A Summary of the History of the World, in Videos
THE ROMAN ERA
by Edward Ulrich, updated February 18, 2022
The videos on this page detail aspects of the Roman era. It is a part of the article “A Summary of the History of the World, in Videos.”
This video summarizes the history of the Roman Empire, from it being founded as a tiny settlement called “Latium” by the mythical figures “Romulus and Remus” at around 750 BC, to its subjugation of Europe and the Mediterranean in the centuries that followed, to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 400’s AD and the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire for an additional thousand years.
This is the opening scene from the Ridley Scott movie “Gladiator.” The movie is fictional, but it is drawn from real stories of historical figures such as Spartacus.
The Roman Empire became very powerful starting at a few hundred years BC after it configured itself as a republic and aggressively subjugated the native people of Europe to the north (who they called “Barbarians.”) Eventually Rome came to be ruled by dictators starting with Julius Caesar, and the Empire grew to be so large that it was divided into Western and Eastern empires for administrative convenience, with Constantinople being the capitol of the East. Rome also eventually adopted Christianity as its official religion after initially persecuting Jesus and later Christians. Eventually Rome fell and “kingdoms” took hold in the lands to the north under the feudal system during the Middle Ages.
This well-made 2007 History Channel documentary series explains how Roman culture was overthrown by aggressive hordes of Barbarian tribes from northern Europe starting in the fifth millennium AD. It talks about the Vandals who capitalized on the chaotic political environment in Rome during the 400’s and caused a century of misery for the people living there, the Saxons who took over much of Britain starting in 449 AD, the Franks who took over central Europe including what is now France starting in 355 AD, and the Lombards who took over most of the Italian Peninsula starting in the early 500’s. [Note that only season “2” is currently online.]
This 24 episode “series” details numerous interesting aspects of ancient Roman history. [NOTE: Every episode is different in style from the others. It isn’t actually a “series” but rather they are all unique individual documentaries. I recommend watching most of them, you should try different ones to get a sense of the variety that is offered.]
This video entitled “Zeitgeist Refuted Final Cut” created by Elliot Nesch accurately refutes the points made in the popular “Zeitgeist” documentaries that attempt to claim that Christianity is actually only a rehashed interpretation of many previous sun worshiping religions.
This video on the History Time channel explains the 20th century discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the Judaean Desert, being about 800 manuscripts written 2,000 years ago in Aramaic, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. The scrolls were discovered hidden in caves in the region, and they are essentially a long-lost “library” from that time. The writings are three major types— being alternative versions of biblical texts, writings about everyday life at the time, and “sectarian scrolls” that describe the life and teachings of the people who made the writings. [Note the documentary mentions the fact that some of the scrolls were torn into tiny pieces, and I have heard that the people who retrieved them from the caves tore them up in such a manner because they were told that they would be compensated based on the number of documents that they found, not realizing the significance of the documents.] After explaining the discovery of the scrolls, the documentary then explains the complicated political situation that was happening in that region of the world at the time they were written.
This docudrama series “Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire” recreates interesting time periods during the Roman Empire. Some of the topics it details are the insane reign of Nero as well as the start of the fall of Rome when the city was sacked by northern Europeans in the 400’s AD, which was first time it happened in its 1000 year history. Note: February 18, 2022— This video series is no longer available on YouTube, but you can watch it on Amazon Prime.
“What happens when the world’s most powerful man goes mad? Michael Sheen stars as Nero, who murdered his wife, married his slave boy, and took Rome to the brink of ruin.”
“What do you do when the most powerful man in the world goes mad? This documentary reveals the true nature of one of the most murderous yet bizarre periods in the history of Rome. Discover how the ruler of a quarter of the people on the planet took Rome to the edge of ruin.”
“The third episode of the drama-documentary series takes a step back and asks: why did Rome have Emperors at all? Rome was once a largely democratic society, with regular elections. The Republic lasted for 500 years. But then came Tiberius Gracchus.”
“The story of how General Vespasian and his son Titus unleashed the might of Rome against the First Jewish Revolt.”
“The fifth episode of the series tells the story of how the Emperor ‘Constantine The Great’ brought Christianity to the western world.”
“How did a weak emperor turn on his allies and bring about the collapse of the empire?”
This video details the event known as the “Teutoburg forest massacre” where three entire Roman legions (about 20,000 Roman soliders) were led into a trap and massacred in the Teutoburg Forest in Germany in 9 AD, being the largest single defeat of the army. The soldiers were led in a long narrow line through the dense forest that was unfamiliar to them by an officer named Gaius Julius Arminius who was in on the attack, where the troops were systematically attacked and killed while other parts of the line were unaware of any problems.
This video explains the aftermath of the brutal Teutoburg Forest massacre in Germany, where 20,000 Roman soliders were led into a trap and massacred in 9 AD.
This video demonstrates how togas were worn during Roman times, also explaining that they were made from only one large piece of fabric.
This video on the Potted History Channel demonstates how Roman “Samian Ware” pottery was created, which is embossed with traditional designs.
This video explains the tragic fate of many people during Roman times where they suffered lead poisoning due to a practice of storing a commonly consumed grape syrup sweetener in lead containers.
[NOTE: This “Barbarians Rising” series is essentially updated versions of the older “Barbarians II” series that is currently on Amazon streaming. I haven’t watched all of these episodes, but I generally prefer the older Barbarians II episodes instead. (Also note that these newer episodes are each twice as long as the older versions.)]
“Alaric’s Goths sack Rome; Attila the Hun seizes power through chaos and destruction while the barbarians move in for the kill, in ‘Ruin’.”
“An epic 700-year battle for freedom begins as the barbarians rise against Rome; Hannibal builds a rebel alliance and conquers the Alps, in ‘Resistance’.”
“Arminius unites the tribes and engineers an ambush attack to drive Rome out of Germania, in ‘Revenge’.”
“Rome brings its enemies inside its borders as the age of Empire begins; Spartacus leads a slave uprising that threatens Rome on its own turf, in ‘Rebellion’.”
“A Gothic military commander is determined to restore his people's honor with an unprecedented assault against Rome in this web exclusive.”
“Rome was the world's greatest superpower for centuries until a series of events led to its spectacular collapse. Find out more in this web exclusive.”
“Attila leads the Hunnic army on a bloody rampage across the Roman Empire, sealing his legacy as one of history's most ruthless military commanders, in this web exclusive.”
“The son of a mighty Carthaginian warrior, Hannibal Barca will stop at nothing to wipe out the Roman Republic. Experts describe his global vision in this web exclusive.”
See all the “Rome” content on the History Channel YouTube channel at this link.
“Love Modern Marvels? Stay up to date on all of your favorite History Channel shows.”
“Love The Curse Of Oak Island? Stay up to date on all of your favorite History Channel shows.”
“Join Lawrence Fishburne as he uncovers the truth behind the strangest mysteries of all time in History’s Greatest Mysteries: Solved.”
“Hannibal's merciless attacks on Roman soil dealt a near fatal blow to the soon-to-be Empire. Sworn by his father to a blood oath against the Romans, Hannibal does the unthinkable. Find out more in Season 1, Episode 1, ‘Hannibal: The Annihilator’.”
This interesting documentary series details the Roman subjugation of Britian that started in the first century BC and lasted for 400 years.
From imdb:
“Sifting through writings, relics, and ruins, historians piece together the time before, during and after the Roman invasion of Britian.”
“They decimated cities while building new ones in their destructive path. They killed thousands while bringing civilization to the remaining population. Rome's British invasion and nearly 400-hundred-year rule was a paradoxical campaign of annihilation and growth. This three-part exploration of the Roman Empire's occupation of Britain examines why they attacked, where they conquered, how they industrialized and exploited the land and what made them vulnerable to the revolt that signaled the ultimate fall of Rome.”
From imdb:
“Sifting through writings, relics, and ruins, historians piece together the time before, during and after the Roman invasion of Britian.”
“They decimated cities while building new ones in their destructive path. They killed thousands while bringing civilization to the remaining population. Rome's British invasion and nearly 400-hundred-year rule was a paradoxical campaign of annihilation and growth. This three-part exploration of the Roman Empire's occupation of Britain examines why they attacked, where they conquered, how they industrialized and exploited the land and what made them vulnerable to the revolt that signaled the ultimate fall of Rome.”
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