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Season 1

  • S01E01 Alexander and the Fall of the Persian Empire

    2,500 years ago Persia was a great empire; regarded as the forerunner of the Roman Empire. However in spite of its size and strength it had an adversary that would seal its doom. Persia’s nemesis was a smaller empire - Macedonia; ruled by Alexander The Great. This documentary shows how the failure of one king can lead to the downfall of a whole empire and how Alexander could manage to win against his superior enemy

  • S01E02 Egyptian Empire

  • S01E03 Egypt End of the Pharoahs

  • S01E04 Hannibal and the Fall of Carthage

    Did Hannibal carelessly squander the power of Carthage? Were the ingenious strategist’s legendary victories paradoxically the reason for the downfall of this incredibly rich trading empire? Why did Hannibal, at the very height of his triumphant campaign, refrain from attacking the city of Rome? Why was the military genius of Hannibal not enough the defeat the rising power of Rome? This documentary delves into the rise of the small trading city-state of Carthage that became one of the richest and most powerful seafaring nations in the Mediterranean. Following the battles of the great Carthage general, Hannibal, the defeat of Rome seemed almost inevitable, yet Rome prevailed. Whole new questions come to light in this documentary: not only historians, but also psychologists, scientists and doctors piece together the images of the past. Archaeologists provide the data for lavish computer animations that recreate the fascinating events of the past.

  • S01E05 The Roman Empire

    This ancient Rome documentary, an ancient war documentary, is about the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire and covers how Gaius Marius, a Roman general who had no connection with aristocracy won the barbarian tribes. Ancient Rome from a small republic, it grows into one of the greatest empires ever known lasting for over six hundred years. As its height it stretches from London to Baghdad, projecting its power with the first professional army and creating the model of the Western Civilization. And yet when the Empire begins to falter, it collapses with shocking speed as it takes only a hundred years for the imperial edifices of Rome to vanish like smoke. Swept away by the barbarian invasions. How did this happen?

  • S01E06 Fall of Rome

    The Fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called Fall of the Roman Empire or Fall of Rome) was the process of decline in the Western Roman Empire in which it failed to enforce its rule, and its vast territory was divided into several successor polities. This period is seen from 117 CE, when the Empire was at its greatest territorial extent, and the accession of Diocletian in 284. Irreversible major territorial loss, however, began in 376 with a large-scale irruption of Goths and others. In 395, after winning two destructive civil wars, Theodosius I died, leaving a collapsing field army and the Empire, still plagued by Goths, divided between his two incapable sons. By 476 when Odoacer deposed the Emperor Romulus, the Western Roman Emperor wielded negligible military, political, or financial power and had no effective control over the scattered Western domains that could still be described as Roman. Invading barbarians had established their own power in most of the area of the Western Empire. While its legitimacy lasted for centuries longer and its cultural influence remains today, the Western Empire never had the strength to rise again.

  • S01E07 The Holy Roman Empire

    The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. The core and largest territory of the empire was the Kingdom of Germany, though it included at times the Kingdom of Italy, the Kingdom of Bohemia, and the Kingdom of Burgundy, as well as numerous other territories. The empire grew out of East Francia, a primary division of the Frankish Empire. On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe after more than three centuries. After Charlemagne died, the title passed in a desultory manner during the decline and fragmentation of the Carolingian dynasty, eventually falling into disuse by 924. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries. Some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles comprising the empire, describing a gradual assumption of the imperial title and role.

  • S01E08 The Byzantine Empire

    The Byzantine Empire, or Eastern Roman Empire, was the predominantly Greek-speaking continuation of the eastern part of the Roman Empire during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Its capital city was Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), originally founded as Byzantium. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.