The Empire Strikes Back
Alastair Sooke charts the fall of the Roman Empire through some of its artistic treasures, including one of the best preserved Roman cities in Libya.
In the third and final part of the series, Alastair Sooke charts the decline and fall of the Roman Empire through some of its hidden and most magical artistic treasures. He travels to Leptis Magna in Libya shortly after the overthrow of Gaddafi and finds one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world and the cradle of later Roman art. Sooke discovers glorious mosaics which have never been filmed before, but also finds evidence of shocking neglect of Libya's Roman heritage by the Gaddafi regime.
His artistic tour takes him to Egypt and the northern frontiers of the empire where he encounters stunning mummy paintings and exquisite silver and glassware. As Rome careered from one crisis to another, official art became more hard boiled and militaristic and an obscure cult called Christianity rose up to seize the mantle of Western art for centuries to come.
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Next
You are at the last episode
Clip
-
Alastair Sooke explores Roman heritage in Libya
Duration: 03:31
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Alastair Sooke |
Writer | Alastair Sooke |
Executive Producer | Jonty Claypole |
Producer | Tim Dunn |
Director | Tim Dunn |
Broadcasts
- Mon 17 Sep 2012 21:00
- Mon 17 Sep 2012 23:30ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Tue 18 Sep 2012 02:15
- Thu 20 Sep 2012 22:00
- Fri 4 Jan 2013 00:05
- Sat 9 Feb 2013 20:00
- Sun 10 Feb 2013 02:45
- Tue 14 May 2013 22:55
- Mon 10 Dec 2018 21:00
- Fri 14 Dec 2018 03:00
- Tue 4 Aug 2020 22:00
- Wed 5 Aug 2020 01:45
- Sat 17 Sep 2022 19:00
- Sun 18 Sep 2022 01:10
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ TV blog: Alastair Sooke
βBy its very nature Roman art is eclectic, cosmopolitan and diverse...β