All language subtitles for Ancient Powers s01e01 Origins

Thousands of years ago, ancient powers
ruled our world.

Egypt.

China.

India.

Greece.

And Rome.

Players in a high stakes game of
strategy and luck.

Success will bring them wealth and
immortality.

failure, oblivion, and death.

In their battle for survival, each
civilization will face the same

How they respond will shape their
destiny.

In this episode,

Origins.

In a brutal world where nature is both
friend and foe, our ancient powers

are just beginning.

They must use all their skill and
ingenuity to shape their territory and

establish their culture.

So who will tame the land and claim
their future?

Ten thousand years ago, the kingdom of
ancient Egypt does not yet exist.

But bands of hunter -gatherers are drawn
to the banks of the River Nile.

At the water's edge, they live hand to
mouth.

They forage, fish, hunt wild cattle, and
even hippos.

These wandering people have just enough
to eat.

But to set down roots, they need more
than this.

How can they make this landscape work
harder for them?

Egypt's geography is key to how this
country developed because the Nile is

makes Egypt.

Through endless miles of scorched
desert, the Nile creates a narrow strip

life -giving fertility.

But it's this river's unique geography
that gives early Egyptian settlers a

start.

Once a year, heavy rains at its source,
far to the south, send an enormous

torrent rushing towards the Niles River
Valley, flooding the riverbank and

bringing abundant life.

Floods in Egypt came annually for over
four months starting the end of June,

a large part of the country was
submerged, and the waters fled out,

huge, rich amounts of filth, so they
never needed any fertilizer here.

So really it was an amazingly rich,
fertile soil, and very easy to

The early settlers take advantage of
this healthy soil and plant crops.

But they can't depend on them year
-round.

Because as the floods recede and desert
temperatures rise, their precious crops

sometimes fail.

They must find a way to keep them
watered.

Irrigation technology was key. Very
quickly they decided that they were

harness this water.

And so they'd cut a series of canals,
they built reservoirs, they fitted out

ways so they could have more than one
crop a year.

As the people farm, they devise a simple
but effective piece of technology.

The shadoop was a means of raising water
from the lower Nile and was lifting it

up with a bucket and a counterpoise.

And this was used then to collect water.
You can either put it into more buckets

and move it along or even into another
set of canals.

Now these early Egyptians have a
constant water supply and food.

This land was so fertile that they could
grow wheat, barley,

all kinds of fruit and vegetables,
cucumbers,

lettuces galore, and herbs and spices.

No longer forced to wander the land in
search of sustenance,

The Egyptians are now fully -fledged
farmers.

Their domain is this narrow river
valley, and their mastery over this

environment sets them on their way to
becoming an ancient power.

Farming was really the mainstay of
ancient Egypt, and without the Nile and

annual floods, Egypt would never have
been the rich and great civilization.

Everything about Egyptian culture comes
from the environment, and the Nile is

the sort of central part of it.

The Egyptians have struck lucky.

They have a reliable source of water to
grow their crops and their civilization.

Far to the east, another ancient power
is taking shape, but on a far more

dangerous river.

From the western plateau to the eastern
plain, two huge watercourses snaked

through China.

The Yellow River and the Yangtze.

In the east, these rivers and their
tributaries form a network of

marshes and swamps.

But on the Yangtze, in the waterlands of
Lianzhu, people are attempting to

settle and farm.

But rice is temperamental and difficult
to grow.

If these farmers water their rice too
much or too little, their crop will

Get it right, and in good conditions,
they can manage a decent harvest.

But the weather is not always on their
side.

Here, the monsoon season lasts from May
to September.

bringing with it the threat of flooding.

This unpredictable natural disaster can
wipe out their precious crop and leave

the people of Liangzhou facing
starvation.

To secure their food source and their
future, can the people here

control this destructive flooding?

They have a plan, but it's risky.

Involving an unprecedented level of
engineering and sheer hard work.

It takes thousands of workers years to
build a series of earth dams and create

two vast reservoirs.

The water system of the two groups is
divided into high and low dam areas.

The high dam area is the dark blue area
on our map. It is actually the place

where we turned the mountain over and
couldn't see it.

The low dam area is the large area in
front of us. It is about 10 square

kilometers from the low dam area.

Now, when the monsoon rains thrash down,
these reservoirs contain the excess

water and stop it flooding the precious
rice fields downstream.

Now they've tamed the wild

river. The Anjou's farmers can safely
plan for the future.

and create somewhere to call home.

The people here build a huge settlement.

It covers 300 hectares.

and is surrounded by a 50 -meter -wide
perimeter wall that's over four meters

high.

Inside, there are homes, workshops, and
tombs, as well as a central palace.

30 ,000 people live here, and at its
heart are huge rice granaries,

the foundation of their wealth and
security.

With their food source secured and their
land safe, the people of the Yangzhou

are the start for this ancient power.

In China, remarkable engineering
transforms a dangerous threat into the

beginnings of a civilization.

To the west, an island people are
attempting to settle in a very different

terrain.

On mainland Greece, there are a few
isolated settlements.

But on the mountainous island of Crete,
in the middle of the Mediterranean, a

new culture is growing.

This island's isolation provides a
natural defense against invaders, and

fruits of the sea are a ready source of
food.

For the people who live here, the
Minoans, there are downsides.

The challenges that the Minoans face
depend on which part of the island you

Because you either find very, very dry,
rocky places, or you find plains

like the one we are just now.

And so each of these ecological spheres
was good for specific things.

So one was for grazing, another might
have been good for grain. So this is how

it was.

Each region of the island is able to
produce different foods.

But spread out across 8 ,000 square
kilometers of rocky terrain, no single

has all the variety it needs.

So to feed their people, the Minoans
must find a way to share it.

The Minoans hope that these buildings
are the answer to their problem.

As archaeologists, we are still trying
to really understand how these places

function because we see that there are
these open places.

For example, we have three western
courts, a central court, and an eastern

court.

If I had to try and define a Minoan
palace, it was about... crowds of people

gathering together.

This palace isn't a home for their king,
but designed for the people.

There are a lot of places for storage
and storage of tables, like wine,

oil, maybe also barley and wheat.

And so what we can reckon is that all
this was stored together, maybe to be

in order to maintain the community as a
whole.

Built on a high promontory, this palace
is visible to every Minoan, and it

overlooks their settlements and
farmland.

Now we can see that places like
festivals work like gathering places.

Where ceremonial activity was going on,
that allowed people to bring their stuff

and they were also getting everything
that they needed. So there was exchange

and there was also putting things
together.

In a way, a palace can be compared to a
hub.

So I bring my olive, you bring your
wheat and you bring my meat and then we

put everything together and get whatever
we need.

Pooling their food in this communal
palace allows the Minoans to share their

riches, so this island's resources
benefit them all.

Now, with well -fed people and few
enemies, the Minoans set about creating

culture, a cornerstone for any ancient
power.

This object was found in a rectangular
tomb on the south central part of Crete.

This fascinates me because it's a unique
artifact.

It is a masterpiece of elegance and
skill.

The intricate paintings that decorate
this sarcophagus reveal details of a

Minoan funeral.

On this long side of the sarcophagus we
can see a procession of gift bearers to

the deceased.

The deceased is shown standing by his
tomb.

He is presented like a mummy without
hands.

The quality of the representations, the
colours, the hairstyles, the garments,

And of course, these illustrations give
also evidence for the skill

of the craftsmen of this special
culture.

So the society must be socially
stratified, prosperous, wealthy,

and well -organized.

This communal society creates the
perfect environment for an explosion in

culture and art.

They make pottery with myriad designs
and colors, celebrating the sea

and the land.

Fine jewelry that glitters and shines.

sculptures that hint at deep beliefs and
rituals, and celebrate the world they

have mastered.

This vase depicts a possession of armor.

This object tells us a lot about how the
Minoans saw the world.

They loved nature. They exploited
natural resources.

I mean, the development of agriculture
was a main factor for the prosperity

of Minoan economy.

For well over a millennia, the Minoans'
community spirit allows them to live in

harmony with their environment.

Building an ancient power rich in
resources and culture.

But nature is about to turn on them.

Just over 100 kilometers to the north,
on the island of Santorini, there is a

huge volcano.

Dormant for as long as anyone can
remember, in 1500 BCE.

It erupts.

It is one of the largest eruptions in
human history, destroying Santorini and

sending 30 cubic kilometers of ash and
lava into the atmosphere.

It signals the beginning of the end for
the Minoans.

The eruption's fallout destroys their
crops, weakening them.

Allowing Greeks from the mainland, the
Mythenians, to occupy the island.

They will be the people to take this
ancient power to the next level.

The Minoans' ancient power is both
triumph and tragedy.

But they are the foundation of all that
follows in Greece.

To the south, Egypt's early farmers have
harnessed the Nile.

Now they need someone to lead them to
their glorious future.

Over millennia, plentiful food has
allowed early rural settlements to

villages, towns, and territories.

But to become an ancient power, this
land needs to unify under one.

This stone palette revealed his
identity.

It's one of the earliest named images of
an Egyptian king.

So this is the Narmer Palace, and you
can see here at the top, there is the

of Narmer.

We know that Narmer comes from Upper
Egypt because he's wearing the white

That is a representation of Upper Egypt.

sets the rules here, because he starts
wearing that crown.

Nama is ambitious and aggressive.

He wants to add lower Egypt to his
southern kingdom.

So he goes on the attack.

He showed himself smiting his enemies,
and that's what we see.

Narmer is standing on the enemies of
Egypt.

And you can see them trampling beneath
him.

Narmer beats his enemy and emerges
victorious.

On the other side of the palace, you see
Narmer's victory procession. And he's

wearing the red crown of lower Egypt.

And you can see here at the end of the
procession, his enemies with their

between their legs and it's to show what
will happen to the enemies of egypt

nama is king of it all leader of over a
million people

and over a thousand kilometers of the
nile river valley this land

is now truly an ancient power ruled by a
single man

after narmer unifies egypt This is a
very important moment in history.

This is when Egypt starts to prosper and
we know it as it is.

This is when all the grand monuments are
on their way to being built.

This is the building of the great
civilization and how it started.

Egypt has land, food, and a strong
ruler.

But to the east, in India, another
ancient power is beginning to emerge

with a very different character.

The Indus River flows over 3 ,000
kilometers from the Himalayas to the

Sea.

And over millennia, it has created a
vast, fertile plain.

In this benevolent landscape, the first
ancient Indian culture builds

something astounding.

Hidden away, in what is now Sin
Province, Pakistan, is one of the best

cities of its age anywhere in the world.

This civilization precedes the Roman
Empire by more than

two and a half thousand years.

So this is something very remarkable.

Today, its name translates as the Mound
of the Dead.

It seems that the town was settled at
one single point of time.

And there was a huge planning which went
with the building of the town.

This city's inhabitants design its
construction down to the last

using thousands of bricks, each
identical in size.

They lay out the three -square
-kilometer site on a grid system.

Rows of multi -story houses, each with
their own central

courtyard, are connected by narrow
alleyways to the main streets.

This triumph of urban design is home to
more than 40 ,000 people

Life is good here But as our other
ancient

powers have discovered there are always
dangers to overcome

If you are maintaining a large
population and in a very concentrated

you generate dirty water quite a lot.
And through the

stagnant water you get diseases if no
proper care is

taken.

The people here must find a way to
defend themselves against this life

-threatening hazard.

Every household has the drain which is
coming out of the house.

And then it turns and it joins the
street drain. And the street drain then

it out of the town area.

It is one single item that can make your
life good or bad.

If you can't get rid of the disposal
properly, you become sick.

This drainage network removes infectious
water from the streets.

But that alone is not enough to keep
Mahendra Dharo's inhabitants safe.

They also need clean water for drinking
and cooking.

So they build wells.

One well would have done for the whole
neighbourhood, but here the case is

different.

They want to keep the water with them,
very near.

They want personal water.

They undertook this task, despite the
fact that they had the easy access to

water.

Across the city, these wells bring
naturally filtered drinking water to

every courtyard.

And they celebrate their control of this
critical resource with a huge ritual

bath in the city's center.

This might be the place where the
community used to come to meet, to

But it is indication of a society which
is flourishing.

This city and its people thrive for more
than 700 years.

And it's just one in a network of urban
settlements that stretch all along the

length of the Indus River and its
tributaries.

Millions of people living in over 1 ,400
towns.

They planned the city, they built it.

This is unparalleled, this is wonderful,
and highest achievement this

region made.

But even this flourishing ancient power
can't foresee every threat.

We are compelled to say that it must
have been some weather

variations and changes.

and the climate might have started
behaving differently.

Over a period of years, changes in
weather patterns and the monsoon rains

lead to drought all across the Indus
Valley.

When the temperature rises, when the
fertility of the land is

undermined,

when there are lesser rains, the food
supply is diminishing

and it affects the growth of
populations.

So when this decline comes in, the city
cannot sustain itself.

So under its own weight, the city starts
dying.

As water sources dry up, the people of
Mahendra Dharo find their lands can't

sustain regular crops.

Their grand city is of little use, and
they begin to leave.

This ritual, vacating the towns,
happened slowly and very imperceptibly.

But it was definite march of the people
from this region.

The Indus Valley people abandoned their
sophisticated cities, leaving them

empty.

The civilization lost its rigor and it
was no more.

It will be over a millennium before
urban life is seen on the Indian

subcontinent again.

India has an early success as an ancient
power, but then failed.

In the West, the Romans have grand
plans, and will use engineering to

them.

Rome is a latecomer to the world of the
ancient powers.

What begins as a small farming community
on several hills expands over 400

years to become a bustling city of
several hundred thousand people with

a rich metropolitan culture.

The great Roman architect Vitruvius said
that all things depend on the power of

water.

Roman love of water has no limits.

Not only for drinking purposes, but
necessary for a cultured life, a great

the life that the Romans considered
dignified.

Having an overabundance of water was
clearly a critical part of living well

Roman.

But in ancient Rome, this demand for
water creates a problem.

The local wells are running dry, and
worse, pollution is poisoning the river

Tiber.

The city desperately needs a new and
reliable supply of... clean water.

But where can they find it?

Scouring the countryside, the Romans
eventually find high -quality springs in

the surrounding hills.

But these are over 10 kilometers away.

Unless they can transport this fresh
water, their city and ancient power

grow.

The solution they come up with is
ingenious.

Gravity is arguably the most reliable
system for getting your water from point

to point B.

The Romans made it work with the minimum
amount of technology and therefore the

minimum amount of moving parts and
things that could fail.

In 312 BCE

they begin construction on a remarkable
feat of engineering,

the first of a series of aqueducts.

These grand structures shift thousands
of litres of water over huge distances.

Their water channels are designed with a
steady and carefully calculated

gradient to keep the water flowing.

It's millimetrically precise.

A grade more than 1 in 4 ,800 was going
to cause significant erosion and

therefore significant manpower to
repair.

Over the next five centuries, the Romans
build 11 aqueducts. They stretch almost

500 kilometers and provide Rome with
millions of liters of water.

Every day, a lifeline for this expanding
empire.

The ability to supply water to the
capital city of Rome and to all of the

important cities around the empire was
absolutely fundamental to the population

growth and to the success of the Roman
civilization.

Without that, they would certainly have
shriveled and died, or simply not grown.

Rome's aqueducts are a wonder of the
ancient world.

Proof of Rome's mastery over nature.

But this is just the beginning.

These luxurious baths are a spectacular
temple to the Roman love of water.

The emperor put on this enormous expense
and enormous display in order to give

his citizens a place to be Romans in the
fullest sense of the term.

Huge forests of columns of all different
kinds of granite, all different kinds

of marble.

pantheon of gods and heroes in the
niches.

This vast site is equipped with a huge
spa complex, two

gymnasiums, a swimming pool, and rooms
ranging

from cold to hot.

A couple thousand years ago, we would
have been surrounded by naked Romans.

The splashing of water, the voices
echoing off the arches, the smells, the

perfumes.

This is a place where you could come and
simply get away from the world.

These palaces of water are the hub of
Rome's cultural life.

This place was not merely a place to get
clean, but a place to do business

deals, a place to have banquets and sing
merry songs with your friends, a place

to work out. It was the society of Rome
all collected in one room.

Here, senators and paupers, men and
women, all bathe equally.

The Roman baths are a great leveler.

But beneath this beauty, there is a
terrible secret.

The dark side of this city's cultured
facade.

Here, below ground, Hundreds of slaves
toil in unbearable conditions,

stoking furnaces to heat the water.

This ferocious engine, constantly
consuming wood, constantly producing

constantly consuming human lives.

This would have been just brutal.

People down here were really cogs in a
machine.

Without this unseen world, without this
unseen army, unthanked, unrecognized,

subhuman, nothing would have happened
upstairs.

The slave's grim work is the harsh
reality of Rome's ancient power.

Nature is controlled, but so too are
humans.

The first challenge is complete.

Each ancient power has responded to
their unique geography and taken the

steps to their future.

Egypt tames the Nile's floods and begins
the rule of its

pharaohs.

China builds huge dams and reservoirs to
control their fearsome river,

protecting and feeding their water town.

In the Indus Valley, the Indians go one
better, planning and building a

vast city.

On Crete, the Minoans cooperate to
create a society and a rich culture.

but are destroyed when a natural
disaster hits.

In Rome, they stamp their authority in
even grander structures.

All these ancient powers have
established their civilizations.

But to put a permanent mark on the
world, their next challenge...

is to build their empires.