The Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty

The Rise and Fall of the Ming Dynasty

Author: History Hit September 21, 2026 Duration: 55:56

At its height, Ming China was one of the most powerful states on Earth. Its cities bustled with merchants and scholars, its goods travelled across continents, and its treasure fleets sailed as far as East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. At the heart of this vast empire stood the Forbidden City- a spectacular symbol of imperial authority.


But prosperity bred corruption, power created enemies, and rebellion threatened the dynasty from within. In this episode, Dan heads to Beijing to explore how an impoverished peasant founded a dynasty that ruled China for nearly three centuries and how war, political crisis, rebellion and environmental catastrophe ultimately brought it down. Warning: this episode refers to suicide.


Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore


You can check out our documentary on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHBTevu_eTc


If you want more of Jeremiah on Dan Snow's History Hit, check out these episodes on any podcast player:

The Opium Wars at https://open.spotify.com/episode/4GYkpTToitfmACR6RX9yGa

The Forbidden City at https://open.spotify.com/episode/5FdOolMSttL4aIXlMniMUj

The Terracotta Warriors at https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-terracotta-warriors/id1042631089?i=1000666138627


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


Dan Snow's History Hit is a History Hit podcast.

History Hit is part of Little Dot Studios, a Certified B Corp™.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


There’s history you might recall from a textbook, and then there’s the kind that feels like you’re standing right there in the moment. Dan Snow's History Hit is firmly in the latter category. Hosted by the historian Dan Snow, this podcast doesn't just recount dates and facts; it transports you. Each episode is built from Dan's travels to the actual locations where history unfolded, from the echoing floor of the Roman Colosseum to the silent expanse of the Waterloo battlefields and the awe-inspiring presence of the Great Wall of China. The conversations dig into the compelling human stories-the motivations of heroes and villains, the engineering behind great monuments, and the pivotal decisions that changed everything. You’ll hear the how and why behind the world's most defining events, delivered with a palpable sense of place and curiosity. New episodes arrive twice weekly, on Mondays and Thursdays, with additional subscriber episodes every other Friday, making this a consistently engaging dive into our shared past. It’s a history podcast that treats the subject not as a static record, but as a living, breathing narrative waiting to be explored.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Dan Snow's History Hit
Podcast Episodes
Mary Beard on Ruling the Roman Empire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:10
What did it take to rule an empire that was never meant to have an emperor?In this second episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by classicist Mary Beard to trace how Roman leadership evolved over a thou…
Harald Hardrada [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:20
Exile, mercenary, Viking king. Harald Hardrada, 'Thunderbolt of the North', fought his way from Norway to Byzantium, from the streets of Constantinople to the battlefields of Sicily. He married a princess, blinded an emp…
The Rise of the Roman Empire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:13
How did a cluster of Iron Age huts grow into one of history's greatest civilisations?In the first episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by Dr Simon Elliott to trace Rome's rise - from its humble origins…
The Great Fire of London [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:07
In the early hours of September 2, 1666, a small fire broke out on the ground floor of a baker's house in Pudding Lane. In five days, that small fire would devastate the third-largest city in the Western world.Adrian Tin…
SAS Hijacked A Fascist Train To Liberate A Concentration Camp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:32
Today, we uncover a forgotten SAS mission straight out of a war thriller: an elite unit jumps the chain of command and hijacks a 'pirate train', turning it into a weapon against fascist Italy. Their goal? To launch a sur…
The Rise and Fall of the Boleyns [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:35
We trace the extraordinary rise and fall of the House of Boleyn. From humble Norfolk tenant farmers, the Boleyns used everything from wool trading to the diplomatic service to climb to the heights of Tudor power.Novelist…
Anglo-Saxons vs Vikings: The Battle That Gave Birth To England [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:27
Dan explains the Battle of Brunanburh, an epic clash that decided the fate of the British Isles. On one side, the Anglo-Saxon forces of King Æthelstan, fighting for his vision for a unified England; on the other, a massi…
The Rise and Fall of Venice [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:06
Venice was the impossible city that rose from mudflats to become a medieval superpower. Venice dominated Mediterranean trade through its vast navy, revolutionary shipyards, and strategic position between East and West. F…
The Seven Deadly Sins [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:41
Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath! You might be surprised to learn the true history of the Seven Deadly Sins doesn't start in the bible. Rather, they were first thought up by a Greek monk in the 4th centur…
Investigating the Nazi Massacre at Rumbula [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:17
An underground Nazi weapons factory and stash of 77-year-old Denazification files. What is it really like to discover that your grandfather was a member of the SS?In 2023, journalist Lorenz Hemicker joined us to tell the…