Uploaded: 04 Apr 2012 (15 years ago) · Shared: 04 May 2017
Duration: 40:08
Video Description
Step back into early history with Professor Paul Freedman in this captivating Yale University lecture on the rise, greatness, and eventual crisis of the Roman Empire. Serving as the foundation for the course The Early Middle Ages (HIST 210), this episode examines how a vast Mediterranean civilization balanced remarkable size and cultural tolerance before facing severe third-century imbalances. Professor Freedman naturally weaves together critical historical dynamics, setting the stage for major shifts in the ancient world, including the transformative rise of early Christianity, ongoing threats from barbarian invasions, and the enduring legacy of the Byzantine Empire.
Ideal for students of ancient history, world religions, and societal change, this lecture explores the complex socio-political landscape that shaped future generations across Christian, Jewish, and broader global traditions. Discover how internal economic flaws, military influence, and shifting faith dynamics challenged Rome's unity. Watch now to deepen your understanding of classical civilization and the pivotal moments that redefined Western history.
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Who is Paul Freedman?Paul Freedman is the Chester D Tripp Professor of History at Yale University. He specializes in medieval social history, the history of Spain, the study of medieval peasantry, and medieval cuisine.
What is Roman?In historiography, ancient Rome is Roman civilization. From the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, encompassing the Roman Kingdom, Roman Republic and Roman Empire until the fall of the western empire. The civilization began as an Italic settlement in the Italian peninsula, dating from the 8th century BC, that grew into the city of Rome and which subsequently gave its name to the empire over which it ruled and to the widespread civilisation the empire developed. The Roman empire expanded to become one of the largest empires in the ancient world, though still ruled from the city, with an estimated 50 to 90 million inhabitants (roughly 20% of the world's population) and covering 5.0 million square kilometres at its height in AD 117.
What is ISIS?The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, Daesh, and other names) is a Salafi jihadist terrorist organisation. It is a former unrecognised proto-state that follows a fundamentalist, Salafi doctrine of Sunni Islam. ISIS gained global prominence in early 2014 when it drove Iraqi government forces out of key cities in its Western Iraq offensive, followed by its capture of Mosul and the Sinjar massacre.
