All language subtitles for Ancient.Powers.S01E05.Law.and.Order.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-FLUX_track5_[eng]

♪

[ Dramatic music plays ]

[ Thundering and lightning ]

Narrator:
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 civilisation

will face the same challenges.

How they respond
will shape their destiny.

♪

In this episode,
"Law and Order,"

in an unruly world,

our ancient powers must
lead their people,

create ways to govern,
and keep rebellion at bay.

Who will find the right
way to rule?

♪

Our ancient powers have
established their cultures,

built monuments
and trade links,

and fought battles
to protect their homelands.

Now they confront
their next challenge...

♪

Egypt is peaceful, prosperous,
and powerful.

Its three million people
are happy and well fed.

But the sudden death
of its pharaoh,

Thutmose II, plunges
this ancient power into crisis

because the heir to the throne
is only a child.

♪

Ikram: Thutmose II'’s son,

he was about
two or three years of age,

and so, although he was crowned
king, he needed a regent.

♪

Without a strong guiding hand,

the boy king'’s rule
is in danger.

Who can step in
and take charge?

The only choice is
Thutmose'’s wife and queen.

♪

Hatshepsut was a woman
of royal blood,

but in terms of kingship,
a king was male,

so Hatshepsut being female
was a little bit confusing.

She needs a way
to secure her reign,

so Hatshepsut embarks
on a radical transformation.

She showed herself as a man,

dressed in
pharaoh'’s paraphernalia.

There'’s nothing female
about her.

So for all the Egyptians,
the pharaoh is as he should be,

it just happened to be she.

♪

While these visual tricks
work for some,

others see her rule
as dangerous and unacceptable.

But Hatshepsut understands
her people

and knows that to succeed,

she needs
to make a permanent mark,

and she has a plan.

The ancient Egyptians were
big on propaganda and imagery

and that'’s how they communicated
what was going on.

So Hatshepsut built throughout
Egypt saying, "I am king."

♪

But building alone
isn'’t the answer.

She also needs to have the Gods
on her side.

♪

At Karnak Temple in Thebes,

Hatshepsut erects
a huge obelisk,

carved from a single
30-metre-high block

of granite, it is dedicated
to the God Amun-Re.

♪

An obelisk is a symbol
of the sun god.

It'’s like a sunbeam.

And that'’s why the top,
which is also a little pyramid,

would have been covered
by electrum,

and when the sun hit it
at certain times of day,

the whole area
would just explode with light.

♪

For the common Egyptians,
it would look as if

the Gods were really present
and radiating their light out.

♪

And by putting her obelisks
here, it'’s establishing

a close rapport
and relationship

between Hatshepsut
and the God Amun,

which also is a way
of giving her more legitimacy.

Hatshepsut convinces
her subjects of her power.

But there is another formidable
group she must get onside,

the priests.

They gather taxes and receive
lucrative offerings

for the Gods.

They are powerful
and influential,

strong enough
to depose a pharaoh.

To buy their loyalty,

Hatshepsut plans
an enormous temple complex.

♪

This huge temple
takes 13 years to construct.

Built of dazzling limestone,

it'’s a stunning
architectural achievement

and is propaganda
on the grandest possible scale.

This is one of the most unusual
of Egyptian funerary temples.

The mountain is embracing
this monument.

♪

The approach was lined
with sphinxes,

which all had her face.

♪

On the facade, Hatshepsut
depicts herself as Osiris,

the male God of the dead.

On the walls,
she creates reliefs

illustrating her royal exploits,

and inside,

in a sacred space
where only priests are allowed,

Hatshepsut makes
an audacious claim,

part of her divine origin myth.

♪

Here you have
the Goddess Hathor,

who is crowning Hatshepsut

and sort of presenting her
to Amun as the rightful ruler.

Hathor is the Goddess of love,
beauty, and fertility.

Here, she is represented
as a cow.

And we have these fabulous
images of the Goddess Hathor

and Hatshepsut suckling,
and by taking in the milk,

she herself is getting
even more divine

because she'’s ingesting
from the Goddess.

♪

Hatshepsut'’s remarkable
power play pays off,

and she rules
for over 15 years.

♪

Hatshepsut'’s reign was
a wonderful time for Egypt.

She was innovative.

She had good ideas
with architecture, decoration,

programmes for establishing
the legitimacy of kingship

and setting out
the whole mechanism

for large scale
Egyptian propaganda

for the new kingdom pharaohs.

♪

Hatshepsut changes history
by proving a pharaoh'’s gender

doesn'’t always matter.

The people and priests
can accept women

who they believe are divine.

And this pharaoh secures
a golden age for Egypt.

I have to say that she has
always been

one of my favourite pharaohs

because when you have
a woman pharaoh

and you yourself are a woman,
it'’s quite a buzz.

♪

In Egypt,
the power of the Gods

legitimises a pharaoh'’s
claim to rule.

To the east, ancient India has
many different belief systems,

but here too, religion is key
to maintaining law and order.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

♪

Power in India is fragmented.

In the north, small kingdoms
battle for control,

but soon, one wins out--

the Guptas.

The territory they conquer
stretches from coast to coast

across the northern half
of the Indian subcontinent.

Two decades into
their imperial rule,

India'’s greatest king
takes the throne--

Samudragupta.

♪

Pillai: Samudragupta was a man
of many, many talents.

On the one hand,
he was a great warrior.

We read about how his body
was adorned with the scars

he received in various battles
from axes and swords.

But he was also something
of a creative thinker--

a poet king who composed
a lot of poetry himself.

♪

Samudragupta has millions
under his command,

but faces a challenge.

How can he keep control of
his vast and diverse kingdom?

He turns to his religion,
Hinduism, for answers.

♪

Oh Lord, lead me
from ignorance to truth,

lead me from darkness to light

lead me from death
to immortality.

The Vedas are the sacred
foundation of Hinduism.

The Vedic Samhitas are
collections of mantras.

They are passed on
to disciples by their master
from generation to generation.

[ Monks chanting ]

♪

The Vedas are the roots.

Without the roots
the tree cannot exist,

so the Vedas are crucial
to Hinduism.

♪

The oldest of
these sacred texts,

the Rigveda, discusses rituals
and the praise of Gods,

the origin of the universe,
and the nature of the divine.

♪

But crucially for
Emperor Samudragupta,

one of these hymns suggests how
society should be structured.

♪

Pillai: There'’s one
controversial verse

in the Rigveda
that talks about how

from the body
of the cosmic creator,

God himself,
it was from the mouth

that the Brahmin emerged.

The Brahmins are the sacred
theological priestly community.

It was from the arms
that the Kshatriyas emerged.

The Kshatriyas were the fighters
and the warrior class.

It was from the thighs that
the mercantile class emerged.

And finally, the Shudras
from the feet.

And the Shudras
are the service communities

that serve everybody else--
peasants and so on.

This was used as
a justification to say

that in the most sacred
of the Hindu scriptures,

there is reference
to stratification.

Samudragupta and the other
Gupta kings take this idea

and build on it,
dividing society

into distinct classes
or castes.

This system proves to be
a powerful form of control.

The caste system
in the early Gupta period

wasn'’t necessarily set
in stone.

It was a lot more fluid.

There are strong indications

that the Guptas might'’ve been
Brahmins themselves,

and if the kings themselves
were Brahmins, of course,

you see Brahmins
receiving state power

and thereby becoming stronger
in Hindu society.

♪

Samudragupta cements his power
at the top of the caste system

and transforms Indian society.

♪

You see that there'’s arts
and cultures thriving,

the empire'’s stable,
there'’s economic activity.

In fact,
to many Hindus,

this was the golden age
of Hindu civilisation.

♪

The Guptas use religion
to organise

and control their people.

♪

In China,
the ruler of a new dynasty

faces a similar problem,

but will find
a very different solution.

♪

For over two centuries,
different states compete

for domination of China.

Eventually there'’s a winner--

the Qin.

But its new emperor,
Qin Shi Huang, has a problem.

How can he unify
over 30 million people

from different cultures

who have different customs
and beliefs?

♪

He begins at ground level,

creating 36
new administrative districts

known as commanderies
and building 7,000 kilometres

of new roads to link them.

♪

Next, to make trade
between regions easier

and collect taxes,

he standardises currency,
units of length, and weights.

But he doesn'’t believe these
unifying measures

will be enough.

Something else is needed.

♪

The text on these bamboo slips
is Qin Shi Huang'’s solution

to the problem--

hundreds of rules
and instructions,

a legal code detailing the dos
and don'’ts of his new empire.

♪

This is from
the Shuihudi tombs strip.

which mentions

'’Gu zhe min ge you xiang su'’

means in the past,
people had different customs

'’huo bu bian yu min,
hai yu bang'’

means some of these
are inconvenient

and harmful to the country.

'’Shi yi sheng wang'’

'’zuo wei fa du'’

So the emperor has made laws.

'’qu qi xie pi chu xi e su'’

means to get rid of
bad behaviours and customs.

♪

This new way of ruling
is known as legalism.

♪

It suggests that the
human nature is evil,

people need to be
motivated with benefits.

It imposes great restrictions
on ordinary people.

Severe restrictions.

And ultimately the Qin
uses Legalism

as a means
to unify the six states.

♪

Brutal and absolute, legalism
is strict authoritarian rule.

It makes Qin Shi Huang
China'’s most powerful emperor.

♪

His enormous tomb reveals
the secrets of his rule.

♪

Covering over
56 square kilometres,

this burial ground is a mirror
of his empire in life.

♪

On one hand, it'’s his lifestyle

♪

and he also wants to bring his
established political system

and the government structure
to the underground.

♪

He'’s buried
with his fearsome army,

critical to enforcing his rule.

But he'’s also accompanied
by some less familiar figures.

♪

They all wear a long headdress.

So their level is very senior.

On their waist,
we found a small knife

and a knife-sharpening stone.

The knife is used for
scraping the bamboo slips.

If you make a mistake
writing on the slips,

you can use the knife
to scrape it off.

It'’s just like a rubber today.

♪

Based on the appearance
of these figures,

we believe this pit represents
the department of Tingwei.

♪

What kind of office is Tingwei?

It'’s a department that manages
justice and prisons.

♪

These men are buried
much closer to their emperor

than his army.

The officials'’ pit is at
the southwest corner
of the tomb mound.

It is very close,
less than 100 metres.

It shows that it'’s
very important

and they have a very close
relationship to the emperor.

♪

These officials write the laws

that maintain the emperor'’s
iron grip on power,

so crucial to his rule
that he keeps them close,

even in death.

♪

In China, strict laws
and regulations

help unify this ancient power.

♪

Far to the west, Rome also
needs to exert authority

on its ever-expanding
territory.

♪

Rome'’s population is now
almost 60 million people,

but the empire is in turmoil.

Divided by bloody civil war
as different factions

attempt to seize control,
how can its new emperor,

Vespasian, get the people
back onside and restore law

and order to the empire?

His idea is a no-expense-spared
gift to the people,

a mighty monument to house
the greatest show on earth.

♪

This is the largest arena
the world has ever seen,

a place where 50,000 people
can witness

spectacles of bloodlust.

♪

Mariotti: Gladiatorial games
were fundamental

for Roman society.

On one side,
you'’ve got this society

which we can find ourselves in
in many ways .

They have poetry,
they have democracy,

they have art.

And then on the other hand ,

they appeal
to the brutal side of man .

It'’s this marriage
between beauty and violence.

The Romans love the games.

They'’re a celebration
of macho athleticism,

and the gladiators
are superstars.

♪

They'’re the most
sexually-desired athletes

of the Roman empire.

They are muscly, oiled up men
that ladies love

and men want to be.

Each gladiator
plays a different role.

The Secutor is a heavily
armoured warrior,

the Murmillo,
the enemy from Gaul,

and the Retiarius,
a fisherman.

Each distinctive
character fights

with different armour
and weaponry.

But they are all heroes
that the crowds can cheer on.

♪

The Retiarius,
he has the galera here,

nice bit of armour
on the shoulder ,

which protects the side of
his face so he can look over it.

He'’s got the trident ,
and he'’s got the net.

But his body'’s exposed,
his leg'’s exposed.

You think that'’s hardly fair
because look at this guy.

This guy'’s got the scutum.

He'’s also got
a wonderful helmet .

You'’d say, "I definitely wanna
be this guy. "

Well, don'’t let appearances
fool you ,

because here'’s the problem--
he can'’t breathe very well.

He is gonna get tired
way quicker ,

and it'’s wonderful to see
what the outcome'’s gonna be

because you don'’t know.

But the games aren'’t simply
gory entertainment.

They are powerful propaganda,

reenactments of Rome'’s victories,

which celebrate its control
over its dominions,

a visceral spectacle
that draws the crowd.

The atmosphere
would'’ve been electric .

First of all you'’ve got
the roar of the crowds

chanting for their team .
[ Crowds roaring ]

You'’ve got sounds
from the beasts

so you can already hear them

as you'’re
walking towards the Colosseum.

You go to any sports stadium,

and when you'’re walking
with the crowds,

you feel that enthusiasm,
that passion, that excitement.

For many people, it would'’ve
been the highlight of their week

to go and see
a gladiatorial contest.

These violent displays bring
the Romans together,

a trick repeated
all across their empire,

in more than 200 amphitheatres,
each built to impress,

entertain,
and assert the emperor'’s power.

Ultimately, if you take it from
the emperor'’s point of view,

well, why is the emperor
putting on these lavish games?

It'’s simple.

He needs to distract you
because there'’s famine coming

through the city,
there'’s problems.

It'’s fine, watch the games.

Vespasian'’s distraction works.

For over 400 years

the gladiatorial games
help keep the peace.

All people need is food
and distraction,

bread and circuses,
panem et circenses.

And for the most part,
the mob is happy,

and that'’s what
the emperor wants--

your happiness,
his popularity,

his reign continues,
and everyone'’s good.

[ Armour clanking ]

And that'’s why
the emperor does it.

♪

In ancient Rome,
entertainment maintains

law and order
across its empire.

Further to the south,
a belief in their Gods

has kept Egypt safe
for millennia...

until now.

♪

In the century after
Hatshepsut'’s reign,

Egypt has gone from strength
to strength.

The great builder pharaoh
Amenhotep III is on the throne.

Like his predecessor,
he uses architecture

to celebrate his religion.

♪

Brand: Amenhotep III loved
statues, the bigger the better.

He made gorgeous images
of himself.

He loved to show off
himself and his power.

Key to Amenhotep'’s authority
are Egypt'’s many Gods.

The Gods were the foundation
of the entire economy

and the political structure
of ancient Egypt.

Without the Gods, there wouldn'’t
be an Egyptian state.

Amenhotep, like all pharaohs,

relies on religious belief
to justify his rule

and maintain peace
and stability

in this life and the next.

♪

When Amenhotep dies
after 40 years on the throne,

the priests transport his body
to a huge underground tomb.

Here, his people believe

the Gods of the underworld
are waiting.

♪

I have Amenhotep III here,
portrayed as a young man,

heading off on his journey
to the afterlife.

And the God Anubis,
the God of embalming,

is taking him by the hand

and showing him the way
to the other side.

Over here, there'’s another
version of Amenhotep III

with the Goddess Hathor.

She'’s embracing him,
holding the key of life.

And over there,
I can see Amenhotep III

receiving life from the God
of the underworld, Osiris.

All of these Gods
are helping Amenhotep III

make his way
into the afterlife.

But just as Amenhotep'’s body
is entombed

in his granite sarcophagus,
his son and heir, Akhenaten,

plots a religious revolution.

♪

To turn away from the Gods
would'’ve been unfathomable

to most ancient Egyptians.

But not for Akhenaten.

He closes down the temples

and cults of Egypt'’s
multiple deities

and replaces them
with monotheism,

the worship of just one God.

Akhenaten became fascinated
by the sun disk, Aten,

this only one being that
he thought was the source

for all life for everything,
and it was the only God.

♪

Akhenaten plans a huge new
desert city to honour his God,

known today as Amarna.

It was challenging to build
a new spot in the desert.

He had to build everything--
his own palace, temples, tombs.

Built in great haste,

all is not well for this new
city'’s 30,000 inhabitants.

The rest of Egypt is enjoying
a time of great bounty,

but here, food is scarce
and disease rife.

Recent excavations show
that people were suffering,

that there was malnutrition,
there was illness,

but the biggest problem
in Akhenaten'’s reign

is that he ignored
the rest of Egypt.

He let the rest
of the country fall apart.

With the temples closed
and Gods banned,

Egypt'’s economy suffers.

People thought that he was
a bad king.

They thought that he was
insane, that he ruined Egypt.

♪

But before things
completely fall apart,

Akhenaten mysteriously dies,
and with him his new religion.

His son soon abandons Amarna
and reinstates the old Gods.

Akhenaten is branded a heretic.

He failed to take into account
how important the Gods

were to the Egyptian people
and to the Egyptian state.

Without the temples,
the society crumbled.

As Akhenaten'’s statues
are smashed and his name

is erased from history,
order is restored.

♪

In Egypt, religious revolution
comes close

to bringing down society.

In Greece, traditionally,
power has rested

with whoever seizes control,
but now, change is in the air.

♪

Greece is a loose collection
of individual city-states.

Athens is one
of the most powerful.

It is populated by slaves,

ordinary men and women,
and wealthy hereditary nobles,

and whichever noble manages
to grab power rules the city.

They are known as tyrants,
and the role is now shared

by brothers Hipparchus
and Hippias.

♪

Martens: Our historical sources
make it very clear that Hippias

is the one actually ruling
whereas Hipparchus, the brother,

is concerned primarily
with enjoying a good life.

Hippias seems to have ruled

without many problems
for a number of years.

But in 514 BCE,
everything changes

when a love rival
murders Hipparchus.

♪

The assassination occurred
at a famous Athenian shrine

called the Leokoreion,
which was a shrine

to the daughters
of the hero Leos.

And we think that we'’ve
discovered that shrine

because we'’ve discovered
a number of inscriptions

that mention the hero,
Leos.

♪

The impact of
his brother'’s murder

is devastating for both Hippias
and the Athenians.

After the assassination,
his rule becomes more cruel.

He'’s paranoid.

He kills people in the city

that he thinks
were coconspirators

and exiles others.

Hippias'’s brutal rule,
harsh taxes, exiles,

and executions
soon lead to civil strife,

and eventually,
he is deposed.

But the Athenians
are reluctant to live

under another brutal tyrant

and begin to ask,
could there be another way?

♪

The man with a plan
is Cleisthenes.

He is a wealthy noble,

but wants to overturn the idea
of hereditary privilege

and hand power
to the people.

He proposes any Athenian
can attend its governing body,

the assembly.

♪

Loy: We'’re at the Pnyx.
We'’re above the Athenian Agora,

and we'’re also in front
of the Acropolis hill.

This is the place
where the citizen assembly,

the Ecclesia,
would'’ve met.

There is a stand where
the speaker could'’ve addressed

the crowd--
that'’s called the bema--

and then there'’s
a large open space

where the crowd
can sit or stand.

And we think that there was
probably space here

for about 6,000 people,
maybe upwards of 10,000.

This is the centre
of political life.

♪

But this early form of
democracy has its quirks.

Members are not elected,
but randomly selected.

♪

It means that you can'’t become
a career politician.

You can'’t try
and corrupt people

towards making
certain decisions.

It means that
the whole citizen body

is represented
as fairly as possible.

But not everyone is eligible to
take part in making decisions.

It'’s just the adult males
who are over 18

and are Athenians.

That means no women,
no children, no slaves,

and also no resident foreigners.

Despite only representing
10% of the city'’s population,

this version of democracy
works.

It brings political stability

and allows culture
and arts to thrive,

making Athens
the dominant force

in the growing Greek empire.

It is an idea so successful
that it spreads.

So this move from a system
of tyranny

to this direct democracy,

that'’s quite
a radical political revolution.

It'’s something that will
take hold

throughout the Greek world
later,

but Athens it the place
where this sort of idea begins.

♪

Democracy transforms ancient
Greece and ushers in a new age.

♪

To the east, the ancient
Chinese are also looking

for a different way to govern.

♪

The Qin'’s severe laws
and punishments

have kept their people
in check for decades,

but they are beginning
to tire of authoritarian rule.

So when a new dynasty and
an ambitious teenage emperor,

Wu, comes to power,
he seeks a new way to rule.

♪

The system he discovers
resonates in modern China

to the present day--

Confucianism.

♪

Today we commemorate Confucius'’
2573rd birthday.

Every year on this day,
we the Confucius descendants

commemorate
our ancestor'’s legacy.

♪

Orphaned in childhood,

the young Confucius is
self-taught.

He spends most of his career
working for the government,

where his radical ideas
make him political enemies.

At 55, he failed in politics

and was forced into exile.

He led a group of students

travelling across different
states for 14 years

to lobby the kings
with his philosophy.

♪

Confucius advocates a kinder,

more harmonious approach
to life.

Confucius says, "Let the ruler
be ruler, minister be minister,

father be father,
and son by son".

This means, everyone has
his own position,

his own duty,
rights and benefits.

♪

As a ruler, what should he do?

He needs to be compassionate.

Treating others as you wish
to be treated

is an act of benevolence.

Confucius proposes that
these acts don'’t just apply

to personal relationships,

but also how the country
is run.

Confucius believed
the king should use virtue
and benevolence to rule a state

and to keep compassion
for his people.

♪

But as civil war engulfs China,

the people forget Confucius
and his ideas.

♪

Until three centuries later,
Emperor Wu

is introduced to them
by one of his advisors.

♪

Dong Zhongshu raised the idea
that the emperor'’s rights
were given by heaven,

which made Emperor Wu
very happy.

Dong Zhongshu also raised
the idea of interaction
between heaven and man.

If an emperor doesn'’t rule well,

then it induces
all kinds of disasters.

If he rules well, then a good
harvest and peace will follow.

But more than this,

Dong convinces the emperor that
he should adopt Confucianism

for his government,

and that only students of
this philosophy can work in it.

Confucianism transforms
Chinese society,

and it helps Emperor Wu enjoy
a long and prosperous reign

and consolidates
the Han Dynasty'’s

grip on power.

Thanks to Dong'’s efforts
in adopting Confucianism,

this philosophy ruled
the Han empire for
over 400 years.

And later it became the main
governing philosophy

of all the following
dynasties and emperors.

♪

Every ancient power has found
a way to control their people

with their own brand
of authority.

In Egypt,
the old Gods

help the pharaohs
reinforce their rule of law,

and beware those
who challenge tradition.

♪

China finds that whilst harsh
rules can keep people in check,

it'’s a more caring philosophy
that endures.

The ancient Indians impose
a caste system

to organise society.

While the Greeks,
tired of tyranny,

hand control
over to their citizens.

And in Rome,
the masses are kept happy

by bloody spectacle.

But soon, each will learn
the harsh lesson

that nothing lasts forever.

Our ancient powers
are approaching the end game.

♪