After the Vandals sacked Rome in AD 455, it looked as if the Western Roman Empire might be finished. But a new emperor seized power. His name was Majorian. He was the last hope of the West.

The year is AD 455. The Vandals are at the gates of Rome. The emperor, Petronius Maximus, has been ripped to pieces by the Roman mob. Is this now the end of the western empire?

On the 21 September 454, one of the most extraordinary events in all of Roman history happened. Aetius, the hero of the Western Empire, was stabbed to death by the emperor Valentinian III.

In AD 453, the eastern Roman emperor, Marcian, dreamed an angel brought him a broken Hunnic bow. Two days later, news reached Constantinople that Attila the Hun was dead. Now, his great empire began to unravel.

After his defeat at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, Attila looked for an easier target than Gaul or Constantinople. In 452, a Hunnic army swept into the Adriatic side of Italy. The Italian job had begun.

On 20 June, 451, one of the most decisive battles in history took place in Gaul as Attila's invading army was met by a great coalition of Romans, Visigoths, Alans, Franks and others. It was the battle for western Europe.

The year is AD 451. Attila the Hun is marching on Gaul. There the Roman general Aetius - remembered as 'The Last of the Romans' - is trying to form a grand coalition to save Europe.

In AD 450, a Roman princess called Honoria contacted Attila the Hun. She asked him to stop an arranged marriage with a man she disliked. Attila replied: why not marry me instead?

In 447, Attila struck the Eastern Roman Empire. It was the largest military engagement for half a century. After peace was agreed, the Romans sent an embassy to have dinner with Attila...and assassinate him!

In the 430s, a new Hunnic leader rose to power. Soon his name would strike fear into the hearts of the Romans. It was Attila.

In AD 433, Aetius secured his position as the effective ruler of the Western Roman Empire. With the help of the Huns, he defeated the Burgundians and Visigoths. But a disaster was about to strike the Western Empire.

In AD 425, the six-year-old Valentinian III became emperor of the west. Another child emperor created another power vacuum. His mother, Galla Placidia, would try to hold onto power but could she thwart the ambitions of a Roman general called Aetius?

In this episode, we find out what was happening in the eastern half of the Roman Empire after the sack of Rome in AD 410. And it won't be long before an eastern army arrives in Ravenna.

The year is AD 410. Rome has been sacked. Is this the end of the western empire? Not yet. And the next few years will be full of surprises.

In this episode, we reflect on the reasons for the sack of Rome in AD 410, and ask whether climate change on the steppe-lands of Asia was the ultimate cause?

Why didn't the Roman army defend the city of Rome better when it was sacked in AD 410? Many historians blame the internal conflict within the empire. But the Roman army was also in terminal decline. Find out why in this episode.

In AD 410, Alaric the Visigoth sacked Rome. It was the first time in 800 years that the city had fallen. Find out in this episode why and how it happened.

In AD 408, Stilicho's fall from power was as spectacular as his rise had been. Alaric took advantage of this to invade Italy and lay siege to Rome. The western Roman Empire was rapidly imploding.

In December AD406, catastrophe struck the Roman Empire as a huge force of Germanic barbarians crossed the Rhine. Could Stilicho, the Roman general and hero of two wars with the Goths, save the empire?

In the early fifth century, Stilicho led the Roman armies in the west to victory after victory over the Goths, giving new hope to the empire.