''Terry Jones' Barbarians'' is a 4-part TV documentary series first broadcast on

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...

in 2006. It was written and presented by

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh actor, comedian, director, historian, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones a ...

, and it challenges the received Roman and Roman Catholic notion of the

barbarian A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

. Professor

Barry Cunliffe Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe (born 10 December 1939), usually known as Sir Barry Cunliffe, is a British archaeologist and academic. He was Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford from 1972 to 2007. Since 2007, he has been ...

of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

acted as consultant for the series.

Episodes

"The Primitive Celts"

First broadcast 26 May 2006, this episode challenges the popular view of Celtic society as a

primitive culture Urgesellschaft (meaning "primal society" in German) is a term that, according to Friedrich Engels,Friedrich Engels: '' Der Ursprung der Familie, des Privateigentums und des Staats'' (1884), in: MEW 21, Seit36-84/ref> refers to the original coex ...

that was uncivilised. Compared to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, it was actually an advanced society and, in some ways, even more advanced than Rome. For example, many of the roads in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

that were assumed to have been built by the Romans were actually built by the Celts themselves. However, Gaul was rich and tempting to Rome. The Roman general,

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

, set out to conquer Gaul with a professional army. The Celts stood no chance against Caesar and the Romans.

"The Savage Goths"

First broadcast 2 June 2006, it discusses

Arminius Arminius (; 18/17 BC–AD 21) was a chieftain of the Germanic peoples, Germanic Cherusci tribe who is best known for commanding an alliance of Germanic tribes at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest in AD 9, in which three Roman legions under th ...

Trajan's Dacian Wars Trajan's Dacian Wars (101–102, 105–106) were two military campaigns fought between the Roman Empire and Dacia during Roman Emperor, Emperor Trajan's rule. The conflicts were triggered by the constant Dacian threat on the Danube, Danubian Rom ...

and

Alaric I Alaric I (; , 'ruler of all'; ; – 411 AD) was the first Germanic kingship, king of the Visigoths, from 395 to 410. He rose to leadership of the Goths who came to occupy Moesia—territory acquired a couple of decades earlier by a combine ...

's sack of Rome.

"The Brainy Barbarians"

First broadcast 9 June 2006, it shows how Ancient Greeks and Persians were far from the Romans' view of them as effeminate and addicted to luxury. The Greeks valued science and mathematics, and the Persians had initially allowed

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

among the different ethnic groups of its empire (until years of war with Rome).

"The End of the World"

First broadcast 16 June 2006, this episode discusses two barbarian babies born in 400 AD. One would grow up to become the most feared of all,

Attila the Hun Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central and East ...

. The other,

Geiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric (; reconstructed Vandalic language, Vandalic: ) was king of the Vandals and Alans from 428 to 477. He ruled over Vandal Kingdom, a kingdom and played a key role in the Fall of th ...

, led the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

whom history has cast as destroyers. It is claimed that

Roman civilization The history of Rome includes the history of the Rome, city of Rome as well as the Ancient Rome, civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman la ...

ended not by the invasion of these tribes but by the loss of the African tax base. The common view of Rome and barbarians was a result of the Roman

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

popularizing the Roman version of the truth.

Companion book

* *

References

External links

BBC Worldwide press release
* {{Terry Jones history series 2006 British television series debuts 2006 British television series endings Ancient history Works by Terry Jones 2000s British television miniseries British English-language television shows BBC television documentaries about prehistoric and ancient history Television series about barbarians