In the brutal world of the 5th century BC, the Athenians struggle against a series of tyrants and their greatest rival, Sparta, to create a new "society of equals."
The second part recounts the Greeks' heroic victory against the mighty Persian empire in 490 B.C. Tiny Athens prepares to safeguard its growing economy and infant democracy against an invasion by Persian armies of Darius the Great.
Through the eyes of Socrates, Athens' first philosopher, viewers see the tragic descent of Athenian democracy into mob rule.The episode opens in 399 B.C., after the great philosopher Socrates has been sentenced to death and Athens lies in ruins after a war with Sparta.
Napoleon's extraordinary rise from obscure military man to hero of the French people convinces him that he is destined for greatness.
Charts Napoleon's ascent to absolute power, from victorious General to first Consul to Emperor of France. It describes his extraordinary achievements – from the Napoleonic Code and the Bank of France, to bridges, roads, and canals – as well as the tyrannical nature of his rule and the violent opposition of most of Europe.
Napoleon conquer most of Europe in a series of brilliant triumphs, including his legendary victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. To sustain his rule, he must keep fighting. But when he invades Spain, he has begun to reach too far.
Describes Napoleon's downfall, including the invasion and subsequent retreat from Russia, and his final battles, in which all of Europe is arrayed against him. Exiled to Elba, he returns to France after just ten months, only to be defeated for the last time at Waterloo. Napoleon spends his final days exiled on an island far out in the Atlantic, where he writes his memoirs and reinvents his legend.
Focuses on the historical truth behind the extraordinary life of the prophet Muhammad, the early writings of the Koran, the creation of the first mosque, and the battle to establish the new religion. The rapid expansion of Islam overwhelmed the empires of Persia and Byzantium, creating a new empire larger than Rome.
Focuses on the profound impact that Islamic civilization has had on Western culture and the course of world history. Muslim scholars from Baghdad's House of Wisdom developed our system of numerals, and acted as a channel for the intellectual legacies of Greece, Egypt and China, bringing about advances in literature, the arts, science and medicine.
Focuses on how the Ottomans established a Muslim empire more far-reaching than any that had come before. With emphasis on the harem, the center of dynastic power, where selected peasant boys could be educated for higher office, creating a caste whose only loyalty was to the Sultan.
The most remarkable person in Rome in the first century AD was the Emperor Augustus. Augustus ruled as Emperor for over 40 years, surviving plots, rebellions and mutinies. When he died, he was declared to be a god. His rule created the image of Imperial Rome that lasts to this day. He was the Emperor by which his heirs would be judged.
In 14 AD, Augustus died and the empire stood at a crossroads. Would Rome continue on course or return to chaos? It all depended on his successor the Emperor Tiberius.
Claudius was Rome’s unlikely emperor. Despite his much-ridiculed appearance, he had become a good ruler, passing visionary laws and conquering Britain.
Nero’s death in 68 AD ended the Augustan dynasty and left Rome without a ruler. The empire descended into civil war as generals fought each other for the throne.
Beginning with the birth of Queen Victoria, this episode explores the changes brought to Britain by the industrial revolution. By the 1840s, urban migration has created overcrowding and extremes in pollution and poverty. However, British subjects remain loyal to their Queen. Prince Albert, Victoria's husband, becomes a guiding force in the monarchy. Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone, political stars with starkly contrasting visions of empire, turn the nation's attention abroad.
In the 1850s, one half of the world's industrial goods are made in Britain, and steamships bring British exports and families to far corners of the globe. In India, the clash of Victorian values and Indian culture explodes in the Great Mutiny and Cawnpore massacre of 1857. Appalled by the bloodshed, Victoria and Albert draft a proclamation to assume direct rule over India. This episode also reveals the devastating effects of The Crimean War, the first major war of Victoria's reign, and the death of Prince Albert.
By 1861, Britain is the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth. However, the death of Prince Albert weakens Victoria, and many of his political ideals fade from importance. David Livingstone's explorations of the African interior fascinate the British public. Disraeli and Gladstone battle for control of the British government and debate the course of empire. The purchase of the Suez Canal solidifies British presence in the Middle East, igniting a stampede for the colonization of Africa.
The Suez Canal is threatened by a holy war in the Sudan, and General Charles Gordon, killed by the rebels, becomes an "imperial martyr." Cecil Rhodes prospects diamond deposits in southern Africa, and asserts British control in the region. However, as Victoria celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, the empire is on the verge of its darkest hours. The Boer War leads to devastating losses and a reassessment of British purpose. Finally, in 1901, the death of Queen Victoria marks the end of an extraordinary era.
In 1560 BC, Egypt was divided into two. Its very existence was threatened from both north and south. But one family was determined to restore Egypt to its former glory.
When Amenhotep III became pharaoh in 1390 BC, Egypt controlled a vast empire and was rich, respected and free. But it faced the challenge of powerful new rivals.
The reign of Ramesses II - known also as Ramesses the Great - marked the high point of the New Kingdom and the high point of Egyptian culture. But like any highpoint, it was all downhill as the New Kingdom gradually fell into ruin.
With their Messiah executed, their dreams crushed, and their cause deemed subversive by the strongest empire the world had ever seen, Jesus' followers faced a bleak future. Their movement seemed destined for extinction. Incredibly, though, Jesus' survivors turned defeat to victory; devastation to jubilation.
Spread outside Judea by missionaries like Peter and Paul, the Jesus movement caught on quickly among Jews and non-Jews around the Roman Empire. With success, however, came challenges: challenges from hostile locals; challenges from imperial forces; and challenges from conflicting ideas within the movement itself.
Covers the development of the Hebrew Bible, and the history of the Jewish Culture from Abraham to the start of the Babylonian Captivity.
This episode covers the history of the Jewish culture and religion from the end of the Babylonian Captivity to the conquest of the Maccabee Kingdom by the Roman Republic.
This episode covers the time in Jewish culture from the start of Roman Rule in 63 B.C. to the destruction of King Herod's Temple by Vespesian in 70 A.D.
This episode starts with the fall of Masada in 70 A.D. It chronicles the Bar Kockba rebellion and its aftermath.
For the keenly spiritual Luther, the Catholic Church's promise of Salvation is irresistible. When confronted with corruption within the Catholic Church, Martin Luther attempts to foster reform.
Alarmed by his defiance, the Catholic Church uses all of its resources to try and silence Luther.
From a side-street off the main piazza in Florence, Cosimo's father, Giovanni de'Medici, manages the up-and-coming Medici bank. In one shrewd move, Medici father and son gamble on a Papal election and win. The reward for their loyalty is the entire Papal bank account. On the back of this contract, the Medici bank expands across Europe, elevating the family to the Florentine elite.
Florence, August 1466: Lorenzo de'Medici, the 17-year-old heir to the dynasty, foils a murderous plot against his father and saves his family from a coup d'etat. The Medici still dominate Florence, but now take extra precautions, picking a useful bride for Lorenzo. Clarice Orsini, a baron's daughter and cardinal's niece, brings connections, class, and military muscle to the Medici dynasty.
Florence, 1501: 26-year-old Michelangelo carves a giant masterpiece which will come to symbolize his struggle against a family he once adored. Raised from a young age alongside the Medici heirs he watched as they were cast into exile with a price on their heads. Now they are searching for a path back to power.
Florence, 1537: Alessandro de'Medici the Duke of Florence, lies murdered in his bed. His cousin is plucked from obscurity to lead Florence. He is just 17. His rivals think he's a puppet, but despite his youth, Cosimo de'Medici, the new Duke of Florence, is ambitious.
Tokugawa Ieyasu unifies Japan and establishes a dynasty that will rule Japan for over 250 years.
The grandson of Ieyasu, Tokugawa Iemitsu, tightens control over Japan's warlords and expels all foreigners.
Isolated from the West, 18th century Edo flourishes culturally and economically, becoming one of the liveliest cities in the world. But foreign forces are coming.
This docudrama explores the epic of King Richard the Lionhearted and his struggle to save Christendom's holiest city, Jerusalem, from its Muslim conqueror, Saladin. Draws upon original Muslim and Christian sources as well as interviews with scholars from both the East and the West. Filmed in the Middle East, it tells the story that defined religious conflict for centuries and transformed Richard and Saladin into legends.
