HistoryTube
  • Blog
  • YouTube
    • Ancient America
    • Ancient China
    • Ancient Egypt
    • Ancient Rome
    • Holocaust
    • Tudors
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • History Meets English
    • History Meets Geography
    • History Meets Reality TV
    • History Meets Science
    • Royals
    • Time Team
    • YouTube Channels
    • Bettany Hughes
    • Tony Robinson
    • Lucy Worsley
  • About Me
    • Portfolio
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me

History Docs

Need a Documentary for a Class?  Check out my reviews!

Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limits - Episode 3

7/23/2021

0 Comments

 
Episode 3 finds Mary in a museum examining the skulls of Romans.  She then discusses the stereotypes we have of Romans.  Romans were from Italy and they wore togas.  However, the Roman Mary was examining was from York, England.  She was a woman and was of mixed race.  Who were the Romans?  What did it mean to be a Roman?  Beard examines the one invisible factor that made people Romans: their citizenship.  What difference did it make to become a Roman?  How did you become one?

Beard goes to an industrial site to find a treasure, a small Roman settlement off the beaten tourist track.  Carteia looked like an ordinary settlement.  It was founded in 171 BC.  It was established by descendants of Roman soldiers and Spanish women.  They were stateless.  They appealed to Rome for something.  The Roman politicians gave them Carteia and more importantly, they gave them citizenship.  This established a precedent.  It was a unique part of the Roman Empire.  Now, every free person could become a Roman citizen. 

The idea that outsiders could become citizens was radical.  It was downright shocking at the time.  However, it was the way that Romans brought people into the empire.  They did not make people worship the Roman gods, use the Roman calendar or learn Latin.  Roman citizenship was a gift.  They initially gave citizenship to the elites.  Roman citizenship was a gift.  This spread to the people and it had its advantages.  It protected you legally, it gave you a stake in politics, and you could never be crucified.  It was similar to the American dream and it was something people could aspire to.  Was it a happy accident or a deliberate plan?  There is no evidence either way.

Algeria is an area of the old Roman Empire where the most impressive Roman remains are found.  When Algeria was conquered the Romans surprised the local population.  They then built cities to further establish the empire. Timgad was built for retired Roman soldiers.  It was built in a typical Roman town planning style.  Mary is so familiar with the layout, she can find her way easily around town.  She discovers the city library.  Even though Timgad was a city for retired Roman soldiers, the population and the city expanded.  Roman soldiers mixed with the local people.  They were committed to Romans and demonstrated this through monument building and their culture.  However, these citizens never stepped foot inside Rome.

Being Roman meant belonging.  By offering citizenship to the local elites, Romans could get them on their side.  The local elites could enforce Roman law on the lower orders.  They could also bring Roman culture to the people.  These elites embraced their roles in furthering the empire.  Mary then traces the story of an Algerian man and his travels.  He traveled to Judea as part of the army.  He eventually made his way to Britain and was a governor.  He was a provincial who became Roman and eventually ruled other provincials.

Britain was territory unknown.  It was highly attractive to the Romans as an island to explore.  As they explored, stories started to spread about the island.  The people had odd customs.  It was always cold.  It was another world, Mary says to the Romans, going to Britain was the equivalent of going into space…
If you want to learn more about this episode continue to watch.

Mary Beard continues to narrate the story of the Roman Empire.  I was surprised to learn that there were some impressive Roman ruins in Algeria.  This episode is a good summary of how citizenship united the Romans.  It is also a good explanation of Roman citizenship. 

You can access the YouTube Video here.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I'm a librarian with an active imagination who likes to create.  Genealogist and Researcher.

    Like what you see?  Don't forget to smash the bookmark button!

    Blogs posted five days a week for the school year September-May and for summer blogs posted three days a week June-August!

    If you can, try to purchase these documentaries to support these historians!  If you can't purchase, subscribe to their channels or podcasts!

    Worksheets

    My Teachers Pay Teachers Store!  Worksheets available as a Word Document.

    Lulu Store

    I am also on Lulu!  If you're interested in genealogy I have several books available!

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020

    Categories

    All
    1065
    1066
    1900's Island
    Abandoned
    Abraham Lincoln
    Africa
    Alexandria
    Alex Langladas
    Alfred The Great
    Amazon River
    America
    Ancient Egypt
    Ancient Rome
    Ancient World
    Ancient Worlds
    Andes Mountains
    Angkor Wat
    Anne Boleyn
    Athens
    Australia
    Austria
    Bath
    Battleships
    Beatrix Potter
    Bernadette Banner
    Bettany Hughes
    Biographics
    Biographies
    Bismarck
    Britain
    Caitlin Doughty
    Caligula
    Cambodia
    Castles
    Central America
    Charlemagne
    China
    Christmas
    Cleopatra
    Cornwall
    Dam Busters
    Dame Patricia Routledge
    Dan Snow
    Denmark Strait
    Edwardian Farm
    Edwardian Home
    Edward The Confessor
    Egypt
    England
    Ethiopia
    Experimental History
    Exploration
    Farm
    Fashion History
    First Nations
    Flintstones
    France
    Franz Joseph
    French Revolution
    Full Steam Ahead
    Genealogy
    Genetics
    Geographics
    Geography
    Georgian Period
    Germans
    Germany
    Greece
    Greeks
    Gus Casely Hayford
    Gus Casely-Hayford
    Hastings
    Helen Castor
    Helen Of Troy
    Henry VIII
    Hidden Killers
    Highway
    History
    Holocaust
    Home
    Hood
    Ice Cream
    Immigration
    Irish Palace
    Jago Cooper
    Jane Austen
    Japan
    Joann Fletcher
    John Gater
    Judith Flanders
    Kathleen Martinez
    Kew Gardens
    King George III
    Knights Templars
    Korea
    Lady Jane Grey
    Leyte Gulf
    Lincoln Highway
    Lithuania
    Lost Kingdoms
    Lost Legions
    Lucy Worsley
    Lusitania
    Mammoths
    Marco Polo
    Marie Antoinette
    Mary Beard
    Mary Boleyn
    Maryland
    Medieval Period
    Meet The Romans
    Mick Aston
    Middle Ages
    Minoans
    Monarchy
    Musashi
    Napoleon
    Neil Oliver
    New Zealand
    Nicholas II
    Paul Mearns
    Pearl Harbor
    People Of The Clouds
    Peter Ginn
    Phil Harding
    Pompeii
    Portsmouth
    Prince Philip
    Prince Regent
    Prussia
    Pyramids
    Queen Elizabeth II
    Queen Luise
    Queens
    Railroads
    Reality TV
    Ronald Hutton
    Royal Fibs
    Royal Myths
    Royal Secrets
    Royalty
    Royal Women
    Russia
    Russian Revolution
    Ruth Goodman
    Salem
    Serbia
    Simon
    South America
    Spain
    Sparta
    Spy
    SS Atlantic
    STEAM
    STEM
    Stewart Ainsworth
    Stonehenge
    Stuart Peachy
    Suzannah Lipscomb
    Tales From The Green Valley
    The Family
    The Vikings
    Time Team
    Time Travels
    Time Walks
    Tirpitz
    Titanic
    Tom Pinford
    Tony Robinson
    Top 10
    Tracy Borman
    Trains
    Trojan War
    Tudor
    Tudor Monastery Farm
    Tudors
    Turn Back Time
    United-states
    USS Indianapolis
    Varus
    Victorian-bakers
    Victorian-bakers
    Victorian-farm
    Victorian-farm
    Victorian-home
    Victorian-pharmacy
    Vikings
    Warsaw Ghetto
    Wartime Farm
    White Palace
    White Star Line
    Who Do You Think You Are?
    Wilhelm Gustloff
    William The Conqueror
    Winston Churchill
    Witches
    Witch Hunting
    World War I
    World War II
    YouTube

    Privacy Policy

    HistoryDocTube will not collect any personal information and will not sell any personal information to a third party.  We will not request any personal information. 

    ​The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. 

    The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such.  I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms.

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog
  • YouTube
    • Ancient America
    • Ancient China
    • Ancient Egypt
    • Ancient Rome
    • Holocaust
    • Tudors
    • World War I
    • World War II
    • History Meets English
    • History Meets Geography
    • History Meets Reality TV
    • History Meets Science
    • Royals
    • Time Team
    • YouTube Channels
    • Bettany Hughes
    • Tony Robinson
    • Lucy Worsley
  • About Me
    • Portfolio
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Me