Civilisations: Rise and Fall
Series 1
71%
What caused the demise of the greatest civilisations of the ancient world?
Where to Watch Civilisations: Rise and Fall • Series 1
4 Episodes
- Egypt
E2EgyptA look at the rise and fall of one of history's most bloodstained dynasties, the Ptolemies, the last pharaohs of Egypt. The 3,000-year-old civilisation of ancient Egypt faces disaster as civil war between Queen Cleopatra and her brother, a famine caused by the failure of the Nile's flood cycle and the increasing dominance of Rome threaten its survival. Will Cleopatra become the last of the pharaohs? - Mon, Dec 8E3
AztecsAt its height, the Aztec civilisation is a vast and well-organised society, ruled by Emperor Moctezuma II and centred on the spectacular island city of Tenochtitlan, which contains around 100,000 people. But in 1519, the arrival of a band of Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortes, becomes one of the most fateful moments in world history and exposes the fault lines within the Aztec world. Is the real threat from the enemy within? - Dec 15E4
JapanA look at the dramatic collision between Japan's samurai class and the industrialised west in the mid-19th century, explored through the characters of US naval commander Commodore Matthew Perry, eager to establish a US-Japan trade route; the shogun, the Japanese ruler, aiming to keep his grip on power; and the samurai Saigo Takamori, a Japanese warrior and reformer dedicated to protecting Japan's independence.
