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(TURKISH MUSIC)
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This is the untold story
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of the making of the modern world.
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A fresh perspective,
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charting the spread of civilisation
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across the globe.
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From the dawn of mankind
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and the first cities and empires...
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to the belief in one God.
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(Sings call to prayer)
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We follow the flow of civilisation
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from the Middle East...
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An extraordinary place
that has been a vital link
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between the continents of Asia,
Africa and Europe for millennia.
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An economic, scientific
and cultural centre of the world.
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(DRAMATIC, SOARING MUSIC)
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It will be an epic journey
of discovery...
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from the east
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to the west.
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This is the story
of the birth of religion.
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Here in the Middle East it inspired
the journey of civilisation.
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In this programme
we explore early man's struggle
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to understand and explain nature,
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life and death,
and the world beyond.
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They are not ancestors,
they are not priests.
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They are beings from another world.
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We discover the first temples
of the Middle East
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and how the pantheon of pagan gods
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that ruled from Mesopotamia to Egypt,
and Greece to Home,
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were overthrown
by a revolutionary idea -
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monotheism.
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It's absolutely a watershed moment
in history.
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It's the story of the difficult
birth, and eventual growth
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of this idea that came from the East
to dominate the West
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and much of the rest of the world.
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Monotheism - the belief
in one universal God.
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The idea of one universal God is so
integral and familiar to our culture
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that we forget
that in a world of many gods
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it was once a radical idea.
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Where did it come from,
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how did it grow,
why did it succeed?
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Judaism, Christianity and Islam
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all look to Abraham
as their founding father.
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The story of Abraham
first appears in Genesis,
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the first book of the Jewish Bible.
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When you open the Bible,
you very quickly come to Abraham
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and basically the whole Bible
from then on
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is the story of one man's family
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and that one man is Abraham.
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Everything is about his encounter
with God, his experience with God.
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MAN'S VOICE: And I will
make of thee a great nation,
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and I will bless thee,
and make thy name great.
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According to the Bible,
Abraham spent much of his life
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in an ancient city in Mesopotamia
called Harran,
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believed to be in what is now Turkey.
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In Harran
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people worshipped many gods.
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Like the rest of the ancient world,
polytheism ruled.
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The defining moment
in Abraham's story,
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why he is synonymous with monotheism,
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came with a command from God.
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Take your only son,
your beloved son,
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and go to the land of Moria
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and there you will sacrifice him
to me.
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The basis of the story
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in the Old Testament and Koran
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almost the same,
but different in details.
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The story is that God
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would like to test
the true beliefs of Abraham.
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When they come there
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it is clear now to both of them
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that the sacrifice
is going to be the son,
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the only son,
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the beloved son
is going to be sacrificed.
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But on the crucial moment
there is a voice from heaven.
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“Don't touch the child.
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“I don't want him to be sacrificed.
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“You have proved yourself
to be loyal to God."
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Judaism, Christianity and Islam
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share a belief in Abraham
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as the founding father
of their faith.
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But some details of the story differ.
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In the Jewish tradition
Abraham's intended sacrifice
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was in Jerusalem.
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Jews erected a temple here
to commemorate the spot.
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It was said to be one of the greatest
buildings in antiquity.
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(Person ululates)
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The temple was destroyed
by the Babylonians,
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rebuilt, then destroyed again
by the Romans.
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The surviving western wall
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is one of the holiest places
in Judaism.
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Above it today
is the Dome of the Rock,
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the oldest surviving Islamic building
in the world.
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Muslims believe it is the site
of the Mi'raj
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where the prophet Mohammad was taken
to heaven to meet with God.
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In Islamic tradition the sacrifice
of Abraham took place not here
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but near Mecca
in modern Saudi Arabia.
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It's impossible to be precise
about Abraham.
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Biblical chronology suggests
he lived nearly 4000 years ago.
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But there is no hard proof
of his existence.
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There's no archaeological evidence
of Abraham.
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He didn't leave a monument
somewhere in the desert saying
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“Abraham was here."
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(FAST-PACED PERCUSSION MUSIC)
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There is a growing distance
between what people think
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about history of this region,
according to the Biblical text,
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and what archaeology shows.
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So it is extremely difficult
and tricky
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to reconstruct even the germs
of history from these myths.
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In recent years an incredible series
of archaeological discoveries
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have revealed the real story
of the development of religion
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and, ultimately, the idea of one God.
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The story begins thousands of years
before the biblical time of Abraham.
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Over 11,000 years ago
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something extraordinary
happened here
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in a place known as Göbekli Tepe
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on the Upper Mesopotamian plains
of southern Turkey.
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These mysterious stone pillars
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give an amazing insight
into the birth of organised religion.
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They were erected here
right at the dawn of civilisation
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before the birth of agriculture
when man was a hunter-gatherer.
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Religion springs
from the timeless human need
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to understand the world,
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explain natural disasters,
life and death.
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Professor Klaus Schmidt,
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who leads the excavation and study
of Göbekli Tepe,
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believes these T-shaped pillars
represent human beings.
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Here we have the proof
that the meaning of the pillars
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is really a meaning
of anthropomorphic beings.
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You can see it's a big arm
coming down here
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and we have here the hands,
fingers like this.
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These strange human-shaped
monuments
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appear to represent
supernatural humans,
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visitors from an imagined
spiritual world.
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There is never a face depicted
on these T shapes.
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They are faceless, without eyes,
without nose, without mouth.
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I think it's a clear indication
they are not from our world.
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They are not ancestors,
they are not priests.
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They are beings from another world,
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mee... gathering here
in an eternal meeting.
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These structures are not done
for daily life, so...
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is a sacred sphere
we have here on this mountain.
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There are no houses here
at Göbekli Tepe.
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This is a special place.
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Man built this gathering
of supernatural beings
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to make a connection
with the afterlife.
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This pillar in the north
of Enclosures D
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maybe is showing us what's going
on here in these enclosures,
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what the purpose had been
for those enclosures.
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We have here vulture,
a very big vulture,
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with its wings
in such a position.
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There are more birds, there are
snakes, there are other symbols,
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but there is a very big scorpion
depicted here
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and there are other animals
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and here below
there is clearly a human
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and clearly there is no head
on top of this body.
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And this complete image looks like
a illustration of the netherworlds,
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not of our world here,
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and so maybe it's leading us
to the function of these enclosures
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being made for burial customs.
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Professor Schmidt believes
that in these enclosures
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early man practised a ritual ceremony
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to mark the passing of their dead.
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(MYSTERIOUS VIBRAPHONE MUSIC)
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The monumental structures
of Göbekli Tepe
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are a landmark in human development.
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Here, 11,000 years ago,
a revolution occurred.
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Hunter-gathers paused
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to build a special place
to commemorate the journey
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from one world to the next.
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The Stone Age people of Göbekli Tepe
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witnessed death, the power of nature
and the changes in the seasons
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and created a belief system
to help them comprehend
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their bewildering world.
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The whole region
is a treasure trove of discoveries,
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evidence showing
that death and burial
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were central to mankind's
developing beliefs.
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Near to Göbekli Tepe is the ancient
settlement of Qatalhöyük.
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It's a remarkable window into
our ancestors' lives and beliefs.
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Archaeologists made an amazing
discovery here at Qatalhöyük.
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The people who lived here
buried their dead in their own homes.
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When people died, they were buried
literally under their beds.
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So a hole would have been dug
through this platform
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and the body placed inside.
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So literally these people
were living,
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sometimes 1O centimetres,
2O centimetres,
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above their lost ones.
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In some houses we found one,
some houses have none,
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but then other houses have,
you know, 15.
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The most we've found is
something like 67 in one building.
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(OMINOUS MUSIC)
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The dead of Qatalhöyük
were buried with great care.
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The body is placed
in a crouched position,
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in a foetal position like this,
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so they're quite tightly contained
within the burial cut.
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Bodies appeared
as if ready for rebirth.
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And they were given precious items
to take into their new lite.
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We find a range of beads,
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stone, clay, shell and bone beads.
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And these we might find
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scattered in the burial
around the neck area of a burial.
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But burials aren't the only evidence
emerging of early religious practice.
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We are starting to get closer
to our ancestors' gods.
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(SERENE MUSIC)
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(FAST PERCUSSION MUSIC)
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In northern Israel, compelling
evidence has been discovered
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of this giant leap
in religious thinking.
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I mean, there was nothing special,
just excavated,
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then it came out,
you see that it's a figurine
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but it was covered
with dirt and mud.
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We didn't clean it
cos if you start cleaning it
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it interfered, you may destroyed it.
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So it was taken, you know,
as a big dirty lump of sediment
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but you saw the general shape
of a figurine.
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It went to the lab,
and only after the cleaning
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it's turn out to be the most
beautiful figurine ever found
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in their culture.
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We believe that this was
a mother goddess figurine,
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a kind of goddess
that the entire tribe worship.
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What is really very prominent
are the eyes,
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the eyes are usually
3 or 4 times bigger
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than the usual eyes on human face,
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so the eyes are very emphasised
on our figurines.
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So it's something not natural,
it's supernatural.
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Many more mother goddess figurines
have been found in Sha'ar HaGolan.
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They are vital evidence of a seismic
shift in religious thought.
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For the first time we can really
talk about a kind of goddess
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because this is the first time
in human evolution
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that you can see all
the figurines are exactly the same.
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In our site we have
about 120 clay figurines.
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They always has elongated head,
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they have diagonal eye,
very prominent eye,
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they have nose,
they have ear and earrings,
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you can see the navel,
you can see fat fold.
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It was probably
a central figure, a goddess,
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which were worship
by this community,
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and everybody when he was thinking
about this goddess
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knew that she has this specific
type of eyes and specific head
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and there was probably
whole mythology about it.
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The people of Sha'ar HaGolan
revolutionised religion.
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They didn't perceive
their mother goddess as the one God,
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they were not monotheist,
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but they were the first people
in history
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to create a uniform idea of God.
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They were the first one
to crystallise a concept
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that we are worshipping
a specific figure
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and not everybody can do it
as he wished.
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You must do it in this way,
there was right and wrong.
249
00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:47,001
The idea of a uniform image of God
250
00:17:47,200 --> 00:17:51,364
came hand-in-hand with the birth
of organised established religion.
251
00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:01,768
The establishment of central places
of uniform worship
252
00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,851
was one of the first steps
in the long journey to civilisation.
253
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,081
As people gathered in ever greater
numbers around their temples,
254
00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:18,284
they built bigger and bigger
communities to live in.
255
00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:23,127
A process that began in the East
256
00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:27,370
transformed the West
and the rest of the world.
257
00:18:30,360 --> 00:18:35,446
Today almost every part of the world
has a place of worship -
258
00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:41,283
churches, mosques, temples -
at their heart.
259
00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:51,131
That was the same in the world's
first cities in Mesopotamia
260
00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:55,211
when they began to emerge
around 6000 years ago.
261
00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:06,007
Mari in modern day Syria
was one of the largest
262
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,522
and was built to a grand
and deliberate plan.
263
00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:15,045
A walled circular city, with the
river Euphrates diverted through it
264
00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,084
and at its heart a temple.
265
00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:50,321
The temple and worship
were central to life
266
00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:52,727
in the first cities of Mesopotamia
267
00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:54,763
and the organisation of religion
268
00:19:54,960 --> 00:19:59,010
had a profound and lasting
influence on society.
269
00:20:03,560 --> 00:20:09,124
We have here in Mari
the first signs of a real society,
270
00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:10,810
or real organised society.
271
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,401
In the middle of the city
you have the palace
272
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:15,011
and you have the temples around,
273
00:20:15,200 --> 00:20:19,728
which is clearly
the sign of a hierarchy.
274
00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:22,287
You have the power,
you have the religion
275
00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,121
and it's on the top
of this kind of pyramidal society.
276
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,890
Fabulous statues have been
discovered in the temples of Mari.
277
00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:39,961
They bring the religion of this
ancient culture vividly back to life.
278
00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,561
This is a statue of a worshipper.
279
00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:57,970
It's a typical kind of a statue
that we found in a temple in Mari.
280
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,323
They are typically bald,
281
00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:04,205
the beard is often represented
like this
282
00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:06,721
and the eyes is also very typical.
283
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:10,367
You have this lapis lazuli disc
inside shell
284
00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:14,531
and the eyebrows
are made of bitumen.
285
00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:17,530
The hands are gathered on the chest,
286
00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,883
which is a devotion,
a sign of devotion.
287
00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:24,641
And so most of the time
they have an inscription
288
00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:29,368
on the shoulder on the back,
where he put his name.
289
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:33,565
Now we know who he is.
His name is Shivune.
290
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,523
And this is the typical
representation of worshipper.
291
00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:44,369
Wealthy citizens commissioned
statues of themselves
292
00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:46,562
and placed them in specific temples
293
00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:49,604
dedicated to particular
gods and goddesses.
294
00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:52,724
Each god has a specificity
295
00:21:52,920 --> 00:21:57,767
and it depends on what you want,
you will go to this god or that god.
296
00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,691
This is why you put your statue
inside a specific temple.
297
00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:06,330
Gone was the idea
oi a uniform image oi a goddess.
298
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,728
In Mari there was a whole host
of gods and goddesses,
299
00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:15,448
each looking very different,
each with a particular role.
300
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:20,851
The gods and goddesses of Mari
were worshipped across Mesopotamia.
301
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:24,931
They are amongst the first
named gods in human history.
302
00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:30,329
We know that there were
many goddess and gods.
303
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:32,921
We know them by their myths,
304
00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:35,248
there's a lot of history
about those gods.
305
00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:36,726
You have Ishtar, for instance,
306
00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:40,322
she's the goddess of love
and also the goddess of war.
307
00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:44,445
You have the sun god,
you have the god of the agriculture.
308
00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,686
This Mesopotamian pantheon
is the beginning
309
00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,929
of all the other pantheon of gods
310
00:22:52,120 --> 00:22:54,964
and we always have the main god,
his wife,
311
00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,208
and through the Greek, the Romans,
312
00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:01,086
we have the exact same...
313
00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:02,725
panel of gods.
314
00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:14,124
The Parthenon -
315
00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:17,927
the temple to Athena
on the Acropolis in Athens -
316
00:23:18,120 --> 00:23:20,327
survives as a fabulous reminder
317
00:23:20,520 --> 00:23:24,525
of the enduring power
of the ancient gods.
318
00:23:25,320 --> 00:23:29,325
Many of the statues and friezes
that once adorned the Parthenon
319
00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:33,320
are now in the British Museum
in London.
320
00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:36,801
The Greeks thought the gods
were like humans
321
00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:41,562
but just a bit bigger,
a bit brighter, a bit shinier.
322
00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:46,407
Here you have Dionysus
and Selene, the god of the moon,
323
00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:49,080
and Aphrodite,
the god of sexual love.
324
00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:54,241
So although the Greek gods didn't
always get on with one another-
325
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,364
they drank a lot,
they had affairs with one another,
326
00:23:57,560 --> 00:23:59,289
they had arguments the whole time -
327
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,881
but they were nonetheless godlike.
328
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,371
You have to realise
that the ancient Greeks,
329
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:13,691
gods and demi-gods and spirits
were everywhere in the world.
330
00:24:13,880 --> 00:24:17,089
This was how they explained
what was going on around them.
331
00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:19,806
So when they saw the tides
rise and fall,
332
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,128
when they saw the grain
ripening in the fields,
333
00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:24,084
they knew, they didn't think,
334
00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,887
they knew that this was
the power of a god or gods
335
00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:30,526
who would make this all happen
for them.
336
00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:36,084
The whole ancient world's view
of deity
337
00:24:36,280 --> 00:24:39,841
was that there is
one overall force
338
00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:41,849
but it's manifested, that force,
339
00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,010
it's not a personal force
you would necessarily talk to.
340
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,249
It's manifested
by all the powers of nature.
341
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,568
So the sky, the sea,
342
00:24:50,760 --> 00:24:55,049
all the different phenomena
of the world are respected.
343
00:24:55,240 --> 00:24:58,164
It was seen as a positive thing,
they're respected, they're honoured.
344
00:24:58,360 --> 00:25:02,046
Let's honour the powers
of the wind, of the sea.
345
00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:06,249
The Romans adopted
the Greek pantheon of Gods,
346
00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:08,568
adapting their names.
347
00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:11,203
Zeus became Jupiter,
348
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,643
Dionysus became Bacchus,
349
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,049
Aphrodite became Venus.
350
00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:21,844
The Greeks and Romans
had hundreds of gods,
351
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,805
one for every eventuality.
352
00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:27,881
If you were sick or you were dying,
353
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:29,923
you needed health,
you need prosperity,
354
00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:34,205
you're going on a journey, you need
guidance on your journey, safety.
355
00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:37,483
It made sense to the Romans,
to the Greeks,
356
00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:39,887
to honour that specific deity
357
00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:41,889
both in terms of effectiveness
358
00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:44,048
because you're going
right to the source
359
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,687
but also the sense
of giving respect to that god
360
00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:51,123
at that temple where those priests
are concentrating
361
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:53,800
on this particular idea.
362
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:00,610
In some ways this meant it was
very exhausting being a Greek
363
00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:02,370
because you had to rush around
364
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:04,881
keeping all these various gods
on side.
365
00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:07,765
But it also meant you always had
a chance of success.
366
00:26:07,960 --> 00:26:10,122
So if Apollo
hadn't heard your prayer
367
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:13,085
then maybe Aphrodite would.
368
00:26:14,880 --> 00:26:18,202
And I think actually it encouraged
men and women to be very tolerant.
369
00:26:18,400 --> 00:26:21,529
So ii they had a visitor
from Egypt, for instance,
370
00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:23,848
they were quite ready to believe
that that Egyptian
371
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,930
might bring an Egyptian god
who also had power
372
00:26:27,120 --> 00:26:30,169
and therefore became embraced
as a new cult.
373
00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,530
The many gods of the ancient world
co-existed peacefully for millennia
374
00:26:35,720 --> 00:26:39,361
until one man challenged
the idea of polytheism.
375
00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:43,969
Not Abraham,
376
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:48,961
but the ruler of one of the oldest
civilisations of the ancient world -
377
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:50,969
Egypt.
378
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:58,001
Egypt was polytheist,
a land that seemed full of gods.
379
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:02,241
At the top of the Egyptian pantheon
380
00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:06,206
Ra the sun god
headed a group of nine gods
381
00:27:06,400 --> 00:27:08,846
known as the Great Ennead.
382
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:13,127
But 3500 years ago
383
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:17,882
Pharaoh Amenhotep launched
a revolution in thinking.
384
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,726
Egypt's many gods
and the idea of polytheism itself
385
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,287
were under attack.
386
00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:41,965
As far as we can tell,
Amenhotep is the first Egyptian
387
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:46,245
to be able to look critically
at the religion of his own society,
388
00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,602
to step outside it and to judge it.
389
00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:52,566
And he seems to have judged it
as being very largely empty.
390
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:57,446
Instead, he could see
only a single god,
391
00:27:57,640 --> 00:27:59,404
a single source of power,
392
00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,809
which is what you can see up there
in the sky, the sun,
393
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:05,731
and that's all that matters,
that's all there was.
394
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,605
Amenhotep's revolutionary idea
395
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,690
was to dismiss Egypt's many gods
396
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:18,330
and worship just one -
Aten the sun god.
397
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:22,127
He wanted to honour
the immediate power of the sun
398
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:28,043
as it is after all the only source
of non-terrestrial energy and power
399
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:30,811
that you can actually see,
everything else is imagination.
400
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:36,086
And that seems to have been
his drive towards simplicity.
401
00:28:36,280 --> 00:28:40,444
Nothing matters except the immediacy
of the experience of the sun
402
00:28:40,640 --> 00:28:42,847
as it appears in the horizon
and warms you
403
00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,566
and brings, obviously brings life
to everything.
404
00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:48,967
Amenhotep's devotion to his new god
405
00:28:49,160 --> 00:28:52,846
and his commitment to change
Egypt's centuries-old polytheism
406
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,725
made him change his name.
407
00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:59,208
He began his reign
with the name Amenhotep,
408
00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,404
a name that honours
the traditional god of Thebes.
409
00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:06,286
But the king changed his name
to Akhenaten,
410
00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:09,484
which honoured the disc of the sun,
the Aten.
411
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:27,723
Akhenaten even built a whole
new city to honour the one god
412
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,082
and moved his entire court there.
413
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:35,810
He called it Akhetaten,
meaning “the horizon of the sun...
414
00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:41,441
This is the mansion of the Aten,
415
00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:46,851
one of the two main temples,
places of worship.
416
00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:51,284
In some respects, the temple
was laid out quite traditionally.
417
00:29:51,480 --> 00:29:55,610
It's a series of courtyards
arranged along a central axis.
418
00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:57,370
But what is most distinctive
419
00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:00,484
is that there are
no roofed buildings inside.
420
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,843
The courtyards are open to the sky
because they're there
421
00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:06,964
so you can appreciate
and make offerings and prayers
422
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,401
to the visible disc of the sun.
423
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:11,762
The statement that Akhenaten
is trying to make
424
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:16,170
is that God, the divine essence,
is visible,
425
00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:18,362
the power of the sun is up there
426
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:21,006
and it's there directly
to be appreciated.
427
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:23,487
You don't need the elaborateness
428
00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:26,160
of enclosed temples
with their many statutes.
429
00:30:28,720 --> 00:30:30,848
Akhenaten's devotion to one god
430
00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:33,441
was quickly taken up
by his royal entourage.
431
00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:43,245
This is the tomb of one of the most
powerful figures at the court.
432
00:30:43,440 --> 00:30:45,522
His name is Aye,
433
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,803
he's the fan bearer
on the right hand of the king,
434
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:52,925
and behind him is shown his wife,
her name is Tey,
435
00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:55,600
and they're both kneeling
with their arms raised
436
00:30:55,800 --> 00:30:59,327
in adoration to the rising sun
437
00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:03,161
and above them comes
the columns of hieroglyphs
438
00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,762
of a long hymn,
which is directed at the Aten.
439
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:10,282
It celebrates the rising of the Aten
each day.
440
00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:15,525
MAN: You created the earth
by your will.
441
00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:17,529
You alone existed.
442
00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:20,200
You set every person in his place.
443
00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:25,486
The Hymn of Aye is a remarkable
statement of Akhenaten's monotheism.
444
00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,889
For him there is only one god.
445
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:33,369
There's no reference to other gods.
Akhenaten sweeps all that away.
446
00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:38,043
There's no interest
in the other forms of divinities
447
00:31:38,240 --> 00:31:41,562
who you might imagine
are actually parts of the sun.
448
00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:43,762
So it's a great simplification.
449
00:31:43,960 --> 00:31:47,123
They're not damned,
they are just excluded.
450
00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,528
Akhenaten died in 1336 BC
451
00:31:52,720 --> 00:31:55,963
believing he'd changed religion
in Egypt for ever.
452
00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,728
But an archive
of nearly 400 cuneiform tablets
453
00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,161
discovered here in the 19th century
454
00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:08,251
reveal his experiment with monotheism
died with him.
455
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:14,841
When he died Egypt returned
456
00:32:15,040 --> 00:32:19,011
to the traditional worship
of Amun Ra at Thebes
457
00:32:19,200 --> 00:32:23,489
and all the other many divinities
of local places.
458
00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:30,603
Akhenaten's son, Tutankhaten,
meaning the living image of the Aten,
459
00:32:30,800 --> 00:32:32,609
came to the throne.
460
00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:37,808
During his short reign,
461
00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:40,731
the worship of the Aten declined
462
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,810
and older gods like Amun
were restored.
463
00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:50,531
To recognise this reversal
Tutankhaten changed his name...
464
00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:53,928
to Tutankhamun,
465
00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,930
the living image of Amun.
466
00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:02,047
Egypt's brief experiment
with monotheism was over.
467
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:05,482
Polytheism was too deeply rooted
468
00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:07,808
in the religious culture
of the ancient world
469
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,571
to be swept away so lightly.
470
00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:15,361
The modern belief in one god,
monotheism,
471
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:20,487
would have to overcome massive
resistance if it were to succeed.
472
00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:23,206
The idea of one true god
473
00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:27,724
would have been an extraordinary
and shocking idea.
474
00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,730
Because how can you have
just one god
475
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:33,764
when these men and women
have known for thousands of years
476
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:37,009
that the world was inhabited
by many spirits
477
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:39,009
and gods and demi-gods.
478
00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,682
Would have been
heart-stoppingly radical.
479
00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:45,486
But monotheism wasn't finished.
480
00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:48,126
The Middle East was still to play
a central role
481
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:50,368
in the story of its growth.
482
00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:54,007
The next radical transformation
a short distance from Egypt
483
00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:56,009
in Canaan.
484
00:33:59,160 --> 00:34:03,210
Polytheism was deeply rooted
in this part of the world
485
00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:05,641
for many millennia.
486
00:34:06,840 --> 00:34:09,923
Well, this in fact
exemplifies the whole thing.
487
00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:12,407
I am standing
on the steps to the altar.
488
00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:15,729
This altar was constructed
in the third millennium BC,
489
00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:17,570
early Bronze Age,
490
00:34:17,760 --> 00:34:19,888
and it served the temple,
491
00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,321
which is on the right-hand side
and behind us.
492
00:34:24,200 --> 00:34:28,569
Canaan was the Promised Land the
Bible says God promised to Abraham
493
00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:30,888
but scholars today
look beyond the Bible
494
00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:35,165
for evidence of Abraham's people,
the early Israelites.
495
00:34:36,240 --> 00:34:39,961
When we get to the formative period
in Israelite history
496
00:34:40,160 --> 00:34:42,288
archaeology
is the queen of the battle
497
00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:44,164
and archaeology is the centre
498
00:34:44,360 --> 00:34:46,806
because archaeology provides you
with real-time evidence.
499
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,924
If I take a spade now
and in front of the camera,
500
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:52,407
you know, start excavating here,
501
00:34:52,600 --> 00:34:57,003
in this same very moment
I am into the real historical layer,
502
00:34:57,200 --> 00:34:59,601
archaeological layer,
whatever you wanna call it.
503
00:34:59,800 --> 00:35:02,451
This is not the case
with the Biblical text.
504
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,610
So we all need to remember that.
505
00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:15,205
The excavations here in Megiddo
in the centre of Canaan
506
00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:17,402
seem to show
that the early Israelites
507
00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:20,763
continued to worship
the same polytheistic gods
508
00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:22,803
as the Canaanites.
509
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,411
When we we speak about
the transition from Canaanite life,
510
00:35:33,600 --> 00:35:35,409
let's say in the second millennium,
511
00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:37,807
to Israelite in the late second
512
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,571
and beginning
of the first millennium BC,
513
00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:43,570
I think from the cultic point
of view nothing happened.
514
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:45,603
There is continuity.
515
00:35:49,440 --> 00:35:53,126
Other sites also point to the
worship of many gods in this region.
516
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:58,121
7O kilometres away archaeologists
are excavating Tel Hazor,
517
00:35:58,320 --> 00:36:00,084
the ancient capital of Canaan.
518
00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:04,765
It is the largest site
in the country, more than 200 acres,
519
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:08,328
with a population
of some 15-20,000 people,
520
00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:12,206
which makes it comparable to Paris,
London, New York of today.
521
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:14,402
It's a major site.
522
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,970
There is clear evidence here
of the many gods of Canaan.
523
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:35,962
We are in a place of worship
of the Canaanite period.
524
00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:38,891
You can see first of all
by the standing stones,
525
00:36:39,080 --> 00:36:40,570
which were worshipped.
526
00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,604
We have the names of the different
gods and their functions
527
00:36:43,800 --> 00:36:47,521
and this and that and the other,
like Ado - he is the weather god -
528
00:36:47,720 --> 00:36:50,963
was a very, very important god
here at Hazor.
529
00:36:51,160 --> 00:36:54,050
He was definitely not the only one.
The god Sin was worshipped.
530
00:36:54,240 --> 00:36:57,323
The moon god was worshipped,
the god El was worshipped.
531
00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:06,884
The Canaanites worshipped
a pantheon of gods headed by El,
532
00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:10,129
his wife Asherah and Baal.
533
00:37:11,680 --> 00:37:14,286
And when the Israelites emerged
in Canaan
534
00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:18,371
they appear to have worshipped
the same Canaanite gods.
535
00:37:20,560 --> 00:37:23,530
The chief god of the Canaanites
is called El,
536
00:37:23,720 --> 00:37:27,645
so is called the chief god of the
Israelites, is called El or Elohim.
537
00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:32,084
There is no question that
a lot of cult practices and ideas
538
00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:34,282
were taken over.
539
00:37:36,280 --> 00:37:37,725
The Bible confirms
540
00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:41,322
that the Israelites
worshipped these Canaanite gods.
541
00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:44,203
The prophets keep complaining,
542
00:37:44,400 --> 00:37:46,926
why are you worship this god,
why are you worship Baal,
543
00:37:47,120 --> 00:37:49,726
this, that and the other,
you're not supposed to do it,
544
00:37:49,920 --> 00:37:52,241
you're supposed to stay away
from Canaanite,
545
00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:55,091
you have to separate yourself
from the Canaanite people
546
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:58,329
as well as the Canaanite religion
and so on and so forth.
547
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:02,770
The early books of the Bible
are full of the struggle
548
00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:05,406
for the hearts and minds
of the Israelites,
549
00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:08,683
a battle
between the old pagan Canaanite gods
550
00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:12,771
and the one God
who revealed himself as Yahweh.
551
00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:23,840
(MAN READS IN HEBREW)
552
00:38:28,880 --> 00:38:31,281
MAN READS IN ENGLISH:
I am Yahweh, your God.
553
00:38:31,480 --> 00:38:34,927
You shall have no other gods
before me.
554
00:38:39,120 --> 00:38:41,248
It's the first
of the Ten Commandments
555
00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:44,887
given to Moses by God
on Mount Sinai.
556
00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:50,810
So this is what we have
in the time of Moses.
557
00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,561
A commandment of worshipping the One
558
00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:58,765
without negating
the existence of the others.
559
00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:08,851
The Israelites had Yahweh
as their god
560
00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:12,840
but they didn't yet conceive of him
as the only god.
561
00:39:13,040 --> 00:39:16,931
Despite the Commandments and the
warnings of Moses and other prophets,
562
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:21,205
the Israelites still persisted
with the worship of other gods,
563
00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:23,323
including females...
564
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:31,004
This little clay figurine was found
in my excavations in a site,
565
00:39:31,200 --> 00:39:34,682
a large site in northern Israel
south of the Lake of Galilee,
566
00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:36,689
called Tel Rehov,
567
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:40,851
a place not mentioned in the Bible
but yet it was a very important city
568
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:44,203
during the 10th and 9th
and 8th centuries BC.
569
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:48,325
In the field, one of our volunteers
just picked her up
570
00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:50,409
and ran and showed it to me.
571
00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:52,967
I was very pleased, you know,
it's always a pleasure.
572
00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:58,405
The figurine
is nearly 2900 years old.
573
00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:01,331
It's an example of thousands
of female figurines
574
00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:05,241
discovered throughout the region
in the Israelite period.
575
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:09,206
She's holding here a young baby,
576
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:10,890
she's holding a baby.
577
00:40:11,080 --> 00:40:14,527
So she is a mother,
she's a mother goddess in this case.
578
00:40:14,720 --> 00:40:16,563
We think that this is Asherah,
579
00:40:16,760 --> 00:40:19,764
this is one the nice examples
of this type of figurines
580
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:21,928
from around 900 BC
581
00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:25,920
when Israelite religion
was not yet completely monotheistic,
582
00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:27,690
that's for sure.
583
00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:32,088
The Israelites
were still worshipping
584
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:34,647
the Canaanite goddess Asherah.
585
00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:39,323
They imagined her as the wife
of their god Yahweh.
586
00:40:41,560 --> 00:40:44,131
We have, for example,
inscriptions on jars
587
00:40:44,320 --> 00:40:47,529
which say, “To Yahweh...
588
00:40:48,680 --> 00:40:50,842
“and his Asherah."
589
00:40:51,040 --> 00:40:56,524
Okay, so there is Yahweh and is you
want to say, Mrs Yahweh, Asherah.
590
00:40:56,720 --> 00:40:58,609
The Israelites worshipped many gods,
591
00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:00,723
unlike what is more or less
common belief
592
00:41:00,920 --> 00:41:02,809
that all Israelites
worshipped Yahweh.
593
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:04,889
So there is clear evidence
594
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:08,050
that Yahweh had to fight
for a long time
595
00:41:08,240 --> 00:41:09,924
and quite a fierce battle
596
00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:12,487
until he was accepted
as the one and only.
597
00:41:12,680 --> 00:41:15,126
It took several centuries
before the Israelites
598
00:41:15,320 --> 00:41:18,688
finally embraced Yahweh
as the one and only God.
599
00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:23,730
And to make that happen
needed a catastrophe.
600
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:27,606
(MEN SHOUT, WEAPONS CLASH)
601
00:41:32,280 --> 00:41:34,681
2600 years ago
602
00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:38,521
Jerusalem is attacked by the
Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar.
603
00:41:38,720 --> 00:41:40,404
The city is sacked,
604
00:41:40,600 --> 00:41:43,968
the House of Yahweh, the temple,
is destroyed
605
00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:48,085
and thousands of Jews
are taken as slaves into exile.
606
00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:54,850
Yahweh seemed defeated.
607
00:42:02,480 --> 00:42:05,324
It was a theological catastrophe
608
00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:08,842
because the simple fact
was that the god of Israel
609
00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:11,805
was defeated
by the god of the Babylonians.
610
00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:14,606
This was the way
people looked at it at that time
611
00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,007
and they had to explain
what had happened.
612
00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:20,090
They had either to yield
and forget all about this
613
00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:23,682
and be part
of the Babylonian culture
614
00:42:23,880 --> 00:42:26,804
or they had to come up
with this, with an explanation.
615
00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:32,042
In captivity in Babylon
616
00:42:32,240 --> 00:42:35,084
the Israelites developed
a revolutionary explanation
617
00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:38,170
for the defeat of their god Yahweh.
618
00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,170
And they came up with an amazing,
you know, way of...
619
00:42:44,360 --> 00:42:47,523
philosophical idea, explanation
of what exactly had happened
620
00:42:47,720 --> 00:42:50,087
and how it came about
that the god of Israel
621
00:42:50,280 --> 00:42:52,726
was supposedly defeated,
but in fact he won, you know.
622
00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:00,842
They say well,
let's think about this.
623
00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:02,929
The god of Israel is so powerful
624
00:43:03,120 --> 00:43:05,327
that he is universal,
625
00:43:05,520 --> 00:43:09,241
that he rules everything,
that he decides everything,
626
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:12,410
that he sent the king of Babylonia.
627
00:43:12,600 --> 00:43:15,206
The king of Babylonia
was no more than a little pion
628
00:43:15,400 --> 00:43:18,529
in the hands of the god of Israel
to be sent to punish
629
00:43:18,720 --> 00:43:21,246
the apostasy of the Israelites,
no more than that.
630
00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:28,089
The winning god
wasn't the Babylonian god.
631
00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:32,330
He was Yahweh, using the Babylonians
to punish the Israelites.
632
00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:39,089
So Yahweh
is not just the Israelites' god,
633
00:43:39,280 --> 00:43:43,842
he's the Babylonians' god,
he's everyone's god.
634
00:43:45,840 --> 00:43:48,764
An unknown prophet
given the name Isaiah
635
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:52,169
created the first defining statement
of monotheism
636
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:55,728
and changed the course
of human history.
637
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:59,402
(MAN RECITES INDISTINCTLY
IN HEBREW)
638
00:44:03,240 --> 00:44:07,006
There is no other god besides me.
639
00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:11,762
I am the creator of good and evil.
640
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:16,045
I am the creator
of light and darkness.
641
00:44:16,240 --> 00:44:18,129
There is no one beside me.
642
00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:24,245
(MUSIC CLIMBS TO CRESCENDO)
643
00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:32,842
it's absolutely
a watershed moment in history.
644
00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:35,850
There's a sense in terms of religion
645
00:44:36,040 --> 00:44:38,691
that it's maybe the greatest idea,
646
00:44:38,880 --> 00:44:41,008
if you judge greatest ideas
647
00:44:41,200 --> 00:44:43,885
by the ideas
that really had lasting impact.
648
00:44:49,280 --> 00:44:52,841
The Persians under Cyrus the Great
conquered Babylon
649
00:44:53,040 --> 00:44:55,964
and allowed the Israelites
to return to Jerusalem.
650
00:44:58,720 --> 00:45:03,203
They took their new idea of one
universal God back with them.
651
00:45:06,280 --> 00:45:08,760
But the Jews didn't spread
their brilliant new idea
652
00:45:08,960 --> 00:45:10,883
to the rest of the world.
653
00:45:11,080 --> 00:45:13,128
That was the work
of another religion
654
00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:16,324
built on the foundations of Judaism.
655
00:45:16,520 --> 00:45:18,761
(Priests chant)
656
00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:25,240
Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.
657
00:45:29,040 --> 00:45:31,088
The Church of the Nativity
marks the spot
658
00:45:31,280 --> 00:45:33,282
where it's believed he was born.
659
00:45:44,360 --> 00:45:46,681
At the Jewish festival of Passover
660
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:49,406
Jesus came to preach in Jerusalem.
661
00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:56,087
(Monk speaks in Latin
through microphone)
662
00:45:56,280 --> 00:45:58,601
Seen as a threat to the Roman peace,
663
00:45:58,800 --> 00:46:01,883
he was arrested, tried
and sentenced to death.
664
00:46:05,440 --> 00:46:09,365
Today pilgrims still walk the route
Jesus is supposed to have taken
665
00:46:09,560 --> 00:46:11,369
to his crucifixion.
666
00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:15,849
MAN: The Third Station.
Here Jesus falls the first time.
667
00:46:16,040 --> 00:46:20,329
(Crowd chants)
668
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:26,043
Here Jesus meets the holy women
of Jerusalem.
669
00:46:26,240 --> 00:46:29,608
A great crowd of people
followed Him,
670
00:46:29,800 --> 00:46:33,964
including women who beat their
breasts and lamented over Him.
671
00:46:34,160 --> 00:46:36,845
The route ends at the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre,
672
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:40,681
the traditional site
of his crucifixion and burial.
673
00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:43,360
Weep for yourselves
and for your children...
674
00:46:45,160 --> 00:46:49,245
(Crowd sings) Hallelujah.
675
00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:55,049
2000 years later, Christianity
has two billion followers.
676
00:46:56,280 --> 00:46:58,851
But how did the Christian version
of monotheism
677
00:46:59,040 --> 00:47:01,247
finally overcome polytheism
678
00:47:01,440 --> 00:47:04,046
to be the largest religion
in the world?
679
00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:09,925
Jesus Christ himself
didn't invent a world religion.
680
00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:14,648
He lived a life
and he was an exemplar of his faith.
681
00:47:14,840 --> 00:47:18,561
It was others who came after him
who developed his ideas,
682
00:47:18,760 --> 00:47:20,922
the personal relationship
683
00:47:21,120 --> 00:47:24,363
that he was said to have had
with his father, God,
684
00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:27,848
into a belief system,
into a world faith.
685
00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:33,527
Jesus didn't spread Christianity
and monotheism.
686
00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:36,963
That was the work of another man -
687
00:47:37,160 --> 00:47:39,845
Saul of Tarsus.
688
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:45,369
Blinded by a vision of Jesus,
then miraculously healed,
689
00:47:45,560 --> 00:47:48,769
Saul took up the faith
and changed his name to Paul.
690
00:47:52,840 --> 00:47:55,161
(UPLIFTING MUSIC)
691
00:47:58,360 --> 00:48:01,842
Paul believed that Jesus' message
of spiritual renewal
692
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:05,931
should be preached to Jews
and non-Jews - Gentiles.
693
00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:16,170
Both could be baptised
and follow Jesus.
694
00:48:18,440 --> 00:48:21,728
What Paul says is, you know,
695
00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:24,605
if Gentiles, non-Jews, have faith
696
00:48:24,800 --> 00:48:27,087
in the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob,
697
00:48:27,280 --> 00:48:30,762
and they believe
in the Messiah, Jesus,
698
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:35,602
aren't they really children
of Abraham in a spiritual sense?
699
00:48:38,680 --> 00:48:42,605
Paul's missionary journeys
took him from Syria to Cyprus
700
00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:45,280
and Asia Minor to Greece.
701
00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:50,571
So what he starts doing
702
00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:53,206
is missionising, travelling,
703
00:48:53,400 --> 00:48:56,563
first of all through Asia Minor
or Turkey,
704
00:48:56,760 --> 00:48:59,206
and he goes to little towns
and villages.
705
00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:01,607
He crosses over into Greece
706
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:04,883
and he preaches not to the Jews
707
00:49:05,080 --> 00:49:07,526
or the syna...
often he'll go to a synagogue
708
00:49:07,720 --> 00:49:11,406
but he'll end up street-preaching
or he'll rent a hall
709
00:49:11,600 --> 00:49:15,241
like he does in one case,
a kind of a school,
710
00:49:15,440 --> 00:49:18,011
and people come
to hear him give lectures.
711
00:49:18,880 --> 00:49:22,965
Paul travelled to one of
the greatest cities on earth.
712
00:49:28,080 --> 00:49:31,129
Ephesus was the capital
of Roman Asia,
713
00:49:31,320 --> 00:49:34,688
the second largest city in the world.
714
00:49:34,880 --> 00:49:37,531
Nearly half a million people
lived here.
715
00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:44,888
It was full of buildings
716
00:49:45,080 --> 00:49:48,163
celebrating the many gods
of the Greco-Roman world...
717
00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:53,201
including the massive temple
of Artemis.
718
00:49:58,200 --> 00:50:01,204
If Paul could convert the Greek
and Roman pagans of Ephesus
719
00:50:01,400 --> 00:50:02,845
to Christianity
720
00:50:03,040 --> 00:50:06,283
then the new religion
could spread through the empire.
721
00:50:07,480 --> 00:50:11,201
If you think about
the achievement of Paul
722
00:50:11,400 --> 00:50:14,085
and what he did in bringing
Christianity to the world,
723
00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:16,931
it's just staggering
to think about it,
724
00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:19,521
because when Paul lands
725
00:50:19,720 --> 00:50:23,008
in every city
are dozens and dozens of temples,
726
00:50:23,200 --> 00:50:25,806
beautiful buildings, edifices
727
00:50:26,000 --> 00:50:30,210
to all of these gods and goddesses
of Greece and Rome and Egypt.
728
00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:33,051
That's not gonna go away
very easily.
729
00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:36,446
Here in Ephesus,
Paul and his fellow missionaries
730
00:50:36,640 --> 00:50:40,087
wrote and preached
the new Gospels of Christianity,
731
00:50:40,280 --> 00:50:43,363
a religion distinct
from its roots in Judaism
732
00:50:43,560 --> 00:50:46,040
that would eventually take
the idea of monotheism
733
00:50:46,240 --> 00:50:48,811
beyond its Middle Eastern home.
734
00:50:57,680 --> 00:51:01,162
Paul took the Christian message
to Rome,
735
00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:05,763
the capital of the empire
and the heart of paganism.
736
00:51:07,240 --> 00:51:10,130
Here Christians worshipped
in secret
737
00:51:10,320 --> 00:51:14,689
but soon Paul incurred the wrath
of the pagan authorities.
738
00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:19,929
Paul is believed
to have been executed in Home
739
00:51:20,120 --> 00:51:22,771
in the reign of the emperor Nero.
740
00:51:29,440 --> 00:51:31,408
The Abbey of the Three Fountains
741
00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:34,410
marks the spot
where Paul was beheaded.
742
00:51:35,440 --> 00:51:38,125
So this is really the spot.
743
00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:42,325
That's, the pillar's
commemorating the execution of Paul,
744
00:51:42,520 --> 00:51:46,445
he was beheaded traditionally
in this spot
745
00:51:46,640 --> 00:51:51,806
and the pillar not necessarily
marks where it happened
746
00:51:52,000 --> 00:51:56,164
but as a commemoration
that it was in this area.
747
00:51:56,360 --> 00:51:59,125
And then the three fountains
748
00:51:59,320 --> 00:52:02,290
where his head,
according to the tale,
749
00:52:02,480 --> 00:52:04,369
bounced and bounced
and bounced again
750
00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:08,531
and God gave kind of witness
to his greatness.
751
00:52:08,720 --> 00:52:12,122
(WATER SPLASHES)
752
00:52:14,240 --> 00:52:17,289
Christianity continued
to be a persecuted religion
753
00:52:17,480 --> 00:52:19,767
in the Roman Empire.
754
00:52:19,960 --> 00:52:21,644
Christians were regularly martyred
755
00:52:21,840 --> 00:52:25,367
for their refusal
to accept the Roman gods.
756
00:52:27,480 --> 00:52:30,290
It would take another 250 years
757
00:52:30,480 --> 00:52:32,164
and one final battle
758
00:52:32,360 --> 00:52:34,567
for monotheism to triumph.
759
00:52:34,760 --> 00:52:38,048
(URGENT MUSIC)
760
00:52:48,200 --> 00:52:52,250
On this bridge where I'm standing,
the Milvian Bridge,
761
00:52:52,440 --> 00:52:54,920
this great battle took place.
762
00:52:55,120 --> 00:52:58,169
It basically had to do
with the control of Rome...
763
00:52:58,360 --> 00:53:00,442
Who's going to be
the next emperor?
764
00:53:08,360 --> 00:53:11,045
But looking back on it,
it really had to do
765
00:53:11,240 --> 00:53:15,609
with what will be the future
of the entire western world.
766
00:53:15,800 --> 00:53:18,007
There's a sense
in which you could say
767
00:53:18,200 --> 00:53:21,886
monotheism hung in the balance
on this bridge.
768
00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:23,923
In the year 312
769
00:53:24,120 --> 00:53:29,923
two armies met here outside Rome
at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.
770
00:53:31,560 --> 00:53:34,245
On one side the army of Constantine,
771
00:53:34,440 --> 00:53:36,886
the emperor
of Rome's eastern provinces.
772
00:53:37,080 --> 00:53:41,642
Opposing him, Maxentius, a usurper.
773
00:53:43,200 --> 00:53:46,204
Maxentius's army
was driven into the Tiber,
774
00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:49,609
where Maxentius drowned.
775
00:53:54,920 --> 00:53:59,403
In the great forum of Rome,
Constantine erected a triumphal arch
776
00:53:59,600 --> 00:54:02,285
as a symbol of his victory.
777
00:54:02,480 --> 00:54:06,121
The following year, the new emperor
proclaimed religious toleration
778
00:54:06,320 --> 00:54:08,641
in the Roman Empire.
779
00:54:10,040 --> 00:54:13,567
(CHRISTIAN CHORAL MUSIC)
780
00:54:13,760 --> 00:54:15,649
7O years later
781
00:54:15,840 --> 00:54:19,845
Christianity became the official
religion of the Roman world.
782
00:54:22,400 --> 00:54:26,928
It's the triumph of an idea,
the belief in one God,
783
00:54:27,120 --> 00:54:29,566
an idea that came
from the Middle East
784
00:54:29,760 --> 00:54:32,445
and now dominates the West.
785
00:54:34,800 --> 00:54:39,442
It's also an idea that has been
taken on by other religions.
786
00:54:39,640 --> 00:54:41,642
In the next program we will discover
787
00:54:41,840 --> 00:54:45,003
how a new monotheist religion,
Islam,
788
00:54:45,200 --> 00:54:48,647
embodied and adapted
the faith of Abraham,
789
00:54:48,840 --> 00:54:53,209
spreading at extraordinary speed
across the Middle East and beyond.
790
00:54:53,400 --> 00:54:56,768
(Sings) Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar!
791
00:55:01,600 --> 00:55:03,364
It's a continuation
792
00:55:03,560 --> 00:55:06,882
of the Middle East's
extraordinary influence on beliefs.
793
00:55:08,720 --> 00:55:11,963
From the earliest beginnings
in Göbekli Tepe...
794
00:55:14,080 --> 00:55:17,482
through the evolution of the great
pantheon of ancient gods
795
00:55:17,680 --> 00:55:20,650
to the earliest experiences
of monotheism...
796
00:55:22,880 --> 00:55:26,441
right through
to the world religions of today.
797
00:55:56,880 --> 00:56:00,441
Subtitles © SBS Australia 2012