Original subtitles

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, "Origins,"

in a brutal world where nature is both friend and foe,

our ancient powers are just beginning.

They must use all their skill and ingenuity

to shape their territory and establish their cultures.

So who will tame the land and claim their future?

10,000 years ago, the kingdom of ancient Egypt

does not yet exist, but bands of hunter-gatherers

are drawn to the banks of the River Nile.

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

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

These wandering people have just enough to eat,

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

How can they make this landscape

work harder for them?

Egypt'’s geography is key to how this country developed

because the Nile is what makes Egypt.

Through endless miles of scorched desert,

the Nile creates a narrow strip of life-giving fertility.

But it'’s this river'’s unique geography

that gives early Egyptian settlers a head start.

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

send an enormous torrent

rushing towards the Nile'’s river valley,

flooding the riverbanks and bringing abundant life.

Floods in Egypt came annually for over four months,

starting at the end of June,

and a large part of the country was submerged,

and the waters flowed out,

depositing huge, rich amounts of silt,

so they never needed any fertiliser here.

So really, it was an amazingly rich, fertile soil