Roman Slavery

In Our Time: History

04/05/18

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50m

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Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the role of slavery in the Roman world, from its early conquests to the fall of the Western Empire.

The system became so entrenched that no-one appeared to question it, following Aristotle's view that slavery was a natural state. Whole populations could be marched into slavery after military conquests, and the freedom that Roman citizens prized for themselves, even in poverty, was partly defined by how it contrasted with enslavement. Slaves could be killed or tortured with impunity, yet they could be given great responsibility and, once freed, use their contacts to earn fortunes. The relationship between slave and master informed early Christian ideas of how the faithful related to God, informing debate for centuries.

With

Neville Morley Professor of Classics and Ancient History at the University of Exeter

Ulrike Roth Senior Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Edinburgh

And

Myles Lavan Senior lecturer in Ancient History at the University of St Andrews

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Previous Episode

Tocqueville: Democracy in America

March 22, 2018

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50m

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) and his examination of the American democratic system. He wrote De La Démocratie en Amérique in two parts, published in 1835 and 1840, when France was ruled by the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe. Tocqueville was interested in how aspects of American democracy, in the age of President Andrew Jackson, could be applied to Europe as it moved away from rule by monarchs and aristocrats. His work has been revisited by politicians ever since, particularly in America, with its analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of direct democracy and its warnings of mediocrity and the tyranny of the majority.

With

Robert Gildea Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford

Susan-Mary Grant Professor of American History at Newcastle University

and

Jeremy Jennings Professor of Political Theory and Head of the School of Politics & Economics at King's College London

Producer: Simon Tillotson.

Next Episode

The Almoravid Empire

May 3, 2018

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49m

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the Berber people who grew to dominate the western Maghreb, founded Marrakesh and took control of Al-Andalus. They were desert people, wearing veils over their faces to keep out the sand, and they wanted a simpler form of Islam. They called themselves the Murabitun, the people who gathered together to fight the holy war, and they were tough fighters; the Spanish knight El Cid fought them and lost, and the legend that built around him said the Almoravids were terrible and had to be resisted. They kept back the Christians of northern Spain, so helping extend Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula, before they themselves were destroyed and replaced by their rivals, the Almohads, from the Atlas Mountains.

The image above shows the interior of the cupola, Almoravid Koubba, Marrakesh (C11th)

With

Amira K Bennison Professor in the History and Culture of the Maghreb at the University of Cambridge

Nicola Clarke Lecturer in the History of the Islamic World at Newcastle University

And

Hugh Kennedy Professor of Arabic at SOAS, University of London

Producer: Simon Tillotson.