How does an empire spanning three continents and half a millennium fall apart? In the final episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by Professor Peter Heather to unravel Rome's collapse - from the chaos of the third-century crisis to the deposition of the last Western emperor. Why did an empire at its economic peak unravel so quickly? And why did the East survive when the West did not? 00:00 Introduction 01:55 Why the fall of Rome is history's greatest question 02:24 Mapping the true scale of the Roman Empire 05:18 How transport speeds shaped the ancient world 06:45 The great luck of Rome 08:00 The crisis of the third century 10:35 Refashioning the military and the elite formations 12:45 The divide between the Eastern and Western empires 14:27 The transformation of Rome's Germanic neighbours 16:56 The mystery of Rome's collapse 20:07 The arrival of the Huns on the Eurasian steppe 21:34 The Goths seek asylum in the Roman Empire 24:48 Why the Eastern Empire survived the barbarian invasions 27:19 The massive invasions of Italy and Gaul 30:56 The first Brexit: How Britain left the empire 33:13 The Vandal conquest of Spain and the sack of Rome 36:50 The last hurrah: A temporary Roman recovery 39:01 Succession crises and the fatal loss of North Africa 42:47 Failed expeditions and the impact of Attila the Hun 46:09 The breakout of the Goths and Burgundians 48:33 Odoacer topples the last Caesar in Italy 51:56 Life after Rome: Land confiscations and militarisation 53:43 The apocalyptic collapse of Roman Britain 56:41 Why the Eastern Roman Empire stayed alive and kicking Produced by Mariana Des Forges, James Hickmann and McKenna Fernandez, edited by Matthew Wilson & the channel manager is Vilde Øksnes. You can find more Dan Snow's History Hit on the audio podcast here: https://podfollow.com/dan-snows-history-hit/view Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. All music from Epidemic Sounds. #DanSnowsHistoryHit #HistoryPodcast #Rome