"Human Origins" traces the progress of early hominids from their original habitat in equatorial Africa, and their evolution of mankind from these ape-like ancestors to the hunter and gather societies.
How the beginnings of agriculture transformed the world of early man. The gradual transformation of Man the hunter and fisher into the farmer - a decisive development in world history.
The first civilisations of Sumeria, India and China and how they laid the foundations for much of modern life. The earliest civilizations arose in the fertile valleys of the major rivers in the Near East and China, and with this development came a more settled existence.
This program outlines the epic story of the development of iron smelting and manufacturing some 3,000 years ago in eastern Asia Minor.
Greece and Rome looks at the political evolution of Greece into city-states and the Greek colonization of the Aegean and Asia Minor.
Looks at Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity. This program attempts to answer the question of how, why, and where organized religion replaced tribal and fertility gods.
The barbarian invasions of the Huns, Visigoths and Vandals. Within a period of four hundred years the classical world was destroyed and the West was plunged into the Dark Ages.
From its birthplace in Arabia, Islam grew into one of the world's greatest empires. For five centuries, it kept the flame of civilization burning while Western Europe entered the Dark Ages.
The recovery of Europe from the Dark Ages to the empire of Charlemagne and the Crusades. Following the onslaught from the Vikings, Magyars and Saracens, Europe slowly begins to recover from the Dark Ages.
The rise of Genghis Khan and his Mongol horsemen who created a huge empire in Asia and Europe. The terrorizing campaigns of the Mongols led by Genghis Khan were legendary for their military skills and superb horsemanship. They went on to create one of the largest empires in the world history.
The Black Death and European voyages of discovery. In 1347, catastrophe struck in the form of the Black Death depleting the world of one-third of its population.
After centuries of disunity, Tan Chien proclaimed himself emperor of the Sui dynasty. China was united after many years of discord.
In 1279 the great Mongol warrior, Kublai Khan, succeeded in bringing the whole of China under foreign rule for the first time in history.
Eight centuries after the Turks emerged from their homeland in the Steppelands of Central Asia, they captured the byzantine city of Constantinople, changed its name to Istanbul and made it their new capital lasting for four centuries.
The powerful empires, wealthy city states and civilised rural societies of Africa. Many great civilizations and empires rose and fell in Africa leaving great cultural heritage.
The early civilizations that existed in Central and South America, principally the Maya, the Aztecs, and the Incas, built remarkable cities and places of worship.
The Renaissance and Reformation in Europe. The next five centuries are dominated by the extension of Europe all over the globe. This came from direct colonization and the adoption of European styles and ideas by non-European countries.
The expansion of Europe through navigation and trade including the empires of Spain and Portugal and the beginning of the British Empire. Shown in this episode is a brief sketch of the European relationship with Africa, concentrating on Dutch and British settlement in South Africa, and on the "factories" further north.
Why did the empires of India and China succumb to European influence while the Japanese did not. The program begins with a survey of European expansion in the 16th century, concentrating on the Portuguese, with their Jesuit missions, and the Dutch and English.
The revolutions in Europe, North America and South America. This program deals with the causes and effects of the French Revolution, linking 1789 with 1848 in Europe, the time of the emergence of socialism.
The rise of the first Tsars and their descendants - Ivan the Terrible, Catherine the Great and the doomed Nicholas II. The history of the development of Russia shows how a few million Muscovites, dominated by the Golden Horde, came to occupy one sixth of the world's land surface.
The rise of the United States - the War of Independence, its expansion to the Pacific and the problems of slavery and the Civil War. The origins of the United States from the very beginning are linked to 1776, a "perfect" Constitution, an American ideal, unfettered immigration, and the development, by 1900, of the most powerful industrial nation on Earth.
This program concerns the development of big industry in the western world, including the United States.
The effects of World War I, the Russian Revolution 1917 and the Treaty of Versailles. The idealism of an age is destroyed in the carnage of the First World War, as a generation of young men is slaughtered on the battlefields of Europe.
The Stock Market crash of 1929 and the rise of Adolph Hitler and fascism. A three-cornered contest of Liberal, Nazi, and Communist for the future of the world, ending with Communist control of China.
The Cold War, the arms race and Third World development. This program deals with the period of post war reconstruction. East-West conflict grows as the allies divide up Europe into their spheres of influence.