In the first session in HistoryExtra’s Medieval Masterclass with Dan Jones, we looked at what one brilliant modern historian has labelled the ‘inheritance of Rome’. We started with the Roman empire in the west in a state of retreat and collapse, rocked by a changing climate and several generations of mass migration, among other things. Then we explored the secondary superpowers that emerged in Rome’s wake: the so-called ‘barbarian’ realms that laid the foundations for the European kingdoms; the remodelled eastern Roman super state of Byzantium; and the first Islamic empires.
Dan Jones is the author of numerous internationally bestselling books about medieval history, including Crusaders, The Plantagenets, The Hollow Crown, The Templars and Magna Carta. He co-authored The Colour of Time with Marina Amaral. Dan has written and presented documentary series including Secrets of Great British Castles and Britain’s Bloodiest Dynasty: The Plantagenets. His new book is Powers and Thrones, out now.