The Fall of the Roman Empire Episode 123 "The Holy Roman Empire"

About this episode

This episode explores the political legacy of the Roman Empire through the lens of the Holy Roman Empire and its historical significance.

The final political legacy of the Roman Empire in western Europe was the Holy Roman Empire. Amazingly, this curious political institution lasted until Napoleon abolished it in 1806. In the eighteenth century, the French political philosopher Voltaire famously described it as neither Holy nor Roman nor an Empire. He may have been right in his own age, but it was originally born with the dream of restoring Charlemagne's empire, itself a restoration of the once mighty Roman Empire. It was ...

People in this episode

Host: Nick Holmes

Topics covered

• Holy Roman Empire
• political legacy
• Charlemagne
• Napoleon
• Voltaire
• Roman Empire
• history

Keywords

• Holy Roman Empire
• Roman Empire
• political legacy
• Charlemagne
• Voltaire
• Napoleon
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Holy Roman Empire, Napoleon

Books & works: The Fall of the Roman Empire

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