Rome wasn't built in a day and it didn't crumble in a day either. It is the shining example of one of the most innovative periods in human history, and then it all turned to custard. Professor Greg Woolf is one of the world's leading authorities on ancient Rome. He's in New Zealand speaking to Universities around the country about the nature of empires, why Roman creativity seemed to run dry, and how the past can help us understand the present.
The Colosseum in Rome was started by emperor Vespasian of the Flavian dynasty in 72 AD. Photo: Wikimedia commons
