Podcast Episodes

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 126 "Eirene: The Monstrous Empress of Byzantium?"

Season 1 Episode 126

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 …

Published on 9 hours ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 125 "The Forgotten Heroes of Byzantium"

Season 1 Episode 125

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 th…

Published on 2 weeks ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 124 "Byzantium: The Empire That Refused To Die"

Season 1 Episode 124

In this episode we turn east to consider Byzantium. We last spoke about the eastern Romans, or the Byzantines, in episode 113 when I described the emperor Leo III’s victory in the winter of 717/718 o…

Published on 4 weeks ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 123 "The Holy Roman Empire"

Season 1 Episode 123

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…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 122 "The Vikings"

Season 1 Episode 122

The Vikings transformed European history, impacted the worlds of both Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate, and even, some 500 years before Christopher Columbus, discovered North America. 

In this epis…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 121 "The Fall of the Frankish Empire"

Episode 121

Charlemagne created the largest empire in western Europe since the Romans. But it didn’t last. Within only a few decades of his death, it had broken up and one half of it was fighting for its surviva…

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 120 "Charlemagne's Empire"

Season 1 Episode 120

In this and the next episode, I want to look beyond the legend of Charlemagne to find the real man and his achievements and failings. His legend has made him into a symbol of power and authority as w…

Published on 2 months, 3 weeks ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 119 "The Rise of the Carolingians"

Season 1 Episode 119

In this episode, we explore how the Carolingians rose to become the dynasty that would claim to be the inheritors of Rome. 

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Fi…

Published on 3 months, 1 week ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 118 "The Battle of Tours, AD 732"

Season 1 Episode 118

In this episode, I’m going to focus on one of the most famous battles in history: the battle of Tours, or Poitiers as it’s sometimes called, in 732. It’s famous because some historians think it stopp…

Published on 3 months, 2 weeks ago

The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 117 "The Slow Death of the Merovingians"

Season 1 Episode 117

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 dynast…

Published on 4 months ago