Former empires
8 episodes
Episodes in this category also belong to the following categories:
Babylon
Melvyn Bragg discusses the truth behind Babylon, the world’s oldest and most enigmatic of empires; from the the Tower of Babel and the Hanging Gardens to the Whore of Babylon.
3 June 2004
Featuring: Eleanor Robson, Irving Finkel, Andrew George
Byzantium
Melvyn Bragg discusses the culture, history and legacy of the eastern Byzantine Empire, and examines why it has so often been sidelined and undermined by historians.
19 July 2001
Featuring: Charlotte Roueché, John Julius Norwich, Liz James
Rome and European Civilization
Melvyn Bragg discusses the role Rome has played in European civilization, from republicanism and imperialism to being the Catholic Heart of the Christian Church.
20 December 2001
Featuring: Mary Beard, Catharine Edwards, Greg Woolf
Tang Era Poetry
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the most celebrated poets of 8th-century China, Li Bai and Du Fu, and their influence from the Tang Era to the present day.
12 May 2022
Featuring: Tim Barrett, Tian Yuan Tan, Frances Wood
The British Empire
Melvyn Bragg discusses the British Empire, what drove Britain to follow the imperial road and what was its legacy?
8 November 2001
Featuring: Maria Misra, Peter Cain, Catherine Hall
The British Empire's Legacy
Melvyn Bragg discusses whether there is a need in Britain to re-examine its colonial past and examines the impact that imperial past has had on Britain’s current multicultural identity.
31 December 1998
Featuring: Catherine Hall, Linda Colley
The Hittites
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the empire based in the Land of Hatti during the Late Bronze Age, in modern Turkey, and the discoveries there over the last century.
23 December 2021
Featuring: Claudia Glatz, Ilgi Gercek, Christoph Bachhuber
The Sassanid Empire
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Sassanian Empire, a grand imperial rival to the Roman Empire.
13 December 2007
Featuring: Hugh N. Kennedy, Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis, James Howard-Johnston