How Civilizations Die - with Paul Cooper

About this episode

Tim Harford and Paul Cooper discuss the reasons behind the collapse of powerful civilizations throughout history.

As Governor of Britannia, Magnus Maximus has a huge army at his disposal, which is just what he needs to secure the Roman imperial throne. But perhaps the impressive general should have looked into the past before focusing on his future. Tim is joined by Paul Cooper, host of  Fall of Civilizations Podcast , to explore why powerful civilizations such as the Assyrians, the Han dynasty and the Roman Empire all ultimately collapsed. Paul Cooper is the author of  Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline . For a full list of show notes, see timharford.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Tim Harford

Guest: Paul Cooper

Topics covered

• civilization collapse
• history
• Roman Empire
• Assyrians
• Han dynasty
• power dynamics

Keywords

• civilizations
• collapse
• history
• Roman Empire
• Assyrians
• Han dynasty
• power
• decline

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Fall of Civilizations Podcast

Books & works: Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline

Places: Britannia, Roman Empire, Assyrians, Han dynasty

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