Decline and Fall Podcast Episodes

The Reconquest of Africa – Gibbons Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 41 Part 1

History Books Review - March 20, 2016 18:52 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Belisarius recaptures Africa from the Vandals in a risky but brilliant campaign.

109 - Age of Revolution Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Ben Franklin in France, The American Revolution (part 2)

Church History Podcast - December 17, 2015 04:21 ★★★ - 20 ratings
Age of Revolution  Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Ben Franklin in France, The American Revolution (part 2) Presentation Online Giving

Episode 5: Decline and Fall

Made in Sweden: the podcast of The Father - August 28, 2015 05:00 - 27 minutes ★★★★ - 60 ratings
The gang’s original theft of 221 military weapons is discovered, and they are dubbed ‘The Military League’. Loyalties between the robbers are fraying, and Leo’s latest daring move puts everything on the line.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode 11: The Decline and Fall of the Holy Roman Empire

Wittenberg to Westphalia - August 23, 2015 22:22 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 237 ratings
A pause is taken form the walking tour to look at the political breakup of the empire of Charlemagne. There's a lot of really fun regnal names. The vikings take everyone's stuff.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Suppression of the School Of Athens – Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 40 Part 4

History Books Review - July 16, 2015 16:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Justinian puts an end to a centuries old ph

Hagia Sofia - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 40 Part 4

History Books Review - July 09, 2015 08:22 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Justinian constructs one of the great buildings of history, the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.  But what did he mean by it?

Nika Nika - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 40 Part 3

History Books Review - May 17, 2015 09:56 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The early reign of Justinian and Theodora was challenged by an outbreak of rioting that nearly led to them fleeing the city.  But Theodora was made of sterner stuff.

Silk - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 40 Part 2

History Books Review - April 30, 2015 04:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Justinian was responsible for one of the most remarkable bits of economic espionage in history, giving him an edge on his enemies and creating the basis of the lingerie industry at the same time.

The Rise of Justinian - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 40 Part 1

History Books Review - April 23, 2015 16:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
I am a professional scientist, but in my spare time I read history books and I review them. I am mainly working through Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire at the moment, but will slip in a few other titbits from time to time. I normally get a show out every Thursday.

The Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire Chapter 39

History Books Review - April 16, 2015 16:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Byzantine history starts in earnest with the end of the western Roman Empire, but events in Italy remain important.

A Hymn To The Enlightenment - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 38 Part 4

History Books Review - April 09, 2015 16:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is permeated from beginning to end with the atmosphere of the Enlightenment.  But at the end of the third volume, he comes out and says directly what he believes in.

Conquest of Britain - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 38 Part 2

History Books Review - April 02, 2015 16:00 - 10 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The extent of the continuity of institutions in Roman Gaul during and after the barbarian invasions is something that has been widely debated and will no doubt continue to be debated.  But in Britain there is no argument.  The Romans pulled out and their state was completely destroyed and replac...

Reasons For The Fall Of Rome - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 38 Part 3

History Books Review - March 28, 2015 14:50 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Towards the end of volume 3 of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Gibbon speculates about the reasons for its fall.  And so do I

Reign and Conversion of Clovis - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 38 Part 1

History Books Review - March 05, 2015 17:00 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The last remnants of Roman authority are swept away by the Visigoths and the Franks, while Clovis the Frankish ruler establishes the basis for the kingdom of France.

Conversion of the Barbarians - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 37 Part 3

History Books Review - February 26, 2015 17:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The fall of the empire, perhaps paradoxically led to greater religious uniformity than had ever been achieved before or since.  Paganism was eliminated.  Heresy was repressed. Before long, the only people left to persecute were the Jews.

Simeon Styllites - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 37 Part 2

History Books Review - February 19, 2015 17:00 - 12 seconds ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Simeon Styllites was a major celebrity in the fifth century, gathering attention from the public and the court alike.  What does Gibbon make of him? I find out in a reading from the book.

Monks - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 37 Part 1

History Books Review - February 12, 2015 17:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
One of the effects of the growth of Christianity into a mass religion was the development of monasticism.  The early monks were rather different to later ones, but even so their fanaticism was evident early on and meets with Gibbon's most extreme disapproval.

Extinction of the Western Empire - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 36 Part 3

History Books Review - February 05, 2015 17:00 - 18 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The collapse of the Western Empire took around 80 years from the invasions at the beginning of the fifth century to the deposition of the last emperor in 476.  It was a grim tale of failure and disaster, which got steadily worse as things went along.  In this episode we track the last events in ...

Last Emperors of the West - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 36 Part 2

History Books Review - January 29, 2015 17:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  Even after the sack of Rome by the Vandals, there was still some fight left in the western empire.  A series of emperors tried to turn the tide back in favour of the Romans.  They largely failed, and are largely forgotten by all but historians who specialise in the period. But it is instructi...

The Vandals Sack Rome - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 36 Part 1

History Books Review - January 22, 2015 22:39 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Rome had been saved from Attila by luck. Genseric's Vandal kingdom in Africa should have been easy to deal with.  In fact, it was the Vandals that did most to destroy the empire in the west.

Attila Invades and Evacuates Italy - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 35 Part 3

History Books Review - January 15, 2015 17:00 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Attila is surrounded and trapped by the Romans, but escapes or rather is allowed to escape.  He soon regroups and resumes his persecution of the Western Empire by an invasion of Italy.  

Invasion of Gaul by Attila - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 35 Part 2

History Books Review - January 08, 2015 05:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The invasion of Gaul by the forces of Attila the Hun is one of the great turning points in history, and although he was repulsed really marks the last major event in the history of the western half of the Roman Empire.  This was the last time the Romans would defeat barbarians in a large set pie...

Attila and Aetius - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 35 Part 1

History Books Review - January 01, 2015 05:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Faced with the arrogance of Attila, the court at Constantinople found some courage to face down the demands he continued to place on them.  But this didn't alter his overwhelming military advantage.  They might have found their backbone but still lost their empire had Attila not chosen to start ...

A Visit to Attila - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 34 Part 3

History Books Review - December 25, 2014 17:00 - 11 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
  The Romans having failed to beat the Huns on the field, resort to dirty tricks.It didn't work out well for them, but it did give us a superb account of what life was like in the camp of Attila.

The Huns Invade the Balkans - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 34 Part 2

History Books Review - December 18, 2014 05:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The Huns swept into the Eastern empire and crushed the Romans, driving them back to their capital.

Attila the Hun -Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 34 Part 1

History Books Review - December 11, 2014 05:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The Huns were formidable fighters whose skill and numbers meant they were always a potential threat to the empire.  But it took leadership for that threat to manifest itself, and that leadership was provided by the famous Attila.

Genseric - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 33 Part 2

History Books Review - December 04, 2014 05:00 - 8 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Genseric was one of the German barbarians who did the most to wreck the Roman Empire.  Interestingly, he was very far from having the biggest bunch of barbarians to call on.  In many ways his career was one of the most unlikely of the age.   But it was deadly to the future of Rome in the West.

Death of Honorius - Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 33 Part 1

History Books Review - November 27, 2014 05:00 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
The death of the hapless Honorius finally allowed some people with genuine talent to reach the top rungs of Roman government.  Normally this would have been a good thing, but their internal disputes created even more problems for an empire whose position was rapidly deteriorating.

Theodosius II – Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 32 Part 4

History Books Review - November 20, 2014 05:00 - 14 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
Theodosius II was a hands off emperor leaving the running of the empire to officials and his sister.  This was pretty much down to his lack of ability and ambition, but it was also the case that the imperial system made it hard for a monarch to make a mark.

St. John Chrysostom – Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 32 Part 3

History Books Review - November 13, 2014 05:00 - 7 minutes ★★★★★ - 55 ratings
St John Chrysostom has become an iconic figure in Eastern Christianity, and is very respected in the west as well.  His undoubted talents and his perhaps more doubtful sincerity have given his reputation an easy ride, but he had rather more trouble while he was still alive.