A Rebelião dos Bárbaros

The "drama" part of this docudrama is surprisingly excellent. The dialogue, acting, costumes, and special effects blew me away. However, I can't for the life of me figure out why they decided to have CEOs, random politicians, and Civil Rights activists interrupt great scenes with useless comments. The professors and archeologists sometimes have insightful comments, but everyone else is laughable. Would be interested to see an edit of this series where all of that stuff is removed, because it really could stand on its own.

As an ex-high school Ancient History teacher, I thought this series took a very one-eyed view of Rome and, as others have pointed out, gets a few of the "facts" wrong. It depicted the Romans as the bad guys and the barbarians as the good guys (and girls). The ancient world was a pretty brutal place no matter where you were.

Think back to the "What have the Romans ever done for us?" scene in Monty Python's Life of Brian where the troupe satirically reels off a long list of the good things the Romans had done. A lot of uprisings did not have popular support, as many thought Rome offered an OK deal, or at least a better deal than they were getting.

Rather than a one-sided narrative, this series would have been a lot better with some historical objectivity in the mix.

"Barbarians Rising" offers a revolutionary perspective on the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. The traditional approach to the subject is that the Grecian "civilization" gave birth to the Roman "civilization" and eventually led the path to "civilization" as we know it today. This series has a different perspective, showing how the Roman "civilization" was an oppressor, taking lands and resources from less organized peoples and cultures, using harsh and often barbaric techniques. You may find yourself cheering for the "barbarians" who resemble what are traditionally known today as "freedom fighters". The idea that Rome was spreading civilization is turned upside down. Instead the makers of this documentary suggest that the Romans are invaders who rape, pillage, and plunder their way around the Mediterranean seeking resources and slaves to maintain their lifestyle.

The series focuses on Hannibal (died 181 BCE) in Northern Africa, Viriatus (died 139 BCE) in Lusitania (Portugal), Spartacus (died in 71 BCE), Arminius (died in 21 CE) in Germany, Queen Boudica (died 60 CE) and Fritigern (died 380 CE) in Britain, Alaric (died 410 CE) of the Visigoths, Attila the Hun (died 453 CE), and Genseric (died 477 CE) of the Vandals.

The series is a bit blood thirsty, but so were the times. There are maps and voice overs to keep you well informed.

I think the keyword here is docudrama. Is the series 100% accurate? No, it can't be, we weren't there and most of the history of the times came from the Romans themselves. That said, it had well acted and engrossing stories that made me do much additional reading on the significant characters. It was enlightening, fun and entertaining to boot. If I was a teacher and wanted to get young adults interested in Roman history, I would definitely use this as an introduction. I highly recommend.

It represents only the invitation and the first step to discover enemies of the Rome, to see stories and heroes and to explore mechanismes of ilitary actions and political decisions. Far to be perfect, it is just a docudrama.Decent in all senses.