How the Eternal City Fell to the Barbarians

Rome was supposed to last forever. For 800 years, no enemy breached her walls—until 410 A.D., when the Visigoths stormed the Eternal City and shattered the myth of Roman invincibility.

👉 ⁠⁠⁠⁠For all show notes & recommendations⁠⁠⁠⁠

Tours mentioned in this podcast:
👉 ⁠Rome in a Day Tour⁠👉 ⁠Borghese Gallery Tour⁠👉 ⁠Pompeii, Positano & Amalfi Coast Day Trip from Rome⁠

So how did the world’s greatest empire collapse?
In this episode, we bust the myths about the “fall” of Rome (it didn’t happen in one day), dig into why a million-strong city dwindled to 20,000 starving survivors, and explain how famine, betrayal, and migration cracked the strongest empire the West had ever seen. From Alaric’s sack of Rome to the Vandals who gave us the word “vandalism,” we trace how the Eternal City became a ghost of itself—while the Eastern Empire lived on.

Why did Roman soldiers abandon their posts? Why did a slave open the gates to the barbarians? And how did Europe plunge into a thousand years of darkness after centuries of aqueducts, armies, and emperors?

This is the episode where Uncle Bob walks away knowing:

• The “fall” of Rome was a slow unraveling, not a single battle.

• The Visigoths were Christians too—they spared the churches.

• Honorius, the emperor, wasn’t even in Rome when it fell.

• Rome’s collapse left Europe in chaos for a millennium.