The Last Roman Emperors

The Ancients

History Hit

History

4.7 • 3.5K Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2025

⏱️ 70 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

No grand battle. No final blaze of glory. In 476 AD, the Western Roman Empire collapsed not with a roar, but with a quiet abdication. A boy emperor - Romulus Augustulus - handed over the regalia of power in Ravenna, signalling the end of an empire that had once ruled the known world. But how did it come to this?

In this episode, the finale of our Fall of Rome miniseries, Tristan Hughes is joined by historian and bestselling author Adrian Goldsworthy to chart the chaotic final decades of the Western Roman Empire. From puppet emperors and ruthless kingmakers like Ricimer to the meteoric rise of Odoacer, discover how political infighting, military mutiny, and foreign ambition brought the Roman West to its knees - and ushered in the age of kings.

MORE: Roman Emperors with Mary Beard: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7C7wRHjSPeif9pLD2UZJyY?si=5226c8e7f9584336

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Tristan Hughes, and if you would like the ancient ad-free, get early access and bonus episodes, sign up to History Hit.
0:08.1	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of hours of original documentaries, including my recent documentary all about Petra and the Nabatans, and enjoy a new release every week.
0:19.3	Sign up now by visiting historyhit.com slash subscribe.
0:22.6	In the end, there was no Phantfare, no epic clash of armies, no desperate last stand amidst the ruins of the forum when the Western Roman Empire breathed its last.
0:48.8	Instead, it fell with a whimper and the muted ceremony of a bloodless abdication.
0:55.9	The year is 476 AD.
0:59.7	In the city of Ravenna, up in the northern reaches of the Italian peninsula, a mere boy,
1:05.3	barely a teenager, surrenders the symbols of imperial authority, a golden crown gleaming in the fading sunlight.
1:14.6	The regal cloak of office dyed a deep and shimmering purple. The scepter and orb,
1:20.7	adorned with Rome's once triumphant eagle, now brought to heel. The boy's name is Romulus Augustulus, and his resignation brings a long
1:31.2	and storied age to an end, for he is the last to bear the title of Emperor in the West.
1:42.6	It's the ancients. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host.
1:47.0	This is it, the finale of our special mini-series about the fall of Rome.
1:53.0	Over the past two weeks, we have embarked on the most epic of adventures, chronicling the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. From highlighting the initial origins of decline in the third and fourth centuries,
2:04.6	to unpacking the lasting impacts of barbarian invasions and devastating plagues,
2:09.6	we have traversed the contours and causes of Rome's ultimate fate.
2:14.6	If you haven't had a chance to listen yet, do go and check them out.
2:18.3	And now to the final chapter in this gripping saga of decline and collapse. The twilight
2:25.3	of Rome's last empress. The story ends with the boy Emperor Augustulus renouncing his imperial
2:32.3	throne. But what set this seismic moment in motion?
2:36.5	How was it that a teenager came by the authority to sign away an empire that had lasted for half a
2:42.0	millennium? To find an answer, we must delve into a period coloured by violent usurpation
	...

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