All language subtitles for Ancient Powers s01e02 Building your Empire

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, Building your empire.

In an unpredictable world, our ancient
powers must lay down the foundations

of their societies to show their
strength and protect their people.

Who will build their way to glory?

Across the globe, our ancient powers
have founded their civilizations.

They've tamed the land, allowing their
people to settle and thrive.

Now they face their next challenge.

And in the yeast, they start by building
big.

Over 2 ,000 years ago, China is ruled by
the Han dynasty.

They've successfully cultivated the land
around the fertile Yangtze and Yellow

River basins.

They are growing wealthy, but are
threatened.

Their northern borders are under attack
by the Xiongnu, nomadic horsemen

who roam the desert plains.

They possess few resources of their own,
but are fast -moving and aggressive,

and repeatedly loot the Han's riches.

This ancient power needs to defend
itself against these violent,

raiders.

But how can they protect their long,
exposed desert border?

The Han come up with a remarkable
solution.

121 BCE, they begin building a huge wall
nearly three meters high,

made of pounded earth and strengthened
with layers of gravel and reed.

This wall will end up an amazing three
and a half thousand kilometers long.

But will it be enough to stop the
rampaging Xiongnu?

The answer is recorded on delicate
wooden strips.

The note paper of ancient China.

A staggering two and a half

thousand towers and forts.

punctuate the length of the wall, one
every five kilometers,

allowing the hand soldiers to keep an
eye on their arch enemy.

These towers aren't simply for
observation.

but something far more strategic.

The Han soldiers are able to warn other
forts of incoming attacks.

Using carefully choreographed signals,
they can say when and where the Xiongnu

are attacking and how many of them there
are.

This sword is the 14th sword in the
Sessheng Fenghuopingyue.

Its content is mainly this.

If there are more than 1 ,000 people in
the competition, then you have

to raise the wind, and at the same time,
you have to burn two crystals.

But this wind is magnetic, so this can
only be used during the day.

The crystals are like grass.

The crystals can be used during the day
and at night.

The wall is more than a physical
barrier.

It's a communication system.

Signals travel at over 30 kilometers an
hour.

More than 600 kilometers in a day.

This allows Hand troops to rapidly
organize counter -attacks, and

stop the Thiel invaders in their traps.

The Hand can now defend their territory,
and even expand it.

At their peak, around 10 BCE, their
lands stretch a remarkable 6 million

kilometers.

and a home to 60 million people.

The hands mastery of defensive
construction secures their dynasty.

To the west, another ancient power is
also building.

Not to fend off attack, but to take
advantage of an opportunity.

Over a millennium, small isolated
communities across the Greek mainland

islands have grown into city -states.

Almost a thousand of them.

Each one runs its own affairs and
battles with its neighbors for

But by the turn of the 5th century BCE,
Athens is one of the

frontrunners.

Wealth. is the thing that will keep them
ahead of their competition.

But where can they find a ready source
of cash?

Could the answer be buried deep in the
rolling hills south of their city?

This mine can be dangerous.

First of all, because...

You have to protect your head from the
overhanging rocks.

And then there are shafts that suddenly
appear in front of your feet.

If you don't pay attention, you may fall
down to 200 meters in depth.

Across 5 ,000 hectares of this arid
landscape, the Athenians have been hard

work.

But they are not building homes or
temples.

They are excavating beneath the ground.

The Athenians dig over 300 mines that
snake more than 50 kilometers

deep into solid rock.

We can see here all around a labyrinth
of galleries going up, down, left,

everywhere. And you can see how hard
work they did because you can see the

marks.

The mines of Lavrion are delivering rich
sources of lead, metal the

Athenians used to forge weapons and
tools.

But digging it out comes at a terrible
human cost.

We can see how very intense it would be
to work and dig and dig again and again

and walk in this very short space.

People working naked, I mean, carrying
stuff, miles

up to the shafts so that they would take
the oil out.

Manual work, hard work, and very, very,
very hard conditions.

Harsh conditions of this human labor was
only undertaken by slaves.

As you can see, these galleries are very
small and not feasible for adults to go

in and out.

So it's most probable that children were
used for this task.

These mines are key to Athens' success.

But in 483 BCE, they hit a rich seam of
an even more

precious metal.

The Athenians discovered a huge amount
of ore

producing silver.

This is Galena, and you would need half
a mountain of ore to produce just

a kilo of.

This discovery is one of the largest
sources of this valuable metal in the

ancient world.

And it promises untold wealth.

But first, the Athenians need to extract
the silver from the ore.

So they start building on the surface.

The scale of these enterprises, which is
5 ,000 hectares of

mining works and metallurgical
workshops, and all extended

over the mountains and the valleys of
the area.

In the following years, this ancient
industrial complex produces over 3 ,500

tons of silver.

worth roughly two billion dollars in
today's money.

It is more than enough to cement Athens
as Greece's leading light.

This large -scale exploitation of the
underground world and these, again,

-scale metallurgical works were the
material basis of the Athenian power.

The wealth of the Greeks' minds
consolidates their strength and funds

ambitions.

But another ancient power is building,
not for riches, but for

conquest.

Four centuries after its birth, Rome is
growing.

No longer a city -state, it is fast
becoming a force to be reckoned with.

Controlling almost a third of the
Italian peninsula, it's pushed its

south to Capua, home of the Samnite
tribe.

Near modern day Naples.

But they are resisting Roman expansion.

And aren't going down without a fight.

Roman legionaries will be more than a
match for this untrained rabble.

If they can get there.

But there's a problem.

The state of ancient track.

They would have been dirt, muddy in the
wintertime.

They would have been very windy. It
would have taken a much greater time to

reach the destination.

To stop the legionaries getting bogged
down, Roman engineers come up with a

revolutionary new design, a layered
road.

It's built by placing rocks and clay on
top of compacted earth.

followed by crushed stone and lime, then
a layer of gravel and sand,

and finally polished stones with a
slightly curved surface, allowing

rain and mud to drain away.

In 312 BCE, work begins on this massive
construction project.

Driving a route south from Rome towards
Capua.

This is the Via Appiantica, the queen of
Roman roads.

One of the great technological
achievements of Rome.

The radical layered design isn't this
road's only innovation.

Well, the Romans were very pragmatic and
practical, and they decided that the

shortest distance between two points is
a straight line.

Keeping the line of the road straight is
a challenge.

So Roman engineers make use of a
precision surveying tool.

The groma.

I would stand here with my groma. I
would sight down this line.

The weights have to align here. The
plumb lines have to align.

I will give instructions to someone down
the road to plant a pole on exactly

that line. And I'll say a little to the
left, a little to the right.

Plant it.

And repeat.

And repeat for hundreds and sometimes
thousands of miles.

Now the Romans can create strong
straight roads.

They fire the Via Appia like an arrow.

through hills, marshes, and forests.

For 200 kilometers, nothing stands in
its way.

Now, the armies could get through on
time and in scale, so it was a huge

success. But laying down an absolutely
straight road, which cut through hills

and went over...

It's not only an effective way to get
from point A to point B, but it's also a

demonstration of the Roman mastery over
nature.

Fresh legionaries march south at speed
and

crush the rebellion,

making Capua

Rome.

The Via Appia becomes a keystone of
Rome's military ambition.

In the centuries that follow, they build
a massive network of roads, over 80

,000 kilometers in all, radiating out
from the Eternal City, a vast

grid connecting this ancient empire.

The roads were a symbol of dominion, and
it's a message.

We own this place, and we can come here
whenever we want.

For anyone who sees them, Roman roads
are a reminder, a mark in the landscape

of just who is in charge.

Rome builds a military route to
consolidate its status as an ancient

To the south, Egypt is also looking to
the future, but taking on a more

spiritual challenge.

After years of bloody wars, Egypt is
unified.

This ancient power is ruled by pharaohs,
anointed by the gods.

On the banks of the Nile, its people are
blessed with fertile land and plenty of

food.

With few enemies threatening their
kingdom, they are thriving.

But kings and commoners alike are all
anxious about their future.

For an ancient Egyptian,

This life that we're living was just a
temporary stage.

It was not the eternity.

They wanted to live an eternal life.

Making it to the afterlife is every
Egyptian's dream.

They believe if your body isn't properly
entombed, you've no hope of making the

journey.

and risk being stuck in limbo forever.

For an ancient Egyptian, it was really
important to spend your life preparing

for your afterlife.

And the more power you had, the bigger
and grander your tomb.

To house their mortal remains, wealthy
nobles build mastabas.

These huge single -story tombs are
highly decorated and multi -chambered.

This is one impressive matzvah.

You know this person was wealthy, this
person had influence, and he confused.

When rich men like Mereruka are
entombed, elaborate funeral possessions

everything they need for the afterlife.

Jars of food and wine, chests of gold
and fine jewelry, and even boats

for their final journey.

Egyptian, the next life was similar to
this life, except it was much better.

So if you had one or two serpents in
this life, you would want to have 100 in

the next life.

If you had a couple of ducks and a cow,
you would want to have 100 cows.

The decoration in Mararuka's tomb
reflects his rich life.

Hunting, fishing,

and collecting his pharaoh's taxes.

Mararuka was very close to the king.

This is what makes him a powerful man,
and probably his afterlife would have

been very powerful as well.

But his single -story tomb has a major
flaw.

Over time, it will disappear beneath the
desert sands, and Mararuka's name.

will be forgotten.

For the pharaohs, this isn't good
enough.

They want their names to be known
forever.

They want immortality.

If you wanted to be remembered, you
would have to stand up.

Therefore, Egyptians had to think,
what's next?

One pharaoh wonders if he can build a
tomb that won't just stand out from the

crowd, but will also last for eternity.

He is Josa.

And what he comes up with is both bold
and brilliant.

He wanted something that looked like a
stairway to the heavens.

And what more was than to tack up a few
most of us on top of each other?

So rather than having one, how about
having six?

Joseph's builders invent an entirely new
architectural form.

Something never seen before.

It is the tallest man -made structure in
the world.

The very first pyramid.

And it is revolutionary in more ways
than one.

Joseph changes everything in Egypt.

He sets the new rules.

And he puts his foot down and says,
we're not using mud brick anymore.

Mud brick is for the living people.

But the dead are going to live in stone.
They're going to be eternal.

No matter how many layers of time are
covering the earth, he was going to

be there.

Strong, powerful, and magnificent.

Joseph's tomb is visible from miles
across the desert.

A massive symbol of this pharaoh's
power.

And inside, it is equally impressive.

So incredible, endless tunnels, and you
go on and on and on, and it's so

squashed to the point where you feel
like, oh, my God, where am I going?

30 meters underground lies Joseph's
burial chamber.

Wow.

And the giant granite sarcophagus.

that holds its mortal remains.

So beautiful.

This place is magic.

These were not just tombs. They were a
transition.

He came to resurrect himself.

And this is what the kings do.

They became gods.

For Djoser, this pyramid is his pathway
to everlasting life.

A peaceful kingdom, vast wealth, and
their religious beliefs dictate what the

pharaohs choose to build.

In India, there is a new ruler and he is
building to try and secure stability.

For the very first time, after years of
fighting, almost the entire

subcontinent is unified.

A vast kingdom of 20 million people.

All ruled by Ashoka the Great.

A ferocious warrior who keeps control
with violence, cruelty, and

math. executions and when his brother
threatened his throne he

murdered them but after

his brutal wars and savage behavior this
king is stricken with guilt

Ashoka writes about the pain he felt.

Thousands of people were killed and
displaced or imprisoned, and that made

feel intense, intense remorse.

After that, it is said that he wanted to
change his ways.

In the brutal ancient world where
violence equals power, for Ashoka, this

is a risk.

But he is determined to change.

And for answers, turns to a new
philosophy.

But it says that each of us, we are
travelers on this path.

Every living being.

It says that if you want a prosperous
and peaceful kingdom, you have to be

generous. You have to invest back in
your society and cultivate qualities of

loving kindness and compassion.

Buddha's message entrances the repentant
king.

So he adopts it and in an unusual move
asks his people to do

the same.

It's surprising because not only is it a
complete change of heart from a...

warrior to someone who wants to practice
non -violence but also to ask all of

his people not to convert but to follow
the new rules of buddhism and that i

think is the biggest shock is asking
people to change and adopt more non

-violent means of living

if

a shocker is to keep his throne by
peaceful means

He needs to spread this new idea across
his enormous realm.

In the beginning, he sent his ministers
to spread his message. But then, of

course, he also wanted to make sure that
those messages are heard, are seen, are

followed. So he also chose to write them
down, not on paper, but on stone.

To ensure his message is getting
through.

Ashoka embarks on a grand tour of his
kingdom, erecting stone pillars

he goes, including one in modern -day
Nepal

at the most sacred Buddhist site.

What we have here is the Lumbini pillar.

It is here to indicate that it is the
birthplace of Gautam Buddha.

So, of course, it's a very important
site in Buddhism, and that is one of the

reasons why we find this pillar here.

But these pillars aren't just built at
religious locations.

Ashoka built them on key spots
throughout the Indian subcontinent.

Some of them were on important trade
routes.

A new phenomena, it must have attracted
a lot of people to them to see what it

is.

These intriguing structures announce
Ashoka's ownership of the land.

But it is the writing on them that
carries his vision of peace.

Words that are read out to his subjects.

The pillar we have here... And similar
pillars that are found all over the

Indian subcontinent are engraved with
inscriptions left behind by King Ashoka.

He mentions the code of conduct he would
like his people to follow.

The messages were mainly to do with
being kind to one another.

He goes on to say how you should always
treat your subordinates, your co

-workers, everyone with equality.

And of course, the most important
message is to practice non -violence.

The pillars broadcast Ashoka's Buddhist
ideals, and they are effective.

It is fair to say that the message that
he was trying to get across to people

actually made an impact, because we see
a relatively peaceful rule

for Ashoka until the day he dies.

These stone pillars are built to last,
and many are still standing.

a visible legacy of Ashoka's successful
and peaceful empire.

He really wanted to make sure that his
message would always resonate for future

generations to come, which is why I
think he also wrote it down in stone,

because that was the best way he could
do that.

In ancient India, the king builds
monuments to promote peace.

But in Greece, war is coming.

They need a way to protect themselves,
and fast.

The discovery of a rich theme of silver
makes Athens the most powerful force in

Greece.

But to the east lie the vast,
threatening superpower.

The Persians.

A constant adversary.

They lust greedily after Greek land.

And the precious metal the Athenians are
digging from their mines.

And they are now...

poised to invade.

The Greeks must defend themselves.

And with their seafaring heritage, they
build what they know best.

Ships.

The fastest, most maneuverable warships
of the ancient world.

This ship is a trireme.

The trireme has a length of 36 .8
meters.

It has a width of about 6 meters.

It is the most expensive old warship of
the classical antiquity.

It costs a lot, one talent.

One talent is a huge amount of money.
It's about 26 kilograms of silver.

Triremes are so called because of the
three decks of oarsmen that power them.

And with a treasury full of mined
silver, Athens' pockets are deep enough

construct a fleet of more than 200 of
them.

They are manned by pre -born Athenian
men, most of them experienced sailors.

These ships were pretty maneuverable.
They were 30 % faster than

enemy triremes because their crews were
much more trained.

The Greeks are ready, but when the
Persians finally attack Athens,

they don't come by sea, but by land.

In just a few short days, they ransacked
the city, destroying homes,

plundering temples, and burning it to
the ground.

The Athenian warships are used as rescue
boats, evacuating people from their

devastated homes.

But the Athenians aren't backing down
from this fight.

The great thing about Athens is that
they were not fighting about their city.

Their city was already destroyed.

It was already occupied.

Instead of fighting for their particular
city, they fought for their liberty

because the idea of Greece was a very
potent one at that time.

Athens is battling for its life.

In open water, the Persian ships
outnumber the Greeks, almost three to

making a full frontal attack impossible.

But the Greeks have a plan.

In a narrow stretch of water, 15
kilometers west of their burning city,

gamble on a risky strategy.

The battle began at about 9 o 'clock in
the morning.

Shortly after the beginning of the
battle, the Greek fleet withdrew towards

coast of Salamis.

The Persians were encouraged by this and
they pursued the Greek fleet towards

the coast of Salamis.

After the Greeks lured the Persians,
they counterattacked.

With the Persians trapped in the narrow
straits, the Greeks row forward, using

their triremes as weapons, driving the
warships' bronze rams hard below

the enemy's waterline.

The Greeks quickly

gain the upper hand.

There is all this disastrous.

Two hundred.

Persian triremes are lost within a day,
whereas only 40

Greek triremes are lost during that
battle.

Against the odds, it is a stunning
victory that ends the Persians' packing.

Without the victory at the Battle of
Salamis, the Greeks could have not

avoided enslavement to the Persians.

Thalamus gave Athens security, freedom,
confidence, and

the ability to preserve its democratic
constitution.

But if the Athenians are to stay ahead
of the game, they will need to defend

their city and their ships.

They finally turn from building in wood
to building in stone.

They construct two massive walls.

over eight meters tall and three meters
wide.

They encircle their port in precious
warships, creating a protected corridor

their city.

They also raise a wall around their
natural citadel, the Acropolis, turning

into a fortress.

And inside, they construct the
Parthenon, part treasury, part temple.

This architectural wonder is the city's
crowning glory.

For the next century, Athens is
ascendant, all thanks to their

unconventional building project.

It was a wise decision to spend all the
silver from Lavrion to

constructing this great fleet that
fought and won at Salamis.

This decision made Athens rich. This
decision gave Athens an empire.

Greece stares death in the face and
emerges victorious, stronger than

ever.

To the south, in Egypt, they are focused
on marking their territory with ever

-grander statements.

King Joseph's stepped pyramid is a
monumental success, a symbol of wealth,

power, and immortality.

But a generation after his death, when
another godlike pharaoh, Sneferu, takes

control, his ego demands something even
bigger.

Can he go one better than his
predecessor?

Tashur is the first true pyramid site.

So coming here, you see the transition,
what happened next after the step

pyramid.

Sneferu's pyramid is new and improved,
adding smooth sides to Joseph's step

design.

But his builders make a terrible error.

The pyramid was carried on on the
original angle. It was going to collapse

because this angle was too steep for
that design.

Realizing their mistake, the builders
simply finished the job with a shallower

angle, a drastic change that gives rise
to its modern name, the Bent

Pyramid.

But this botched job isn't good enough
to sniff through.

So he insists his builders try again.

And just two kilometers away, they
construct this.

And here?

We are seeing the testimony of Snapper's
success.

The first true pyramid.

And once he got the correct angle,
everything was just perfect from that.

It's precisely engineered on the
outside.

And the inside, too.

The vaulted ceiling in Sneferu's burial
chamber is more than just decoration.

They have not only worked out how the
pyramid works from the outside.

But coming in here, you can see that
they have worked out the inner

And you can see the weight distribution
is equal.

You are actually in the pyramid. You can
feel the space.

So it's really beautiful to be here.

Sneferu is delighted with his pyramid.

But for his son, Khufu...

Even this isn't big enough.

This point in time here is where the
Great Pyramid comes from.

If it wasn't for this pyramid, we
wouldn't have the Great Pyramid.

In 2570 BCE, construction starts on
Khufu's pyramid.

It will take 23 years and 2 .3 million
stone blocks to complete.

Towering over 146 meters, it will be the
tallest man -made structure on

Earth for thousands of years.

Covered in brilliant white polished
limestone and capped in gold, it

passes into legend as...

One of the seven wonders of the ancient
world.

A pyramid showed what a king of Egypt is
capable of doing.

These massive structures are Egypt's
great national building project.

Houses of eternity that broadcast the
Pharaoh's belief in the afterlife.

Ancient power has overcome their second
challenge.

Responding to the threats they face and
the beliefs they hold, cementing their

power and creating icons for the future.

Egypt and India construct elaborate
monuments, driven by the desires of

powerful rulers.

Greece and China build vastly different
defenses.

to counter threat to their existence.

Whilst Rome marches on using their
engineering expertise to consolidate

an expanding empire.

Each ancient power has succeeded in
building foundations for their

civilizations. But to continue growing,
they need to make some money.