So, we’re starting the final season in this podcast which is on the Dark Ages. But just how dark were they? One of the main themes of this new season will be to show the striking diversity of experience within western Eurasia and North Africa during the period from AD 700 to 1000 since, while the Dark Ages were, in my view, very dark for most of Europe, outs ... Show More
Aug 2025
Clovis, King of the Franks
<p>By the year AD 719, the Arab/Berber army had conquered Iberia and was invading Gaul or what is modern France. They seemed unstoppable. Would western Europe fall to Islam? And would the Qu’ran be taught in the schools of Oxford, as Edward Gibbon rather mischievously speculated. ... Show More
26m 28s
Aug 2025
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT - 'The End of Antiquity' Book 5 in The Fall of the Roman Empire
<p>I wanted to let you know that my latest book, <em>The End of Antiquity</em>, is now available in both paperback and ebook on Amazon and will be available through most major book retailers soon.</p><p>It explores the final days of the Roman and Persian empires, and how they wer ... Show More
2m 21s
Aug 2025
The Slow Death of the Merovingians
In modern France, the Frankish king, Clovis, is often celebrated as the first French king. But Clovis’ Merovingian dynasty was in fact destined to fade and die. In its place, there arose a new dynasty that would become more famous: the Carolingian. But before we say goodbye to th ... Show More
23m 36s
Aug 2025
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT - 'The End of Antiquity' Book 5 in The Fall of the Roman Empire
Although I’m no longer making new episodes of this podcast, I thought you might be interested in my latest book, called The End of Antiquity, which relates particularly well to the content in this podcast since it’s about the rise of Islam in the seventh century AD and the collap ... Show More
1m 53s
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
Jun 2023
Ravenna and the Fall of Rome
<p>The fall of the Western Roman Empire stands as one of the most monumental moments in ancient history, symbolising the end of centuries of Roman dominance in the Mediterranean. However, amidst the crumbling of Rome, the city of Ravenna emerged as a prominent center, eventually ... Show More
52m 49s