Eight Days That Made Rome

Scipio's decisive victory over Hannibal's Carthaginian army at Zama in 202BC effectively ended the Punic Wars and established Rome as the leading power in the western Mediterranean. Bettany Hughes explores the Roman military psyche and the ruthless determination that characterised the empire's establishment.

In 73 BC, Spartacus broke out of gladiator school and started the most terrifying slave revolt in Rome's history. Bettany Hughes explores the importance and appalling reality of slavery in ancient Rome and how the revolt played a major role in shaping Rome's political future. She also reveals that not all of Spartacus's followers were slaves.

Bettany Hughes explores the day in 49BC when, defying the Senate, Julius Caesar and his army crossed the river Rubicon, plunging the Republic into civil war. She also examines Caesar's character and how his quest for absolute power effectively sounded the death knell for the Roman Republic and paved the way for dictatorial rule.

Bettany Hughes explores the day in 32BC when Octavian, Julius Caesar's adopted son, stole the secret will of Mark Antony, his most dangerous political rival. The document's release gave Octavian crucial support in the civil war that followed and allowed him to establish himself as Rome's first emperor, Augustus.

Bettany Hughes reveals the stark realities of brutal Roman rule, beginning with the day, around 60 AD, when Roman troops invaded Boudica's settlement, flogged her and raped her daughters. The outrage provoked the Iceni queen to lead a revolt that came perilously close to ending the Roman occupation of Britannia.

On 9th June 68 AD, Nero, Emperor of Rome, took his own life with the help of a servant. Bettany Hughes looks again at the most notorious reign in Rome's history, to reveal how the empire's first dynasty came to such a pitiful end. This was a day that ushered in an age of struggle and civil war, and perhaps more than any other, gives us the Rome that we think we know.

Bettany Hughes relives opening day at Rome's Colosseum in 80 AD - the first day of the inaugural games held by Emperor Titus. With the empire near the height of its power, it was a celebration of the completion of this huge and lavish arena, a giant new landmark for the world's greatest city, where the people could revel in the bloodthirsty entertainments for which they are so famous.

Bettany Hughes looks at the day which marked Rome's symbolic break with its thousand-year pagan past - the day in 337 AD that Emperor Constantine the Great was baptised a Christian. It was a moment of profound significance not just for the empire, but for the history of the world and one of its major religions.