The Rest Is History
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709 episodes
Episode details
By 711 Europe and the Frankish warlords were facing a graver threat than ever before. Bands of Northern African, nominally Muslim raiders had begun a steady incursion throughout the West, loosely unified under the banner of the Umayyads. Having already taken and plundered the Christian territories of the Goths, their eyes now fell upon the Frankish kingdom in Gaul, by now the greatest power in Europe. It would be a formidable prize if taken. But fortunately for the Franks, their leader was the greatest of their warlords since the rise of Clovis I: the mighty Charles Martel. Finally, the two great hosts - Charles with his allies from Aquitaine and the Umayyads under the leadership of Abd al-Rahman al-Ghafiqi. A world shaking, spear shattering, blood-letting battle would ensue, the outcome of which would come to determine the future of Europe. Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the build up to, climax, and aftermath of the Battle of Tours - one of the most important battles in Western history, which would prove the making of the Franks, and pave the road to the ascent of Charlemagne. _______Twitter:@TheRestHistory@holland_tom@dcsandbrookProducer: Theo Young-SmithAssistant Producer: Tabby Syrett + Aaliyah Akude Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
709 episodes
528. The Nazis' Road to War: Hitler Prepares to Strike (Part 1)
Throughout the course of the 1930s, Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party has overwhelmingly, terrifyingly seized power in Germany. Now, Hitler’s vile ambitions have turned to Czechoslovakia. On the 12th of September 1938 at the Nazi Party Congress in…
527. Beethoven: Napoleon and the Music of War LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall
Ludwig Van Beethoven, like his precursor and possible acquaintance Mozart, is one of the most famous figures in Western musical history. With his wild hair and furrowed brow, his was a genius marked not by flamboyance and flare, but dark, …
526. Mozart: History's Greatest Prodigy LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall
In 1756 a musical prodigy was born in Salzburg, Austria: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Thanks to the efforts of his exacting father, Mozart's genius was exhibited and celebrated in some of the greatest courts of Europe from a young age. At four…
525. Charlemagne: Emperor of the West (Part 3)
“And from that moment on, he was addressed as emperor and Augustus!”The coronation of Charlemagne on Christmas Day 800 AD, is one of the landmark moments in all world history. More than three centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire in…
524. Charlemagne: Pagan Killer (Part 2)
“Here was a program to wet the ambitions of warlords as well as scholars, and to send men into battle beneath the fluttering of banners, the hiss of arrows, and the shadow of carrion crows…”The year is 777 and Charles the Great - Charlemag…
523. Charlemagne: Return of the Kings (Part 1)
The Frankish king, Charlemagne the Great, is one of the titanic figures of European history, simultaneously renowned and shadowy. His rise to supreme power is a staggering story of warring religious empires, betrayal, battle, blindings and…
522. Warlords of the West: A Clash of Ice and Fire (Part 3)
By 711 Europe and the Frankish warlords were facing a graver threat than ever before. Bands of Northern African, nominally Muslim raiders had begun a steady incursion throughout the West, loosely unified under the banner of the Umayyads. H…
521. Warlords of the West: Killer Queens (Part 2)
Following the death of the legendary Frankish King Clovis, his son Clothar I divided the mighty realm his father had hacked out from the warring warlords of Europe between his four sons. But peace was not to reign…the most ambitious of his…
520. Warlords of the West: Barbarian Heirs of Rome (Part 1)
The Rise of the Franks - a mighty host of warlords; forefathers of the western world and forgers of medieval civilisation, under the totemic leadership of history’s most glorious King: Charlemagne. It is a tale rich in fantasy and myth, tr…
519. The World's First City
In as early as 5000 BC the vast and spectacular city of Uruk - replete with towering walls, glistening temples and complex irrigation systems - lay sprawled across the face of Southern Mesopotamia. Not only is Uruk the oldest city in the w…