The Roman empire in the first century

Episode of Series “Empires”.
Narrated by Sigourney Weaver, these four episodes focus on the rise of the Roman Empire. In episode one, “Order from Chaos” the Roman Republic has collapsed into the century-long chaos of civil war. Julius Caesar’s victories have led to the expansion of the Empire. But with Caesar’s murder in the senate, Augustus is made Emperor and the beginning of a hereditary dictatorship is put in place. Augustus’ rule results in the further expansion of the Empire and the rise of Roman art and architecture but his sometimes ruthless squashing of enemies foretell the problems that will lie ahead for the empire. In episode two, “Years of Trial”, we begin with the death of Augustus in 14 AD. Tiberius becomes emperor and though initially popular, he soon shows signs of tyranny. The fortunes of Roman citizenship are viewed through the eyes of the poet Ovid. The life of Roman citizens becomes even more horrific with the ascendancy of Caligula as Emperor, whose madness manifests itself in the belief that he is a God and whose excesses become increasingly sadistic and dangerous for Rome. In the Eastern province of Judaea a religious prophet named Jesus brings Roman occupation and Jewish resistance to loggerheads. In episode three, “Winds of Change”, the terror of Caligula’s reign is replaced by the provident and wise rule of Claudius. But the decadence of hereditary rule results in his murder by his unscrupulous wife who places her son Nero on the throne. The new Emperor is tutored by the Stoic philosopher, Senenca. By witnessing the accommodations to power that Seneca makes - at odds with his egalitarian philosophy - we witness the tensions of Roman citizenship, with a past built on Republican grandeur and a present built on hereditary empire. At the outposts of the empire, the English warrior queen Boudicca (Bodicea) wars against the Romans who massacred her family and kin, and in Judaea the Jewish zealot Saul is converted to Christianity, and as Saint Paul begins a missionary life that will see Christianity spread through the Roman Empire. In the final episode, “Years of Eruption”, the city of Rome is besieged by fire and Nero is put to death for his calamitous excesses. A new period of civil wars begins and Vestpatian is finally made Emperor. The kingdom of Judaea is crushed and the Temple in Jerusalem is destroyed. The city of Pompeii is buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius but with its excavation in the 1600s we have a permanent record of Roman art and life: that of the nobles and that of the slaves, that of the women and of the men. The episode ends with the ascendancy of Trajan to the throne of Emperor.