The Vandals
The Ancients

The Vandals

B2Upper-intermediateAugust 27, 202650 min

The Vandals have gone down in history as the barbarians who helped bring down the Western Roman Empire. Their name became synonymous with violence and destruction, but who were they really? In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Andy Merrills to uncover the real story of the Vandals. From their migration across Europe to the conquest of Carthage, they explore how the Vandals emerged as a formidable power at the heart of Rome’s final crisis; what archaeology reveals about their rule, and whether the Vandals were really as destructive as their reputation suggests. ...

Play episode

Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.

Try it: tap any word

Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.

Sentence 1 of 12 · 0:00

?

What secrets lie buried in prehistoric Ireland?

Hear this sentence

Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.

Do you know these words?

8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.

  • B22:01

    Tap for the meaning

  • B210:25

    Tap for the meaning

  • C115:02

    Tap for the meaning

  • B221:19

    Tap for the meaning

  • B228:32

    Tap for the meaning

  • C136:39

    Tap for the meaning

  • B244:49

    Tap for the meaning

  • B248:57

    Tap for the meaning

Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.

Is this episode right for you?

B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 19%A2 33%B1 25%B2 17%C1 6%
  • 77% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 194 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
  • 267 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

Ever wondered why the Romans were defeated in the Teutoburg Forest? What secrets lie buried in prehistoric Ireland? Or what made Alexander truly great? With a subscription to History Hit,

0:11

you can explore our ancient past alongside the world's leading historians and archaeologists. You'll also unlock hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a brand new release every single week covering everything from the ancient world to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com slash subscribe.

0:30

Hello, Greg Jenner here, I'm the host of You're Dead To Me, the BBC comedy show that takes history seriously. Every episode I pair up a top historian with a fantastic comedian and we have a lovely, funny, fascinating chat about a different subject from world history.

That was the opening. The rest of the episode (49 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.

Continue in the player

Automatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy