Imperial power and the weaknesses within it
The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire traces the expansion, dominance and eventual breakdown of imperial Rome in two feature-length instalments. The Rise moves from the assassination of Julius Caesar towards the establishment of Augustus’s rule. The programme connects the concentration of authority in an emperor with tensions that begin to emerge within the imperial system.
The structure joins a political history of rulers with a larger account of how a powerful civilization becomes vulnerable. Expansion and authority are central to the first part, while the second considers pressures that could not be managed simply by continuing to conquer.
