Alaric and his tribesmen invade Italy and lay siege to Rome in 410 A.D. ibid.
Now in the 5th century, over 500 years after the death of Julius Caesar, the Roman Empire is ravaged by war and is quickly losing land to its foreign invaders. In the midst of this chaos three Roman generals compete for power as Emperor. Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire XII: The Puppet Master
Rome has lost control of the Mediterranean. ibid.
In the field hospitals of Gaul, Aegidius and his men recover from the Gothic attack. But he knows there will be more. ibid.
Rome’s control of the Empire’s once-great western province is swept away by a storm of barbarian warlords and kings. Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire XIII: The Last Emperor
Rome is powerless against one of the largest barbarian forces the Empire has ever seen – the Huns. ibid.
The last Emperor hides … there is no escape. ibid.
Road-building is one of the great indicators of a successful nation … Planning, precision and scope … Roman road building stretched over eight centuries. In Search of History s2e14: Roman Roads: Paths to Empire, History 1997
The pre-eminent port of the Roman Empire buried for a thousand years until the whim of a twentieth-century dictator unearthed it … A port city lying twenty miles outside of Rome. In Search of History s2e16: Rome’s Lost Harbour
The Roman Empire with its Colosseum, its gladiators and its ancient cities frozen in time. No other power dominated the planet for so long. But what are the secrets that helped Rome rule? Dan Snow, Rome’s Lost Empire, Yesterday 2014
At its root Rome was a brutal military superpower. ibid.
Today we take for granted the motorways, A-roads and city streets. Over 2,000 miles of them that form the skeleton road map of Britain. And all because of the Romans. With their ingenuity and dogged determination to conquer everything in their path. Dan Jones, Walking Britain’s Roman Roads I: Watling Street, 5 Select 2020
In nearly 400 years of occupation the Romans changed Britain for ever by bringing their armies, ideas, buildings and religion. But the Romans couldn’t have done any of it without one thing – their roads. ibid.
Watling Street: Running all the way from the Kent coast to the Midlands and on towards the West borders, Watling Street has two defining features: it was the first road that the Romans built in Britain, and at 240 miles it was also the longest. The story of Watling Street is the story of the Roman invasion. ibid.
The River Fleet: Fleet Street runs directly over the ancient watercourse. Within 20 years the Romans had built a small town roughly half a square mile in size with a fortified garrison. Londinium rapidly began a thriving hub, providing road links across Britain and to the larger empire across the channel. ibid.
Verulamium (St Albans): it grew up along this street to become one of the largest and most prosperous towns in Roman Britain … Verulamium had buildings such as a theatre, houses with underfloor heating and beautiful mosaic floors, just like Rome itself. ibid.
Boudica’s revolt may have been quashed on Watling Street but the war between the Romans and the native Britons raged on. Many of the tribes who lived here didn’t take kindly to being controlled by a foreign tribe. ibid.
Ermine Street: The Romans’ straightest road which runs north from their capital in London to what became their second city in Britain – York, founded in around 100 A.D. Most of Ermine Street is still in use today, though we know it better as the A1. This is Bishopsgate right in the heart of the city of London and it’s the start of Ermine Street proper. Dan Jones, Walking Britain’s Roman Roads II: Ermine Street
The [London] Mithraeum was built around 1,700 years ago. It fell into ruin and was buried when the Romans left our land in the 5th century. It was uncovered in 1954 when an office block was built near Cannon Street, though it’s been moved to a new site in recent years. ibid.
The Romans paved this road all the way to York, making one of the straightest roads they ever built, and shared their religious beliefs with our native tribes. Like many of Britain’s Roman roads, Ermine Street had been adapted over the passing centuries, and it’s now part of our modern road system. ibid.
From the very first road across Kent which powered their invasion to the vital routes which helped them conquer most of Britain before being beaten into retreat by the Scots. Dan Jones, Walking Britain’s Roman Roads III: Dere Street & Stanegate
Two important roads which intersect in the north-east of Britain: Dere Street and Stain Gate: together they were integral to the expansion of the Roman Empire here. Dere Street runs for 226 miles: it heads north from York and loosely follows the route of the A1 … Stanegate: a key east-west route. ibid.
Dere Street, Stanegate and Hadrian’s Gate are part of a story about Roman military and colonial ambition in Britain. ibid.
Hadrian’s Wall: An awe-inspiring defence system manned by 10,000 soldiers and measuring more than 4 metres in height. ibid.
Fosse Way: Stretching for 230 miles through the heart of England, the route starts in Exeter and runs through Devon towards the spa town of Bath, then it’s on through the Cotswolds and the West Midlands roughly following the route of the A46; it ends at the cathedral city of Lincoln. Dan Jones, Walking Britain’s Roman Roads IV
A ditch built to defend the western limits of Roman territory, and fosse is the Latin word for ditch. ibid.
Ermin Way: It’s a road that cuts into the heart of industrial Roman Britain … [and] stretches for around 75 miles and was effectively the M4 of its day. Walking Britain’s Roman Roads V: Ermin Way
Roman agricultural expertise reshaped the British landscape and industrialised farming for the good of the empire. ibid.
Stane Street which runs from London all the way down to the south coast. Walking Britain’s Roman Roads VI: Stane Street
By the 4th century they [Romans’] had mounting problems. They had occupied our land for more than 300 years but they were being increasingly attacked by the forces within Britain. ibid.
Stane Street runs 67 miles from London to Chichester. The route is closely followed by our modern roads. ibid.
By the second century A.D. Londinium was a thriving city with a population of around 60,000. ibid.
In 43 A.D. the Romans landed an invasion army of 40,000 men on the Kent coast. Just four years later they started work on a new town they called Londinium. Roman Britain from the Air, ITV 2014
When the Romans came to Britain they brought with them more sophisticated building techniques than what we’ve ever had before. Hadrian’s Wall here is the biggest monument that the Roman Empire left behind for us. Fred Dibnah’s World of Steam, Steel and Stone e9: Changing the Landscape, BBC 2006
Christianity starts as a dissident movement within Judaism – so already there’s tension between Judaism and the Jesus movement as it takes place. Certainly also, preaching about a kingdom is going to make the Romans nervous. They have a kingdom that they’re happy with. So we have a charismatic leader with a message that challenges both religious and secular authorities. Professor Eugene Gallagher, Connecticut University
In the early 4th century a betting man might have put his money on Christianity becoming a major religion here in the East. But then something completely unexpected happened in the West. A new Roman Emperor, Constantine, made Christianity his own. Professor Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, BBC 2009
The problem with orchestrated Roman Christianity was that it Robert Beckford, Christianity: A History s1e3: Dark Ages, Channel 4 2009
To be a Christian king was to be part of a universal community that spread across Europe to Rome and beyond. So there were the added benefits of trade and also cultural exchange. To be a member of the Christian club brought enormous benefits. But even so there was still no such thing as a united church in Britain. ibid.
312 A.D.: The Roman Emperor Constantine leads an army against a rival for the throne. At stake the future of the Roman Empire ... Constantine adopts Christianity and begins to defeat the enemy. Rivals of Jesus, 2006
At the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. Constantine solidifies the Christian Church and makes it a single hierarchy with himself as leader. Constantine and his hand-picked Bishops will determine which gospels are considered sacred and which will be forbidden. Constantine makes Christianity legal. ibid.
The papacy is not other than the ghost of the deceased Roman Empire, sitting crowned upon the grave thereof. Thomas Hobbes, 1588-1679, Leviathan