NSTREAM
Bettany Hughes relives eight pivotal days that defined the Roman Empire and made it the world's first superpower.
Made in GB
8.1/10
2017
Server
Having issues? Try switching to a different server.
Episodes
Now Playing
1. Hannibal's Last Stand
Examining the day in 202BC when Rome defeated the might of Carthage at the Battle of Zama. This decisive moment set Rome on the path to greatness.
2. The Spartacus Revolt
Bettany Hughes relates the events of 73BC when a Thracian gladiator started a slave revolt that so panicked the Roman elite that they offered power to a single man.
3. Crossing the Rubicon
Rome had defeated her great rival Carthage and overcame a slave revolt led by Spartacus, but these victories came at a price. Army generals who could deliver foreign conquests accumulated enormous amounts of power. Julius Caesar, seeking glory, would challenge the very existence of the republic. Join historian Bettany Hughes in an exploration of the momentous day in 49 B.C. when Caesar crossed the Rubicon River, violated Roman law, and heralded the transformation of the Roman Republic into an empire ruled by a single man.
4. Rome's First Emperor
Upon Julius Caesar's death, his 18-year-old great nephew stepped into the delicate balance of power and became Rome's first emperor and a ruthless political operator. The 44-year reign of Octavian, also known as Augustus, was vast and far-reaching, but it may never have happened if it weren't for one critical moment in 32 B.C. Host Bettany Hughes examines the day Octavian ordered the theft of the private will of his archrival Mark Antony and read its contents to Rome's Senate, a massive gamble that would have world-altering ramifications.
5. Boudica's Revenge
It's 60 A.D. Seventeen years after the invasion of Britannia, Roman forces march into the settlement of the Iceni tribe, flog its queen, and abused her daughters. The attack sparked a retaliatory revolt that came perilously close to ending the Roman occupation of Britain. Host Bettany Hughes retraces the events that led to Boudica's war of annihilation, an onslaught of fire and fury that burnt cities to the ground, left thousands of Romans and native Britons dead, and earned the queen a place in history.
6. The Downfall of Nero
It's 54 A.D. and Nero just succeeded his stepfather Claudius to become the fifth emperor of Rome. What followed was 14 years of cruel behavior that would unite the empire against Nero and, on June 9, 68 A.D., bring a violent end to his rule. Host Bettany Hughes travels the Roman world and examines ancient artifacts to reveal new insights into the most notorious reign in the empire's history. Witness key events in Nero's life that ultimately plunged Rome into a dangerous new phase of its history, an era of civil wars and military coups.
7. The Colosseum's Grand Opening
Out of the carnage of Emperor Nero's death and the civil war that followed, a new imperial dynasty was born, one that looked to win over the hearts of the people by building the largest arena the world had ever seen: Rome's Colosseum. Examine the day in 80 A.D. when the Flavian Amphitheatre opened with a 100-day exhibition of animal and human slaughter. Visit the site, explore ancient artifacts, and see how the Colosseum remains a testament to Rome's reach and ambition and its thirst for blood and glory.
8. The Rebirth of Rome
After more than a century of steady Roman decline, one man restores order to the disintegrating empire, setting it on a new course with Christianity at its heart. Host Bettany Hughes examines the life of Constantine the Great--the last emperor to rule over a united empire--and the day he was baptized in May 337 A.D. Explore ancient Constantinople, the city he founded that would shape the dynamics of the known world, and examine recently discovered traces of Constantine's imperial palace.
Cast
Marek Lichtenberg
As Legionaire in Intro credits
James Sutton
As Scipio
Bettany Hughes
As
Nathan Dean Williams
As Mark Antony
Marcel Dorian
As Legionaire
More
American Experience
American Masters
Superpowered: The DC Story
Top Gear
STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces
Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
Leaving Neverland
Antiques Roadshow
MegaStructures
Down to Earth with Zac Efron
Quarterback
The Food That Built America
Gadget Man
Drain the Oceans
Star Wars: Visions
Marvel Studios Assembled
Legacy: The True Story of the LA Lakers
The Movies
Amazing Stories
Marvel Studios Legends
Rome's Chariot Superstar
Lost Treasures of Rome
Traveling the Roman Empire
Barbarians Rising
The Roman Empire
Roman Empire
Ancient Worlds
Sur nos traces
Romarrikets Arkeologiska Hemligheter
Roman Empire by Train with Alice Roberts
Roman engineering
Rome: The World's First Superpower
Romans
Holland's past
Rome: Power & Glory
Justo antes de Cristo
Rome
Barbarians
I, Claudius
Peplum