Rome And The Mediterranean Audio

From Romulus and Remus to the rise of Christianity, THE GREAT EMPIRE: ROME introduces the people and chronicles the events that shaped one of history's most fascinating civilizations.

Rome was just another city until it discovered the secrets of warfare. Once they perfected the art of combat, the Romans exerted their influence from Asia to the Atlantic, from Africa to England. Actor Joseph Campanella narrates this fascinating, authoritative look at the Roman Legions, their battles, commanders, tactics and legacy. From its establishment in 300 BC to the crushing defeat at the hands of the German chief Akininis in 9 AD, THE ROMAN WAR MACHINE examines every aspect of this legendary fighting force.

Now in its 2nd Season, the story of archaeology fascinates both laymen and professionals. In these installments we accompany Ernst Herzfeld on his last expedition to Persepolis in 1923; we travel to Mexico with the man who cracked the code of the Aztec calendar; we visit the greatest pre-industrial city on earth at Angkor; we join Isidoro Falchi as he discovers proof of the existence of the Etruscans; and we watch Alfred Merlin found the discipline of marine archaeology when he discovers shipwrecks in the Mediterranean..

Eurasia - 2500 years of history and conquests. A magical voyage through time and space, exploring the history, culture and religions that link East and West: from the Persian Empire of Alexander the Great to the huge Mongolian Empire of Kublai Khan, the destinies of highly developed civilizations intermingled until they converged to take the shape of a Eurasian civilization shared by all of us. Babylon, Persepolis, Ai-Khanoum, Baghdad, Rome are virtually recreated with incomparable realism by computer generated images.

It was the world's last Islamic empire - a super-power of a million square miles. From its capital in Istanbul it matched the glories of Ancient Rome. And after six centuries in power it collapsed less than a hundred years ago. Rageh Omaar sets out to discover why the Ottomans have vanished from our understanding of the history of Europe. Why so few realise the importance of Ottoman history in today's Middle East. And why you have to know the Ottoman story to understand the roots of many of today's trouble spots from Palestine, Iraq and Israel to Libya, Syria, Egypt, Bosnia and Kosovo.