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It's The Ancients on History Hit.

I'm Tristan Hughes, your host, and today where we're keeping on the Roman Empire and the real stories of characters that feature in the new epic movie Gladiator 2.

Now, in the last episode, I interviewed Dr. Alex Imri from Edinburgh University about the real

Roman Emperor's Caracalla and Getta that have a star role in the new Gladiator film.

That was a fantastic chat exploring the terrible relationship that these two brothers had

and how it ultimately ended with Getta's brutal murder in his mother's arms at the hands of Caracalla.

But alongside Caracalla and Geta, there is another central figure in the new Gladiator movie

who is based on a Roman emperor, a North African-born knight who toppled Caracalla and took the throne for himself.

That man's name was Macrinus, played by Denzel Washington in the new movie.

And in this episode we're exploring the real McRinus' story, who he was, his background, his rise to power, his rule, and ultimately his demise.

Now for this episode, it only felt right to bring back Dr. Alex

...