THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
EP.1: GOTHS ON THE DANUBEÂ -
THE BATTLE OF ADRIANOPLE, 376
When the Goths turned up on the banks of the Roman frontier of the Danube river, they were desperate asylum seekers.
But through some utterly inept Roman policy-making, they were turned into enemies and the Gothic War of 376-382 erupted.
The Battle of Adrianople was the turning point in this war, allowing the Goths more or less free rein to rampage throughout Thrace, the Balkans and Greece - and it was the local Roman population which bore the brunt.
The battle, the war, and the subsequent peace that was made had huge consequences for the integrity of the Roman Empire.
There was a long way to go to the Fall of Rome, but it was a decisive moment with long-lasting repercussions.Â
Welcome to the first episode in our series on the Fall of Rome.
EP.2: THE RHINE INVASION OF GAUL, 406
The moment some Romans started to think the end was nigh.
The Rhine invasion of Gaul in December, 406, was an unprecedented incursion
by up to 200,000 men, women and children of the Vandal, Alan and Suevi nations.
As a direct result, Spain was lost, Gaul ransacked and Britain abandoned.
EP.3: THE GOTHS SACK ROME, 410
The Sack of Rome by Alaric's Goths was a seismic moment which sent shockwaves throughout the Empire.
Find out why and how it happened right now, and what it meant for the Fall of the Roman Empire.
EP.4: ROME RESURGENT, 410-421
Britain and Spain were lost, Gaul in the hands of a usurper, and Italy ravaged following the Sack of Rome. The Empire looked doomed.
By then rose Flavius Constantius, a brilliant and experienced Roman commander. Just seven years after Rome's sack,
he had put much of the Empire back together and it seemed to be about to embark on a new golden age.
Find out how he did so, against overwhelming odds.
EP.5: ATTILA THE HUNÂ - THE BREWING STORM, 441-451
Part 1 of our epic episode on Attila the Hun and his titanic showdown with the Western Roman Empire.
His rise meant catastrophe for the East, but when a West Roman princess got funny ideas, the heat turned west.
EP.6: ATTILA THE HUN, PART 2Â -
THE BATTLE OF THE CATALAUNIAN PLAINS, 451
Part 2 of our epic episode on Attila the Hun and his titanic showdown with the Western Roman Empire on the Catalaunian Plains in 451.
The fate of both the Hunnic and Roman Empires rested on its outcome.
EP.7: THE VANDALS & THE LOSS OF NORTH AFRICA, 428-451
Now comes the body-blow that would rock the Western Roman Empire on its heels. The Vandals,
part of the original Rhine invasion of 406, now surged out of Spain and made a beeline for Roman North Africa.
North Africa was Rome's bread basket and money-maker - any threat to it would create a food and financial crisis
from which it would be nearly impossible to recover.
Find out what happened and how the brilliant Roman commander, Flavius Aetius, reacted alongside the powerful Eastern Empire.
EP.8: THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
THE BATTLE OF CAPE BON, 468
This is the season finale, the climactic finish to this epic story of the Fall of the Roman Empire.
While the West was hanging from a thread after the Vandals had taken North Africa,
the Eastern Roman Empire wasn't so quick to let it fade away.
The Eastern Emperor, Leo, spend 100,000 pounds of gold putting together an immense armada, and sent it straight to Vandal Africa.
At the Battle of Cape Bon, the Romans and Vandals would face off in a decisive and destructive naval battle in 468.
The outcome would decide the fate of the Roman Empire, and the history of Europe.