Rome is Burning • 2016 • episode "S1E4" • Roman Empire

Category: History | Subtitle:

Commodus defeats his sister's coup but withdraws from governing, allowing others to amass power while he engages in an affair and banishes his wife.

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Roman Empire • 2016 - 2019 • 14 episodes •

Born in the Purple

Born in the Purple

Fighting an implacable enemy in Germania, Marcus Aurelius trains his decadent son Commodus to succeed him, while rumor and intrigues brew back in Rome.

2016 • History

The Making of an Emperor

The Making of an Emperor

The Germanic tribes strike as Marcus Aurelius succumbs to disease, leaving a skeptical Emperor Commodus to prosecute a war that doesn't interest him.

2016 • History

Enemy of the Senate

Enemy of the Senate

Commodus rises to power as Rome's new emperor, but not everyone supports his ascent. Among those conspiring against him: his older sister Lucilla.

2016 • History

Rome is Burning

Rome is Burning

Commodus defeats his sister's coup but withdraws from governing, allowing others to amass power while he engages in an affair and banishes his wife.

2016 • History

Fight for Glory

Fight for Glory

A disastrous grain shortage reveals Cleander's treachery and leaves Commodus isolated, inspiring him to train as a gladiator in a bid to unite Rome.

2016 • History

14 Days of Blood

14 Days of Blood

Lavish imperial games at the Colosseum are highlighted by the emperor's bloody victories, but his paranoid abuses of power lead to a final betrayal.

2016 • History

The Triumvirate

The Triumvirate

After success in war makes Caesar a rising star, escalating tension between Rome's two most powerful men creates an opportunity for advancement.

2018 • History

The Great Conqueror

The Great Conqueror

Caesar's wealth grows as one-third of the triumvirate, but his brutal tactics make enemies, forcing him to remake his image as a military conqueror.

2018 • History

Crossing the Rubicon

Crossing the Rubicon

Caesar's hard-won victory over Gaul endears him to the Roman people but leads to a military showdown with the Senate and his former ally, Pompey.

2018 • History

Queen of the Nile

Queen of the Nile

Caesar pursues Pompey to Egypt, where he is received by king Ptolemy, who seeks an ally against his rival to the throne - his sister Cleopatra. Caesar finds good chemistry with Cleopatra, but problems in Rome require his return to Rome.

2018 • History

The Ides of March

The Ides of March

Caesar implements important reforms and grows more powerful and popular in Rome. He acts like a king and plans to become a dictator in perpetuity. To demonstrate his power, he plans to conquer Parthia. However, the Senate and Brutus in particular, are outraged.

2018 • History

The Rightful Heir

The Rightful Heir

The young Caligula has a difficult childhood when his family members are either murdered or exiled at the hands of the emperor Tiberius.

2019 • History

A New Hope

Roman Empire examines the life of Caligula from his days as co-heir of the Empire. He smothers Emperor TIberius to death with a pillow and nullifies his will instructing co-emperors. Caligula is made Emperor and works to win over the Senate by offering amnesty to those we sentences under Tiberius. He then wins over the people by putting on elaborate gladiatorial games. He searches out his exiled sisters and enjoys a life of debauchery. Later, he survives brain fever but the illness drives him mad and he kills his heir Gemellus.

2019 • History

In Search of an Heir

In Search of an Heir

Rome Empire looks at the increasingly deranged and paranoid reign of Emperor Caligula. He a kills his heir and forces his praetorian prefect to commit suicide. In search of a new heir to solidify his place as Emperor, Caligula begins affairs with his three sisters in order to have a child of royal blood. When his sister Drusilla dies, Caligula becomes deranged and the plot of three daggers surrounds him.

2019 • History

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Man and Metals

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Hannibals Last Stand

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Mortal Peril

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Gladiators: Back from the Dead

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Up to one million gladiators are thought to have died in arenas across the Roman Empire. Seventy-five were recently found in a single cemetery in York. Two thousand years ago, York was a Roman stronghold, a staging ground for the push against the Scots. Apart from ancient Italy, Roman Britain had the highest density of gladiatorial arenas in Europe. As part of a routine building inspection in the outskirts of York, archaeologists discover an ancient Roman burial site. It soon became apparent the find was anything but routine. Of total 80, 75 of the skeletons were men, a much higher majority than would be expected in a family grave site. The height, build and signs of musculature made the men much bigger than that of the average Roman man. A closer inspection of the bones also revealed a number of cut marks and fractures, evidence the men were no strangers to violence. Most disturbing of all most of the men had been brutally decapitated. Could the men be gladiators?

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