TELEVISION

Ancient Empires before Alexander

Series: Great Courses
4.4
(62)
Episodes
36
Rating
TVPG
Year
2009
Language
English

About

Discover the dozen empires that flourished in the 2,000 years before the conquests of Alexander the Great. Over the course of 36 insightful lectures, you'll follow the Egyptians, the Mycenaean Greeks, the Persians, the Carthaginians, and others as they rise to glory, create administrative and military structures, clash with one another, and eventually collapse.

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Episodes

1 to 3 of 36

1. A Meditation on Empire

30m

What makes a true "empire"? How do empires rise and flourish? How do they decline and fall? Discover pointed answers to these and other fundamental questions about the study of empires in this engaging course overview.

2. Lands, Seas, and Sources

30m

Tour the geography of the ancient Near East, which played a decisive role in the region's fascinating empires. Then, look at the kinds of archaeological and documentary evidence - such as the discoveries from excavations of ancient sites and from historical writings - that help us better understand this period.

3. Sargon and the Dawn of Empire

30m

Chart the rise of the Akkadian Empire, established by Sargon and strengthened by his grandson, Naram-Sin. Learn how they forged the pattern that future Mesopotamian empires would follow - one based on the central authority of a king - and how their empire eventually collapsed under pressures both within and without.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

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