Main content

Mary Beard explores the mythology, history and archaeology of Rome. In this episode, she takes an in-depth look at the question of identity and citizenship within the Roman Empire.

In the third episode Mary takes an in-depth look at the question of identity and citizenship within the Roman Empire. What did it mean to be, or to become, Roman, and how did the very different parts of the empire react to Roman rule?

In the beautifully preserved cities of Algeria, incomers and locals mixed to create flourishing communities with a distinct 'more Roman than Rome' frontier identity. Mary follows the trail of one such African Roman from his native land all the way to Britain, where he served as governor - proof that for all the brutality of conquest, there were opportunities too. Here in Britain another picture emerges, of resistance, hybrid culture and incipient British identity. In York and Newcastle, Mary finds the remains of Romans, but not as we might imagine them - a rich African lady, officers from central Europe and a camp follower from Syria.

11 months left to watch

59 minutes

Signed Audio described

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Mary Beard
Writer Mary Beard
Photographer Craig Hasting
Photographer Marco Rossi
Photographer Brendan Easton
Sound Timothy Hodge
Sound Bill Rudolph
Location Manager Said Chitour
Location Manager Munir Akdogan
Location Manager Sibel Samli
Location Manager Alper Turkkan
Colourist Dominic Hutton
On-line editing Dominic Hutton
Re-recording mixer Gavin Allingham
Music Dowd and Harper
Production Coordinator Isabelle Burn
Production Manager Claire Smith
Assistant Producer Johnny Crockett
Film Editor Ross Bradley
Film Editor James Dowd
Executive Producer Martin Davidson
Executive Producer Richard Bradley
Director Chris Mitchell
Series Producer Caterina Turroni
Production Company Lion Television

Broadcasts

Featured in...

Mary’s stories from the series

Read more about what happened behind the scenes for each episode.