Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire

A 13-episode History Channel-aired documentary series, Rome: Rise and Fall of an Empire looks at important episodes in the military history of ancient Rome, spanning a period from the last century of the Republic to the final collapse of the Western empire in the fifth century C.E. Mixing overlaid narration with scholarly interview clips, small-scaled reenactments, and maps, the initial episodes here focus on Rome's territorial growth, from the army reforms of Marius circa 100 B.C.E. (that would help facilitate the conquest of the Alpine region) through Caesar's Gallic campaigns and Claudius' invasion of Britain, to the Dacian wars and Trajan's second-century expedition into Persia. Setbacks are also considered, including the slave rebellion under Spartacus, the defeat of Augustus' legions in Germany in 9 C.E., and the Danubian uprisings faced by Marcus Aurelius in the late second century. The last six segments are devoted to the unraveling of the empire over the third, fourth, and fifth centuries, with emperors such as Decius and Aurelian receiving surprisingly full treatment before attention is turned to Constantine's brief reestablishment of imperial power, after which the Germanic and Hunnic incursions threatened the empire's very survival. Although the series' almost exclusively military emphasis hardly provides a full history of the Roman Empire, it does a fine job within the scope of its coverage, and the last chapters are especially enlightening on the relationship between the Romans and those they termed “barbarians.” DVD extras include a bonus episode from the Modern Marvels series on barbarian weaponry, including swords, chariots, bows, and axes. Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)