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Thousands of years ago, ancient powers
ruled our world.
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Egypt.
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China.
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India.
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Greece.
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And Rome.
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Players in a high stakes game of
strategy and luck.
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Success will bring them wealth and
immortality.
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failure, oblivion, and death.
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In their battle for survival, each
civilization will face the same
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How they respond will shape their
destiny.
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In this episode, more and order
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in an unruly world our ancient powers
must
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lead their people create ways to govern
and keep rebellion
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at bay who will find the right way to
rule
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Our ancient powers have established
their cultures, built monuments and
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links, and fought battles to protect
their homeland.
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Now they confront their next challenge.
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Egypt is peaceful, prosperous, and
powerful.
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Its three million people are happy and
well -fed.
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But the sudden death of its pharaoh,
Thutmose II, plunges this ancient power
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into crisis.
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Because the heir to the throne is only a
child.
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Thutmose was the second son. He was
about two or three years of age. And so,
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although he was crowned king, he needed
a regent.
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Without a strong guiding hand, the boy
king's rule is in danger.
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Who can step in and take charge?
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The only choice is Thutmose's wife and
queen.
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Hatshepsut was a woman of royal blood.
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But in terms of kingship, a king was
male. So Hatshepsut being female was a
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little bit confusing.
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She needs a way to secure her reign.
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So Hatshepsut embarks on a radical
transformation.
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She showed herself as a man dressed in
Pharaoh's paraphernalia. There's nothing
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female about her.
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So for all the Egyptians, the Pharaoh is
as he should be.
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It just happens to be she.
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While these visual tricks work for some,
others see her rule as dangerous and
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unacceptable.
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But Hatshepsut understands her people.
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And knows that to succeed, she needs to
make a permanent mark.
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And she has a plan.
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The ancient Egyptians were big on
propaganda and imagery, and that's how
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communicated what was going on. So
Hatshepsut built throughout Egypt,
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am king.
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But building alone isn't the answer.
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She also needs to have the gods on her
side.
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At Karnak Temple in Thebes, Hatshepsut
erects a huge obelisk.
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Carved from a single 30 -meter -high
block of granite, it is dedicated to the
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god Amun -Ra.
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An obelisk is a symbol of the sun god.
It's like a sunbeam.
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And that's why the top, which is also a
little pyramid, would have been covered
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by electron.
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And when the sun hit it, at certain
times of day, the whole area would just
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explode with light.
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For the common Egyptians, it would look
as if the gods were really present and
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radiating their light out.
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And by putting her obelisks here, it's
establishing a close rapport and
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relationship between Hatshepsut and the
god Amun, which also is a way of giving
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her more legitimacy.
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Hatshepsut convinces her subjects of her
power.
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But there is another formidable group
she must get on side.
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The priests.
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They gather taxes and receive lucrative
offerings for the gods.
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They are powerful and influential.
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Strong enough to depose a pharaoh.
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To buy their loyalty, Hatshepsut plans
an enormous temple complex.
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This huge temple takes 13 years to
construct.
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Built of dazzling limestone, it's a
stunning architectural achievement and
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propaganda on the grandest possible
scale.
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This is one of the most unusual of
Egyptian funerary temples.
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The mountain is embracing this monument.
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approach was lined with sphinxes which
all had her face.
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On the facade, Hatshepsut depicts
herself as Osiris, the male god of the
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On the walls, she creates reliefs
illustrating her royal exploits.
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And inside, in a sacred space, where
only priests are allowed,
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Hatshepsut makes an audacious claim.
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Part of her divine origin myth.
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Here you have the goddess Hathor, who is
crowning Hatshepsut and sort of
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presenting her to Amun.
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as the rightful ruler.
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Hathor is the goddess of love, beauty,
and fertility.
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Here, she is represented as a cow.
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And we have these fabulous images of the
goddess Hathor and Hatshepsut suckling.
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And by taking in the milk, she herself
is getting even more divine because
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ingesting from the goddess.
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Shepsut's remarkable power play pays
off, and she rules for over 15 years.
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Hatshepsut's reign was a wonderful time
for Egypt.
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She was innovative.
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She had good ideas with architecture,
decoration, programs for establishing
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the legitimacy of kingship.
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and setting up the whole mechanism for
large -scale Egyptian propaganda for the
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new kingdom pharaohs.
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Hatshepsut changes history by proving a
pharaoh's gender doesn't always matter.
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The people and priests can accept women
who they believe are divine.
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And this pharaoh secures a golden age
for Egypt.
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I have to say that she has always been
one of my favorite pharaohs because when
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you have a woman pharaoh and you
yourself are a woman, it's quite a buzz.
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In
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Egypt,
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The power of the gods legitimizes a
pharaoh's claim to rule.
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To the east, ancient India has many
different belief systems.
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But here too, religion is key to
maintaining law and order.
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Power in India is fragmented.
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In the north, small kingdoms battle for
control.
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But soon, one wins out.
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The Guptas.
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The territory they conquer stretches
from coast to coast, across the northern
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half of the Indian subcontinent.
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Two decades into their imperial rule,
India's greatest king takes the throne.
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Samudra Gupta.
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Samudra Gupta was a man of many, many
talents.
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On the one hand, he was a great warrior.
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We read about how his body was adorned
with the scars he received in various
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battles from axles and swords.
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But he was also something of a creative
thinker, a poet king who composed a lot
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of poetry himself.
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Samudra Gupta has millions under his
command, but faces a challenge.
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How can he keep control of his vast and
diverse kingdom?
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He turns to his religion, Hinduism, for
answers.
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The Vedas are the sacred foundation of
Hinduism.
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The oldest of these sacred texts, the
Rig Veda, discusses rituals and
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the praise of gods, the origin of the
universe, and the nature of the divine.
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But crucially for Emperor Sumudra Gupta,
one of these hymns suggests how society
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should be structured.
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There's one controversial verse in the
Rig Veda that talks about how from the
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body of the cosmic creator, God himself,
it was from the mouth that the Brahmin
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emerged.
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The Brahmins are the sacred theological
priestly community.
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It was from the arms of the Kshatriyas
emerged.
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The Kshatriyas were the fighters and the
warrior class.
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It was from the Thais that the
mercantile class emerged.
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And finally the Shudras from the feet.
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And the Shudras are the service
communities that serve everybody else,
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and so on.
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This was used as a justification to say
that in the most sacred of the Hindu
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scriptures, there is reference to
stratification.
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Samudra Gupta and the other Gupta kings
take this idea and build on it.
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dividing society into distinct classes
or castes.
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This system proves to be a powerful form
of control.
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The caste system in the early Gupta
period wasn't necessarily set in stone.
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was a lot more fluid.
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There are strong indications that the
Guptas might have been Brahmins
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themselves. And if the kings themselves
were Brahmins, of course you see
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Brahmins receiving state power and
thereby becoming stronger in Hindu
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Samuja Gupta cements his power at the
top of the caste system and transforms
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Indian society.
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You see that there's arts and culture
thriving, the empire is stable, there's
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economic activity.
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In fact, to many Hindus, this was the
golden age of Hindu civilization.
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The Guptas use religion to organize and
control their people.
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In China, the ruler of a new dynasty
faces a similar problem, but will
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find a very different solution.
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For over two centuries, different states
compete for domination of China.
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Eventually, there's a winner, the Qin.
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But its new emperor, Qin Shi Huang, has
a problem.
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How can he unify over 30 million people
from different cultures who have
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different customs and beliefs?
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He begins at ground level, creating 36
new administrative districts known as
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commentaries, and building 7 ,000
kilometers of new roads to link
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them.
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Next, to make trade between regions
easier and collect taxes, he
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standardizes currency, units of length,
and weights.
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But he doesn't believe these unifying
measures will be enough.
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Something else is needed.
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The text on these bamboo slips is Ching
Shih Huang's solution to the problem.
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Hundreds of rules and instructions. A
legal code.
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Detailing the do's and don'ts of his new
empire.
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This is the story of Shui Wu Li.
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You mentioned that the ancient people
had their own customs.
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That is to say, in the past, the people
had their own customs and habits.
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The goods were not convenient for the
people and harmful to the people.
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Some were inconvenient for the people
and harmful to the country.
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This new way of ruling is known as
legalism.
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Brutal and absolute.
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Legalism is strict authoritarian rule.
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It makes Qin Shi Huang
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China's most powerful emperor.
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His enormous tomb reveals the secrets of
his rule.
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Covering over 56 square kilometers, this
burial ground is a mirror of his
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empire in life.
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He's buried with his fearsome army
critical to enforcing his rule.
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But he's also accompanied by some less
familiar figures.
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When you write words, if you write the
wrong words on the keyboard, you can use
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the eraser to erase them. It's actually
just like a piece of rubber now.
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Combining this with Taoyong, we will
make a preliminary analysis to determine
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the nature of this pit.
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It should symbolize the Qin dynasty's
Qin Wei organization.
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Qin Wei is...
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These men are buried much closer to
their emperor than his army.
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These officials write the laws that
maintain the Emperor's eye and grip on
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power.
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So crucial to his rule that he keeps
them close, even in death.
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In China, strict laws and regulations
help unify this ancient power.
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Far to the west, Rome also needs to
exert authority on its ever expanding
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territory.
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Rome's population is now almost 60
million people.
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But the empire is in turmoil.
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Divided by bloody civil war as different
factions attempt to seize control.
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How can its new emperor, Vespasian, get
the people back on side and restore law
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and order to the empire?
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His idea is a no -expense -spared gift
to the people.
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A mighty monument to house the greatest
show on Earth.
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This is the largest arena the world has
ever seen.
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A place where 50 ,000 people can witness
spectacles of bloodlust.
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They have poetry, they have democracy,
they have art.
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And then on the other hand, they appeal
to the brutal side of man.
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It's this marriage between beauty and
violence.
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The Romans love the games.
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They're a celebration of macho
athleticism.
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And the gladiators...
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are superstars.
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They're the most sexually desired
athletes of the Roman Empire.
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They are muscly, oiled -up men that
ladies love and men want to be.
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Each gladiator plays a different role.
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The secutor is a heavily armored
warrior.
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The mamillo, the enemy from Gaul.
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And the Retiarius, a fisherman.
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Each distinctive character fights with
different armor and weaponry.
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But they are all heroes that the crowds
can share on.
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The Retiarius has the Galera here.
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Nice bit of armor on the shoulder, which
protects the side of his face so he can
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look over it.
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He's got the trident, and he's got the
net. But his body's exposed. His leg's
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exposed. You think that's hardly fair,
because look at this guy.
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This guy's got the scooter.
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He's also got a wonderful helmet.
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You'd say, I definitely want to be with
this guy.
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Well, don't let appearances fool you,
because here's the problem.
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He can't breathe very well.
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He is going to get tired way quicker.
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And it's wonderful to see...
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what the outcome's going to be, because
you don't know.
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But the games aren't simply gory
entertainment.
235
00:27:11,170 --> 00:27:13,390
They are powerful propaganda.
236
00:27:14,790 --> 00:27:19,650
Reenactments of Rome's victories which
celebrate its control over its dominion.
237
00:27:20,610 --> 00:27:24,170
The visceral spectacle that draws the
crowd.
238
00:27:26,090 --> 00:27:28,150
The atmosphere would have been electric.
239
00:27:29,010 --> 00:27:32,790
First of all, you've got the roar of the
crowds chanting for their teams.
240
00:27:33,830 --> 00:27:37,030
You've got the sounds from the beasts,
so you can already hear them as you're
241
00:27:37,030 --> 00:27:38,030
walking towards the Coliseum.
242
00:27:39,070 --> 00:27:42,650
You can go to any sports stadium, and
when you're walking with the crowds, you
243
00:27:42,650 --> 00:27:45,310
feel that enthusiasm, that passion, that
excitement.
244
00:27:45,830 --> 00:27:49,490
For many people, it would have been the
highlight of their week to go and see a
245
00:27:49,490 --> 00:27:50,490
gladiatorial contest.
246
00:27:52,930 --> 00:27:55,950
These violent displays bring the Romans
together.
247
00:27:57,160 --> 00:28:03,760
A trick repeated all across their empire
in more than 200 amphitheaters,
248
00:28:03,860 --> 00:28:10,500
each built to impress, entertain, and
assert the emperor's
249
00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:11,500
power.
250
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,640
Ultimately, if you take it from the
emperor's point of view, well, why is
251
00:28:16,640 --> 00:28:18,880
emperor putting on these lavish games?
It's simple.
252
00:28:20,700 --> 00:28:24,480
He needs to distract you because there's
famine coming through the city. There's
253
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:26,780
problems. It's fine. Watch the games.
254
00:28:27,620 --> 00:28:29,880
The Spasian's distraction works.
255
00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:35,460
For over 400 years, the gladiatorial
games helped keep the peace.
256
00:28:36,340 --> 00:28:39,820
All people need is food and distraction.
257
00:28:40,380 --> 00:28:42,580
Bread and circuses. Panin to Chensum.
258
00:28:43,020 --> 00:28:47,320
For the most part, the mob is happy, and
that's what the emperor wants. Your
259
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:51,540
happiness, his popularity, his reign
continues, and everyone's good.
260
00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:57,100
And that's why the emperor does it.
261
00:29:05,980 --> 00:29:11,760
In ancient Rome, entertainment maintains
law and order across its empire.
262
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:21,020
Further to the south, a belief in their
gods has kept Egypt safe for millennia.
263
00:29:22,840 --> 00:29:23,920
Until now.
264
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:49,820
In the century after Hatshepsut's reign,
Egypt has gone from strength to
265
00:29:49,820 --> 00:29:50,820
strength.
266
00:29:51,060 --> 00:29:56,300
The great builder pharaoh, Amenhotep
III, is on the throne.
267
00:29:56,900 --> 00:30:02,380
Like his predecessor, he uses
architecture to celebrate his religion.
268
00:30:18,060 --> 00:30:19,940
Amenhotep III loved statues.
269
00:30:20,180 --> 00:30:21,700
The bigger, the better.
270
00:30:22,100 --> 00:30:24,380
He made gorgeous images of himself.
271
00:30:24,700 --> 00:30:27,700
He loved to show off himself and his
power.
272
00:30:28,700 --> 00:30:33,220
Key to Amenhotep's authority are Egypt's
many gods.
273
00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:38,800
The gods were the foundation of the
entire economy and the political
274
00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:39,800
of ancient Egypt.
275
00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,220
Without the gods, there wouldn't be an
Egyptian state.
276
00:30:47,180 --> 00:30:54,120
Amenhotep, like all pharaohs, relies on
religious belief to justify his rule and
277
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:58,900
maintain peace and stability in this
life and the next.
278
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:16,320
When Amenhotep dies after 40 years on
the throne, The priests transport his
279
00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:18,360
to a huge underground tomb.
280
00:31:19,740 --> 00:31:23,880
Here, his people believe the gods of the
underworld are waiting.
281
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:37,640
I have Amenhotep III here, portrayed as
a young man heading off on his journey
282
00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:38,599
to the afterlife.
283
00:31:38,600 --> 00:31:42,740
And the god Anubis, the god of
embalming, is taking him by the hand.
284
00:31:43,230 --> 00:31:45,330
and showing him the way to the other
side.
285
00:31:48,650 --> 00:31:52,930
Over here, there's another version of
Amenhotep III with the goddess Hathor.
286
00:31:53,030 --> 00:31:55,050
She's embracing him, holding the key of
life.
287
00:31:55,490 --> 00:32:00,490
And over there, I can see Amenhotep III
receiving life from the god of the
288
00:32:00,490 --> 00:32:01,610
underworld, Osiris.
289
00:32:02,450 --> 00:32:08,270
All of these gods are helping Amenhotep
III make his way into the afterlife.
290
00:32:09,610 --> 00:32:16,030
But just as Amenhotep's body is entombed
in his granite sarcophagus, his son and
291
00:32:16,030 --> 00:32:19,410
heir, Akhenaten, plots a religious
revolution.
292
00:32:23,450 --> 00:32:28,210
To turn away from the gods would have
been unfathomable to most ancient
293
00:32:28,210 --> 00:32:29,210
Egyptians.
294
00:32:29,590 --> 00:32:31,390
But not for Akhenaten.
295
00:32:31,850 --> 00:32:36,190
He closes down the temples and cults of
Egypt's multiple deities.
296
00:32:36,810 --> 00:32:42,090
and replaces them with monotheism, the
worship of just one god.
297
00:32:48,470 --> 00:32:51,730
Akhenaten became fascinated by the sun
disk, Aten.
298
00:32:52,330 --> 00:32:57,930
This only one being that he thought was
the source for all life, for everything,
299
00:32:58,030 --> 00:32:59,050
and was the only god.
300
00:33:08,159 --> 00:33:14,940
Akhenaten plans a huge new desert city
to honor his god, known today
301
00:33:14,940 --> 00:33:16,220
as Amarna.
302
00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:21,380
It was challenging to build a new spot
in the desert. He had to build
303
00:33:21,380 --> 00:33:25,320
everything, his own palace, temples,
tombs.
304
00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:32,480
Built in great haste, all is not well
for this new city's 30 ,000 inhabitants.
305
00:33:33,540 --> 00:33:37,260
The rest of Egypt is enjoying a time of
great bounty.
306
00:33:38,030 --> 00:33:42,110
But here, food is scarce and disease
rife.
307
00:33:42,490 --> 00:33:45,710
Recent excavations show that people were
suffering.
308
00:33:46,910 --> 00:33:50,070
That there was malnutrition, there was
illness.
309
00:33:51,530 --> 00:33:55,830
But the biggest problem in Akhenaten's
reign is that he ignored the rest of
310
00:33:55,830 --> 00:33:58,750
Egypt. He let the rest of the country
fall apart.
311
00:34:01,490 --> 00:34:06,850
With the temples closed and gods banned,
Egypt's economy suffers.
312
00:34:07,950 --> 00:34:12,010
People thought that he was a bad king.
They thought that he was insane, that he
313
00:34:12,010 --> 00:34:13,010
ruined Egypt.
314
00:34:15,070 --> 00:34:21,170
But before things completely fall apart,
Akhenaten mysteriously dies.
315
00:34:22,190 --> 00:34:24,790
And with him, his new religion.
316
00:34:26,690 --> 00:34:31,909
His son soon abandons Armana and
reinstates the old gods.
317
00:34:34,449 --> 00:34:37,030
Akhenaten is branded a heretic.
318
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:44,580
He failed to take into account how
important the gods were to the Egyptian
319
00:34:44,580 --> 00:34:46,480
people and to the Egyptian state.
320
00:34:47,300 --> 00:34:50,820
Without the temples, this society
crumbled.
321
00:34:53,159 --> 00:34:58,820
As Akhenaten statues are smashed and his
name is erased from history,
322
00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,520
order is restored.
323
00:35:06,620 --> 00:35:07,920
In Egypt.
324
00:35:08,380 --> 00:35:11,740
Religious revolution comes close to
bringing down society.
325
00:35:15,720 --> 00:35:21,620
In Greece, traditionally, power has
rested with whoever seizes control.
326
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:26,420
But now, change is in the air.
327
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:47,920
Greece is a loose collection of
individual city -states.
328
00:35:48,840 --> 00:35:51,600
Athens is one of the most powerful.
329
00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:57,880
It is populated by slaves, ordinary men
and women, and wealthy hereditary
330
00:35:57,880 --> 00:35:58,880
nobles.
331
00:35:59,840 --> 00:36:04,980
And whichever noble manages to grab
power rules the city.
332
00:36:05,260 --> 00:36:11,200
They are known as tyrants. And the role
is now shared by brothers
333
00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:13,960
Hipparchus, Hippias.
334
00:36:27,340 --> 00:36:32,700
Our historical sources make it very
clear that Hippias is the one actually
335
00:36:32,700 --> 00:36:38,700
ruling, whereas Hipparchus, the brother,
is concerned primarily with enjoying a
336
00:36:38,700 --> 00:36:39,700
good life.
337
00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:44,640
Hippias seems to have ruled without many
problems for a number of years.
338
00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:53,240
But in 514 BCE, everything changes when
a love rival murders
339
00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:54,240
Hipparchus.
340
00:37:08,430 --> 00:37:12,590
The assassination occurred at a famous
Athenian shrine called the Laocorion,
341
00:37:12,810 --> 00:37:18,070
which was the shrine to the daughters of
the hero Laos. And we think that we've
342
00:37:18,070 --> 00:37:21,550
discovered that shrine because we've
discovered a number of inscriptions that
343
00:37:21,550 --> 00:37:22,670
mention the hero Laos.
344
00:37:24,650 --> 00:37:31,130
The impact of his brother's murder is
devastating for both Hippias and the
345
00:37:31,130 --> 00:37:32,130
Athenians.
346
00:37:32,630 --> 00:37:36,330
After the assassination, his rule
becomes more cruel.
347
00:37:38,090 --> 00:37:39,130
He's paranoid.
348
00:37:40,270 --> 00:37:43,610
He kills people in the city that he
thinks were co -conspirators.
349
00:37:46,370 --> 00:37:47,890
And exiles others.
350
00:37:49,510 --> 00:37:56,390
Hippias' brutal rule, harsh taxes,
exiles, and executions soon
351
00:37:56,390 --> 00:37:58,090
lead to civil strife.
352
00:37:59,510 --> 00:38:02,310
And eventually, he is deposed.
353
00:38:04,140 --> 00:38:09,920
But the Athenians are reluctant to live
under another brutal tyrant and begin to
354
00:38:09,920 --> 00:38:13,340
ask, could there be another way?
355
00:38:18,300 --> 00:38:21,020
The man with a plan is Cleisthenes.
356
00:38:21,480 --> 00:38:27,040
He is a wealthy noble, but wants to
overturn the idea of hereditary
357
00:38:27,040 --> 00:38:29,480
and hand power to the people.
358
00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:36,040
He proposes any Athenian can attend its
governing body, the assembly.
359
00:38:47,060 --> 00:38:51,720
We're at the Pnyx. We're above the
Athenian Agora, and we're also in front
360
00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:52,720
the Acropolis Hill.
361
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:57,140
This is the place where the citizen
assembly, the Ecclesia, would have met.
362
00:38:58,380 --> 00:39:02,080
There is a stand where the speaker could
have addressed the crowd, that's called
363
00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:06,280
the beamer, and then there's a large
open space where the crowd can sit or
364
00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:07,280
stand.
365
00:39:07,380 --> 00:39:11,880
And we think that there was probably
space here for about 6 ,000 people,
366
00:39:11,880 --> 00:39:13,260
upwards of 10 ,000.
367
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,420
This is the centre of political life.
368
00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:23,200
But this early form of democracy has its
quirks.
369
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:29,300
Members are not elected, but randomly
selected.
370
00:39:31,940 --> 00:39:36,260
It means that you can't become a career
politician, you can't try and corrupt
371
00:39:36,260 --> 00:39:41,480
people towards making certain decisions.
It means that the whole citizen body is
372
00:39:41,480 --> 00:39:43,280
represented as fairly as possible.
373
00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:49,160
But not everyone is eligible to take
part in making decisions.
374
00:39:51,420 --> 00:39:54,580
It's just the adult males who are over
18.
375
00:39:55,340 --> 00:39:56,560
and are Athenians.
376
00:39:57,240 --> 00:40:03,220
That means no women, no children, no
slaves, and also no resident foreigners.
377
00:40:04,740 --> 00:40:10,220
Despite only representing 10 % of the
city's population, this version of
378
00:40:10,220 --> 00:40:11,840
democracy works.
379
00:40:12,880 --> 00:40:19,640
It brings political stability and allows
culture and arts to thrive, making
380
00:40:19,640 --> 00:40:23,320
Athens the dominant force in the growing
Greek Empire.
381
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:29,660
It is an idea so successful that it
spreads.
382
00:40:30,260 --> 00:40:36,380
So this move from a system of tyranny to
this direct democracy,
383
00:40:36,540 --> 00:40:40,020
that's quite a radical political
revolution.
384
00:40:42,300 --> 00:40:48,040
It's something that will take hold
throughout the Greek world later, but
385
00:40:48,040 --> 00:40:51,060
is the place where this sort of idea
begins.
386
00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:13,160
Democracy transforms ancient Greece and
ushers in a new age.
387
00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:22,400
To the east, the ancient Chinese are
also looking for a different way to
388
00:41:43,470 --> 00:41:48,010
The Qin's severe laws and punishments
have kept their people in check for
389
00:41:48,010 --> 00:41:49,010
decades.
390
00:41:50,810 --> 00:41:54,610
But they are beginning to tire of
authoritarian rule.
391
00:41:56,630 --> 00:42:03,210
So when a new dynasty and an ambitious
teenage emperor, Wu, comes to power,
392
00:42:03,370 --> 00:42:06,190
he seeks a new way to rule.
393
00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:24,780
The system he discovers resonates in
modern China to the present day.
394
00:42:26,700 --> 00:42:27,700
Confucianism.
395
00:43:03,470 --> 00:43:07,630
Orphaned in childhood, the young
Confucius is self -taught.
396
00:43:08,070 --> 00:43:13,650
He spends most of his career working for
the government, where his radical ideas
397
00:43:13,650 --> 00:43:15,650
make him political enemies.
398
00:43:32,359 --> 00:43:36,840
Confucius advocates a kinder, more
harmonious approach to life.
399
00:44:06,509 --> 00:44:11,250
Confucius proposes that these acts don't
just apply to personal relationships
400
00:44:11,250 --> 00:44:14,630
but also how the country is run.
401
00:44:25,459 --> 00:44:32,340
But as civil war engulfs China, the
people forget Confucius and his ideas.
402
00:44:35,680 --> 00:44:41,640
Until three centuries later, Emperor Wu
is introduced to them by one of his
403
00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:42,640
advisors.
404
00:45:07,869 --> 00:45:14,590
But more than this, Dong convinces the
emperor that he should adopt
405
00:45:14,590 --> 00:45:15,810
for his government.
406
00:45:20,490 --> 00:45:24,350
and that only students of this
philosophy can work in it.
407
00:45:28,970 --> 00:45:35,830
Confucianism transforms Chinese society,
and it helps Emperor Wu enjoy a
408
00:45:35,830 --> 00:45:41,910
long and prosperous reign, and
consolidates the Han Dynasty's grip on
409
00:45:49,610 --> 00:45:55,650
. . . .
410
00:45:55,650 --> 00:45:56,970
. .
411
00:46:15,850 --> 00:46:21,870
Every ancient power has found a way to
control their people with their own
412
00:46:21,870 --> 00:46:22,870
of authority.
413
00:46:24,450 --> 00:46:29,790
In Egypt, the old gods helped the
pharaohs reinforce their rule of law.
414
00:46:31,250 --> 00:46:34,350
And beware those who challenge
tradition.
415
00:46:38,210 --> 00:46:42,790
China finds that whilst harsh rules can
keep people in check,
416
00:46:45,100 --> 00:46:48,500
It's a more caring philosophy that
endures.
417
00:46:53,160 --> 00:46:58,240
The ancient Indians impose a caste
system to organize society.
418
00:47:03,900 --> 00:47:10,880
While the Greek, tired of tyranny, hand
control over
419
00:47:10,880 --> 00:47:11,880
to their citizens.
420
00:47:14,190 --> 00:47:18,710
And in Rome, the masses are kept happy
by bloody spectacle.
421
00:47:21,630 --> 00:47:27,650
But soon, each will learn the harsh
lesson that nothing lasts forever.
422
00:47:29,810 --> 00:47:35,010
Our ancient powers are approaching the
endgame.
37936
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