The J. Burden Show Roman Problems with Roman Solutions w/ Jeremy Ryan Slate: The J. Burden Show Ep. 439
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Mar 11, 2026 
Jeremy Ryan Slate, CEO of Command Your Brand and creator of Hidden Forces in History, maps Roman propaganda and patterns onto later regimes. He unpacks Augustus’s use of the Aeneid, citizenship shifts and border decay, currency debasement and inflation, and parallels between Roman slave labor and modern cheap labor. Short, sharp takes on power, money, and how myths shape political legitimacy.
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Coins Show Visible Decline In Metal Purity
- Jeremy shows coins: an Augustus-era denarius 95% silver versus a late third-century denarius down to ~5% purity.
- He describes later bronze coins plated with thin silver foil that wore off in hands, illustrating visible debasement.
Political Instability Produced Hyperinflation
- The third-century crisis (235–284 AD) featured ~26 emperors and massive inflation reaching around 15,000% by 284.
- Frequent civil wars and donatives to buy loyalty created runaway monetary expansion and instability.
End Of Expansion Starved Rome Of New Wealth
- Rome’s territorial expansion funded its system; after Trajan (117 AD) expansion largely stopped and new wealth inflows diminished.
- Loss of conquered booty and drying silver mines removed a key source that had previously supported coinage and spending.