<p>What did it take to rule an empire that was never meant to have an emperor?</p><br><p>In this second episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by classicist Mary Beard to trace how Roman leadership evolved over a thousand years - from the competitive power-sharing of the Republic, to the carefully constructed one-man rule of Augustus. Why did the republican system buckle under its own success? And what set the empire on the path to fragmentation?</p><br><p>Make sure to join us for our third episode next week, when Peter Heather will explain how and why the Roman Empire fell apart.</p><br><p>Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.</p><br><p>We need your help! Let us know what you want from Dan Snow's History Hit by filling in our anonymous survey here: <a href="https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://forms.gle/PvgayWLkWGjYT4St6</a></p><br><p>Dan Snow's History Hit is now available on YouTube! Check it out at: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@DSHHPodcast</a></p><br><p>Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at <a href="https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe</u></a>.</p><br><p>You can also email the podcast directly at <a href="mailto:[email protected]" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">[email protected]</a>.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>