1
00:00:03,500 --> 00:00:06,100
'Rome. Holy city.'

2
00:00:06,100 --> 00:00:07,500
'Blessed by Pagan gods.'

3
00:00:10,260 --> 00:00:13,540
'Earthly capital of
a glorious empire

4
00:00:13,540 --> 00:00:16,460
'with a divine mission
to conquer and rule.'

5
00:00:18,580 --> 00:00:21,620
But Rome was to cast aside its
pantheon of idols

6
00:00:21,620 --> 00:00:25,140
to embrace a revolutionary
new faith from the East

7
00:00:25,140 --> 00:00:28,460
that would change its classical
skyline forever.

8
00:00:38,420 --> 00:00:41,580
'Personal salvation
and the worship of one God

9
00:00:41,580 --> 00:00:43,740
'eclipsed the gods of old.'

10
00:00:45,020 --> 00:00:49,820
'Soon after the crucifixion of Jesus
his message started to spread...

11
00:00:49,820 --> 00:00:53,580
'but there was nothing inevitable
about its ultimate triumph.'

12
00:00:54,740 --> 00:00:58,300
'The followers of Christ
were viciously persecuted.'

13
00:01:01,380 --> 00:01:05,900
'But the martyrdom of St Peter
gave Rome a new founding story

14
00:01:07,700 --> 00:01:10,300
'and a divine mission for
his successors, the Popes.'

15
00:01:15,020 --> 00:01:19,340
Rome became a vibrant centre
of Christian devotion.

16
00:01:19,340 --> 00:01:21,940
But it was the necessities of power

17
00:01:21,940 --> 00:01:24,340
that really decided
its sacred destiny.

18
00:01:31,460 --> 00:01:34,420
'I've come as both historian
and tourist,

19
00:01:34,420 --> 00:01:37,940
'to examine how the decision
of one emperor

20
00:01:37,940 --> 00:01:42,860
'changed the history of Western
civilisation and Rome itself.'

21
00:01:48,260 --> 00:01:50,700
'Its impact on the fabric
of the city

22
00:01:50,700 --> 00:01:54,180
'and on the lives of its citizens,
nobles and high priests.'

23
00:01:57,940 --> 00:02:01,820
'Abandoning paganism risked
everything that Rome stood for.'

24
00:02:02,940 --> 00:02:06,300
'Triggering confusion, violence,
power struggles,

25
00:02:06,300 --> 00:02:09,740
'and setting Popes and Emperors
on a collision course.'

26
00:02:15,060 --> 00:02:19,180
So what transformed the Holy City
of Rome from the pagan heart

27
00:02:19,180 --> 00:02:23,020
of the Roman Empire to the capital
of Christendom?

28
00:02:48,220 --> 00:02:51,460
'On the outskirts of Rome,
a stadium once stood.

29
00:02:53,100 --> 00:02:56,940
'Horse-races were staged there to
entertain Emperors and citizens.'

30
00:02:59,420 --> 00:03:05,340
But in 64 AD the imperial race-track
became the site of a mass execution.

31
00:03:11,220 --> 00:03:13,580
'The centre of Rome had been
devastated by fire.

32
00:03:14,660 --> 00:03:17,980
'Angry Romans wanted
someone to blame.

33
00:03:17,980 --> 00:03:22,180
'So Emperor Nero offered them a new
religious sect - the Christians.

34
00:03:31,020 --> 00:03:34,580
'Some were torn to pieces
by wild dogs,

35
00:03:34,580 --> 00:03:37,380
'others set on fire
as human torches,

36
00:03:37,380 --> 00:03:39,340
'and a few were crucified.'

37
00:03:43,540 --> 00:03:47,180
Amongst them was Peter, a leader of
the Christian mission in Rome

38
00:03:47,180 --> 00:03:50,540
and one of the original
12 disciples.

39
00:03:50,540 --> 00:03:53,260
Tradition says that
out of respect for Jesus,

40
00:03:53,260 --> 00:03:56,260
he asked to be crucified
upside down.

41
00:04:01,940 --> 00:04:04,820
'In the centre of the race-track
stood an obelisk.'

42
00:04:08,980 --> 00:04:13,340
This is that same obelisk,
and 2,000 years later,

43
00:04:13,340 --> 00:04:15,940
it's still in roughly
the same place.

44
00:04:15,940 --> 00:04:19,740
It was probably the last thing
that Peter saw.

45
00:04:19,740 --> 00:04:23,540
And this is probably the last thing
that he could have imagined.

46
00:04:23,540 --> 00:04:28,180
St Peter's, the magnificent
basilica built in his honour

47
00:04:28,180 --> 00:04:30,900
and still towering over
the city of Rome.

48
00:04:46,260 --> 00:04:49,700
'Ultimately, Peter's execution
would transform Rome.

49
00:04:51,220 --> 00:04:55,380
'But when he died, Christianity was
just one of many Eastern cults,

50
00:04:55,380 --> 00:05:00,660
'struggling to survive, in a city
dominated by pagan gods.

51
00:05:08,900 --> 00:05:13,460
'For a thousand years, paganism had
brought success and prosperity

52
00:05:13,460 --> 00:05:15,060
'to the Eternal City.

53
00:05:16,340 --> 00:05:19,860
'The will of the Gods decided
every aspect of Roman society.

54
00:05:21,380 --> 00:05:23,540
'When it went to war.
Who its rulers were.

55
00:05:25,220 --> 00:05:29,340
'Paganism had brought Rome
domination of the ancient world.'

56
00:05:30,540 --> 00:05:34,060
The Roman Empire was flexible,
embracing and co-opting

57
00:05:34,060 --> 00:05:37,580
foreign gods into its own
state religion,

58
00:05:37,580 --> 00:05:40,700
but so far none had threatened
the status quo.

59
00:05:45,740 --> 00:05:48,380
'But Christianity was radically
different.'

60
00:05:50,380 --> 00:05:53,220
# Gloria

61
00:05:53,220 --> 00:05:55,020
# Gloria. #

62
00:05:55,020 --> 00:05:58,020
'Whereas paganism sought
the goodwill and protection

63
00:05:58,020 --> 00:05:59,780
'of the Gods in this life,

64
00:06:00,820 --> 00:06:06,340
'Christianity held out the promise
of eternal life in the next world.

65
00:06:06,340 --> 00:06:09,500
'But its rejection of pagan practice
marked it out.'

66
00:06:14,620 --> 00:06:17,980
The Christian refusal to sacrifice
to the ancestral Gods

67
00:06:17,980 --> 00:06:19,780
in honour of the Emperor

68
00:06:19,780 --> 00:06:23,380
made them a potential threat
to the Roman state itself.

69
00:06:26,740 --> 00:06:30,460
'As Christianity took hold
amongst Rome's under-classes,

70
00:06:30,460 --> 00:06:33,220
'the pagan establishment
sought to discredit it.

71
00:06:37,780 --> 00:06:41,020
'The ritual of Holy Communion, the
taking of Christ's body and blood,

72
00:06:41,020 --> 00:06:43,220
'was described as cannibalism.'

73
00:06:48,260 --> 00:06:52,300
'Yet, meeting in secret, the
Christian community began to grow.

74
00:06:55,340 --> 00:06:57,700
'Historian Alexander Evers
is taking me

75
00:06:57,700 --> 00:07:01,460
'to one of Rome's remaining house
churches from the second century.

76
00:07:04,500 --> 00:07:06,940
'What took place
in private dwellings like this

77
00:07:06,940 --> 00:07:10,180
'would sow the seeds of Rome's
unique Christian future.'

78
00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:16,980
So what was the early
church in Rome really like?

79
00:07:16,980 --> 00:07:21,780
Initially, you can safely say it was
an unorganised heap of people.

80
00:07:21,780 --> 00:07:26,260
Hardly any structure there. A large
group. A growing group within Rome.

81
00:07:27,740 --> 00:07:30,940
But not united. There are
differences of opinion

82
00:07:30,940 --> 00:07:33,420
about how to worship,
where to worship.

83
00:07:33,420 --> 00:07:38,340
And eventually, gradually, you have
those single figures of authority

84
00:07:38,340 --> 00:07:40,460
rising to the fore.

85
00:07:40,460 --> 00:07:42,980
The Bishop, who can pull
it all together.

86
00:07:42,980 --> 00:07:46,540
So where did the early Bishops of
Rome get their authority from?

87
00:07:46,540 --> 00:07:48,700
From a fairly early point onwards,

88
00:07:48,700 --> 00:07:51,500
they're beginning to place
themselves in one line

89
00:07:51,500 --> 00:07:54,780
with the apostle, Peter, who was
the right hand of Christ,

90
00:07:54,780 --> 00:07:58,260
who supposedly was
the first Bishop of Rome.

91
00:07:58,260 --> 00:08:01,780
Where that tradition comes from
is not entirely clear,

92
00:08:01,780 --> 00:08:05,860
but that tradition,
"I'm the successor to Peter",

93
00:08:05,860 --> 00:08:09,420
gives them an enormous source
of authority.

94
00:08:09,420 --> 00:08:12,140
# Sanctus

95
00:08:12,140 --> 00:08:14,260
# Sanctus. #

96
00:08:14,260 --> 00:08:16,540
'The lineage of Bishops
from St Peter

97
00:08:16,540 --> 00:08:19,740
'is known as the
apostolic succession.

98
00:08:19,740 --> 00:08:22,780
'It's the bedrock of the
Bishop of Rome's authority

99
00:08:22,780 --> 00:08:25,140
'and papal power to this day.

100
00:08:26,580 --> 00:08:28,980
'But in the third century,
the Bishops were leaders

101
00:08:28,980 --> 00:08:30,580
'of a religion on the margins.

102
00:08:32,860 --> 00:08:35,500
'And that's why I'm heading
to the outskirts of Rome,

103
00:08:35,500 --> 00:08:38,060
'and the catacombs of San Callisto.

104
00:08:44,300 --> 00:08:47,340
'Deep within its maze
of underground corridors,

105
00:08:47,340 --> 00:08:51,140
'there is something hard to find,
and yet very important.

106
00:08:53,020 --> 00:08:57,540
'Early evidence of how the Bishops
of Rome got their unique title.'

107
00:09:00,980 --> 00:09:03,500
This reads PP, which stands
for Papa or Pope,

108
00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:07,060
and it's the first example
we have of an inscription

109
00:09:07,060 --> 00:09:10,100
that refers to the Bishops of Rome
by that title.

110
00:09:11,220 --> 00:09:14,620
At the time, any charismatic bishop
anywhere in Christendom

111
00:09:14,620 --> 00:09:18,980
might have been known as Pope,
but gradually, the Bishops of Rome

112
00:09:18,980 --> 00:09:22,620
came to be known by that name,
though, surprisingly,

113
00:09:22,620 --> 00:09:26,020
it wasn't for almost 800 years,
until the 11th century,

114
00:09:26,020 --> 00:09:27,940
that it became official.

115
00:09:30,980 --> 00:09:34,460
'But there is something else down
here that I really want to see.

116
00:09:38,540 --> 00:09:41,020
'Some of Rome's very first Popes

117
00:09:41,020 --> 00:09:44,300
'were buried in these
subterranean tombs.'

118
00:09:49,460 --> 00:09:53,820
What an extraordinary room this is.
This is the crypt of the Popes,

119
00:09:53,820 --> 00:09:57,380
and nine of the Bishops of Rome
are buried here,

120
00:09:57,380 --> 00:09:59,860
dating all the way back
to the early 3rd century.

121
00:10:06,100 --> 00:10:08,740
It's an extraordinary thought
that these men

122
00:10:08,740 --> 00:10:13,540
were the leaders of Christianity,
right at the very beginning,

123
00:10:13,540 --> 00:10:17,020
long before the Papacy became
the office of power,

124
00:10:17,020 --> 00:10:19,420
magnificence and wealth
that we know today.

125
00:10:25,260 --> 00:10:27,980
'But some of these Bishops,
just like St Peter,

126
00:10:27,980 --> 00:10:29,700
'were to die for their faith.'

127
00:10:40,220 --> 00:10:43,340
Sixtus II was celebrating mass
right here at the altar,

128
00:10:43,340 --> 00:10:45,740
when Roman soldiers burst in.

129
00:10:45,740 --> 00:10:49,300
When they drew their swords,
the entire congregation competed

130
00:10:49,300 --> 00:10:52,700
to offer themselves for
the honour of martyrdom,

131
00:10:52,700 --> 00:10:55,900
at which Sixtus pushed himself
forwards, bared his neck,

132
00:10:55,900 --> 00:10:57,820
and begged them to take his head.

133
00:10:57,820 --> 00:11:00,500
The soldiers were happy
to take him up on his offer.

134
00:11:03,340 --> 00:11:04,940
They beheaded him on the spot.

135
00:11:10,980 --> 00:11:14,780
'The persecution of the Christians
wasn't constant.

136
00:11:14,780 --> 00:11:16,580
'When the Roman Empire prospered,

137
00:11:16,580 --> 00:11:18,980
'the church was reluctantly
tolerated.

138
00:11:21,100 --> 00:11:22,700
'But in the mid 3rd century,

139
00:11:22,700 --> 00:11:25,780
'the empire tottered on
the edge of catastrophe.'

140
00:11:31,620 --> 00:11:34,820
Rome faced 50 years of disaster.

141
00:11:34,820 --> 00:11:39,820
Civil wars, invasions, and a
bewildering succession of emperors.

142
00:11:39,820 --> 00:11:43,060
The cracks in the imperial
edifice seemed terminal.

143
00:11:49,140 --> 00:11:52,140
'Some emperors believed that Rome
was being punished

144
00:11:52,140 --> 00:11:55,380
'for turning a blind eye
to the Christians.

145
00:11:55,380 --> 00:11:58,700
'The unity of city and empire
was at stake.

146
00:11:58,700 --> 00:12:00,420
'Something had to be done.'

147
00:12:04,300 --> 00:12:06,740
In 303, the Emperor Diocletian

148
00:12:06,740 --> 00:12:09,340
launched the bloodiest
persecution to date.

149
00:12:13,500 --> 00:12:16,380
'Churches were destroyed,
bishops decapitated.

150
00:12:17,420 --> 00:12:19,980
'The streets were awash with
the blood of the faithful.

151
00:12:26,980 --> 00:12:29,380
But the killings failed.

152
00:12:29,380 --> 00:12:32,580
The persecutions merely served
to promote and advertise

153
00:12:32,580 --> 00:12:35,100
the faith of the martyrs.

154
00:12:35,100 --> 00:12:37,740
The flame of Christianity
could not be extinguished.

155
00:12:42,180 --> 00:12:45,900
'Diocletian's victims would forever
leave their mark on Rome.

156
00:12:48,180 --> 00:12:51,340
'And remarkably, one has been
preserved to this day.

157
00:12:52,780 --> 00:12:55,380
'This figure,
one of the city's least known

158
00:12:55,380 --> 00:12:58,820
'but macabre sights,
appears to be a statue.

159
00:13:00,580 --> 00:13:04,300
'But closer inspection reveals
something far more spine-chilling.'

160
00:13:07,340 --> 00:13:11,220
When at first you look at this,
you think it must be a waxwork.

161
00:13:11,220 --> 00:13:15,220
But when you look a little closer
into the slightly open mouth,

162
00:13:15,220 --> 00:13:18,100
you see through the open lips
of the skeleton.

163
00:13:19,260 --> 00:13:23,420
And if you look at the hands, on the
outside, they appear to be wax,

164
00:13:23,420 --> 00:13:28,060
but look inside, you can see
not just the skeletal bones

165
00:13:28,060 --> 00:13:29,340
of the real hand and the body,

166
00:13:30,740 --> 00:13:32,980
but actually the dried
skin there, too.

167
00:13:35,180 --> 00:13:37,540
This is the body of Saint Vittoria.

168
00:13:42,300 --> 00:13:46,460
'The cruel deaths of the martyrs
didn't destroy Christianity.

169
00:13:46,460 --> 00:13:48,220
'Their stories kept it alive.

170
00:13:50,780 --> 00:13:53,140
'But it was still just one
of many religious sects

171
00:13:53,140 --> 00:13:54,980
'on the edges of Roman society.

172
00:13:56,740 --> 00:13:59,940
'Only the whim or faith
of an emperor

173
00:13:59,940 --> 00:14:01,980
'could change the course
of history.'

174
00:14:15,260 --> 00:14:18,060
'Emperor Constantine
was a ruthless general

175
00:14:18,060 --> 00:14:19,900
'who slashed his way to power.'

176
00:14:21,940 --> 00:14:26,380
He was a harsh warlord,
capable of terrifying violence.

177
00:14:26,380 --> 00:14:29,820
He even executed
his own wife and son.

178
00:14:29,820 --> 00:14:33,380
But he was also a visionary,
who in one decision

179
00:14:33,380 --> 00:14:36,740
changed the entire course
of Western civilization.

180
00:14:41,060 --> 00:14:42,460
'No-one knows for sure

181
00:14:42,460 --> 00:14:45,420
'why Constantine chose to
embrace Christianity.

182
00:14:46,860 --> 00:14:50,900
'But the decisive revelation took
place here at Milvian Bridge

183
00:14:50,900 --> 00:14:52,500
'on the outskirts of Rome.'

184
00:14:58,540 --> 00:15:02,540
'The over-extended empire had been
split in two - East and West.

185
00:15:03,940 --> 00:15:06,140
'Rome was no longer
the imperial capital.

186
00:15:08,220 --> 00:15:11,260
'Each region was ruled by
an Emperor and his deputy.'

187
00:15:13,780 --> 00:15:16,820
Constantine shared the West
with Maxentius,

188
00:15:16,820 --> 00:15:19,260
but they soon became bitter rivals.

189
00:15:24,580 --> 00:15:28,820
'In 312, Constantine had
cornered Maxentius' forces

190
00:15:28,820 --> 00:15:30,380
'on the banks of the Tiber.'

191
00:15:36,700 --> 00:15:40,540
Before battle commenced,
Constantine had a vision.

192
00:15:40,540 --> 00:15:43,780
He saw the sign of the cross
superimposed on the sun

193
00:15:43,780 --> 00:15:47,300
with the words "By this sign,
thou shalt conquer".

194
00:15:50,820 --> 00:15:53,900
At the very last moment, he ordered
his soldiers' shields

195
00:15:53,900 --> 00:15:55,700
to be emblazoned with the cross.

196
00:15:55,700 --> 00:15:57,780
Fighting under Christian banners,

197
00:15:57,780 --> 00:16:00,220
he won the greatest victory
of his life.

198
00:16:04,260 --> 00:16:08,260
'Constantine now saw Christ
not as the crucified lamb of God,

199
00:16:09,460 --> 00:16:11,300
'but as a potent God of victory.

200
00:16:13,020 --> 00:16:16,660
'He was about to turn his back
on everything that had made Rome.'

201
00:16:18,100 --> 00:16:21,620
'Exchange the protection
of many gods for just one.

202
00:16:22,980 --> 00:16:26,220
'Overturn a thousand
years of Roman history,

203
00:16:26,220 --> 00:16:29,220
'and embrace the faith
of persecuted radicals.

204
00:16:31,300 --> 00:16:34,780
'But could Rome withstand
this revolution?

205
00:16:34,780 --> 00:16:37,060
'Constantine was willing
to take that gamble.

206
00:16:41,460 --> 00:16:45,180
'But while an Emperor could
change his religion overnight,

207
00:16:45,180 --> 00:16:47,620
'Rome's pagan citizens
would take longer.

208
00:16:49,820 --> 00:16:52,580
'The arch built to mark
Constantine's victory

209
00:16:52,580 --> 00:16:55,420
'shows how controversial
this change of policy was.'

210
00:16:57,820 --> 00:17:00,020
This arch contains a surprise.

211
00:17:00,020 --> 00:17:04,980
If you look up here on line three,
you'll see the divinity

212
00:17:04,980 --> 00:17:09,500
that Constantine thanks for his
victory is subtly ambiguous.

213
00:17:09,500 --> 00:17:11,540
It could be either
Christian or pagan.

214
00:17:13,580 --> 00:17:18,020
'Constantine doesn't give thanks
to the pagan god of war,

215
00:17:18,020 --> 00:17:20,340
'but neither does he reveal
his new faith.

216
00:17:21,500 --> 00:17:24,740
'He uses a general term
for divinity - divinitas,

217
00:17:24,740 --> 00:17:27,820
'which was acceptable to
both pagans and Christians.

218
00:17:30,900 --> 00:17:34,940
'Promoting Christianity in a world
where the majority was still pagan

219
00:17:34,940 --> 00:17:40,260
'would need tact and diplomacy, even
from an all-conquering emperor.

220
00:17:44,220 --> 00:17:48,220
'Constantine's cautious approach
to conversion is reflected

221
00:17:48,220 --> 00:17:51,300
'in the 4th century church
of Santa Pudenziana.'

222
00:17:56,580 --> 00:17:58,700
The facade of this church
wouldn't have looked

223
00:17:58,700 --> 00:18:00,860
at all out of place in pagan Rome.

224
00:18:00,860 --> 00:18:03,220
It's a basilica,
literally, a king's hall,

225
00:18:03,220 --> 00:18:07,180
and this was the typical rectangular
building of Roman public life,

226
00:18:07,180 --> 00:18:09,980
where emperors and governors
held court.

227
00:18:14,100 --> 00:18:17,980
'The need to fit in is further
revealed when you step inside.

228
00:18:20,900 --> 00:18:25,860
'The image of a humble saviour has
received a grand Roman makeover.

229
00:18:33,340 --> 00:18:36,620
'Jesus isn't nailed to the cross
like a common criminal.

230
00:18:38,100 --> 00:18:42,180
'He's depicted ostentatiously on a
throne, like a king or an emperor,

231
00:18:43,540 --> 00:18:47,020
'and his disciples are dressed
in the togas of the aristocracy,

232
00:18:47,020 --> 00:18:50,300
'like senators holding court
in a classical city.'

233
00:18:57,740 --> 00:19:00,500
Pagan Romans coming in here
wouldn't have been shocked

234
00:19:00,500 --> 00:19:02,900
or put off by anything they saw.

235
00:19:02,900 --> 00:19:05,580
But this wasn't the lower-class,
radical religion

236
00:19:05,580 --> 00:19:07,060
of the early church.

237
00:19:07,060 --> 00:19:11,820
This was imperial Christianity,
designed to attract and impress

238
00:19:11,820 --> 00:19:13,380
Romans high and low.

239
00:19:19,820 --> 00:19:21,900
'Christianity was becoming Roman.

240
00:19:22,980 --> 00:19:24,580
'Rome was becoming Christian.

241
00:19:28,380 --> 00:19:31,660
'But Rome's rebirth as a sacred
city of Christendom

242
00:19:31,660 --> 00:19:34,140
'required a transfer of holiness

243
00:19:34,140 --> 00:19:36,940
'from Christianity's
first holy city.

244
00:19:38,860 --> 00:19:40,820
'Constantine dispatched
his mother, Helena,

245
00:19:40,820 --> 00:19:43,380
'on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

246
00:19:46,500 --> 00:19:50,380
'Helena returned with a precious
collection of Christian relics.

247
00:19:51,540 --> 00:19:52,980
'And I'm just about to witness

248
00:19:52,980 --> 00:19:55,980
'the most monumental treasure
of them all.'

249
00:20:01,460 --> 00:20:04,980
This is one of Empress Helena's
most extraordinary finds.

250
00:20:04,980 --> 00:20:06,700
The Scala Sancta.

251
00:20:06,700 --> 00:20:08,860
This staircase is believed to be

252
00:20:08,860 --> 00:20:13,140
from the palace of Pontius Pilate
in Jerusalem.

253
00:20:13,140 --> 00:20:16,740
Jesus walked down these steps
after he was sentenced to death.

254
00:20:21,860 --> 00:20:24,180
'Unlike the remote pagan Gods,

255
00:20:24,180 --> 00:20:29,220
'the Christian God had a son whom
he had sacrificed for humanity.

256
00:20:30,940 --> 00:20:35,220
'And what Christ had touched,
his followers also wanted to touch.'

257
00:20:37,420 --> 00:20:41,700
For centuries, pilgrims have climbed
these steps on their knees

258
00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:46,620
as an act of piety, to get closer
to Christ and honour his suffering.

259
00:20:52,100 --> 00:20:54,380
It's not often, in our secular age,

260
00:20:54,380 --> 00:21:00,100
that you see a place of such
intense, passionate devotion,

261
00:21:00,100 --> 00:21:02,900
but this tells you something
about Rome as a holy city.

262
00:21:02,900 --> 00:21:05,660
A holy city is a place
where God meets man.

263
00:21:05,660 --> 00:21:08,780
And that is exactly what
these pilgrims are doing.

264
00:21:20,260 --> 00:21:23,580
While Helena was importing
holiness from Jerusalem,

265
00:21:23,580 --> 00:21:28,180
Constantine was keen to promote the
city's home-grown Christian sites.

266
00:21:28,180 --> 00:21:29,780
But he had to be careful.

267
00:21:29,780 --> 00:21:32,340
Rome was still overwhelmingly pagan,

268
00:21:32,340 --> 00:21:35,980
and that's why he built his first
churches away from the centre.

269
00:21:42,900 --> 00:21:45,420
'Constantine built seven
churches in Rome.

270
00:21:47,020 --> 00:21:49,420
'But one took on supreme
importance.

271
00:21:51,860 --> 00:21:55,900
'Nero's Circus had become a holy
place for Rome's Christians,

272
00:21:55,900 --> 00:21:58,940
'as the location of Peter's
crucifixion and burial.

273
00:22:00,620 --> 00:22:03,380
'A simple shrine had been
erected over his grave.'

274
00:22:05,620 --> 00:22:09,060
Constantine recognised
the importance of the site.

275
00:22:09,060 --> 00:22:13,220
A direct link between Rome
and Jesus Christ himself,

276
00:22:13,220 --> 00:22:16,020
through his right-hand man, Peter.

277
00:22:16,020 --> 00:22:20,900
So Constantine decided to build his
biggest basilica over Peter's tomb.

278
00:22:32,700 --> 00:22:35,500
'Constantine's basilica
gave Rome's Christians

279
00:22:35,500 --> 00:22:37,180
'a new focus for devotion.

280
00:22:41,940 --> 00:22:44,580
'It stood for over a thousand years,

281
00:22:44,580 --> 00:22:47,420
'until it was rebuilt
during the Renaissance.

282
00:22:53,660 --> 00:22:55,860
'Jesus said that Peter
would be the rock

283
00:22:55,860 --> 00:22:57,940
'on which his church was built.

284
00:22:59,300 --> 00:23:03,100
'Constantine's basilica literally
fulfilled that prophecy.

285
00:23:08,780 --> 00:23:12,700
'Over the centuries, St Peter's
was to become the cornerstone

286
00:23:12,700 --> 00:23:14,180
'of the Catholic Church

287
00:23:14,180 --> 00:23:18,060
'and the headquarters for
an empire of Christian souls.

288
00:23:20,180 --> 00:23:22,460
'But when Constantine
commissioned it,

289
00:23:22,460 --> 00:23:24,860
'it was still an act
of wishful thinking.'

290
00:23:33,380 --> 00:23:38,260
Constantine's St Peter's promoted
Rome as a Christian centre.

291
00:23:38,260 --> 00:23:41,500
But he died leaving
a hybrid holy city,

292
00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:43,540
part Christian, but part pagan.

293
00:23:47,660 --> 00:23:50,700
'The temples of the old Gods
still dominated the skyline.

294
00:23:51,860 --> 00:23:53,940
'Pagans still dominated the city.

295
00:23:55,620 --> 00:23:58,700
'Constantine's divine gamble
now lay in the hands

296
00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:00,500
'of Rome's new high priests.'

297
00:24:03,180 --> 00:24:06,220
It was now down to the Popes,
Rome's Bishops,

298
00:24:06,220 --> 00:24:07,940
to really make Rome Christian.

299
00:24:11,020 --> 00:24:14,020
BELL TOLLS

300
00:24:24,620 --> 00:24:28,580
Before Constantine, Rome's Bishops
had been persecuted leaders.

301
00:24:30,020 --> 00:24:33,180
Now they were important officials
with real influence.

302
00:24:35,580 --> 00:24:39,580
One Pope, Damasus I,
revelled in this new status.

303
00:24:45,220 --> 00:24:47,340
Nearly 70 when he came to power,

304
00:24:47,340 --> 00:24:51,140
Damasus didn't allow old age
to dampen his pleasures.

305
00:24:51,140 --> 00:24:54,580
Corrupt and egotistical,
his enemies described him

306
00:24:54,580 --> 00:24:57,860
as a smooth-talking adulterer,
or as they put it,

307
00:24:57,860 --> 00:25:00,380
"A tickler of the ears
of middle-aged women."

308
00:25:04,820 --> 00:25:07,300
'But Damasus was also a poet

309
00:25:07,300 --> 00:25:11,380
'who used his literary gifts
to win Christian souls.

310
00:25:11,380 --> 00:25:13,940
'He took Rome's earliest sites
of martyrdom

311
00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:16,060
'and celebrated them in poetry.

312
00:25:19,060 --> 00:25:22,940
'This poetical propaganda has been
studied by Marianne Saghy,

313
00:25:22,940 --> 00:25:26,540
'an historian who I'm meeting
at the Church of Sant' Agnese.'

314
00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:35,820
Pope Damasus went into every single
catacomb, more than sixty catacombs,

315
00:25:35,820 --> 00:25:41,340
placing poetic inscriptions
above the holy graves.

316
00:25:41,340 --> 00:25:46,300
Damasus' inscriptions were like huge
billboards in the labyrinthine

317
00:25:46,300 --> 00:25:48,500
darkness of the catacombs.

318
00:25:48,500 --> 00:25:55,500
And it attracted huge throngs, huge
crowds to the graves of the martyrs.

319
00:25:55,500 --> 00:25:57,780
What was Damasus' impact
on the church?

320
00:25:57,780 --> 00:26:03,540
Damasus understood and saw the power
radiating from the holy ashes

321
00:26:03,540 --> 00:26:08,620
and holy relics, and therefore
he wanted to put the stamp

322
00:26:08,620 --> 00:26:12,020
of the Church on the tombs
of the martyrs.

323
00:26:16,660 --> 00:26:20,300
'Damasus had created a ring
of holy sites around the city.

324
00:26:21,780 --> 00:26:25,620
'But Christianity faced a stiffer
challenge in the centre of Rome.

325
00:26:30,700 --> 00:26:33,780
'Culturally, Romans were still
attached to the rhythms

326
00:26:33,780 --> 00:26:35,940
'and festivals of
the pagan calendar,

327
00:26:35,940 --> 00:26:37,860
'which promised feasting and fun.

328
00:26:40,380 --> 00:26:43,380
'Christianity had to compete
on a social level, too.'

329
00:26:45,900 --> 00:26:48,380
By a mixture of accident and design,

330
00:26:48,380 --> 00:26:52,140
the Christian calendar began
to overlap with the pagan.

331
00:26:52,140 --> 00:26:55,700
St Peter's birthday coincided
with Caristia,

332
00:26:55,700 --> 00:26:58,460
a pagan festival of banqueting
and gift giving.

333
00:27:02,020 --> 00:27:05,180
'By the end of the 4th century,
Romans could have two parties,

334
00:27:05,180 --> 00:27:08,700
'one pagan, one Christian,
on fourteen days of the year.'

335
00:27:10,500 --> 00:27:14,660
Some Christians even continued to
participate in the shameless

336
00:27:14,660 --> 00:27:18,460
immodesty of the Lupercalia
fertility festival,

337
00:27:18,460 --> 00:27:20,700
running half naked through
the streets

338
00:27:20,700 --> 00:27:23,540
while whipping girls
with strips of goat hide.

339
00:27:26,180 --> 00:27:29,500
'To persuade Rome's citizens
to fully embrace Christianity,

340
00:27:29,500 --> 00:27:32,220
'Damasus turned his gift
for propaganda

341
00:27:32,220 --> 00:27:35,100
'to the city's greatest
spiritual asset.'

342
00:27:38,100 --> 00:27:40,940
Damasus had claimed Rome
for St Peter.

343
00:27:40,940 --> 00:27:45,060
Now, cleverly, he claimed
St Peter for Rome.

344
00:27:45,060 --> 00:27:47,180
St Peter had been martyred in Rome,

345
00:27:47,180 --> 00:27:49,900
and therefore,
he was a Roman citizen,

346
00:27:49,900 --> 00:27:55,140
and this gave his direct heirs, the
Bishops of Rome, special authority.

347
00:27:59,300 --> 00:28:02,260
'By commandeering St Peter's
legacy for the city,

348
00:28:02,260 --> 00:28:05,900
'Damasus asserted Rome's
primacy in the wider church,

349
00:28:05,900 --> 00:28:08,620
'and enhanced the status
of Christianity at home.'

350
00:28:19,660 --> 00:28:22,660
'Meanwhile, events beyond
the reaches of the Empire

351
00:28:22,660 --> 00:28:25,380
'were to have a devastating effect
on Rome,

352
00:28:25,380 --> 00:28:28,100
'changing the Holy City forever.

353
00:28:34,860 --> 00:28:38,980
'By the beginning of 5th century,
barbarian tribes were on the move.

354
00:28:41,020 --> 00:28:43,220
'The Huns migrated
into central Europe,

355
00:28:43,220 --> 00:28:45,820
'displacing the Germanic Goths,

356
00:28:45,820 --> 00:28:49,020
'who became refugees on the
borders of the Roman Empire.'

357
00:28:53,540 --> 00:28:56,660
Defenceless and hungry,
the Goths were forced to trade

358
00:28:56,660 --> 00:29:00,860
their own children for food,
but the Romans sold them dog meat.

359
00:29:00,860 --> 00:29:04,780
Tensions reached boiling point
and the barbarians mobilised.

360
00:29:08,340 --> 00:29:11,820
'With the Western Empire weakened
by dynastic infighting,

361
00:29:11,820 --> 00:29:15,780
'the Goths, under their King,
Alaric, made a bold move.'

362
00:29:18,100 --> 00:29:20,300
Rome was no longer
the Imperial capital,

363
00:29:20,300 --> 00:29:23,300
but it was the symbol of Empire.

364
00:29:23,300 --> 00:29:25,140
Bewitched by its faded glories,

365
00:29:25,140 --> 00:29:27,740
Alaric wanted to share
in its majesty.

366
00:29:27,740 --> 00:29:32,300
But what he really wanted, like
every barbarian, was to be a Roman.

367
00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:39,020
'Alaric besieged Rome
and tried to cut a deal.

368
00:29:42,420 --> 00:29:45,300
'He wanted land
for the Goths to settle.

369
00:29:46,580 --> 00:29:50,220
'Rome's elite, inheritors
of an illustrious past,

370
00:29:50,220 --> 00:29:53,900
'refused to meet the demands
of impertinent barbarians.'

371
00:29:56,220 --> 00:29:58,300
Alaric's response was chilling.

372
00:29:58,300 --> 00:30:02,100
"The thicker the grass," he said,
"the easier to scythe it down."

373
00:30:02,100 --> 00:30:05,340
His dagger was at the throat
of the Western Empire,

374
00:30:05,340 --> 00:30:07,540
but still no compromise
could be found.

375
00:30:16,140 --> 00:30:17,540
'Starvation set in.

376
00:30:18,700 --> 00:30:21,740
'The Romans couldn't bury their dead
inside the city walls

377
00:30:21,740 --> 00:30:24,460
'so putrefying bodies
littered the streets.

378
00:30:29,420 --> 00:30:32,060
'Desperate to put the population
out of its misery,

379
00:30:32,060 --> 00:30:34,220
'a noblewoman opened
the city gates.

380
00:30:37,860 --> 00:30:40,540
'Alaric's 40,000 Goths burst in.

381
00:30:44,140 --> 00:30:46,740
'Mansions were plundered,
the rich were tortured

382
00:30:46,740 --> 00:30:48,940
'to give up their treasure.

383
00:30:48,940 --> 00:30:52,660
'And those who couldn't flee
were terrorized or killed.

384
00:30:52,660 --> 00:30:55,100
'Their women, raped.'

385
00:30:56,540 --> 00:30:59,940
The Goths were Arians,
a sect of heretical Christians,

386
00:30:59,940 --> 00:31:02,300
so they showed some restraint.

387
00:31:02,300 --> 00:31:04,540
They respected
the sanctity of the holy sites.

388
00:31:04,540 --> 00:31:06,620
St Peter's was left unscathed,

389
00:31:06,620 --> 00:31:09,460
and by the standards
of barbarian sackings,

390
00:31:09,460 --> 00:31:12,060
this one was less barbaric
than expected.

391
00:31:19,780 --> 00:31:22,260
'Nevertheless,
the psychological effect

392
00:31:22,260 --> 00:31:24,060
'of the sacking was shattering.

393
00:31:25,340 --> 00:31:27,900
'The city that had conquered
the whole world

394
00:31:27,900 --> 00:31:29,900
'was believed to have
been murdered.

395
00:31:31,100 --> 00:31:33,900
'A sense of instability
pervaded Rome.'

396
00:31:36,100 --> 00:31:39,700
The great theologian of the day,
St Augustine, believed the reason

397
00:31:39,700 --> 00:31:43,260
Rome had fallen because it was
still essentially pagan,

398
00:31:43,260 --> 00:31:45,620
and steeped in sin.

399
00:31:45,620 --> 00:31:48,900
The kingdom of heaven was
the only salvation.

400
00:31:48,900 --> 00:31:50,820
The Imperial City was doomed.

401
00:31:57,900 --> 00:31:59,740
'Rome's mythological past -

402
00:31:59,740 --> 00:32:04,500
'its founding fathers, Romulus and
Remus - couldn't be erased.

403
00:32:04,500 --> 00:32:06,980
'Paganism was still deeply
ingrained.

404
00:32:10,260 --> 00:32:13,300
'But one Pope who witnessed
the sacking, Leo the Great,

405
00:32:13,300 --> 00:32:17,700
'saw a way of channelling
the prestige of the pagan world

406
00:32:17,700 --> 00:32:20,100
'into the magnificence
of the Christian.

407
00:32:26,220 --> 00:32:29,140
'To find out how Leo shaped the
Christian identity of Rome,

408
00:32:29,140 --> 00:32:32,540
'I'm meeting historian
Michele Renee Salzman.'

409
00:32:35,220 --> 00:32:38,820
Michele, how did pope Leo promote
Christianity in a city that still

410
00:32:38,820 --> 00:32:41,700
had such a strong classical
Roman tradition?

411
00:32:43,500 --> 00:32:45,780
Leo was very proud of the

412
00:32:45,780 --> 00:32:47,340
Roman tradition in the Pagan past,

413
00:32:47,340 --> 00:32:48,540
he is the first Pope to

414
00:32:48,540 --> 00:32:51,620
actually mention Romulus and Remus,

415
00:32:51,620 --> 00:32:55,300
and to take pride in the Roman
Empire in one of his sermons,

416
00:32:55,300 --> 00:32:57,660
but a better empire,
a stronger empire,

417
00:32:57,660 --> 00:33:00,980
a greater empire resides
with Christ.

418
00:33:00,980 --> 00:33:06,260
So he is very involved in
maintaining the physical fabric

419
00:33:06,260 --> 00:33:08,780
of the city,
but as a Christian centre.

420
00:33:09,900 --> 00:33:13,100
So what was Leo's personal
relationship with St Peter?

421
00:33:14,980 --> 00:33:18,860
Leo felt very intimately connected
to St Peter.

422
00:33:18,860 --> 00:33:21,740
Of course, every bishop could claim
that their authority

423
00:33:21,740 --> 00:33:24,940
comes from Peter, the
very first Bishop of Rome,

424
00:33:24,940 --> 00:33:30,020
but Leo makes it a very intimate tie
in his ordination sermons.

425
00:33:30,020 --> 00:33:32,940
He talks about Peter's spirit
almost living through him,

426
00:33:32,940 --> 00:33:36,540
and I think it's very telling
that when Leo is buried,

427
00:33:36,540 --> 00:33:39,580
he is the first Pope
buried in St Peter's,

428
00:33:39,580 --> 00:33:42,300
so that tie, that intimate tie,
lives on forever.

429
00:33:47,180 --> 00:33:51,340
'Leo had exploited the unique
link between Rome and St Peter

430
00:33:51,340 --> 00:33:54,260
'to mobilize the Christian spirit
of the city.

431
00:33:55,660 --> 00:33:58,580
'But it was also a reminder,
to the wider church,

432
00:33:58,580 --> 00:34:02,460
'that Bishops of Rome were the
ultimate authority in Christendom.

433
00:34:03,940 --> 00:34:06,300
'And this new confidence
was reflected

434
00:34:06,300 --> 00:34:07,980
'in the centre of the city.'

435
00:34:10,460 --> 00:34:13,660
In just over a century since
the time of Constantine,

436
00:34:13,660 --> 00:34:17,820
the pagan city was now infused
with the spirit of St Peter.

437
00:34:19,100 --> 00:34:22,260
Pristine, lavishly-decorated
churches overshadowed

438
00:34:22,260 --> 00:34:24,260
the temples to the old Gods.

439
00:34:28,820 --> 00:34:32,220
'Rome now had the skyline
of a Christian capital.

440
00:34:32,220 --> 00:34:34,980
'One God, one credo, one Pope.

441
00:34:37,620 --> 00:34:41,100
'But with spiritual authority
concentrated in one figure,

442
00:34:41,100 --> 00:34:43,700
'Rome's fate was now bound
to one man.

443
00:34:45,340 --> 00:34:48,540
'A good Pope could lead
the Holy City to further glory.

444
00:34:50,740 --> 00:34:53,340
'A bad Pope would spell disaster.

445
00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:03,340
'By 536, Rome and all of Italy
was controlled

446
00:35:03,340 --> 00:35:05,420
'by barbarian Christian kings.

447
00:35:07,220 --> 00:35:12,180
'Emperor Justinian ruled the entire
Eastern Empire from Constantinople.'

448
00:35:14,300 --> 00:35:17,460
He had a vision of reuniting
the old Roman empire,

449
00:35:17,460 --> 00:35:20,540
with himself as Christ's
sacred emperor.

450
00:35:23,620 --> 00:35:27,420
The jewel of Italy was, of course,
the old imperial capital,

451
00:35:27,420 --> 00:35:31,060
but to control Rome,
Justinian needed a puppet Pope.

452
00:35:36,580 --> 00:35:38,860
'So he cut a deal with Vigilius,

453
00:35:38,860 --> 00:35:41,180
'the greedy papal ambassador
to the East.'

454
00:35:44,700 --> 00:35:48,140
Vigilius agreed
to be Justinian's Pope

455
00:35:48,140 --> 00:35:52,820
in return for the sum
of 700 pounds of gold.

456
00:36:00,780 --> 00:36:04,380
But first, Justinian had to take
Italy from the Goths.

457
00:36:04,380 --> 00:36:05,820
He dispatched an expedition

458
00:36:05,820 --> 00:36:09,420
under his brilliant general,
Count Belisarius.

459
00:36:09,420 --> 00:36:13,900
In a remarkable display of
military virtuosity, Belisarius,

460
00:36:13,900 --> 00:36:17,220
with just a few thousand men,
captured Rome.

461
00:36:24,460 --> 00:36:28,220
'Justinian ousted the old Pope
and installed Vigilius.

462
00:36:28,220 --> 00:36:30,740
'Everything seemed to be
going according to plan.'

463
00:36:32,420 --> 00:36:36,460
Vigilius now regarded himself
as the direct heir of St Peter.

464
00:36:36,460 --> 00:36:39,740
Justinian,
Christ's vice-regent on earth,

465
00:36:39,740 --> 00:36:42,420
had little time for
self-promoting bishops.

466
00:36:42,420 --> 00:36:44,580
The two were on collision course.

467
00:36:47,700 --> 00:36:50,700
Vigilius tried to assert
Rome's authority.

468
00:36:50,700 --> 00:36:53,740
But he was ineffectual,
pleasing nobody.

469
00:36:53,740 --> 00:36:56,340
Eventually, Justinian's
patience snapped.

470
00:36:57,980 --> 00:37:00,660
He kidnapped the Pope
and sent him back to the East.

471
00:37:01,900 --> 00:37:05,340
As the Pope's boat left the Tiber
wharf, his reputation

472
00:37:05,340 --> 00:37:09,220
was in tatters. The crowd
threw stones and yelled insults.

473
00:37:12,300 --> 00:37:16,580
Vigilius was even more
humiliated in Constantinople.

474
00:37:16,580 --> 00:37:19,820
He called a council of bishops,
but it descended into a brawl.

475
00:37:22,100 --> 00:37:24,660
Vigilius sought refuge
in the palace church.

476
00:37:24,660 --> 00:37:28,300
He clung to the altar,
but was dragged out by his beard

477
00:37:28,300 --> 00:37:32,620
and forced to sign a document
recognising Justinian's supremacy.

478
00:37:37,620 --> 00:37:41,540
'Justinian's attempt to harness
Rome's holy authority

479
00:37:41,540 --> 00:37:43,100
'had all but destroyed it.

480
00:37:47,020 --> 00:37:50,780
'The Papacy had hit it's lowest
point, and the city would follow.'

481
00:38:00,220 --> 00:38:03,300
The Eastern Empire
struggled to hold Italy.

482
00:38:04,660 --> 00:38:06,700
Within less than a generation

483
00:38:06,700 --> 00:38:10,380
another Germanic tribe
had its sights on Rome.

484
00:38:12,140 --> 00:38:17,140
The Lombards marched south.
First plundering, then settling.

485
00:38:17,140 --> 00:38:19,860
By 590, Rome was desperate
and battled-scarred.

486
00:38:24,340 --> 00:38:27,980
Rome's aqueducts,
the embodiment of imperial might,

487
00:38:27,980 --> 00:38:33,180
were left to crumble, the city's
vital water supplies seeping away.

488
00:38:36,340 --> 00:38:40,340
Impoverished and starving,
its population reduced to 90,000,

489
00:38:40,340 --> 00:38:42,580
the once-glorious capital

490
00:38:42,580 --> 00:38:45,900
was now just a beleaguered outpost
on the fringes of Empire.

491
00:38:45,900 --> 00:38:48,180
Rome needed a new hero,

492
00:38:48,180 --> 00:38:52,380
and the Pope was the only and last
person who could save the city.

493
00:38:59,460 --> 00:39:01,540
Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

494
00:39:07,100 --> 00:39:09,220
Gregory was a super-rich aristocrat

495
00:39:09,220 --> 00:39:14,340
who had already served as city
prefect - in effect, Mayor of Rome.

496
00:39:14,340 --> 00:39:17,100
But the messy business of politics
disgusted him

497
00:39:17,100 --> 00:39:19,900
and he suffered an
existential crisis.

498
00:39:19,900 --> 00:39:22,660
He craved a life of quiet
contemplation.

499
00:39:28,740 --> 00:39:32,100
'Resigning his city post,
he withdrew to the family mansion

500
00:39:32,100 --> 00:39:34,300
'here on the Caelian hill,

501
00:39:34,300 --> 00:39:36,900
'which he converted into
a monastic community.'

502
00:39:38,180 --> 00:39:41,940
A church dedicated to
Gregory, Gregorio Magno,

503
00:39:41,940 --> 00:39:44,380
now stands on the same site.

504
00:39:44,380 --> 00:39:48,020
And his spirit lives on in
the custodians of the church,

505
00:39:48,020 --> 00:39:50,020
the monks of the Camaldolese order.

506
00:39:53,740 --> 00:39:57,620
Freed from the stresses of public
office, the years spent in prayer

507
00:39:57,620 --> 00:40:01,420
and reflection here were
the happiest of Gregory's life.

508
00:40:06,220 --> 00:40:09,900
This is said to be
Gregory's monastic cell,

509
00:40:09,900 --> 00:40:13,660
but there's a feature of this room
that a lot of visitors miss.

510
00:40:13,660 --> 00:40:15,260
That's behind this grille.

511
00:40:15,260 --> 00:40:20,980
If you open it and look inside,
there's just room in there

512
00:40:20,980 --> 00:40:23,700
for a small man to sleep.

513
00:40:23,700 --> 00:40:27,220
This is a very serene place,
and it must have seemed as if

514
00:40:27,220 --> 00:40:32,580
Gregory would never return to the
dirty world of power and intrigue.

515
00:40:37,700 --> 00:40:40,220
But Gregory's seclusion
was short lived.

516
00:40:45,620 --> 00:40:49,820
Rome was cut off from
Constantinople by Lombard forces,

517
00:40:49,820 --> 00:40:52,540
and all but abandoned
by imperial officials.

518
00:40:54,020 --> 00:40:56,180
In a city on the verge of collapse,

519
00:40:56,180 --> 00:41:00,820
only one organization was left
standing - the Church.

520
00:41:00,820 --> 00:41:04,180
Reluctantly, Gregory was drawn
back into civil affairs.

521
00:41:05,900 --> 00:41:09,260
Ordained against his will,
he ran a section of the city,

522
00:41:09,260 --> 00:41:11,180
and when Pope Pelagius
died of plague,

523
00:41:11,180 --> 00:41:13,540
he was elected his successor.

524
00:41:18,220 --> 00:41:20,860
Gregory took charge
of the running of the city

525
00:41:20,860 --> 00:41:25,260
and he proved to be brilliant at
finance, planning and diplomacy.

526
00:41:27,340 --> 00:41:30,980
He bought a truce with the Lombards
and paid the wages of the military.

527
00:41:33,460 --> 00:41:37,940
He donated his estates in Southern
Italy and Sicily to the Church

528
00:41:37,940 --> 00:41:40,660
and used them to feed
the hungry Romans.

529
00:41:43,700 --> 00:41:46,540
Gregory set up welfare centres
across the city,

530
00:41:46,540 --> 00:41:50,260
and he himself dined with
12 poor people every day.

531
00:41:56,340 --> 00:41:59,180
Gregory had expanded
his religious power

532
00:41:59,180 --> 00:42:02,100
into the realm of political
authority.

533
00:42:02,100 --> 00:42:04,380
But he had set his sights
much further afield.

534
00:42:06,660 --> 00:42:11,220
'No pope before had seriously
thought about taking Christianity

535
00:42:11,220 --> 00:42:13,340
'into faraway pagan lands.'

536
00:42:15,820 --> 00:42:19,380
When he was a young deacon, Gregory
had seen some fair-haired

537
00:42:19,380 --> 00:42:22,660
Anglo-Saxon boys at
a Roman slave market.

538
00:42:22,660 --> 00:42:24,620
When he was told
they were Anglo-Saxon,

539
00:42:24,620 --> 00:42:28,380
he said, "They're not Angles,
they're Angels."

540
00:42:28,380 --> 00:42:33,460
Now he was keen to expand papal
powers and convert new peoples.

541
00:42:33,460 --> 00:42:37,900
He dispatched a mission to England
that was remarkably successful.

542
00:42:37,900 --> 00:42:43,460
At Christmas 597, 10,000 Angles
were baptised as Christians.

543
00:42:47,860 --> 00:42:52,180
'Gregory's missionary success made
Rome the Holy City of the West.

544
00:42:53,700 --> 00:42:55,860
'Pilgrims from Europe's
northern territories

545
00:42:55,860 --> 00:42:57,300
'came in their thousands.'

546
00:43:00,620 --> 00:43:04,180
The religious gold-rush was
intensified by the ever-stronger

547
00:43:04,180 --> 00:43:08,020
belief in the sacred power of
martyrs' tombs and relics.

548
00:43:11,980 --> 00:43:15,460
'Guidebooks from the period ignore
Rome's classical monuments,

549
00:43:15,460 --> 00:43:18,300
'directing visitors instead
to Christian sites

550
00:43:18,300 --> 00:43:20,740
'associated with lives
of the martyrs.'

551
00:43:23,300 --> 00:43:27,780
At the church of St Lorenzo,
pilgrims could see the actual grill

552
00:43:27,780 --> 00:43:30,620
on which St Lawrence was roasted.

553
00:43:30,620 --> 00:43:33,700
At the church of St Sebastiano,
they could see the arrows

554
00:43:33,700 --> 00:43:36,340
that had pierced the side
of the great martyr.

555
00:43:38,540 --> 00:43:42,540
'Gruesome stories of the sadistic
torments suffered

556
00:43:42,540 --> 00:43:46,220
'by early Christians were
complied and repeated,

557
00:43:46,220 --> 00:43:49,300
'stories that horrified
and enthralled

558
00:43:49,300 --> 00:43:51,700
'Rome's new spiritual tourists.'

559
00:43:53,820 --> 00:43:56,860
But there was a darker side
to the pilgrim boom.

560
00:43:56,860 --> 00:44:00,300
Everybody literally wanted
a piece of the martyrs.

561
00:44:00,300 --> 00:44:04,580
Soon there was a macabre black
market in the wizened body parts

562
00:44:04,580 --> 00:44:08,100
of the saints - sometimes they
just snatched the entire body.

563
00:44:10,900 --> 00:44:15,060
'The trafficking in body parts
appalled Pope Gregory, who believed

564
00:44:15,060 --> 00:44:18,740
'that contact with the
supernaturally powerful bones

565
00:44:18,740 --> 00:44:20,020
'brought instant death.'

566
00:44:22,260 --> 00:44:25,300
But Gregory understood
the value of relics.

567
00:44:25,300 --> 00:44:29,580
He had special boxes made,
containing filings from the chains

568
00:44:29,580 --> 00:44:33,820
of St Peter, and by sending them
to bishops in faraway territories,

569
00:44:33,820 --> 00:44:36,060
he strengthened their loyalty
to the Pope.

570
00:44:39,340 --> 00:44:44,380
'Pilgrimage to the Holy City paid
rich dividends for the papacy.'

571
00:44:44,380 --> 00:44:47,020
'Holy travellers returned
home with relics

572
00:44:47,020 --> 00:44:51,140
'but also with Roman practices,
which allowed Gregory to become

573
00:44:51,140 --> 00:44:54,220
'the arbiter and leader
of Christianity across Europe.'

574
00:44:55,740 --> 00:44:59,500
'When Gregory died in 604
he was buried in St Peter's,

575
00:44:59,500 --> 00:45:03,580
'where his epitaph read,
"God's consul".'

576
00:45:03,580 --> 00:45:06,100
He'd enriched and empowered
the papacy,

577
00:45:06,100 --> 00:45:08,860
combining the old with the new.

578
00:45:08,860 --> 00:45:11,780
He was truly the high priest
of city and church.

579
00:45:19,300 --> 00:45:22,420
'The Pope now headed the most
influential organisation

580
00:45:22,420 --> 00:45:23,980
'in Western Europe.

581
00:45:23,980 --> 00:45:25,580
'And Rome was its power base.

582
00:45:27,940 --> 00:45:31,660
'The modern papacy, as we know it,
was taking shape.'

583
00:45:39,220 --> 00:45:42,100
But Rome now faced
a completely new threat.

584
00:45:43,900 --> 00:45:47,700
A new religious revelation
was on the march.

585
00:45:47,700 --> 00:45:48,700
Islam.

586
00:45:51,460 --> 00:45:55,620
In a few decades, the Arabs
had conquered a vast empire.

587
00:45:58,060 --> 00:45:59,780
They captured Jerusalem,

588
00:45:59,780 --> 00:46:04,060
leaving Rome the one and only
Holy City of Christendom.

589
00:46:06,900 --> 00:46:08,660
'Rome feared it would be next.

590
00:46:09,820 --> 00:46:11,060
'The city needed an ally.

591
00:46:17,020 --> 00:46:21,500
'Charlemagne, King of the Franks,
was a gifted soldier-statesman

592
00:46:21,500 --> 00:46:24,300
'who had conquered much of
western and central Europe.

593
00:46:25,740 --> 00:46:31,420
'But he aspired to the highest
crown of all - Roman Emperor.

594
00:46:31,420 --> 00:46:35,180
'As a devout Christian,
he craved Rome's stamp of approval.

595
00:46:36,740 --> 00:46:39,820
'But he didn't need to conquer
Rome, Rome would come to him.'

596
00:46:41,900 --> 00:46:46,580
On 25th April 799,
Pope Leo III was near here,

597
00:46:46,580 --> 00:46:49,300
on his way to the Church
of San Lorenzo in Lucina,

598
00:46:49,300 --> 00:46:52,700
when he was ambushed by armed
retainers of the previous Pope.

599
00:46:54,780 --> 00:46:57,900
They tried to gouge out his eyes
and slice off his tongue.

600
00:47:02,620 --> 00:47:06,420
Pope Leo needed Charlemagne's
protection from his rivals,

601
00:47:06,420 --> 00:47:09,220
and from the threat of Arab
and Lombard invasion.

602
00:47:11,260 --> 00:47:13,180
'And Leo could offer Charlemagne

603
00:47:13,180 --> 00:47:15,380
'the one thing
he didn't already have.'

604
00:47:19,020 --> 00:47:21,580
There was a story,
told in this fresco,

605
00:47:21,580 --> 00:47:27,300
that Pope Sylvester had healed
Constantine the Great of leprosy.

606
00:47:27,300 --> 00:47:31,220
Sylvester's reward was Constantine's
conversion to Christianity.

607
00:47:34,260 --> 00:47:35,820
But that wasn't the only thing

608
00:47:35,820 --> 00:47:38,260
that Constantine was said
to have given the Pope.

609
00:47:39,700 --> 00:47:42,540
Pope Sylvester is in firm control.

610
00:47:42,540 --> 00:47:46,740
He's sitting on his throne and
there's the Emperor Constantine,

611
00:47:46,740 --> 00:47:50,580
kneeling and compliantly
surrendering his crown

612
00:47:50,580 --> 00:47:51,820
to the dominant Pope.

613
00:47:54,540 --> 00:47:57,140
This account was a complete
fabrication,

614
00:47:57,140 --> 00:48:00,740
but it allowed Leo to invent
a new tradition.

615
00:48:00,740 --> 00:48:03,620
The power of Popes
to anoint Emperors.

616
00:48:05,500 --> 00:48:07,540
On Christmas day 800,

617
00:48:07,540 --> 00:48:11,460
Charlemagne arrived to celebrate
mass in St Peter's.

618
00:48:11,460 --> 00:48:13,540
He knelt down before the tomb.

619
00:48:23,380 --> 00:48:26,140
As he bent down, the Pope placed
a crown on his head

620
00:48:26,140 --> 00:48:29,300
and anointed him Holy Roman Emperor.

621
00:48:36,980 --> 00:48:41,260
The new imperial alliance seemed
to increase papal authority

622
00:48:41,260 --> 00:48:42,660
and protect Rome.

623
00:48:44,300 --> 00:48:46,780
But actually, it was
flawed from the start.

624
00:48:49,140 --> 00:48:52,980
The Popes believed that they were
the ultimate source of political

625
00:48:52,980 --> 00:48:56,700
and religious authority, so only
a Pope could crown an Emperor.

626
00:48:57,940 --> 00:49:01,420
But the Emperors believed
that they were the supreme power,

627
00:49:01,420 --> 00:49:05,580
so an Emperor could appoint the Pope
whose job it was to crown him.

628
00:49:08,060 --> 00:49:10,460
'The deal didn't live up
to its promise.'

629
00:49:16,420 --> 00:49:19,980
In 846, Arab forces
attacked the city.

630
00:49:21,940 --> 00:49:24,500
For the first time,
St Peter's Basilica,

631
00:49:24,500 --> 00:49:27,940
the essence of Rome's sanctity,
was wrecked and looted.

632
00:49:32,820 --> 00:49:36,260
When the raiders had gone,

633
00:49:36,260 --> 00:49:38,860
Pope Leo IV put his faith
in something more solid.

634
00:49:43,020 --> 00:49:47,580
It's easy to forget that St Peter's
was still outside the city walls,

635
00:49:47,580 --> 00:49:50,100
and therefore vulnerable to attack.

636
00:49:50,100 --> 00:49:54,180
Now Pope Leo embarked on building
these massive fortifications.

637
00:49:55,660 --> 00:50:00,580
The Leonine Walls were 40 feet high
and 12 feet deep,

638
00:50:00,580 --> 00:50:03,260
and they forever changed
the shape of Rome.

639
00:50:09,740 --> 00:50:13,900
The source of Rome's divine power
was now not just sanctified,

640
00:50:13,900 --> 00:50:15,180
but fortified.

641
00:50:20,660 --> 00:50:22,460
Rome's holiness was protected.

642
00:50:24,940 --> 00:50:27,740
Only for it to be poisoned
from the inside.

643
00:50:29,620 --> 00:50:32,220
As the political power
of the Popes had grown,

644
00:50:32,220 --> 00:50:34,940
their position became
highly sought-after.

645
00:50:42,820 --> 00:50:47,180
The papacy became the prize and
plaything in the blood-splattered

646
00:50:47,180 --> 00:50:50,500
power struggle between
competing Italian families.

647
00:50:50,500 --> 00:50:54,980
Several popes were murdered
here at the Castel St Angelo.

648
00:50:54,980 --> 00:50:59,180
Once the mausoleum of the Emperor
Hadrian, and now the fortress,

649
00:50:59,180 --> 00:51:02,380
prison and torture chamber
of the papacy.

650
00:51:08,460 --> 00:51:11,020
'The Popes became power-hungry
players

651
00:51:11,020 --> 00:51:14,060
'in the savage scheming
of Italian politics.'

652
00:51:16,260 --> 00:51:20,780
'And their abuse of papal authority
dragged the Holy City

653
00:51:20,780 --> 00:51:22,700
'into its darkest period yet.

654
00:51:35,300 --> 00:51:37,860
'In 897, Pope Stephen VI
gave an order

655
00:51:37,860 --> 00:51:40,220
'of the most twisted
and malicious kind.'

656
00:51:42,820 --> 00:51:46,620
'He ordered the digging up of
the corpse of a former Pope

657
00:51:46,620 --> 00:51:47,900
'whom he hated.'

658
00:51:50,980 --> 00:51:55,020
Pope Formosus' mummified body
was dressed up in papal robes,

659
00:51:55,020 --> 00:51:59,860
propped up on a mock throne and put
on trial before the Holy Synod.

660
00:51:59,860 --> 00:52:02,460
His crime, violation of canon law.

661
00:52:04,580 --> 00:52:06,340
'The charges were read out,

662
00:52:06,340 --> 00:52:09,740
'and a deacon assigned to
defend the accused Pope.'

663
00:52:11,900 --> 00:52:16,580
Found guilty as charged,
Formosus was stripped and mutilated.

664
00:52:16,580 --> 00:52:20,380
The three fingers he'd used for
papal blessings were chopped off.

665
00:52:23,180 --> 00:52:26,380
'He was dragged
and tossed into the Tiber.'

666
00:52:28,940 --> 00:52:32,020
But this grisly masquerade
was only the start.

667
00:52:32,020 --> 00:52:34,860
From now on, nothing was sacred.

668
00:52:34,860 --> 00:52:38,420
The Popes played a vicious
game of power and pleasure.

669
00:52:38,420 --> 00:52:42,340
No crime was too diabolical
for these heirs of St Peter.

670
00:52:52,300 --> 00:52:55,820
'In the early tenth century,
the papacy became dominated

671
00:52:55,820 --> 00:52:58,820
'by one aristocratic family,

672
00:52:58,820 --> 00:53:02,460
'the debauched and merciless house
of Theophylact.

673
00:53:04,940 --> 00:53:07,700
'The scurrilous chronicler
of their rise to power

674
00:53:07,700 --> 00:53:09,740
'was bishop Liudprand of Cremona.'

675
00:53:11,620 --> 00:53:14,340
Liudprand doesn't
exactly hold back,

676
00:53:14,340 --> 00:53:16,180
especially with the women
of the family,

677
00:53:16,180 --> 00:53:18,740
who are described,
without exception,

678
00:53:18,740 --> 00:53:21,980
as a tribe of sex-mad megalomaniacs.

679
00:53:21,980 --> 00:53:26,860
He says Count Theophylact's wife
Theodora was a "shameless harlot",

680
00:53:26,860 --> 00:53:29,860
and that her two daughters were,
if anything,

681
00:53:29,860 --> 00:53:33,140
"faster in the exercise of Venus".

682
00:53:35,260 --> 00:53:37,420
The most infamous was Marozia.

683
00:53:39,420 --> 00:53:43,900
A wily politician and murderous
man-eater, Marozia must have been

684
00:53:43,900 --> 00:53:48,180
as gorgeously depraved as
she was dynastically effective.

685
00:53:48,180 --> 00:53:51,900
She seduced or married an entire
apostolic succession

686
00:53:51,900 --> 00:53:56,460
of popes and kings, and managed
to dominate Rome for years.

687
00:54:00,500 --> 00:54:03,820
'Drawn deeper into the mire,
Rome's once-mighty Popes

688
00:54:03,820 --> 00:54:07,020
'became pawns in the cesspit
of local politics.'

689
00:54:09,100 --> 00:54:14,100
'At just 15, Marozia had a "wicked
affair" with Pope Sergius III,

690
00:54:14,100 --> 00:54:15,380
'producing a son.'

691
00:54:18,780 --> 00:54:22,820
'Later, Marozia became mistress
of another Pope, John X,

692
00:54:22,820 --> 00:54:26,980
'but she turned against him and
married his enemy, Guy of Tuscany.'

693
00:54:29,740 --> 00:54:33,060
In 928, they successfully
carried out a coup d'etat

694
00:54:33,060 --> 00:54:35,900
in the Lateran palace,
the papal residence.

695
00:54:35,900 --> 00:54:40,220
Marozia had John X arrested,
imprisoned and then strangled

696
00:54:40,220 --> 00:54:44,820
in the Castel St Angelo, leaving
her as de facto ruler of the city.

697
00:54:48,300 --> 00:54:52,900
'The papacy and Rome sank to ever
greater depths of moral depravity.

698
00:54:54,380 --> 00:54:59,900
'Marozia even raised her own bastard
son to the throne of St Peter.'

699
00:55:02,700 --> 00:55:05,500
But things began to fall
apart for Marozia.

700
00:55:05,500 --> 00:55:09,620
Her other son, Alberic,
invaded Rome, arrested John XI

701
00:55:09,620 --> 00:55:13,900
and imprisoned his mother
in the Castel St Angelo.

702
00:55:13,900 --> 00:55:18,260
Marozia died in there,
probably murdered by her own son.

703
00:55:18,260 --> 00:55:23,540
As for Alberic, he ruled Rome for
20 years with the majestic title

704
00:55:23,540 --> 00:55:26,700
Prince and Senator
of all the Romans.

705
00:55:30,500 --> 00:55:32,660
'The Holy City was on its knees.

706
00:55:36,060 --> 00:55:38,660
'The Emperors,
once Rome's protectors,

707
00:55:38,660 --> 00:55:41,540
'were now in the ascendant,
dominating Italy.'

708
00:55:44,980 --> 00:55:48,700
The Holy Roman Emperors, successors
of Charlemagne and, in effect,

709
00:55:48,700 --> 00:55:50,140
Kings of Germany,

710
00:55:50,140 --> 00:55:54,700
repeatedly marched south to attack
Rome and terrorise its Popes.

711
00:56:01,420 --> 00:56:05,300
'Only a few Popes had the strength
to fight back by reinvigorating

712
00:56:05,300 --> 00:56:08,300
'papal authority
and the sanctity of the city.'

713
00:56:11,740 --> 00:56:15,180
In 1075, Pope Gregory VII
took a stand.

714
00:56:15,180 --> 00:56:18,060
He published the Dicatatus Papae,

715
00:56:18,060 --> 00:56:22,820
that declared the absolute
supremacy of the papacy and Rome.

716
00:56:22,820 --> 00:56:25,460
From now on,
Emperors would bow to Popes.

717
00:56:30,980 --> 00:56:35,580
Gregory's posturing infuriated
the German Emperor, Henry IV.

718
00:56:35,580 --> 00:56:37,340
He deposed the Pope.

719
00:56:39,980 --> 00:56:43,500
But Gregory hit back,
ex-communicating Henry -

720
00:56:43,500 --> 00:56:46,500
in effect, stripping him
of all his powers.

721
00:56:52,420 --> 00:56:55,060
The toxic relationship between Pope
and Emperor had ignited,

722
00:56:55,060 --> 00:56:56,580
and Rome was its victim.

723
00:57:06,580 --> 00:57:08,940
Gregory allied himself
with the Normans,

724
00:57:08,940 --> 00:57:13,660
but when they occupied the city
in 1084, things turned violent.

725
00:57:16,780 --> 00:57:18,740
Rome became a blazing inferno.

726
00:57:35,100 --> 00:57:40,020
A thousand years earlier, a pagan
emperor had burnt Christians alive

727
00:57:40,020 --> 00:57:41,940
and crucified St Peter.

728
00:57:41,940 --> 00:57:44,020
But their martyrdom had helped keep

729
00:57:44,020 --> 00:57:47,100
the flame of Christianity
alive in Rome.

730
00:57:53,460 --> 00:57:56,220
Constantine had taken
an underground religion

731
00:57:56,220 --> 00:57:59,300
and staked all of Rome's
glory on its success.

732
00:58:01,860 --> 00:58:05,580
Now the ambitions of a Pope had
brought ruin on the Holy City.

733
00:58:09,980 --> 00:58:12,980
'The Popes were to abandon
Rome altogether,

734
00:58:12,980 --> 00:58:15,980
'and seek the protection
of the Kings of France.'

735
00:58:19,180 --> 00:58:20,900
It seemed like the end.

736
00:58:20,900 --> 00:58:23,980
After 2000 years as head
of the world,

737
00:58:23,980 --> 00:58:26,500
the capital of Emperors and Popes,

738
00:58:26,500 --> 00:58:29,900
the very definition
of sacred power,

739
00:58:29,900 --> 00:58:34,380
the city blessed by God
was now cursed by invasion,

740
00:58:34,380 --> 00:58:36,180
intrigue and depravity.

741
00:58:38,820 --> 00:58:41,020
Its sanctity, debased.

742
00:58:41,020 --> 00:58:44,260
Holy no more, time had run
out for the Eternal City.

743
00:58:55,500 --> 00:58:59,820
'Next time, Rome rises
from the ashes.'

744
00:58:59,820 --> 00:59:02,860
'How the debauchery and avarice
of the Renaissance

745
00:59:02,860 --> 00:59:06,100
'transformed Rome into the city
we see today.'