History Books Review

In this unscripted episode I speculate about why the Holy Roman Empire tends to be written out of European history, and suggest it is time to take it a bit more seriously.

In the Victorian world women were subservient to men.  It sounds great in thery, but how did it actually work? 

A view from inside the Blair government in the years leading up to the war in Iraq.

The private life of Belisarius is revealed in the Secret History.  Or is it?

Mary Beard sums up the Roman Empire for the general reader.

Belisarius is recalled after almost completely defeating the Goths in Italy.

Belisarius had done well to capture Rome, but could he hold in the face of a determined counter attack by the Goths?

Belisarius invades Italy and captures Rome.  But the Goths soon regroup and lay siege to him.

Belisarius recaptures Africa from the Vandals in a risky but brilliant campaign.

Radical threats led to radical changes to the way the Romans fought.

The basic thesis of the book is that post war governments have used the emergency war powers to issue state funded Propaganda to win support for their political objectives.

Justinian puts an end to a centuries old ph

Justinian constructs one of the great buildings of history, the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.  But what did he mean by it?

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.

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.

Byzantine history starts in earnest with the end of the western Roman Empire, but events in Italy remain important.

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.

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 replaced by invaders from the continent. 

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