The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire | Lex Fridman Podcast #498
Anthony Kaldellis is a historian of the Roman Empire and author of “The New Roman Empire”, a comprehensive history of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire).
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep498-sb
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
*Transcript:*
https://lexfridman.com/anthony-kaldellis-transcript
*CONTACT LEX:*
*Feedback* – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
*AMA* – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
*Hiring* – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
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*EPISODE LINKS:*
Anthony’s Books: https://amzn.to/49AX7Q1
Anthony’s Publications: https://kaldellispublications.weebly.com
Anthony’s University of Chicago page: https://classics.uchicago.edu/people/anthony-kaldellis
The New Roman Empire (book): https://amzn.to/3PTFTqk
Streams of Gold (book): https://amzn.to/4fgRMRq
Byzantium & Friends Podcast: https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/
The History of Byzantium Podcast: https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/
*SPONSORS:*
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*Perplexity:* AI-powered answer engine.
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*OUTLINE:*
0:00 – Episode highlight
1:24 – Introduction
1:51 – The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire
5:49 – 2,200 Years of Roman History
26:12 – Power, violence, and civil war
47:27 – Edict of Caracalla
1:00:23 – Crisis of the Third Century
1:14:52 – Constantine and the new Roman Empire
1:26:53 – Christianity in the Roman Empire
1:52:21 – Fall of the Western Roman Empire
2:05:17 – Eunuchs, Taxes, and Power
2:30:24 – Emperor Justinian and wars of conquest
2:47:26 – The Arab conquests
3:07:01 – Why the Roman empire survived so long
3:33:08 – Lessons from history
*PODCAST LINKS:*
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@lexfridman
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep498-sa
See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc.
0:00 – Episode highlight
1:24 – Introduction
1:51 – The Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire
5:49 – 2,200 Years of Roman History
26:12 – Power, violence, and civil war
47:27 – Edict of Caracalla
1:00:23 – Crisis of the Third Century
1:14:52 – Constantine and the new Roman Empire
1:26:53 – Christianity in the Roman Empire
1:52:21 – Fall of the Western Roman Empire
2:05:17 – Eunuchs, Taxes, and Power
2:30:24 – Emperor Justinian and wars of conquest
2:47:26 – The Arab conquests
3:07:01 – Why the Roman empire survived so long
3:33:08 – Lessons from history
Transcript:
https://lexfridman.com/anthony-kaldellis-transcript
CONTACT LEX:
Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey
AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama
Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring
Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact
EPISODE LINKS:
Anthony's Books: https://amzn.to/49AX7Q1
Anthony's Publications: https://kaldellispublications.weebly.com
Anthony's University of Chicago page: https://classics.uchicago.edu/people/anthony-kaldellis
The New Roman Empire (book): https://amzn.to/3PTFTqk
Streams of Gold (book): https://amzn.to/4fgRMRq
Byzantium & Friends Podcast: https://byzantiumandfriends.podbean.com/
The History of Byzantium Podcast: https://thehistoryofbyzantium.com/
SPONSORS:
To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts:
Upwork: Platform for hiring freelancers.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/upwork-ep498-sa
Fin: AI agent for customer service.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/fin-ep498-sa
BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/betterhelp-ep498-sa
LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/lmnt-ep498-sa
Shopify: Sell stuff online.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/shopify-ep498-sa
Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine.
Go to https://lexfridman.com/s/perplexity-ep498-sa
@dirtychump
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
I think the murder of his son and that wife are probably related
@mathiashuber99
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Great podcast .. what a overload in history, theories and concent. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
@ChinnuGaja-i2s
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Thanks for another fantastic upload
@MR_SB_AI_Lab
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
This was exactly what I needed, thanks!
@8X94HJID
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Lex avoids having Black intellectuals on his show just so he can have a four (4) hour convo about stuff we learned in middle and high school. The one Black person he had talked about the n word or something. Couldn't be more telling could you. Russia must be nice
@unimatrixz3ro226
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
The biggest argument that the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire should fall in 305 is "even the conquerors have to pay taxes". Ergo, no incentive to conquer, GG
@Coach_Dustin_C
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Let's talk about the Etruscans.
@jacobblock3707
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Instead of the 7 legendary kings of Rome, the video showed a labeled image of 7 important characters from the Iliad @4:35. Looks AI generated.
@TheLoPresti
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
2:53:21 he most likely got this idea from the Punic wars. That’s how Rome defeated Carthage in the second war.
@JhonathanRamirez-jk5gu
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
I love all the podcast of Ancient Roma, or Byzantine history, I would like one day you find someone to talk about Ancient Greek culture/Mythology,Kings, into deeply in Alexander the Great, Philip I, and What happened then that Alexander died.
@mantrik007
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Historically, or even till this day, a prominent difference between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodoxy is that while the Head of the Catholic Church was mostly independent of the Empires and the rulers of the day and were not subservient to them, the Heads of the Orthodox Church, on the other hand, were generally coopted by the rulers of the day. Hence, they were generally subservient to the agenda of the rulers of the day. For example, the Head of Russian Church is subservient to Putin. On the contrary, in the Catholic Church, even the rulers of the West were subject to the moral code outlined by the Church.
@Kenabukanyo
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
I hope they're not implying here at minute 52:10 that US has to do the same shit the Romans did. That's out if the question.
@roberw1912
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
With the Eastern Romans, I am sure the peasants would get knowledge through their local churches , the priest will get messages from the bishops telling them who teb emperor was and providing some news.
@stallienzztommen4379
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Great analysis! Imperium Romanum (Βασιλεία Ρωμαίων) was indeed the real name used by the state, the Augustus – Βασιλεύς & the people. Afterwards, some new Germanic states tried to seize the title of Roman Emperor to justify their claims over past Empirial lands in the West, like Charlemagne, Otto I of the so called Holy Roman Empire and they started referring to the actual Roman Empire as the "Greek Empire" another "Byzantine Empire".
But History means we set aside labels used for propaganda & start using the historical accurate titles and names.
Well done Kaldeli & Lex!
@mapa3781
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
To this day there are Greek speaking people who call themselves Romans.
@stephaneberrebi7106
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
in timecode 4:38 what are Iliad's characters Paris, Ménélas, Diomèdes, Odysseus, Nestor, Achilles, Agamemnon doing in lieu of Rome's legendary kings Romulus, Tarquin, etc ?
@9ser_gio461
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
There's a mistake at 4:34 – Those are not the 7 kings of Rome but some of the protagonists of the Homeric cycle.
@Popelka-q3r
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Or I am like Tesla
@Popelka-q3r
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Did you fake it
@Popelka-q3r
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
I have no idea how he got there but I knew I am right even with the laser
@Gguy061
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Han China also had a beuracracy made up of eunuchs. There had to be some cross-cultural exchange of ideas going on
@genbaomiao
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
“Byzantine/Byzantium”—a term used even by the Romans of the Middle Ages themselves—so why shouldn’t later generations use it as well? Moreover, during the reign of Emperor John III, he even began using the term “Greek nation” in his correspondence with Pope Gregory IX.
@biagioimpedovo
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
I don't know, there's something strange… maybe I find it stupid to question an American about Roman culture.
don't think it might be interesting to do the same with an Italian historian
@beambient
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Interesting !
@ZacchaeusNifong
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Lex tried so hard to make Orthodoxy thin, and fragile. 😅 ☦️
@aggelosalexopoulos3039
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
ΚΑΛΔΕΛΗ ΚΑΛΔΕΛΗ ΡΟΥΦΑ ΤΟ ΠΑΠΑΡΔΕΛΙ. ΚΑΤΩ Ο ΚΑΛΔΕΛΗΣ ΚΑΤΩ Ο ΚΑΛΔΕΛΗΣ ΜΠΟΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥΥ
@Magplar
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
4:34, literally what? These aren't the kings of Rome?
@tonybuckley6413
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
so men are supposedly thinking about the Roman Empire regularly, it happened today anyway , thanks Lex .. SPQR
@USmetallist
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
#LexFridman wow bruh…. a second deep dive ROMAN EMPIRE…. 3rd podcasts overall wow!
Thank you Brother
@Max-Harden
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Lex is a roman
@beekaygee89
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
I think an argument could be made that extending Roman citizenship to all inhabitants actually accelerated and promoted romes decline and fall
@MichaelLabriola-k9i
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
My Greek friends are so proud of Greece they all want to go back to retire. 70% do. Which is the highest percentage of any immigrants to the U.S.🗽🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲
@beekaygee89
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
When they were talking about the emperors working to gain consensus of the governed and the perpetual threat of civil war, it makes me wonder what modern society would be like if the government didn’t have the extreme hold on power that it does
@김용환-w5m8z
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Thanks for sharing this, learned a lot.
@jordbond1689
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
This is painful to watch! It's mindboggling, how this guy became an interviewer with so many subscribers?! The subject is very interesting, but he keeps interrupting the professor asking those mindless kinder garden questions, like he is some kind of a kid with the special mental needs…Some of these clicks earners think it's all about them, but are really boring(very politely said) and pain in the ass!…🙄
@LindnerEyermann
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Amazing content as always!
@ianm9853
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
New history pod drop = natural dopamine release
@ShamsudeenBelloardo
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Thanks for sharing this, learned a lot.
@user-rabbiy7
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Really appreciate the insights in this video.
@omarhussein5650
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
What is the man's name.?
@stefanoaguila2744
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Byzantine is rome. It’s a made up name that Germans came up with to give legitimacy to their stupid confederation
@PodcastPolitics
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
This is gonna slap.
@laurae.9568
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Wait, wasn't Istanbul previously Constantinople?
@johnanita9251
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Constantinople!!! Constantinople!!!
@laurae.9568
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
Taxation is theft
@pricetula
July 3, 2026 at 6:56 pm
The fall of Edom