Did 300 years of history never happen at all?

About this episode

The period after the fall of the western Roman empire is often known as the ‘Dark Ages’, due to an apparent shortage of historical evidence. Why might this be? Well, according to proponents of the Phantom Time Hypothesis, the explanation is simple: these centuries never happened at all. In this episode of History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories, Dr Philipp Nothaft from the University of Oxford joins Rob Attar to discuss the idea that these centuries were invented by powerful people for their own purposes – and that, ever since, we've all been inadvertently colluding in their fictional calendar. History’s Greatest Conspiracy Theories is produced by the team behind History Extra. For more fascinating stories from the past, head to HistoryExtra, the home of ‘History’s Greatest’ podcasts. There you can find other feeds including History’s Greatest Cities and HistoryExtra LongReads. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠historyextra.com/podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠. We'd love to know what you think about the podcast, so leave us a review and let us know the topics you think we should be covering. Or, follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠ to keep in touch. You can lis