In the second episode, Mary Beard explores the physical world of the Roman Empire, and finds surprising parallels with our own world. Setting out in the footsteps of the emperor Hadrian, she discovers a vast empire bound together by a common material culture, and a globalised economy of such scale that evidence of its side-effects can still be seen today, thousands of miles away from Rome. Mary unpicks the threads of a huge commercial and cultural network, taking in the vital supply of olive oil to Rome and her armies, the slave trade, and the all-important silver mines of Spain.

Following the famous Roman road network, and the shipping routes connecting the empire’s thriving ports, Mary reveals another side to the Roman Empire, one where builders and traders eclipse soldiers, and starring slaves, not senators, making the most of a hugely connected new world.

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