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Now playingSeason 1, Episode 24
1. The Dawn of History
30mThe origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.
2. The Ancient Egyptians
30mEgyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.
3. Mesopotamia
30mSettlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.
4. From Bronze to Iron
30mMetals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.
5. The Rise of Greek Civilization
30mDemocracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.
6. Greek Thought
30mSocrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.
7. Alexander the Great
30mAlexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.
8. The Hellenistic Age
30mHellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.
9. The Rise of Rome
30mThrough its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.
10. The Roman Empire
30mRome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.
11. Early Christianity
30mChristianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.
12. The Rise of the Church
30mThe old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.
13. The Decline of Rome
30mWhile enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.
14. The Fall of Rome
30mDespite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.
15. The Byzantine Empire
30mFrom Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.
16. The Fall of Byzantium
30mNearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.
17. The Dark Ages
30mBarbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.
18. The Age of Charlemagne
30mCharlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.
19. The Middle Ages
30mAmid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.
20. The Feudal Order
30mBishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.
21. Common Life in the Middle Ages
30mFamine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.
22. Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages
30mThe great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.
23. The Late Middle Ages
30mTwo hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.
Watching24. The National Monarchies
30mA new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.
25. Renaissance & the Age of Discovery
30mRenaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.
26. Renaissance & the New World
30mThe discovery of America challenged Europe.
27. The Reformation
30mVoiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.
28. The Rise of the Middle Class
30mAs the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.
29. The Wars of Religion
30mFor more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.
30. The Rise of the Trading Cities
30mAmid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.
31. The Age of Absolutism
30mExhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.
32. Absolutism and the Social Contract
30mArguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.
33. The Enlightened Despots
30mMonarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.
34. The Enlightenment
30mIntellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.
35. The Enlightenment and Society
30mScientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.
36. The Modern Philosophers
30mFreedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.
37. The American Revolution
30mThe British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.
38. The American Republic
30mA new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.
39. The Death of the Old Regime
30mIn France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.
40. The French Revolution
30mLiberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.
41. The Industrial Revolution
30mTechnology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.
42. The Industrial World
30mA consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.
43. Revolution and Romantics
30mLeaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.
44. The Age of the Nation-States
30mThe great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.
45. A New Public
30mPublic education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.
46. Fin de Siècle
30mEveryday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.
47. The First World War and the Rise of Fascism
30mOld empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
48. The Second World War
30mWorld War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.
49. The Cold War
30mThe U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.
50. Europe and the Third World
30mBurdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.
51. The Technological Revolution
30mKeeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.
52. Toward the Future
30mModern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.
7.0Covering the ancient world through the age of technology, this illustrated lecture by Eugen Weber presents a tapestry of political and social events woven with many strands — religion, industry, agriculture, demography, government, economics, and art. A visual feast of over 2,700 images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art portrays key events that shaped the development of Western thought, culture, and tradition.