LEGEND LABSubscribe

Playlist · 7 episodes

Marcus Aurelius: The Emperor’s Secret Diary

  • Ancient Rome
  • Premieres soon

The most powerful man on earth faced plague, invasion and betrayal, and every night he wrote notes to himself on how to stay a good man. Seven episodes, from a boy sleeping on the floor to a notebook read by millions.

Marcus Aurelius receives a letter from a young messenger by lamplight

The question this series answers

“How did the most powerful man on earth stay a good man, and why did he write it all down?”

The episodes

  1. Episode 1

    The Boy Who Slept on the Floor

    121 to 138 · Premieres soon

  2. Episode 2

    The Heir Who Waited 23 Years

    138 to 161 · Coming soon

  3. Episode 3

    Two Emperors

    161 to 166 · Coming soon

  4. Episode 4

    Plague and Invasion

    166 to 170 · Planned

  5. Episode 5

    The Frozen Frontier

    170 to 175 · Planned

  6. Episode 6

    The Betrayal

    175 to 180 · Planned

  7. Episode 7

    The Secret Diary

    Planned

The book behind this series

Marcus Aurelius: A Biography

Anthony Birley, revised edition (2000)

Every fact in the series is checked against it and the ancient sources.

Get an email when it premieres

Be the first to watch, plus one short story from history each week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

We only use your email to send Legend Lab emails. Privacy policy