2,500 years ago Persia was a great empire; regarded as the forerunner of the Roman Empire. However in spite of its size & strength it had an adversary that would seal its doom. Persia's nemesis was a smaller empire - Macedon; ruled by Alexander The Great. Did the Persian Empire fall because it was a colossus built on shaky foundations? For centuries the Persian Empire had existed in what appeared to be resolute stability--until collapsing in a relatively short period of time under the military strikes of Alexander the Great. How was this possible? Greek historians claim that it was the moral decline of a whole society. In our high-tech electronic "war room", experts simulating the battles of Issos and Gaugamela make startling new assessments of the military performance of the Persians--and of their last king, Dareios lll.
Did the powerful empire on the Nile collapse under the weaknesses of Cleopatra, the last of the Pharaohs, or was the divine monarchy unable to keep pace with the challenges of the age? Was it merely an irresponsible woman who destroyed all this magnificence, or were Pharaohs such as Echnaton already genetically deformed through incest? Was the final collapse of the world power inevitable or was its fate sealed purely by the unstoppable Roman legions? Renowned scientists examine three thousand years of evidence with surprising results.
Did Hannibal carelessly squander the power of Carthage? Where exactly did the 23-year-old general cross the Alps with his war elephants? How was Hannibal able to inflict on the Romans the greatest defeat of their history? Ships discovered on the bottom of the Mediterranean show evidence of the outstanding abilities of Carthaginian seamen; archaeological excavations offer data for a lavish computer animation of the most remarkable dockyards in the ancient world. From the ruins of the once magnificent North African metropolis, researchers reconstruct the ancient city's unique atmosphere: the teeming mix of races, the splendour of its buildings and the terror of its ominous cults.
The Roman Empire was born almost 3000 years ago in central Italy. 800 years after its founding it encompassed the entire known world & lasted just over 1000 years. However, the empire didn't so much fall, but slowly evolved into a new European culture. Did the superpower of the ancient world simply collapse on account of its size? Was it the power struggles of rival contenders for the throne, economic crises, epidemics such as malaria and the effects of climate change that brought about the fall of Rome?
