What can the fall of Rome teach us about the decline of the west today? That’s the question at the centre of political economist John Rapley and historian Peter Heather’s new book Why Empires Fall. Peter and John join Ellie Cawthorne to discuss comparisons – and differences – between the two cases, and explore whether lessons from the ancient past could be a ... Show More
Aug 2020
The Fall of the Roman Empire
In 476, the last of the Roman emperors in the West was deposed; in 1776, historian Edward Gibbon wrote “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, and Rome’s fate became a major point of comparison for all empires. In Gibbon's view, instead of inquiring why the Rom ... Show More
39m 40s
Mar 2022
157. Byzantium and the Ghosts of Rome
What happened to the Roman Empire after its fall?
In the second of two episodes, Tom and Dominic discuss where Rome endured, how its ghost still haunts 21st century geopolitics, and which member of the British Royal Family Tom thinks is the last true Roman!
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48m 19s
Feb 2022
156. When did the Roman Empire fall?
Tom and Dominic explore what Edward Gibbon called “the greatest, perhaps, and most awful scene in the history of mankind”: the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
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54m 11s