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The Collapse of the Roman Empire<\/h2>\n
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The canonical date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire is 476, when the general Odoacer deposed the last emperor, Romulus Augustulus \u2013 a child who had been on the throne for less than a year. I teach my students that this relatively muted event was probably not noticed by many ordinary people at the time, as very little likely immediately changed in their daily lives.<\/p>\n
Instead, the much more dramatic events of 410 were the real collapse moment of the ancient world: the metropolis of Rome, the capital of the empire, was sacked by King Alaric and his Gothic army. As one of the expert contributors to this episode puts it, you would remember where you were when the news reached you.<\/p>\n
The episode\u2019s key achievement is to depict the way that Roman mistreatment of the Goths \u2013 a Germanic-speaking people many of whom fled war with Huns into the Roman Empire \u2013 effectively threatened their survival and backed them into a corner. While historians have long discussed these realities, it\u2019s refreshing to see this message presented in such a compelling and humane way to the wider public. The contemporary resonances are obvious, and while history cannot provide us with answers, it can give us food for thought.<\/p>\n
Further reading<\/strong> Tim Penn is Lecturer in Roman and Late Antique Material Culture at University of Reading<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”32031″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Neither the gradual decline nor the final fall of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt in 30 BC is accurately realised in this episode. It presents a simplistic narrative riddled with factual inaccuracies. It also features inadvertent misreadings or deliberate misrepresentations that play fast and loose with the historical chronology of the reign of Cleopatra VII, and the significant historical figures that were part of it.<\/p>\n Such inaccuracy is not helped by the fact that, with the exception of two contributors, no one participating is actually an expert on this specific period of ancient Egyptian history. One prominent figure is not even an historian or archaeologist at all.<\/p>\n Most of the artefacts that are incorporated in an attempt to provide insight don\u2019t date to this period of Egyptian history, and lead the narrative off in irrelevant directions. It\u2019s not clear who the intended audience is, nor what they are expected to take away from this, beyond appreciation for the sumptuous dramatisation that unfolds in the background. There was potential here, such as the contribution of climate change and the wider geopolitical context, that was unfortunately squandered.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong><\/p>\n If you want to read about Cleopatra\u2019s reign specifically, then Duane W. Roller\u2019s Cleopatra: A Biography<\/a> is good. For the Ptolemaic dynasty more broadly, from start to end, I\u2019d recommend Lloyd Llewelyn-Jones\u2019s The Cleopatras: The Forgotten Queens of Egypt<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jane Draycott is Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Glasgow<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”32030″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n The episode on the Aztecs focuses on the Aztec emperor Moctezuma in the 15th century. It offers a refreshing shift from the Eurocentric narrative that often paints him as indecisive while glorifying his nemesis, the conquistador Hern\u00e1n Cort\u00e9s<\/a>. Here, the roles are reversed: Cort\u00e9s\u2019s ambition and brutality are exposed, while Moctezuma appears as a thoughtful and capable leader. Their confrontation feels less like a simple conquest and more like a high-stakes chess match \u2013 Moctezuma had Cort\u00e9s in check until one audacious move changed history.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re looking for a comprehensive account of the Aztec collapse, this episode won\u2019t deliver that. Experts such as Matthew Restall, known for challenging colonial myths, are used sparingly, and the story remains selective. Key events are skipped, and contradictory sources are left out. All of this is inevitable in a single-episode format.<\/p>\n What it does offer is a visually stunning, well narrated introduction to imperial collapse, framed through iconic artefacts that bring the past to life.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong><\/p>\n To learn more about the fall of the Aztecs, read Jay Silverstein is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Forensics at Nottingham Trent University<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”32036″ img_size=”large” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n This episode deals with the military encounter between the American \u201cblack ships\u201d (kurofune<\/em> \u9ed2\u8239) under naval commodore Matthew Perry and the Tokugawa shogunate \u5fb3\u5ddd\u5e55\u5e9c between 1852 and 1855. The interviewed historians are certainly familiar with the event, yet the conceptual framing is not quite right.<\/p>\n \u201cTraditional Japan\u201d is introduced as an unchanging and isolated place. In reality, Japan had lived in close economic and cultural symbiosis with continental East Asia since at least the rise of Buddhism in the 6th century.<\/p>\n A 1603 proclamation, known as sakoku<\/em>, by the Tokugawa shogunate did make Japan a hostile place for Christians and foreigners. However, the Protestant Dutch, arch-enemies of their former Spanish overlords, were granted the right to send annual expeditions. These became the basis for Japan\u2019s \u201cDutch studies\u201d<\/a> (rangaku<\/em> \u862d\u5b78), an exchange of scientific knowledge which is ignored by the programme. Meanwhile, contact with China and Korea continued, albeit under stricter regulations.<\/p>\n The documentary dwells on the image of a powerful and conservative samurai class without alluding to the social transformations which had eroded its influence. The capital Edo was not only the largest city on earth, but a veritable engine of urbanisation and commercialisation.<\/p>\n This documentary is still a pleasure to watch, but the premise that Perry\u2019s western gunboats led to the \u201cfall\u201d of Japanese civilisation is erroneous.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong> Lars Laamann is Senior Lecturer in the History of China At Soas, University of London<\/em><\/p>\n This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something from bookshop.org The Conversation UK may earn a commission.<\/em><\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Jay Silverstein<\/a>, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Forensics, Nottingham Trent University<\/a><\/em>; Jane Draycott<\/a>, Lecturer, Classics, University of Glasgow<\/a><\/em>; Lars Laamann<\/a>, Lecturer on the History of China, SOAS, University of London<\/a><\/em>, and Tim Penn<\/a>, Lecturer in Roman and Late Antique Material Culture, University of Reading<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n [\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nTo learn more about the end of the Western Roman Empire, I would recommend starting with the very readable and provocative introduction by Bryan Ward-Perkins, The Fall of Rome: And the End of Civilization<\/a>. It looks at the very real changes that ordinary people would have experienced as a centuries-old empire fell apart.<\/p>\nThe Last Days of the Ptolemies in Egypt<\/h2>\n
The Collapse of the Aztec Empire<\/h2>\n
\nThe True History of the Conquest of New Spain, Volume 4<\/a> by Bernal D\u00edaz del Castillo \u2013 a Spaniard who served under Cort\u00e9s during conquest of the Aztec Empire. There are many translations but the first edition of the text, edited by Mexican historian Genaro Garc\u00eda and translated by Alfred Percival Maudslay, is my pick.<\/p>\nThe End of the Samurai in Japan<\/h2>\n
\nIf you want to know more about the political and social turmoil that led to the end of the samurais and the Tokugawa shogunate, I recommend The Emergence of Meiji Japan<\/a> by Marius B. Jansen.<\/p>\n
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