1
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:11,720
<i>Thousands of years ago,</i>

2
00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:18,520
<i>ancient powers ruled
our world</i>--

3
00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:28,400
<i>Egypt, China, India,
Greece, and Rome,</i>

4
00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:35,440
<i>players in a high-stakes game
of strategy and luck.</i>

5
00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:39,920
<i>Success will bring them wealth
and immortality</i>...

6
00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:47,840
<i>failure, oblivion and death.</i>

7
00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,640
<i>In their battle for survival,
each civilisation</i>

8
00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,600
<i>will face the same challenges.</i>

9
00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,800
<i>How they respond
will shape their destiny.</i>

10
00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:11,600
<i>In this episode, "Origins,"</i>

11
00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:16,440
<i>in a brutal world where nature
is both friend and foe,</i>

12
00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,920
<i>our ancient powers
are just beginning.</i>

13
00:01:19,920 --> 00:01:23,360
<i>They must use all their skill
and ingenuity</i>

14
00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:28,480
<i>to shape their territory
and establish their cultures.</i>

15
00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:33,520
<i>So who will tame the land
and claim their future?</i>

16
00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,880
<i>10,000 years ago,
the kingdom of ancient Egypt</i>

17
00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:04,520
<i>does not yet exist,
but bands of hunter-gatherers</i>

18
00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:09,480
<i>are drawn to the banks
of the River Nile.</i>

19
00:02:09,480 --> 00:02:14,560
<i>At the water'’s edge
they live hand to mouth.</i>

20
00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:23,320
<i>They forage, fish, hunt
wild cattle and even hippos.</i>

21
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:27,760
<i>These wandering people
have just enough to eat,</i>

22
00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:34,280
<i>but to set down roots,
they need more than this.</i>

23
00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:35,920
<i>How can they make
this landscape</i>

24
00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:38,000
<i>work harder for them?</i>

25
00:03:06,720 --> 00:03:10,560
Egypt'’s geography is key
to how this country developed

26
00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:14,840
because the Nile
is what makes Egypt.

27
00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,040
<i>Through endless miles
of scorched desert,</i>

28
00:03:18,040 --> 00:03:24,320
<i>the Nile creates a narrow strip
of life-giving fertility.</i>

29
00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:27,600
<i>But it'’s this river'’s
unique geography</i>

30
00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:35,680
<i>that gives early Egyptian
settlers a head start.</i>

31
00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:40,880
<i>Once a year, heavy rains
at its source far to the south</i>

32
00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:42,760
<i>send an enormous torrent</i>

33
00:03:42,760 --> 00:03:45,960
<i>rushing towards
the Nile'’s river valley</i>,

34
00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:50,880
<i>flooding the riverbanks
and bringing abundant life.</i>

35
00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:07,760
Floods in Egypt came annually
for over four months,

36
00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:09,440
starting at the end of June,

37
00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,320
and a large part
of the country was submerged,

38
00:04:12,320 --> 00:04:14,000
and the waters flowed out,

39
00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,440
depositing huge,
rich amounts of silt,

40
00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,880
so they never needed
any fertiliser here.

41
00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,520
So really, it was
an amazingly rich, fertile soil