Empires Rise and Fall
How the world's great empires were built, how far they reached, and what finally brought them down.
- empires
- history
- power
Some of the stories included
Julius CaesarThe assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, 44 BC, and how it led to the end of the Roman Republic he was accused of destroying.
The Lombards Enter ItalyIn 568, King Alboin led the Lombards into Italy in the last great Germanic migration, dividing the peninsula for centuries.
Khalid ibn al-Walid: The Sword of GodThe story of Khalid ibn al-Walid, the 7th-century Arab general who defeated the Byzantines at the decisive Battle of Yarmouk in 636.
The Boer WarThe Second Boer War of 1899 to 1902 set Britain against two Boer republics. This story covers Black Week, the Khaki Election, scorched earth, the camps and the Peace of Vereeniging.
Al-Andalus: Muslim SpainThe nine-century history of al-Andalus, from the 711 conquest to the final expulsion of the Moriscos in 1614.
The Rise of SaladinHow a Kurdish officer united the Muslim world, retook Jerusalem in 1187, and negotiated a truce with Richard the Lionheart.
The Transatlantic Slave TradeThe history of the transatlantic slave trade, which carried about 12.5 million Africans to the Americas, from Spain's 1518 licence to Britain's 1807 ban and Brazil's abolition of slavery in 1888.
Ceuta: Spain's Contested African EnclaveThe story of Ceuta, the Spanish city in Africa, from its 1415 conquest to its modern role as a flashpoint for migration and diplomacy.
The East India CompanyFounded in 1600, the East India Company was a private firm that came to rule large parts of India with its own army.
Charlemagne, Father of EuropeHow the Frankish king who couldn't write forged an empire, standardized text with lowercase letters, and created a new European identity.
The History of FeudalismAn explanation of the medieval system of land and loyalty, from its Carolingian origins to its decline after the Black Death.
Hagia SophiaBuilt in 537 by Emperor Justinian, Istanbul's Hagia Sophia is an architectural marvel famous for its massive dome and 1,500-year history.
The Teotihuacan CollapseTeotihuacan, the great city of ancient Mexico, and the fire and slow decline that ended it, which many archaeologists link to internal revolt and a colder climate.
Sargon of AkkadSargon of Akkad rose from cupbearer to create the world's first empire, uniting Mesopotamia with a standing army and a new capital, Agade.
Ibn KhaldunIbn Khaldun, the 14th-century North African statesman and historian whose Muqaddimah set out a theory of how dynasties rise and fall through group solidarity, or asabiyyah.
The Strait of HormuzThe Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel between Iran and Oman: Portugal's conquest in 1515, its role in the oil trade, and the 2026 crisis that has largely closed it to shipping, as of October 2026.
The Rise and Fall of the Roman EmpireHow Rome grew from a Republic into a vast empire, and why its western half fell in 476 while the east endured until 1453.
Mansa MusaThe 14th-century ruler of the Mali Empire, Mansa Musa, embarked on a pilgrimage to Mecca that famously crashed Cairo's gold market.
The Fall of ConstantinopleIn 1453, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II used giant cannons and an overland fleet to conquer Constantinople, ending the 1,100-year-old Byzantine Empire.
Tamerlane: The Lame ConquerorTimur, known in Europe as Tamerlane, rose from a minor Central Asian warlord to conquer an empire from Delhi to Anatolia, defeating the Golden Horde and the Ottomans before dying in 1405.
The Holy Roman EmpireThe story of the thousand-year Holy Roman Empire, from Charlemagne’s coronation in 800 to its dissolution in 1806.
Sundiata: The Lion King of MaliA boy who could not walk until age seven became the founder of the Mali Empire, according to the Epic of Sundiata.
Napoleon BonaparteFrom Corsican officer to Emperor, Napoleon's rise and fall is a story of ambition, reform, and military genius that ended at Waterloo.- Alexander the GreatThe life of Alexander the Great in six episodes: taming Bucephalus, the Gordian knot, Gaugamela, the burning of Persepolis, the army's refusal at the Hyphasis, and his death in Babylon.
The Spanish-American WarHow the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor led America to war with Spain and into possession of an overseas empire.
The Peloponnesian WarThucydides argued fear of Athens' rising power made the 27-year Peloponnesian War inevitable, and it ended Athens' golden age.
Genghis Khan and the Mongol EmpireHow Temüjin rose from an outcast boyhood to unite the Mongol tribes as Genghis Khan, the army and courier network he built, and the empire his descendants ruled after him.
The First Emperor of ChinaIn 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang unified China, standardized its writing and currency, and was buried with an army of over 8,000 terracotta soldiers.
The Ottoman EmpireHow a small Turkish state became an empire spanning three continents and fell after six centuries of rule.
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