ROMAN EMPIRE

The Best Streaming Videos on the Roman Empire

“Beware the Ides of March.” That didn’t work out so well for Julius Caesar, but it does give us an excellent excuse to learn about Ancient Rome. Here we present a handful of videos about the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. As with some of our other historical topics, the selection is thinner than we’d like. Yet a solid grounding in this epoch is essential for an understanding of Western culture and history, world religions, and geo-politics. So if the still-wintry weather blows you inside, give these videos a look.

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  Kid’s Animated History with Pipo: Imperial Rome, Parts 1 and 2

  This series showcases significant historical events in a humorous and easy-to-understand style. This episode, broken in to two parts, delves into the history of Rome, a city whose inhabitants conquered the known world, built the Colosseum, and gave civilization Roman Law and Latin, the root of many languages.

  Length: 27 minutes

  Rating: NR

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  ROME: Rise and Fall of an Empire

  This series examines how the continuous wars with the barbarians and depletion of resources became a core cause of the Roman Empire’s decline and eventual collapse.

  Length: 611 minutes

  Rating: NR

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  Dear America: Season 2, Episode 1: Cleopatra VII, Daughter of the Nile

  Princess Cleopatra uses intelligence and charm to navigate a spiral of intrigue at the Egyptian court and win Julius Caesar’s support.

  Length: 27 minutes

  Rating: TV-Y7

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  Secrets of the Dead: Lost Ships of Rome

  Archeologists, divers, and other experts explore five intact shipwrecks near the island of Ventotene and find a plethora of ancient artifacts.

  Length: 53 minutes

  Rating: PG

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  Global Treasures: Pompeii, Italy

  Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.

  Length: 11 minutes

  Rating: NR

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  Roman Feats of Engineering

  The marvels of ancient Rome’s practical engineering, roads, arches, and aqueducts are presented in this program. Reenactments, diagrams, and live-action footage examine the awe-inspiring accomplishments.

  Length: 30 minutes

  Rating: NR

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  Four Sisters in Ancient Rome

  How did the young, wealthy women of Ancient Rome spend their days? Meet Domitia and her sister Domitia and her sister Domitia and her sister Domitia. Ray Laurence sketches the domestic life of leisure that these young girls lived, despite little recorded information on women from this otherwise well-documented era.

  Length: 9 minutes

  Rating: NR

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  A Glimpse of Teenage Life in Ancient Rome

  Welcome to the world of Lucius Popidius Secundus, a seventeen-year-old living in Rome in 73 AD. His life is a typical one of arranged marriages, coming-of-age festivals, and communal baths. Take a look at this exquisitely detailed lesson on life of a typical Roman teenager two thousand years ago.

  Length: 7 minutes

  Rating: NR

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  Hands on History: A Day in the Life… Of a 10-Year-Old in Roman Britain

  Have you ever wondered how Romans lived and what they ate? Watch a day of a ten-year-old boy to learn more about the ancient Romans. Be sure to check out the BBC’s other learning materials on Ancient Rome, including a Gladiator game, an interactive timeline of the Roman Empire, and a photo gallery detailing the gods of Roman Britain.

  Length: 3 minutes

  Rating: NR