Charlemagne's Empire

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 survival against a new and terrifying enemy from the north: the Vikings. In this episode ...  Show more

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 episode, I want to look at how and why the Viking diaspora first began, before moving ...  Show more

Returning to one of the most infamous names in history, what happened to Attila the Hun after the devastation he caused in the Balkans - and where did he turn his attention to next? One of the most powerful, and feared, leaders of history, Attila turned his sights on the West ...

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

Attila the Hun has been saddled with a truly terrible historical reputation. In many parts of the world his name is synonymous with barbarism. But, despite the fact that Attila the Hun has excellent name recognition for an ancient historical figure, the details of his life remain ...  Show more

Attila the Hun has been saddled with a truly terrible historical reputation. In many parts of the world his name is synonymous with barbarism. But, despite the fact that Attila the Hun has excellent name recognition for an ancient historical figure, the details of his life remain ...  Show more