Episode
The Gallic Sack of Rome - Part 3
- Podcast
- The Partial Historians
- Published
- Dec 18, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 3392
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://partialhistorians.com/2025/01/01/episode-168-the-gallic-sack-of-rome-part-3/
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Summary
In this episode, we discuss one of the more tragic episodes from the Gallic sack of Rome. We Who Are About to Die… The Romans who have remained in the city take up their defensive positions on the Capitol. The old patricians did not join them. Instead, their retired to their houses. Wearing their old robes of state, they settled down in the middle of their houses on ivory chairs to await the end. Livy reports that some of his accounts indicate that the pontifex maximus (chief priest) led the ex-magistrates in a vow, in which they were devoting themselves to death for the sake of the city and its citizens. The Gauls found their blood had cooled; after all, they had not had to fight the Romans to seize control of the city. They had just wandered in. They could see that the Capitol had been fortified, so they kept an eye on that area. However, it was time to go SHOPPING! All these abandoned streets and houses – it was theirs for the taking. After some pillaging and plundering, the Gauls touched base again in the Forum. The plebeian houses in the area were locked up – they weren’t taking any chances whilst they were out of town. But the houses of the elite were mysteriously open. As the Gauls entered the patrician dwellings, a shocking sight met their eyes. The old ex-magistrates, sitting as still as statues, dressed in their robes of state, just waiting for them. Not quite believing their eyes, one of the Gauls reached out to touch the beard of one of the patricians. How rude! The patrician clocked him in the head with an ivory mace. The Gauls were not going to show restraint now. The patricians were slain, the houses of the Roman citizens looted, and finally, the city was set on fire. But not the whole city – these Gauls weren’t FOOLS! They wanted to keep a bargaining ch…