E01 · The Dawn of History 30m
1/1/1989
The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.
E02 · The Ancient Egyptians 30m
1/1/1989
Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.
E03 · Mesopotamia 30m
1/1/1989
Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.
E04 · From Bronze to Iron 30m
1/1/1989
Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.
E05 · The Rise of Greek Civilization 30m
1/1/1989
Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.
E06 · Greek Thought 30m
1/1/1989
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.
E07 · Alexander the Great 30m
1/1/1989
Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.
E08 · The Hellenistic Age 30m
1/1/1989
Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.
E09 · The Rise of Rome 30m
1/1/1989
Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.
E10 · The Roman Empire 30m
1/1/1989
Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.
E11 · Early Christianity 30m
1/1/1989
Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.
E12 · The Rise of the Church 30m
1/1/1989
The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.
E13 · The Decline of Rome 30m
1/1/1989
While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.
E14 · The Fall of Rome 30m
1/1/1989
Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.
E15 · The Byzantine Empire 30m
1/1/1989
From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.
E16 · The Fall of Byzantium 30m
1/1/1989
Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.
E17 · The Dark Ages 30m
1/1/1989
Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.
E18 · The Age of Charlemagne 30m
1/1/1989
Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.
E19 · The Middle Ages 30m
1/1/1989
Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.
E20 · The Feudal Order 30m
1/1/1989
Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.
E21 · Common Life in the Middle Ages 30m
1/1/1989
Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.
E22 · Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages 30m
1/1/1989
The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.
E23 · The Late Middle Ages 30m
1/1/1989
Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.
E24 · The National Monarchies 30m
1/1/1989
A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.
E25 · Renaissance & the Age of Discovery 30m
1/1/1989
Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.
E26 · Renaissance & the New World 30m
1/1/1989
The discovery of America challenged Europe.
E27 · The Reformation 30m
1/1/1989
Voiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.
E28 · The Rise of the Middle Class 30m
1/1/1989
As the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.
E29 · The Wars of Religion 30m
1/1/1989
For more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.
E30 · The Rise of the Trading Cities 30m
1/1/1989
Amid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.
E31 · The Age of Absolutism 30m
1/1/1989
Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.
E32 · Absolutism and the Social Contract 30m
1/1/1989
Arguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.
E33 · The Enlightened Despots 30m
1/1/1989
Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.
E34 · The Enlightenment 30m
1/1/1989
Intellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.
E35 · The Enlightenment and Society 30m
1/1/1989
Scientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.
E36 · The Modern Philosophers 30m
1/1/1989
Freedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.
E37 · The American Revolution 30m
1/1/1989
The British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.
E38 · The American Republic 30m
1/1/1989
A new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.
E39 · The Death of the Old Regime 30m
1/1/1989
In France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.
E40 · The French Revolution 30m
1/1/1989
Liberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.
E41 · The Industrial Revolution 30m
1/1/1989
Technology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.
E42 · The Industrial World 30m
1/1/1989
A consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.
E43 · Revolution and Romantics 30m
1/1/1989
Leaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.
E44 · The Age of the Nation-States 30m
1/1/1989
The great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.
E45 · A New Public 30m
1/1/1989
Public education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.
E46 · Fin de Siècle 30m
1/1/1989
Everyday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.
E47 · The First World War and the Rise of Fascism 30m
1/1/1989
Old empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
E48 · The Second World War 30m
1/1/1989
World War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.
E49 · The Cold War 30m
1/1/1989
The U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.
E50 · Europe and the Third World 30m
1/1/1989
Burdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.
E51 · The Technological Revolution 30m
1/1/1989
Keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.
E52 · Toward the Future 30m
1/1/1989
Modern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.