Eight Days That Made Rome

Scipio's decisive victory over Hannibal's Carthaginian army at Zama in 202BC effectively ended the Punic Wars and established Rome as the leading power in the western Mediterranean. Bettany Hughes explores the Roman military psyche and the ruthless determination that characterised the empire's establishment.

In 73 BC, Spartacus broke out of gladiator school and started the most terrifying slave revolt in Rome's history. Bettany Hughes explores the importance and appalling reality of slavery in ancient Rome and how the revolt played a major role in shaping Rome's political future. She also reveals that not all of Spartacus's followers were slaves.

Bettany Hughes explores the day in 49BC when, defying the Senate, Julius Caesar and his army crossed the river Rubicon, plunging the Republic into civil war. She also examines Caesar's character and how his quest for absolute power effectively sounded the death knell for the Roman Republic and paved the way for dictatorial rule.

Bettany Hughes explores the day in 32BC when Octavian, Julius Caesar's adopted son, stole the secret will of Mark Antony, his most dangerous political rival. The document's release gave Octavian crucial support in the civil war that followed and allowed him to establish himself as Rome's first emperor, Augustus.

Bettany Hughes reveals the stark realities of brutal Roman rule, beginning with the day, around 60 AD, when Roman troops invaded Boudica's settlement, flogged her and raped her daughters. The outrage provoked the Iceni queen to lead a revolt that came perilously close to ending the Roman occupation of Britannia.

On 9th June 68 AD, Nero, Emperor of Rome, took his own life with the help of a servant, as troops came to arrest him for crimes against the state. His death ended the empire's first dynasty and ushered in an age of anarchy and civil war. With the aid of evidence from across the Roman world, including Nero's Golden House, Bettany examines his reign, his character and his relationships with his mother Agrippina, the Senate and the Roman populace.

Bettany Hughes explores the day in 80AD when the Colosseum opened its gates for the first time. For new emperor Titus, the spectacular games and events were an opportunity to win over the people and secure his place on the imperial throne. Titus was in this position because out of the carnage of Emperor Nero's death and the civil war that followed, a new imperial dynasty was born, one that looked to win over the hearts of the people by building the largest arena the world had ever seen: Rome's Colosseum. Examine the day in 80 A.D. when the Flavian Amphitheatre opened with a 100-day exhibition of animal and human slaughter. The episode visits the site, explores ancient artifacts, and sees how the Colosseum remains a testament to Rome's reach and ambition and its thirst for blood and glory.

Bettany Hughes looks at the day which marked Rome's symbolic break with its thousand-year pagan past - the day in 337AD that Emperor Constantine the Great was baptised a Christian. It was a moment of profound significance not just for the empire, but for the history of the world and one of its major religions.