Did the fall of Rome then also the birth of Europe, Christendom and Western civilisation?
In episode 24 of The Burning Archive answers – What was the Roman Empire? What was it like before it fell? Why was it significant and still matters to us today. In Part I Jeff Rich sets out the story arc of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire, and sets the scene for a more detailed discussion of why it fell and its legacy in Part II.
In episode 25 The Burning Archive discusses explanations of the fall of Rome, how historians cast the story of the fall of Rome, and the enduring legacy of Rome, including in the discipline of history, even in the image of the Burning Archive itself.
The episode is available on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
Credits
- Brief excerpt from I, Claudius (BBC, 1976)
- Brief excerpt from Gladiator (2000)
- Walter Scheidel, Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity (2019)
- Tom Holland Dominion (2019)
- Mary Beard SPQR: a history of Ancient Rome (2016), and Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern (2021)
- Mapping past societies Formerly the Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Civilizations (Harvard University)
- Alexander Demandt, Der Fall Roms (1984) which is summarised on the History Blog
