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The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire | Lex Fridman Podcast #498
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Anthony Kaldellis is a historian of the Roman Empire and author of "The New Roman Empire", a comprehensive history of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire). Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep498-sb See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. *Transcript:* https://lexfridman.com/anthony-kaldellis-transcript *CONTACT LEX:* *Feedback* - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey *AMA* - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama *Hiring* - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring *Other* - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact *EPISODE LINKS:* Anthony's Books: https://amzn.to/49AX7Q1 Anthony's Publications: https://kaldellispublications.weebly.com Anthony's University of Chicago page: https://classics.uchicago.edu/people/anthony-kaldellis The New Roman Empire (book): https://amzn.to/3PTFTqk Streams of Gold (book): https://amzn.to/4fgRMRq Byzantium & Friends Podcast: https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/ The History of Byzantium Podcast: https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/ *SPONSORS:* To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: *Upwork:* Platform for hiring freelancers. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/upwork-ep498-sb *Fin:* AI agent for customer service. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/fin-ep498-sb *BetterHelp:* Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-ep498-sb *LMNT:* Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep498-sb *Shopify:* Sell stuff online. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep498-sb *Perplexity:* AI-powered answer engine. Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/perplexity-ep498-sb *OUTLINE:* 0:00 - Episode highlight 1:24 - Introduction 1:51 - The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire 5:49 - 2,200 Years of Roman History 26:12 - Power, violence, and civil war 47:27 - Edict of Caracalla 1:00:23 - Crisis of the Third Century 1:14:52 - Constantine and the new Roman Empire 1:26:53 - Christianity in the Roman Empire 1:52:21 - Fall of the Western Roman Empire 2:05:17 - Eunuchs, Taxes, and Power 2:30:24 - Emperor Justinian and wars of conquest 2:47:26 - The Arab conquests 3:07:01 - Why the Roman empire survived so long 3:33:08 - Lessons from history *PODCAST LINKS:* - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips *SOCIAL LINKS:* - X: https://x.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexfridman - TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://facebook.com/lexfridman - Patreon: https://patreon.com/lexfridman - Telegram: https://t.me/lexfridman - Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman
Segments Timeline
Episode highlight
"- We're talking about a society that was right in the middle of one of the main corridors of empire building and new religions in the world. This is the most dangerous neighborhood that you can possib..."
Introduction
"- The following is a conversation with Anthony Kaldellis, a historian of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. This is a Lex Fridman podcast. To support it, please check out ou..."
The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire
"You've described that the Byzantine Empire is the Roman Empire, that calling it the Byzantine Empire is an invention of historians writing long after the empire has collapsed, that the people of that ..."
2,200 Years of Roman History
"- Yes. - Uh, and then maybe what are the different terms that we could be using for the Byzantine Empire, including Byzantium? Is it also fair to say the Late Roman Empire? - So Late Roman Empire we u..."
Power, violence, and civil war
"So you argue that even though the personality of the various emperors varied, as we'll talk about, and as they're often venerated, celebrated, criticized, talked about, the late Roman Empire was proje..."
Edict of Caracalla
"- So if we can, before we go to Emperor Constantine the First and the founding of Constantinople, can we look at some maybe seminal events that led up to some of the topics we'll be talking about? So ..."
Crisis of the Third Century
"more we could say about the crisis. And then of course, the, the crisis is in part resolved by Diocletian as he does a hard reset on the structure on the Roman system of government. So maybe you could..."
Constantine and the new Roman Empire
"All right, we're back, and let's talk about Constantine and Constantinople. Let's go to the rise of the East Roman Empire. Who was Constantine? Tell me about his rise to power and the founding of Cons..."
Christianity in the Roman Empire
"- So you mentioned Christianity. That was one other big component of his rule. What was the role of Christianity in, in Constantine's life, in the lives of the citizens of the new Roman Empire? - At t..."
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
"- Yes. - But to put a bow tie on Constantinople, it went from a very low population of maybe 25,000 people to 500,000 people in just two centuries. So can you explain how that happened? - Well, it did..."
Eunuchs, Taxes, and Power
"- And I think it's fair to say that the reason the East... Part of the reason the East lasted as long as it did is the topic that we've mentioned, which is the structure of government. So can we just ..."
Emperor Justinian and wars of conquest
"- Right. Yeah. - So let's talk about Justinian. We have to. We have to talk about Justinian. - Yes. - one of the most impactful Roman emperors in history, started as a peasant, and rose in power to be..."
The Arab conquests
"- So speaking of which, let's talk about Heraclius. He didn't make, he didn't make your list either, which is a shocker for a lot of people. Perhaps you can describe the nuance of that, but he took ov..."
Why the Roman empire survived so long
"- The thing is, we somehow took on the impossible task of talking about a thousand- - It'll defeat you, man. It'll defeat you every time. - I mean, there's a reason why you really wanna do a thousand-..."
Lessons from history
"- So what, from all of this, from this 2,200-year history of the Roman Empire, what lessons can we draw for modern times? Now we're sitting in America, this young empire. I know we're not calling it a..."