Welcome to Echoes of Empires. If you’re looking for a podcast about history, you’ve come to the right place! Because you’ll find over a hundred episodes here about the Roman Empire, Byzantium, the Arab Caliphates, Charlemagne’s Empire, the Dark Ages, the Crusades and I’m adding to them all the time.WANT A FREE EBOOK? Then head directly to my website www.nickholmesauthor.com.
Latest episodes
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22 min
The People's Crusade and the First Holocaust
The First Crusade got off to a terrible start. The initial armies, referred to by historians as the 'People's Crusade' and the 'German Crusade' were little more than bands of briga…
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23 min
Does Climate History Unlock the Secrets of the Crusades?
In this episode, we look at something called the Medieval Warm Period. This first came to our notice a long time ago in the writings of a medieval monk and historian called William…
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25 min
Why Were The Crusades So Popular?
The Crusade present us with one of the greatest paradoxes in history. Why would Christianity, a peace-loving religion, condone such aggressive military operations in the name of Go…
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22 min
The Secrets of Ancient Nicaea
In this episode, I tell you about my travels to Ancient Nicaea, a city that changed history from the famous First Council of Nicaea in AD 325, foundational for the Christian church…
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22 min
Alexius Comnenus: The True Story
Alexius Comnenus is a well-known Byzantine Emperor not least because his daughter, Anna, wrote one of the greatest works of medieval literature about him called “The Alexiad.” It’s…
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27 min
The Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert in 1071 changed history. Not only was it the first step towards the end of the Byzantine Empire but it also established the foundation for modern Turkey. In…
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25 min
The Rise of the Seljuk Turks
In this episode, we’ll look at why the Seljuk Turks suddenly appeared in the Middle East in the eleventh century. The name Seljuk and the origins of Seljuk power lie with a man cal…
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22 min
The Road to Manzikert
In the years from 1068 to 1071, the Byzantine emperor Romanus Diogenes tried but failed to stem the Turkish raids into Anatolia. Finally, he decided to lead his army far into the e…
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1 min
New Name, Same Show!
The Fall of the Roman Empire podcast is now called Echoes of Empires.Why change the name? Well, as you know, this podcast has already moved beyond the fall of Rome to cover a broad…
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27 min
The Origins of the First Crusade
Welcome to Echoes of Empires, my new podcast which is the successor to the Fall of the Roman Empire. In this episode, I want to look at the First Crusade. This crusade was quite di…
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2 min
BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: The Inheritors of Rome
I wanted to let you know that my latest book, The Inheritors of Rome, is now available in both paperback and ebook on Amazon and will be available through most major book retailers…
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31 min
Byzantium's Golden Age
In the century from 860 to 960 Byzantium was reborn as the greatest power in western Eurasia. Its armies were invincible, spearheaded by regiments of heavy cavalry which terrified…
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26 min
Byzantium's Battle for Survival
In today’s episode, I’d like to switch from the Abbasid Caliphate to the Byzantine Empire. The fortunes of both were of course connected and the Caliphate’s decline during the nint…
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26 min
The Abbasids: Golden Age or Age of Collapse?
Many historians call the Abbasid caliphate ‘the Golden Age of Islam’ but in this episode I want to analyse the contradiction in this description since, at a time when Islam underwe…
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25 min
The Rise and Fall of the Umayyads
First, let me wish you a Happy New Year and I hope you had a good break if you took time off. This episode tells the story of one of the greatest empires in history – the Umayyad C…
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25 min
Eirene: The Monstrous Empress of Byzantium?
In this episode, we’ll hear about one of the most chilling rulers of Byzantium – the empress Eirene. She was Byzantium’s only empress to take on the reins of government in a sole c…
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25 min
The Forgotten Heroes of Byzantium
In the first half of the eighth century, Byzantium stemmed the Arab advance into Europe. Critical to this achievement were two emperors: Leo III and Constantine V. In this episode,…
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22 min
Byzantium: The Empire That Refused To Die
In this episode we turn east to consider Byzantium. We last spoke about the eastern Romans, or the Byzantines, in episode 113 when I described the emperor Leo III’s victory in the…
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27 min
The Origins of the Holy Roman Empire
The final political legacy of the Roman Empire in western Europe was the Holy Roman Empire. Amazingly, this curious political institution lasted until Napoleon abolished it in 1806…
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27 min
The Vikings
The Vikings transformed European history, impacted the worlds of both Byzantium and the Abbasid Caliphate, and even, some 500 years before Christopher Columbus, discovered North Am…