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Want to know more about Kansas history? View various articles from the past.
1) Roman Empire: From Augustus to the Fall of Rome - Season 1: When and Why Did the Roman Empire Fall?
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Generations of historians have struggled over - and disagreed about - the fundamental questions of when and why the Roman Empire fell. This episode critically evaluates a wide range of possible answers to these complex and enduring questions.
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Great Courses volume 13
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Because Rome was such a patriarchal society, we have few historical records from women's points of view. Nevertheless, historians have been able to deduce much about what life was like for Roman women. Life varied greatly between rich and poor, but women throughout the society were expected to marry and live sheltered lives.
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Take a closer look at Constantine and explore his motivations for converting to Christianity. Learn about the Arian Controversy and the Council of Nicaea, which codified key aspects of Christian theology. Then see why Constantine founded a new capital city at Byzantium, and the state of the empire at the end of his life.
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The empire hit a low point with Elagabalus, who was arguably the worst Roman emperor of all - which is saying quite a lot. Then Rome teetered on the brink of total collapse due to a deadly combination of civil war, barbarian invasions, economic collapse, and natural disasters.
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Stability never lasted long in the Roman Empire. At the dawn of the 4th century, Christianity emerged as a major world force - made manifest by Constantine's dramatic and unexpected conversion. Find out how and why Christianity developed and spread, and the role it played in subsequent political events.
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While the western half of the Roman Empire had clearly collapsed by the end of the 5th century, the eastern Romans in the Byzantine Empire flourished for another thousand years. Visit the world of Constantinople, meet fascinating figures such as Justinian and Theodora, and see what made the Byzantine Empire so successful.
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In this final episode, consider the legacy of the Roman Empire, which influences us in innumerable ways, from our language to our legal codes. Because history is ultimately about people, Professor Aldrete closes with a few final voices to keep everyday Romans alive, and a reflection on what they might tell us today.
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Great Courses volume 23
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Operation Market Garden is routinely listed among the great military mishaps of World War II. Investigate the Allies' numerous errors in planning, organization, and execution in this bold air/land mission, from underestimating the Germans' resistance to ignoring important intelligence to making unrealistic timetables.
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Great Courses volume 10
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The most spectacular battle of the War of Jenkins' Ear was a massive amphibious assault launched against the Spanish port city of Cartagena, Colombia. Trace how this expedition began with great enthusiasm among the British but ended in failure and embarrassment, due primarily to the enmity that arose between Britain's top-ranking naval and army officers.
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Great Courses volume 1
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Follow the chain of events that led to the Civil War's ill-fated Battle of the Crater, a notable example of what can happen in warfare when a plan goes awry due to poor leadership, last-minute changes, and other unclear objectives. Then, look at the phenomenon of military blunders and what they teach.
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Augustus may have been a tremendous emperor, but he failed in one key area: choosing a successor. After an almost comical series of events, he secured a male heir (a son of his wife's by a previous marriage) to take the throne. Witness the debacle of Roman leadership under Tiberius and then Caligula.
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Great Courses volume 8
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At the Battle of Courtrai in 1302, a French army of the finest knights equipped with the best available arms and armor was beaten by what many viewed as an undisciplined rabble of Flemish shopkeepers bearing improvised weapons. Delve into the battle and learn the mistakes leading to the knights' defeat.
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Great Courses volume 5
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One of the most lasting facets of the Roman Republic is its constitution, which inspired America's founding fathers, among others. Continue your exploration of the early republic with a look at its system of government and its different classes of people - citizens and noncitizens, patricians and plebeians, senators, soldiers, and more.
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Great Courses volume 9
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Although the First Punic War was a major victory, the Second Punic War was, in Professor Aldrete's words, "the crucible in which the Roman Empire was forged." Encounter the brilliance of Hannibal, learn the strategy and impact of the infamous Battle of Cannae, and see how Roman leaders combatted and eventually defeated him.
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Marcus Aurelius may have been a wise philosopher, but he didn't act wisely when appointing his son Commodus as heir, who turned out to be a throwback to the megalomania of Caligula and Nero. Emperor Septimius Severus provided a short period of stability, but his son, Caracalla, was yet another unbalanced ruler.
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Continue your study of everyday Romans with a look at the epitaphs on their tombstones. While elaborate tombs were reserved for the very rich, people of all social classes had their thoughts and stories inscribed on tombstones. You will also explore how the Romans buried their dead.
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Meet the man who became Rome's first emperor: Octavian, who took the title of Augustus, was relatively short and sickly, but clever and astute. His great political innovation-taking the title Augustus, gaining control of the military, and ruling Rome without inspiring his own assassination-is one of history's most astonishing feats.
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Two of the great legacies of the Roman Empire are its art and architecture. You will reflect on the Etruscan and Greek influences on Roman portraits and sculptures, see how Augustus used art as propaganda, and learn about some of the many architectural and engineering innovations - including the Pantheon and the aqueducts.
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Great Courses volume 15
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Food, shelter, and a livelihood are three of the most basic needs for people everywhere. In this lecture, Professor Aldrete surveys what Romans ate, where they lived, what their homes were like, and what they did for a living. While the upper classes did not work, farming and skilled trades were important jobs throughout the republic.
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The traditional understanding of Rome was based on accounts by upper-class males, who wrote the primary sources historians relied on for generations. More recent historians have looked at new sources to gain a fuller sense of the city's history. You will examine graffiti preserved at Pompeii in order to hear directly from everyday Romans.
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