The Western Tradition

IMDb TVDB Trailer
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  • : 52
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  • Documentary

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1
1x1
The Dawn of History
Episode overview
The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.
1x2
The Ancient Egyptians
Episode overview
Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.
1x3
Mesopotamia
Episode overview
Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.
1x4
From Bronze to Iron
Episode overview
Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.
1x5
The Rise of Greek Civilization
Episode overview
Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.
1x6
Greek Thought
Episode overview
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.
1x7
Alexander the Great
Episode overview
Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.
1x8
The Hellenistic Age
Episode overview
Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.
1x9
The Rise of Rome
Episode overview
Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.
1x10
The Roman Empire
Episode overview
Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.
1x11
Early Christianity
Episode overview
Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.
1x12
The Rise of the Church
Episode overview
The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.
1x13
The Decline of Rome
Episode overview
While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.
1x14
The Fall of Rome
Episode overview
Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.
1x15
The Byzantine Empire
Episode overview
From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.
1x16
The Fall of Byzantium
Episode overview
Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.
1x17
The Dark Ages
Episode overview
Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.
1x18
The Age of Charlemagne
Episode overview
Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.
1x19
The Middle Ages
Episode overview
Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.
1x20
The Feudal Order
Episode overview
Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.
1x21
Common Life in the Middle Ages
Episode overview
Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.
1x22
Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages
Episode overview
The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.
1x23
The Late Middle Ages
Episode overview
Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.
1x24
The National Monarchies
Episode overview
A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.
1x25
Renaissance & the Age of Discovery
Episode overview
Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.
1x26
Renaissance & the New World
Episode overview
The discovery of America challenged Europe.
1x27
The Reformation
Episode overview
Voiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.
1x28
The Rise of the Middle Class
Episode overview
As the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.
1x29
The Wars of Religion
Episode overview
For more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.
1x30
The Rise of the Trading Cities
Episode overview
Amid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.
1x31
The Age of Absolutism
Episode overview
Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.
1x32
Absolutism and the Social Contract
Episode overview
Arguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.
1x33
The Enlightened Despots
Episode overview
Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.
1x34
The Enlightenment
Episode overview
Intellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.
1x35
The Enlightenment and Society
Episode overview
Scientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.
1x36
The Modern Philosophers
Episode overview
Freedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.
1x37
The American Revolution
Episode overview
The British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.
1x38
The American Republic
Episode overview
A new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.
1x39
The Death of the Old Regime
Episode overview
In France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.
1x40
The French Revolution
Episode overview
Liberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.
1x41
The Industrial Revolution
Episode overview
Technology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.
1x42
The Industrial World
Episode overview
A consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.
1x43
Revolution and Romantics
Episode overview
Leaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.
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The Age of the Nation-States
Episode overview
The great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.
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A New Public
Episode overview
Public education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.
1x46
Fin de Siècle
Episode overview
Everyday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.
1x47
The First World War and the Rise of Fascism
Episode overview
Old empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
1x48
The Second World War
Episode overview
World War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.
1x49
The Cold War
Episode overview
The U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.
1x50
Europe and the Third World
Episode overview
Burdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.
1x51
The Technological Revolution
Episode overview
Keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.
1x52
Toward the Future
Episode overview
Modern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.