The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 130 "The Rise and Fall of Byzantium"
In the century from 860 to 960 Byzantium was reborn as the greatest power in western Eurasia. Its armies were invincible, spearheaded by regiments of heavy cavalry which terrified its opponents. In th...
14 Feb 30min
The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 129 "Byzantium: The Slow Road to Recovery"
In today’s episode, I’d like to switch from the Abbasid Caliphate to the Byzantine Empire. The fortunes of both were of course connected and the Caliphate’s decline during the ninth century created an...
31 Jan 25min
The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 128 "The Abbasids: Golden Age or Age of Collapse?"
Many historians call the Abbasid caliphate ‘the Golden Age of Islam’ but in this episode I want to analyse the contradiction in this description since, at a time when Islam underwent an undisputed cul...
17 Jan 25min
The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 127 "The Rise and Fall of the Umayyads"
First, let me wish you a Happy New Year and I hope you had a good break if you took time off. This episode tells the story of one of the greatest empires in history – the Umayyad Caliphate. Its territ...
3 Jan 24min
The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 126 "Eirene: The Monstrous Empress of Byzantium?"
In this episode, we’ll hear about one of the most chilling rulers of Byzantium – the empress Eirene. She was Byzantium’s only empress to take on the reins of government in a sole capacity. Her reign i...
20 Des 202524min
The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 125 "The Forgotten Heroes of Byzantium"
In the first half of the eighth century, Byzantium stemmed the Arab advance into Europe. Critical to this achievement were two emperors: Leo III and Constantine V. In this episode, I explain why I thi...
6 Des 202524min
The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 123 "The Holy Roman Empire"
The final political legacy of the Roman Empire in western Europe was the Holy Roman Empire. Amazingly, this curious political institution lasted until Napoleon abolished it in 1806. In the eighteenth...
8 Nov 202526min
