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TVPG8 Days That Made Rome44mSmithsonian Channel

Bettany Hughes relives opening day at Rome's Colosseum in 80 AD; the lavish arena is a giant new landmark for the world's greatest city where people can revel in bloodthirsty entertainments.

Original Air Date: Dec 8, 2017

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S1, EP8 "The Rebirth of Rome"

S1, EP8 "The Rebirth of Rome"

Bettany Hughes looks at the day which marked Rome's symbolic break with its 1,000-year pagan past, the moment in 337 AD when Emperor Constantine the Great was baptized as a Christian; Hughes shows monuments combining Christian and pagan imagery.

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S1, EP7 "Theatre of Death"

S1, EP7 "Theatre of Death"

Bettany Hughes relives opening day at Rome's Colosseum in 80 AD; the lavish arena is a giant new landmark for the world's greatest city where people can revel in bloodthirsty entertainments.

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S1, EP6 "The Downfall of Nero"

S1, EP6 "The Downfall of Nero"

Nero takes his own life as troops come to arrest him for crimes against the state; Bettany Hughes reveals how Nero's early reign was dominated by his mother, Agrippina, while exploring a new theory that his mood was undermined by a serious illness.

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S1, EP5 "Boudica's Revenge"

S1, EP5 "Boudica's Revenge"

Bettany Hughes turns her focus to the day when Roman troops invaded Boudica's settlement in East Anglia, provoking the disgraced Iceni queen into a revolution that threatened the Roman occupation of Britannia.

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Award-winning historian Bettany Hughes takes viewers on an adventure, from the defeat of the Carthaginian Empire, Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon River, and Constantine's conversion to Christianity. Her travels take her across Italy's ancient sites and into the psyches of the emperors, gladiators, and generals of the Roman Empire. Join her as she explores the rise and fall of one of history's most incredile reigns -- and it all took eight days.
Original Air Date: Oct 27, 2017
Rating: TVPG
Playback: HD
1 seasons available on demand
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