How does an empire spanning three continents and half a millennium fall apart?In the final episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by Professor Peter Heather to unravel Rome's collapse - from the chaos of the third-century crisis to the deposition of the last West ...Show more
The Origins of the Tank
How did century-old 'landships' developed from agricultural tractors evolve into the armoured giants of the modern battlefield? Today, we trace the lineage of the tank, from its origins in the trenches of the First World War to Second World War behemoths and their modern battlefi ...Show more
Mary Beard on Ruling the Roman Empire
What did it take to rule an empire that was never meant to have an emperor?In this second episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by classicist Mary Beard to trace how Roman leadership evolved over a thousand years - from the competitive power-sharing of the Repub ...Show more
Harald Hardrada
Exile, mercenary, Viking king. Harald Hardrada, 'Thunderbolt of the North', fought his way from Norway to Byzantium, from the streets of Constantinople to the battlefields of Sicily. He married a princess, blinded an emperor, and nearly conquered England.Today, Dr Wayne Bartlett ...Show more
The Rise of the Roman Empire
How did a cluster of Iron Age huts grow into one of history's greatest civilisations?In the first episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by Dr Simon Elliott to trace Rome's rise - from its humble origins on the banks of the Tiber to the moment Augustus became the ...Show more