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Seasons & Episodes

EP1 The Dawn of History Jan 01, 1989

The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.

EP2 The Ancient Egyptians Jan 01, 1989

Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.

EP3 Mesopotamia Jan 01, 1989

Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.

EP4 From Bronze to Iron Jan 01, 1989

Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.

EP5 The Rise of Greek Civilization Jan 01, 1989

Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.

EP6 Greek Thought Jan 01, 1989

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.

EP7 Alexander the Great Jan 01, 1989

Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.

EP8 The Hellenistic Age Jan 01, 1989

Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.

EP9 The Rise of Rome Jan 01, 1989

Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.

EP10 The Roman Empire Jan 01, 1989

Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.

EP11 Early Christianity Jan 01, 1989

Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.

EP12 The Rise of the Church Jan 01, 1989

The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.

EP13 The Decline of Rome Jan 01, 1989

While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.

EP14 The Fall of Rome Jan 01, 1989

Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.

EP15 The Byzantine Empire Jan 01, 1989

From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.

EP16 The Fall of Byzantium Jan 01, 1989

Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.

EP17 The Dark Ages Jan 01, 1989

Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.

EP18 The Age of Charlemagne Jan 01, 1989

Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.

EP19 The Middle Ages Jan 01, 1989

Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.

EP20 The Feudal Order Jan 01, 1989

Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.

EP21 Common Life in the Middle Ages Jan 01, 1989

Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.

EP22 Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages Jan 01, 1989

The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.

EP23 The Late Middle Ages Jan 01, 1989

Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.

EP24 The National Monarchies Jan 01, 1989

A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.

EP25 Renaissance & the Age of Discovery Jan 01, 1989

Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.

EP26 Renaissance & the New World Jan 01, 1989

The discovery of America challenged Europe.

EP27 The Reformation Jan 01, 1989

Voiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.

EP28 The Rise of the Middle Class Jan 01, 1989

As the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.

EP29 The Wars of Religion Jan 01, 1989

For more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.

EP30 The Rise of the Trading Cities Jan 01, 1989

Amid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.

EP31 The Age of Absolutism Jan 01, 1989

Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.

EP32 Absolutism and the Social Contract Jan 01, 1989

Arguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.

EP33 The Enlightened Despots Jan 01, 1989

Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.

EP34 The Enlightenment Jan 01, 1989

Intellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.

EP35 The Enlightenment and Society Jan 01, 1989

Scientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.

EP36 The Modern Philosophers Jan 01, 1989

Freedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.

EP37 The American Revolution Jan 01, 1989

The British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.

EP38 The American Republic Jan 01, 1989

A new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.

EP39 The Death of the Old Regime Jan 01, 1989

In France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.

EP40 The French Revolution Jan 01, 1989

Liberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.

EP41 The Industrial Revolution Jan 01, 1989

Technology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.

EP42 The Industrial World Jan 01, 1989

A consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.

EP43 Revolution and Romantics Jan 01, 1989

Leaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.

EP44 The Age of the Nation-States Jan 01, 1989

The great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.

EP45 A New Public Jan 01, 1989

Public education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.

EP46 Fin de Siècle Jan 01, 1989

Everyday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.

EP47 The First World War and the Rise of Fascism Jan 01, 1989

Old empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.

EP48 The Second World War Jan 01, 1989

World War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.

EP49 The Cold War Jan 01, 1989

The U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.

EP50 Europe and the Third World Jan 01, 1989

Burdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.

EP51 The Technological Revolution Jan 01, 1989

Keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.

EP52 Toward the Future Jan 01, 1989

Modern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.

9| 0h30m| TV-G| en| More Info

Released: 01 January 1989 Ended

Producted By: GBH

Country: United States of America

Budget: 0

Revenue: 0

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Synopsis

Covering the ancient world through the age of technology, this illustrated lecture by Eugen Weber presents a tapestry of political and social events woven with many strands — religion, industry, agriculture, demography, government, economics, and art. A visual feast of over 2,700 images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art portrays key events that shaped the development of Western thought, culture, and tradition.

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The Western Tradition