin Classics, 2010)
Founders Online (Correspondence and Other Writings of Seven Major Shapers of the United States
2024-12-0122 minEmpire-BuildersWhy Did Gladiators Willingly Fight In The Colosseum?Audio-only. Video is available on YouTube.
Sources:
Beard, Mary & Hopkins, Keith. The Colosseum (2011)
Futrell, Alison. The Roman Games: Historical Sources in Translation (2008)
Futrell, Alison & Scanlon, Thomas. The Oxford Handbook of Sport and Spectacle in the Ancient World (2021)
Jacobelli, Luciana. Gladiators at Pompeii (2003)
Mellor, Ronald. The Historians of Ancient Rome (1997)
Wiedemann, Thomas. Emperors and Gladiators (1992)
2024-12-0121 minEmpire-BuildersBefore You Watch Gladiator II—Here's the Real HistoryWhen I have issues with historians, I ask: "Excuse me, mate, were you there? No? Well, shut the fuck up then."
Sources:
Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome (2016)
Brauer, George C. The Young Emperors, Rome, A.D. 193-244 (1967)
Dio, Cassius. Roman History, Book 79 (3rd century)
Dunstan, William E. Ancient Rome (2010)
Gibbon, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume I (1776)
Goldsworthy, Adrian. How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower (2010)
Hekster, Olivier. Rome and...
2024-11-0446 minEmpire-BuildersWhy Guys Should Think About The NEW Roman EmpireMUSIC:
'Shadows and Dust' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
'The Distant Sun' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au
Remaining tracks sourced from Epidemic Sound & Motion Array.
SOURCES:
Brownworth, Lars. Lost to the West: The Forgotten
Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization (2009)
Heather, Peter. The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New
History of Rome and the Barbarians (2005)
Kaldellis, Anthony. The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium (2023)
Kaldellis, Anthony. Siniossoglou, Niketas. The...
2024-10-0550 min
Empire-BuildersThe Bloodless Crusade: Life & Times of Frederick IIThe second part in a trilogy about the life & times of Frederick II, the Hohenstaufen Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Sources:
Alighieri, Dante. Divine Comedy: Inferno & Paradiso (1321)
Casady, Richard. The Emperor and the Saint: Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Francis of Assisi, and Journeys to Medieval Places (2011)
Haskins, Charles H. "Science at the Court of the Emperor Frederick II" (1922)
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future (1886)
Paris, Matthew. Translated by Richard Vaughan. The Illustrated Chronicles of Matthew Paris: Observations of Thirteenth-Century Life (1993)
2024-10-0523 min
Empire-BuildersThe Holiest of the Holy Roman Emperors (Compilation)Sources & further reading:
Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire (Peter H. Wilson)
The Medieval Empire in Central Europe: Dynastic Continuity in the Post-Carolingian Frankish Realm, 900–1300 (Herbert Schutz)
Weinfurter, Stefan (1999) [1992]. The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition. Translated by Kaiser, Denise A.
Wolfram, Herwig (2006) [2000]. Conrad II, 990–1039: Emperor of Three Kingdoms. Translated by Bowlus, Barbara M.
I. S. Robinson, Henry IV of Germany, 1056–1106 (Cambridge, 1999)
Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Germ...
Wipo of Burgundy: Gesta Chuonradi II imperatoris
The...
2024-10-052h 08
Empire-BuildersBirth of the Antichrist: Life & Times of Frederick II | Video DocumentaryThe first part in a trilogy about the life & times of Frederick II, the Hohenstaufen ruler of the Holy Roman Empire.
--
Sources:
Alighieri, Dante. Divine Comedy: Inferno & Paradiso (1321)
Casady, Richard. The Emperor and the Saint: Frederick II of Hohenstaufen, Francis of Assisi, and Journeys to Medieval Places (2011)
Haskins, Charles H. "Science at the Court of the Emperor Frederick II" (1922)
Nietzsche, Friedrich. Beyond Good and Evil: Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future (1886)
Paris, Matthew. Translated by Richard Vaughan. The Illustrated Chronicles of Matthew Paris: Observations of Thirteenth-Century Life (1993)
Radke, Gary M. "...
2024-09-1219 min
Empire-BuildersThe Battle For Christendom | Video DocumentarySources & further reading:
1. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire (Peter H. Wilson)
2. The Medieval Empire in Central Europe: Dynastic Continuity in the Post-Carolingian Frankish Realm, 900–1300 (Herbert Schutz)
3. Weinfurter, Stefan (1999) [1992]. The Salian Century: Main Currents in an Age of Transition. Translated by Kaiser, Denise A.
4. Wolfram, Herwig (2006) [2000]. Conrad II, 990–1039: Emperor of Three Kingdoms. Translated by Bowlus, Barbara M.
5. I. S. Robinson, Henry IV of Germany, 1056–1106 (Cambridge, 1999)
6. Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany/The-Salians-the-papacy-and-the-princes-1024-1125
7. Wipo of Burgundy: Gesta Chuonradi II impera...
2024-06-1944 minEmpire-BuildersThe Pope Who Made A Pact With The DevilThis is the story of Pope Sylvester II, born Gerbert d'Aurillac: wandering monk, imperial tutor, cathedral canon, one-time abbot, Ottonian spy, siege engineer, archbishop, and pope. His remarkable rise was attributed to a pact with the Devil.
Sources & further reading:
- The Letters of Gerbert, With His Papal Privileges as Sylvester II
- The Abacus and the Cross (Nancy Marie Brown)
- A 10th-century Monk in the Caliph's Court (Nancy Marie Brown)
- Otto III (Gerd Althoff)
- Chronicles of the Kings of England...
2024-05-2633 min
Empire-BuildersHow One Family Made the Dark Ages Less "Dark"This is the story of the Ottonians, the descendants of Otto the Great, who steered Germany and Italy through the dawn of a new millennium.
Sources & further reading:
- Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire (Peter H. Wilson)
- Otto III (Gerd Althoff)
- Death and Life in the Tenth Century (Eleanor Duckett)
- Warfare in Medieval Europe c.400-c.1453 (Bernard S. Bachrach, David S. Bachrach)
- Warfare in Tenth-Century Germany (David S. Bachrach)
- Germany in the Early Middle Ages 800-1056 (Timothy Reuter)
- "Kaiserin Theophano: The political, economic...
2024-04-2946 min
Empire-BuildersHow Otto the Great Restored the Holy Roman EmpireThe Saxons were Charlemagne's greatest foe, yet it was a Saxon family that restored his empire.
This is the story of the first Ottonians: Henry the Fowler & Otto the Great.
Sources & further reading:
- Warfare in Medieval Europe c.400-c.1453 (Bernard S. Bachrach, David S. Bachrach)
- Warfare in Tenth-Century Germany (David S. Bachrach)
- The Costs of Fortress Construction in Tenth-Century Germany: The Case of Hildagsburg
- Medieval Germany, 500–1300: A Political Interpretation (Benjamin Arnold)
- Early Medieval Europe 300-1000 (Roger Collins)
...
2024-04-0936 min
Empire-BuildersSuperpower of the Dark Ages: the Frankish EmpireThe Franks were arguably the most successful barbarian people that emerged in the late antique period. Though they helped bring an end to the Western Roman Empire, they later restored it under Charlemagne, even as they laid the primitive foundations for a new age and order.
This is the story of the Franks, spanning six centuries of war, intrigue, and statesmanship, which saw this people rise from tribe to kingdom to empire.
Sources & further reading:
- Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire (Peter H. Wilson)
...
2024-04-094h 48
Empire-BuildersHow did the Carolingian Empire Collapse?This episode focuses on the last chapters of the Carolingian Empire, in the days of Charlemagne's grandsons and great grandsons. What were the last Carolingians really like, and how did they navigate this time in flux? Our story coincides with the Viking Age, the birth of feudalism, and the origins of French & German statehood. This is the sixth episode in a series covering the Holy Roman Empire.
Sources & further reading:
- Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire (Peter H. Wilson)
- The Carolingian World (Marios Costambeys, Matthew Innes, Simon MacLean)
...
2024-03-1758 min
Empire-BuildersCharlemagne's Enigmatic Successor: Louis the PiousThis episode focuses on Louis the Pious, Charlemagne's deeply misunderstood son and heir.
This is the fifth episode in a series covering the Holy Roman Empire.
Sources & further reading:
- Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire (Peter H. Wilson)
- The Carolingian World (Marios Costambeys, Matthew Innes, Simon MacLean)
- The Demanding Drama of Louis the Pious (Courtney M. Booker)
- Past Convictions: The Penance of Louis the Pious and the Decline of the Carolingians
- The Frankish Kingdoms Under the Carolingians 751-987 (Rosamond McKitterick)
...
2024-03-0646 min
Empire-BuildersWhy Guys Should Think About the Russian EmpireWe all saw the interview.
Sources & further reading:
The Story of Russia (Orlando Figes)
Peter the Great: His Life and World (Robert K Massie)
The Romanovs: 1613-1918 (Simon Sebag Montefiore)
Catherine the Great & Potemkin: The Imperial Love Affair (Simon Sebag Montefiore)
Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar (Simon Sebag Montefiore)
Young Stalin (Simon Sebag Montefiore)
The Cambridge History of Russia: From Early Rus to 1689 (Kollektiv Avtorov)
The Cambridge History of Russia: From 1689 to 1917 (Kollektiv Avtorov)
Napoleon: A Life (Andrew Roberts)
2024-02-2243 min
Empire-BuildersCharlemagne & the Carolingian RenaissanceIn this episode, we cover Charlemagne's coronation, the Carolingian Renaissance, the administrative aspects of his vast realm, and conclude with an examination of Charlemagne the man.
We start with his coronation... By this point, Charlemagne had mastered the art of wartime logistics and organization, handed down news ways of governance and worship to conquered peoples, and soon he would inaugurate the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of renewed interest in the arts, sciences, and learning in general.
All of this made him a worthy successor to Caesar and Augustus, and the moment now came for him t...
2023-11-051h 19
Empire-BuildersCharlemagne & the Carolingian Art of WarThe founder of the Carolingian empire, Charlemagne, is often called the “father of Europe.” For the French and German people alike, he’s a little bit like a medieval George Washington. But unlike Washington, Charlemagne was not just statesman and general. He was an empire-builder living in a very different time, when might made right.
There is no single battle or campaign that earned Charlemagne his place in history. No fight against overwhelming odds or swift toppling of another empire. Instead, Charlemagne’s inclusion in the pantheon of military greats was earned through the scope an...
2023-10-2356 min
Empire-BuildersThe Merovingians: Charlemagne's Infamous PredecessorsIn the course of only twenty five years, Clovis -- the first of the Merovingians -- had united the Frankish people, adopted Roman Christianity, and laid the foundations for a kingdom that would last about two and half centuries. In the vision of Clovis' father, Childeric, he imagines that the Merovingian dynasty would transmogrify from a procession of mythic creatures into a pack of wild bears, wolves, and dogs. This is their story... as well as the prelude to the Carolingians. The vaunted ancestors of Charlemagne, the Carolingians first appear as mayors of the Merovingian palace in Paris before s...
2023-10-0658 min
Empire-BuildersWhy Guys Should Think About the Holy Roman EmpireSo there’s a lot of guys thinking about the Roman Empire lately, but that’s nothing new. Though the western half of their empire fell more than 1500 years ago, the Romans have never really gone away, leaving behind traces -- material and immaterial -- of their achievements in so many different realms of human endeavor: from civil engineering and hydraulics to political and legal reforms to linguistic and literary developments, and so much else.
More than any other empire-builders in the Western world, the Romans have been studied, admired, idealized, and emulated by succ...
2023-09-2827 min
Empire-BuildersThe Pinnacle & Fall of the Akkadian EmpireFollowing in the footsteps of greatness is never an easy thing, especially at the dawn of history. This was the Bronze Age, when glory could not be bought or borrowed or bartered, except with the price of blood. Sure, there was praise to be earned for building roads and consecrating temples and giving grain to the hungry. All of that was very well and good. However, it was the virtues of war, not peace, that enabled a man to be great. There was no other playbook -- only the one written by Sargon in the blood of his enemies. A...
2023-09-1941 min
Empire-BuildersA Tour Through the Akkadian EmpireLet us, just for the moment, take a brief respite from the epic tales of gods, great men, and battles that dominate our narrative. Rest assured that we will return to these subjects soon enough because of how prominently they figure in the two centuries of Akkadian rule, so much so that normally sober-minded historians have referred to it as “the heroic chapter” of Bronze Age History. It is all too easy to forget that there were ordinary people out there, the playthings of these heroes, who spent their days eking out what then constituted an ordinary existence. Surrounded by v...
2023-09-1425 min
Empire-BuildersSargon of Akkad: Lord of Lies, King of Battle, Prophet of EmpireWhat kind of man does it take to build an empire? And not just any empire, but the very first in the history of man? What would it take to bring it into being when only kingdoms and cities had come before? For an answer, we can look at the story of Sargon of Akkad: Lover to Ishtar, Father to Enheduanna, Lord of Lies, King of Battle, Prophet of Empire.
In The Birth Legend of Sargon of Akkad, we are told that, as a mere infant, he was sent down the Euphrates in a...
2023-09-0626 min
Empire-BuildersThe Sumerian Heritage of the Akkadian EmpireSince there can be no firm understanding of the Sargonic empire without a passing familiarity with the Sumerian city-states that preceded it, this episode is devoted to them, their leading representative being Uruk. With this context established, we will be able to make sense of the Akkadians as well as their successors, because as certainly as day follows night, so too does one empire follow another.
Theme track used: The Age of Empire (Zero Project)
2023-08-2921 min
Empire-BuildersWhy Study the Empires of the Past?An introduction to the Empires podcast.
Theme track used: The Age of Empire (Zero Project)
2023-08-2403 min
Open MakersThree WooCommerce Tips for Simplifying the ComplexAtarim Web Agency Summit speakers Maciek Palmowski, David Mainayar and Nev Harris share tips for WooCommerce agencies and freelancers.
2022-04-2012 min
Open Channels FMThree WooCommerce Tips for Simplifying the ComplexAtarim Web Agency Summit speakers Maciek Palmowski, David Mainayar and Nev Harris share tips for WooCommerce agencies and freelancers.
2022-04-2012 minOpen MakersEntering the WooCommerce Ecosystem During an eCommerce BoomThe Woo space found a lot of innovations by product makers and building online stores soar. On a quick development track, David Mainayar from PeachPay entered the space in the middle of it all.
2021-05-2739 minOpen Channels FMEntering the WooCommerce Ecosystem During an eCommerce BoomThe Woo space found a lot of innovations by product makers and building online stores soar. On a quick development track, David Mainayar from PeachPay entered the space in the middle of it all.
2021-05-2739 min
The WP MinuteDo the Woo!Thanks Pressable for supporting the podcast! What hosting should feel like...nothing! https://pressable.com/wpminute We have a quick run down this week…let’s Do the Woo! (Hi, Bob)
WooCommerce has invested in one-click checkout platform, PeachPay. According to PeachPay’s PR post:
Cart abandonment is a significant problem for eCommerce businesses – in 2021, the global average rate has risen from previous years to 78.65%. PeachPay aims to significantly reduce this by providing shoppers with a frictionless, one-click checkout experience.
Robert Jacobi covered the investment:
So if we do a litt...
2021-05-0504 min