Glorious Rome. From a small republic it grew into the greatest empire of the ancient world and endured for over six hundred years. At its height it stretched from London to Baghdad. Rome: Rise & Fall of an Empire I: The First Barbarian War, History 2026
Beyond the frontiers of Roman civilised society soldiers encountered an unfamiliar breed of warrior. They called these people barbarians, a word meaning foreign, alien and crude. ibid.
It all started with the first barbarian war … A new breed of Roman soldier marched off to war. ibid.
As Rome began the long slow slide into dictatorship the Republic was launched into a maelstrom of political injustice and endless war from which there would be no way back. ibid.
But at the very heart of the Republic a revolt was brewing … slaves rose in rebellion against their masters. Their leader would be remembered throughout history as Spartacus. Rome: Rise & Fall of an Empire II: Spartacus
By the drawing of the short straw, gladiators learned who among them whould be the first to die. ibid.
Ingenuity and audacity gained Spartacus another victory. ibid.
Now they began to turn against each other … The slave army now divided. ibid.
In the middle of the first century B.C. democracy was breaking down throughout the Roman republic. It was a time of riot and violent political upheaval. This was the troubled world into which Julius Caesar was born. Rome: Rise & Fall of an Empire III: Julius Caesar
But some survivors did escape. An expert manipulator of propaganda, Caesar raised the spectre of a Germany invasion to gather popular support for the war. But in the Senate, conservatives suspected the real danger was Caesar himself. ibid.
He moved quickly to rebuild the city, change the tax laws and establish new colonies. ibid.
44 B.C. The democracy of republican Rome is no more. After a relentless campaign to take absolute power, Julius Caesar was assassinated. Rome: Rise & Fall of an Empire IV: The Forest of Death
The fledgeling empire embarked on a mission of rapid expansion, and set its sights on the barbarian land beyond the River Rhine. But the conquest collapsed into a bloodbath. ibid.
‘You have people who are willing to work with the Romans, and people who hate the Romans.’ ibid. Rutledge
Tiberius was a well-connected and effective soldier. He was also heir apparent to the imperial throne. ibid.
Arminius knew a lot about the Romans and he realised they underestimated Germanic resolve. ibid.
In the first century A.D. Rome’s forces found themselves on the shores of a legendary land that still lay beyond their grasp: Britannia. Rome: Rise & Fall of an Empire V: The Invasion of Britain
The more spectacular the conquest the better. ibid.
In one skirmish after another Cladius suffered defeat but he remained undaunted. ibid.
Claudius had been appointed governor of Britannia. He might have thought the celebration a little premature. ibid.
In 47 A.D. the Emperor [Caudius] led a campaign to conquer the mysterious islands of Britain. Rome’s first attempt since Julius Caesar tried to do so 100 years earlier. Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire VI: The Dacian Wars
In 83 A.D. he [Domitian] led the legions to the Germanic frontiers along the Rhine and the Danube in a showy display of Roman stregnth. Ibid.
Dacian wariors crossed the Danube and raided the Roman province of Moesia. ibid.
A disaffected Roman governer in Germania rebelled. ibid.
Domitian: An unpredictable and vindictive ruler presiding over a rule of terror. ibid.
Trajan’s reputation of a military commander preceded him. ibid.
Trajan led his forces to the political capital of the Dacian kingdom. ibid.
In 47 A.D. the Emperor [Caudius] led a campaign to conquer the mysterious islands of Britain. Rome’s first attempt since Julius Caesar tried to do so 100 years earlier. Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire VI: The Dacian Wars
In 83 A.D. he [Domitian] led the legions to the Germanic frontiers along the Rhine and the Danube in a showy display of Roman stregnth. Ibid.
Dacian wariors crossed the Danube and raided the Roman province of Moesia. ibid.
A disaffected Roman governer in Germania rebelled. ibid.
Domitian: An unpredictable and vindictive ruler presiding over a rule of terror. ibid.
Trajan’s reputation of a military commander preceded him. ibid.
Trajan led his forces to the political capital of the Dacian kingdom. ibid.
The emperor Trajan scaled new heights of glory for Rome defeating the treacherous Dacians, gathering a fortune in Barbarian gold, and extending the territorial borders to their final limits. It was the zenith of the Empire. After three centuries of unending war Rome stood at the centre of the Western world. Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire VII: Rebellion & Betrayal
Roman citizens were slow to recognise the threat of a new Barbarian invasion. ibid.
The soldiers contracted a virulent disease from their Parthian victims, possible Bubonic Plague. ibid.
And even as Rome partied, Barbarians prepared to attack the reducted defences along the empire’s northern frontier. ibid.
The dark woodlands of Germania became their tomb. ibid.
Fighting on the Barbarian home territory, the inexperienced Roman Army were sadly outclassed. ibid.
The massacre of 20,000 soldiers. It was the worst Roman defeat for a century. ibid.
Marcus Aurelius gained the upper hand in his brutal conquests of Germania. ibid.
Egyptian rebels led a bloody revolt against their Roman overlords. ibid.
In 160 A.D. Rome reigned supreme, the lone superpower of the ancient world. But peace and prosperity lulled the Romans into dangerous complacency. When foreign enemies sense weakness, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius had to rally the empire to fight for its very survival. In the third century A.D. as the Roman empire struggled to resist foreign invasion, and stem the growing power of Christianity, a new and strong emperor emerged from the maelstrom of Roman politics: Decius. Rome: Rise & Fall of an Empire VIII: Wrath of the Gods
Moesia: When Decius arrived he found a camp without a leader … taking control of the empire into his own hands. ibid.
Across the empire Christians feared for their safety as Pagan Romans blamed them for what they saw as divine punishment [plague]. ibid.
The Goths were now raiding deep within the empire’s borders, and had to be stopped immediately. ibid.
Decius was the first emperor in Roman history to be killed in battle against a Barbarian army. ibid.
In 380 A.D. Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire. ibid.
When the Roman Empire was attacked by foreign armies and a deadly plague, the citizens had blamed the new religion of Christianity for angering the Empire’s pagan gods. Rome: Rise & Fall of an Empire IX: The Soldiers’ Emperor
A new ruler emerged and his name was Aurelian. He united the fractured empire using its greatest strength – the army. ibid.
Emperor Claudius’ (II) was forced to march his army from Rome meeting the Alemanni warriors at Larke Garda in northern Italy. ibid.
While on campaign Emperor Claudius contracted the Plague … Aurelian was declared Emperor by his troops. ibid.
Terror gripped the people of Rome. The arrival of the Barbarians was expected every day. Many fled the city. ibid.
Aurelian was able to cut them off at Farnum. ibid.
Egypt 271 A.D. Now controlled by the Palmyrene queen … cutting off one of the Empire’s main sources of food. ibid.
In the Syrian desert Aurelian faced new challenges. ibid.
Aurelian was welcomed back to Rome a hero. ibid.
To the north the Roman territories of Gaul and Britain had fallen under the rule of a mutinous Roman army. ibid.
Aurelian marched to Chalons in Gaul to … win back the western territories for Rome. ibid.