All language subtitles for Ancient.Powers.S01E02.Building.Your.Em1pire.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,
"Building Your Empire,"

in an unpredictable world,
our ancient powers

must lay down the foundations
of their societies

to show their strength
and protect their people.

Who will build their way
to glory?

♪

Across the globe,
our ancient powers

have founded
their civilisations.

They'’ve tamed the land,

allowing their people
to settle and thrive.

Now, they face their next
challenge,

and in the East,
they start by building big.

♪

Over 2,000 years ago,

China is ruled
by the Han dynasty.

They'’ve successfully
cultivated the land

around the fertile Yangtze
and Yellow River basins.

They are growing wealthy,
but are threatened.

Their northern borders
are under attack

by the Xiongnu...

[ Men yell, horses whinny ]

...nomadic horsemen
who roamed the desert plains.

They possess few resources
of their own,

but are fast-moving
and aggressive

and repeatedly loot
the Han'’s riches.

This ancient power needs
to defend itself

against these violent,
opportunistic raiders.

But how can they protect their
long, exposed desert border?

The Han come up
with a remarkable solution.

♪

In 121 BCE, they begin building
a huge wall

nearly three metres high,
made of pounded earth

and strengthened with layers
of gravel and reeds.

This wall will end up

an amazing
3,500 kilometres long,

but will it be enough
to stop the rampaging Xiongnu?

♪

The answer is recorded
on delicate wooden strips,

the notepaper of ancient China.

♪

♪

A staggering 2,500 towers

and forts punctuate
the length of the wall,

one every five kilometres,

allowing the Han soldiers
to keep an eye

on their arch enemy.

♪

♪

These towers aren'’t simply
for observation,

but something
far more strategic.

The Han soldiers
are able to warn other forts

of incoming attacks.

Using carefully-choreographed
signals,

they can say when and where
the Xiongnu are attacking

and how many of them there are.

♪

The wall is more
than a physical barrier.

It'’s a communication system.

Signals travel at over
30 kilometres an hour,

more than
600 kilometres in a day.

This allows Han troops
to rapidly organise

counter attacks

and stop the Xiongnu invaders
in their tracks.

♪

The Han can now
defend their territory

and even expand it.

♪

At their peak, around 10 BCE,
their lands stretch

a remarkable
six million square kilometres

and are home
to 60 million people.

♪

The Han'’s mastery
of defensive construction

secures their dynasty.

♪

To the west,

another ancient power
is also building,

not to fend off attack,

but to take advantage
of an opportunity.

♪

Over a millennium,
small, isolated communities

across the Greek mainland
and islands

have grown into city-states,
almost 1,000 of them.

Each one runs its own affairs

and battles with its neighbours
for supremacy.

But by the turn
of the 5th century BCE,

Athens is one of
the front runners.

♪

Wealth is the thing
that will keep them

ahead of their competition.

But where can they find
a ready source of cash?

Could the answer be buried deep
in the rolling hills,

south of their city?

♪

This mine can be dangerous,
first of all,

because you have
to protect your head

from the overhanging rocks,

and then there are shafts
that suddenly appear

in front of your feet.

If you don'’t pay attention,

you may fall down
to 200 metres in depth.

Across 5,000 hectares
of this arid landscape,

the Athenians
have been hard at work,

but they are not building homes
or temples...

they are excavating
beneath the ground.

♪

The Athenians dig
over 300 mines

that snake more than
50 kilometres

deep into solid rock.

We can see here all around
a labyrinth of galleries

going up, down,
left, right, everywhere.

And, um, you can see
how hard work they dig

because you can see
the tool marks.

The mines of Lavrion are
delivering rich sources

of lead,

metal the Athenians use
to forge weapons and tools.

But digging it out comes
at a terrible human cost.

We can see how very intense
it would be work and dig

and dig again and again
and work this very small space.

[ Miners coughing ]

People working naked
and then carrying stuff,

err, miles up to the shafts

so that they would
take the ore out.

Manual work, hard work,

and very, very,
very hard conditions.

And the harsh conditions
of this human labour

was only undertaken by slaves.

♪

As you can see these, err,
galleries are very small

and not feasible for adults
to go in and out so it--

it'’s most probable that children
were used for these tasks.

♪

These mines are key
to Athens'’s success,

but in 483 BCE,

they hit a rich seam
of an even more precious metal.

♪

The Athenians discovered
a huge amount

of ore-producing silver.

This is galena, and you would
need half a mountain of ore

to produce just
a kilo of, err, silver.

♪

This discovery is one
of the largest sources

of this valuable metal
in the ancient world,

and it promises untold wealth.

But first, the Athenians
need to extract the silver

from the ore,

so they start building
on the surface.

♪

The scale of this enterprise,

which is 5,000 hectares
of mining works

and metalogical workshops
and all, err, extended over

the mountains
and the valleys of the area.

In the following years,

this ancient industrial
complex produces

over 3,500 tonnes of silver,

worth roughly $2 billion
in today'’s money.

It is more than enough
to cement Athens

as Greece'’s leading light.

This large scale exploitation
of the underground world

and these, again,
large scale metalogical works

were the material basis
of the Athenians'’ power.

♪

The wealth of the Greeks' mines

consolidates their strength
and funds their ambitions.

♪

But another ancient power
is building,

not for riches,
but for conquest.

♪

Four centuries after its birth,
Rome is growing.

♪

No longer a city-state,

it is fast becoming a force
to be reckoned with.

Controlling almost a third
of the Italian peninsula,

its pushed its borders
south to Capua,

home of the Samnite tribe,
near modern day Naples,

but they are resisting
Roman expansion

and aren'’t going down
without a fight.

Roman legionaries will be
more than a match

for these untrained rabble,
if they can get there.

But there'’s a problem--

the state of ancient tracks.

♪

Mueller: They would'’ve been
dirt, muddy in the wintertime.

Um, they would'’ve been
very windy.

It would'’ve taken a much greater
time to reach the destination.

To stop the legionaries
getting bogged down,

Roman engineers come up with
a revolutionary new design--

a layered road.

It'’s built by placing rocks
and clay

on top of compacted earth,

followed by crushed stone
and lime,

then a layer of gravel
and sand,

and finally, polished stones
with a slightly curved surface,

allowing rain and mud
to drain away.

In 312 BCE,

work begins on this massive
construction project,

driving a route south
from Rome towards Capua.

♪

This is the Via Appia Antica,
the queen of Roman roads,

one of the great technological
achievements of Rome.

The radical layered design

isn'’t this road'’s
only innovation.

Well the Romans were very
pragmatic and practical,

and they decided
that the shortest distance

between two points
is a straight line.

Keeping the line of the road
straight is a challenge

so Roman engineers make use

of a precision
surveying tool...

the groma.

I would stand here
with my groma.

I would sight down this line.
The weights have to align here.

The plumb lines have to align.

I will give instructions
to someone down the road

to plant a pole
on exactly that line,

and I'’ll say a little left,
a little to the right, plant it.

And repeat and repeat
for hundreds

and sometimes
thousands of miles.

Now the Romans can
create strong,

straight roads,
they fire the Via Applia

like an arrow through hills,
marshes, and forests.

For 200 kilometres,
nothing stands in its way.

Now the armies could get
through on time and in scale,

so it was a huge success.

But laying down
an absolutely straight road,

which cut through hills
and went over valleys,

it'’s not only an effective way
to get from point "A"

to point "B,"
but it'’s also a demonstration

of the Roman mastery
over nature.

♪

Fresh legionaries march south
at speed

and crush the rebellion,

making Capua Roman.

♪

The Via Appia becomes
a keystone

of Rome'’s military ambition.

In the centuries that follow,
they build

a massive network of roads,
over 80,000 kilometres in all,

radiating out
from the eternal city,

a vast grid connecting
this ancient empire.

The roads were a symbol of
dominion, and it'’s a message--

"We own this place and we can
come here whenever we want."

For anyone who sees them,
Roman roads are a reminder,

a mark in the landscape
of just who is in charge.

♪

Rome builds a military route
to consolidate its status

as an ancient power.

To the south, Egypt is also
looking to the future,

but taking on
a more spiritual challenge.

♪

After years of bloody wars,
Egypt is unified.

This ancient power is ruled by
pharaohs anointed by the Gods.

♪

On the banks of the Nile,
its people are blessed

with fertile land
and plenty of food.

With few enemies threatening
their kingdom,

they are thriving.

But kings and commoners alike
are all anxious

about their future.

♪

Ismail: For an ancient Egyptian,
this life that we'’re living

was just a temporary stage.

It was not the eternity.

They wanted to live
an eternal life.

Making it to the afterlife
is every Egyptian'’s dream.

They believe if your body
isn'’t properly entombed,

you'’ve no hope
of making the journey

and risk being stuck
in limbo forever.

For an ancient Egyptian,
it was really important

to spend your life
preparing for your afterlife,

and the more power you had,

the bigger and grander
your tomb.

To house their mortal remains,
wealthy nobles build mastabas.

These huge, single-storey tombs
are highly decorated

and multi-chambered.

♪

This is one impressive mastaba.

You know this person
was wealthy.

This person had influence,
and you can see it.

When rich men like Mereruka
are entombed,

elaborate funeral processions
deliver everything they need

for the afterlife--

jars of food and wine,

chests of gold
and fine jewellery,

and even boats
for their final journey.

♪

For ancient Egyptians, the next
life was similar to this life,

except it was much better.

So if you had one or two
servants in this life,

you were gonna have 100
in the next life.

If you had a couple of ducks
and a cow,

you were gonna have 100 cows.

♪

The decoration in Mereruka'’s
tomb reflects his rich life--

hunting, fishing,

and collecting
his pharaoh'’s taxes.

Mereruka was very close
to the king.

This is what makes him
a powerful man,

and probably,
his afterlife

would'’ve been very powerful
as well.

But his single-storey tomb
has a major flaw.

Over time, it will disappear
beneath the desert sands,

and Mereruka'’s name
will be forgotten.

For the pharaohs,
this isn'’t good enough.

They want their names
to be known forever.

They want immortality.

If you wanted to be remembered,
you would have to stand out,

therefore, Egyptians had
to think, "What next?"

♪

One pharaoh wonders
if he can build a tomb

that won'’t just stand out
from the crowd,

but will also last
for eternity.

He is Djoser,
and what he comes up with

is both bold and brilliant.

♪

He wanted something that looked
like a stairway to the heavens,

and what more was than
to stack up a few mastabas

on top of each other?

So rather than having one,
how about having six?

Djoser'’s builder invent

an entirely new
architectural form,

something never seen before.

It is the tallest manmade
structure in the world...

♪

...the very first pyramid.

And it is revolutionary
in more ways than one.

♪

Djoser changes everything
in Egypt.

He sets the new rules
and he puts his foot down

and says, "We'’re not using
mudbrick anymore.

Mudbrick is for
the living people,

but the dead
are gonna live in stones.

They'’re gonna be eternal."

No matter how many layers
of time are covering the earth,

he was gonna still be there,
strong, powerful,

and magnificent.

♪

Djoser'’s tomb is visible
for miles across the desert,

a massive symbol of
this pharaoh'’s power,

and inside,
it is equally impressive.

♪

It'’s so incredible,
endless tunnels,

and you go on and on and on,

and you'’re so squashed
to the point where you're like,

you feel like, "Oh, my God,
where am I going?"

30 metres underground
lies Djoser'’s burial
chamber....

♪

Wow.

...and the giant granite
sarcophagus

that holds his mortal remains.

So beautiful.

This place is magic.

These were not just tombs,
they were a transition.

He came to resurrect himself,
and this is what the kings do,

they became Gods.

♪

For Djoser, this pyramid is his
pathway to everlasting life.

♪

A peaceful kingdom,
vast wealth,

and their religious beliefs

dictate what the pharaohs
choose to build.

♪

In India,
there is a new ruler,

and he is building to try
and secure stability.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

♪

For the very first time,
after years of fighting,

almost the entire
subcontinent is unified.

♪

A vast kingdom of
20 million people...

♪

...all ruled
by Ashoka the Great,

a ferocious warrior who keeps
control with violence,

cruelty, and mass executions,

and when his brothers threaten
his throne,

he murders them.

♪

But after his brutal wars
and savage behaviour,

this king is stricken
with guilt.

♪

Barve: Ashoka writes
about the pain he felt.

Thousands of people were killed
and displaced or imprisoned,

and that made him feel intense,
intense remorse.

After that, it is said that
he wanted to change his ways.

In the brutal ancient world
where violence equals power,

for Ashoka, this is a risk,

but he is determined
to change,

and for answers turns
to a new philosophy.

♪

Sakyaputta:
Buddha says that each of us,

we are travellers on this path,
every living being.

He says that if you want a
prosperous and peaceful kingdom,

you have to be generous,

you have to invest back
in your society

and cultivate qualities of
loving kindness and compassion.

Buddha'’s message entrances
the repentant king...

[ Monks chanting ]

...so he adopts it,
and in an unusual move,

asks his people
to do the same.

Barve: It'’s surprising
because not only is it

a complete change
of heart from a warrior

to someone who wants
to practice non-violence,

but also to ask all of
his people not to convert,

but to follow the new rules
of Buddhism, and that,

I think, is the biggest shock,
is asking people to change

and adopt more non-violent
means of living.

♪

If Ashoka is to keep his throne
by peaceful means,

he needs to spread
this new idea

across his enormous realm.

In the beginning, he sent his
ministers to spread his message,

but then of course,
he also wanted to make sure

that those messages are heard,
are seen, are followed,

so he also chose
to write them down,

not on paper,
but on stone.

To ensure his message
is getting through,

Ashoka embarks
on a grand tour

of his kingdom,
erecting stone pillars

everywhere he goes,

including one
in modern-day Nepal,

at the most sacred
Buddhist site.

♪

What we have here
is the Lumbini Pillar.

It is here to indicate that it
is the birthplace

of Gautama Buddha,

so of course, it'’s a very
important site in Buddhism,

and that is one of the reasons
why we find this pillar here.

But these pillars aren'’t just
built at religious locations.

Ashoka built them on key spots

throughout
the Indian subcontinent--

some of them were on important
trade routes--

and because it was
a new phenomena,

it must'’ve attracted
a lot of people to them

to see what it is.

These intriguing structures
announce

Ashoka'’s ownership of the land,

but it is the writing on them

that carries
his vision of peace,

words that are read out
to his subjects.

♪

The pillar we have here
and similar pillars

that are found all over
the Indian subcontinent

are engraved with inscriptions
left behind by King Ashoka.

He mentions the code of conduct

he would like
his people to follow.

The messages were mainly to do
with being kind to one another.

He goes on to say how you should
always treat your subordinates,

your co-workers, everyone
with equality and of course,

the most important message
is to practice non-violence.

The pillars broadcast Ashoka'’s
Buddhist ideals,

and they are effective.

It is fair to say
that the message

that he was trying to get
across to people

actually made an impact,

because we see a relatively
peaceful rule for Ashoka

until the day he dies.

These stone pillars
are built to last,

and many are still standing,
a visible legacy

of Ashoka'’s successful
and peaceful empire.

He really wanted to make sure
that his message

would always resonate
for future generations to come,

which is why, I think, he also
wrote it down on stone,

because that was the best way
he could do that.

♪

In ancient India,
the king builds monuments

to promote peace.

But in Greece,
war is coming.

They need a way
to protect themselves and fast.

♪

The discovery of a rich seam
of silver makes Athens

the most powerful force
in Greece,

but to the east lies a vast,
threatening superpower--

the Persians,
a constant adversary.

They lust greedily
after Greek land

and the precious metal

the Athenians
are digging from their mines,

and they are now
poised to invade.

The Greeks
must defend themselves

and with
their seafaring heritage,

they build what they know
best-- ships--

the fastest,
most manoeuvrable warships

of the ancient world.

Fotakis: This ship is a trireme,

the trireme
has a length of 36.8 metres,

it has a width
of about six metres.

it is the most expensive boat,
warship

of the classical antiquity.

It cost a lot-- one talent.

One talent
is a huge amount of money.

It's about 26 kilograms
of silver.

Triremes are so called because
of the three decks of oarsman

that power them.

And with a treasury
full of mined silver,

Athens' pockets are deep enough
to construct a fleet

of more than 200 of them.

They are manned
by free born Athenian men,

most of them
experienced sailors.

These ships were
pretty manoeuvrable.

They were 30% faster
than enemy triremes

because their crews
were much more trained.

♪

The Greeks are ready,

but when the Persians
finally attack Athens...

they don'’t come by sea,

but by land.

In just a few short days,
they ransack the city,

destroying homes,
plundering temples,

and burning it to the ground.

The Athenian warships are used
as rescue boats,

evacuating people
from their devastated homes.

But the Athenians aren'’t
backing down from this fight.

♪

The great thing about Athens

is that they were not fighting
about their city.

Their city
was already destroyed.

It was already occupied.

Instead of fighting
for their particular city,

they fought for their liberty
because the idea of Greece

was a very important one
at that time.

Athens is battling
for its life.

♪

In open water, the Persian
ships outnumber the Greeks

almost three to one,

making a full-frontal attack
impossible,

but the Greeks have a plan.

In a narrow stretch of water

15 kilometres west
of their burning city,

they gamble
on a risky strategy.

♪

The battle began at about
nine o'’clock in the morning.

Shortly after the beginning
of the battle,

the Greek fleet withdrew
towards the coast of Salamis.

The Persians were encouraged
by this,

and they pursued the Greek fleet
towards the coast of Salamis.

After the Greeks lured
the Persians,

they counter-attacked.

With the Persians trapped
in the narrow straits,

the Greeks row forward,

using their triremes
as weapons,

driving the warships'’
bronze rams hard

below the enemy'’s waterline
to sink them.

The Greeks quickly
gained the upper hand.

♪

The result is disastrous.

200 Persian triremes
are lost within a day,

whereas only 40 Greek triremes
are lost during that battle.

Against the odds,
it is a stunning victory

that sends the Persians
packing.

Without the victory
at the Battle of Salamis,

the Greeks would have
not avoided

enslavement to the Persians.

Salamis gave Athens security,
freedom, confidence,

and the ability to preserve
its democratic constitution.

But if the Athenians are to
stay ahead of the game,

they will need to defend
their city and their ships.

They finally turn from building
in wood to building in stone.

They construct
two massive walls

over eight metres tall
and three metres wide.

They encircle their port
and precious warships,

creating a protected corridor
to their city.

♪

They also raise a wall around
their natural citadel,

the acropolis,
turning it into a fortress,

and inside, they construct
the Parthenon.

Part treasury, part temple,
this architectural wonder

is the city'’s crowning glory.

For the next century,
Athens is ascendant,

all thanks to
their unconventional

building project.

It was a wise decision to spend
all the silver from Lavrion

to constructing this great fleet
that fought and won

at Salamis.

This decision made Athens rich.

This decision gave Athens
an empire.

Greece stares death in the face

and emerges victorious,
stronger than ever.

♪

To the south,
in Egypt,

they are focused
on marking their territory

with ever-grander statements.

♪

King Djoser'’s stepped pyramid
is a monumental success,

a symbol of wealth,
power, and immortality.

But a generation
after his death,

when another God-like pharaoh,
Sneferu, takes control,

his ego demands something
even bigger.

Can he go one better
than his predecessor?

♪

Ismail: Dahshur is the first
true pyramid site,

so coming here,
you see the transition,

what happened next
after the stepper.

Sneferu'’s pyramid
is new and improved,

adding smooth sides
to Djoser'’s stepped design.

But his builders
make a terrible error.

♪

If this pyramid was carried on
on the original angle,

it was going to collapse

because this angle was
too steep for that design.

♪

Realising their mistake,

the builders simply finished
the job with a shallower angle,

a drastic change that gives
rise to its modern name,

the Bent Pyramid.

♪

But this botched job
isn'’t good enough for Sneferu,

so he insists
his builders try again,

and just two kilometres away,
they construct this.

♪

And here we are seeing
the testimony

of Sneferu'’s success,
the first true pyramid.

And once they got
the correct angle,

everything was just perfect
from that.

♪

It'’s precisely engineered
on the outside

and the inside, too.

The vaulted ceiling in
Sneferu'’s burial chamber

is more than just decoration.

♪

That have not only worked out
how the pyramid works

from the outside,
but coming in here,

you can see that they have
worked out the inner structure,

and you can see the weight
distribution is equal.

♪

You are actually in the pyramid.
You can feel the space.

So it'’s really beautiful
to be here.

Sneferu is delighted
with his pyramid,

but for his son, Khufu,
even this isn'’t big enough.

This point in time, here,

is where the Great Pyramid
comes from.

If it wasn'’t for this pyramid,

we wouldn'’t have
the Great Pyramid.

♪

In 2570 BCE, construction
starts on Khufu'’s pyramid.

♪

It will take 23 years

and 2.3 million stone blocks
to complete.

Towering over 146 metres,

it will be the tallest
manmade structure on Earth

for thousands of years.

Covered in brilliant white
polished limestone

and capped in gold,
it passes into legend

as one of the seven wonders
of the ancient world.

♪

A pyramid showed what a king
of Egypt is capable of doing.

♪

These massive structures

are Egypt'’s great
national building project,

houses of eternity
that broadcast

the pharaoh'’s belief
in the afterlife.

♪

Each ancient power has overcome
their second challenge,

responding to the threats
they face

and the beliefs they hold,

cementing their power and
creating icons for the future.

Egypt and India construct
elaborate monuments,

driven by the desires
of their powerful rulers.

Greece and China build vastly
different defences

to counter threats
to their existence,

whilst Rome marches on,

using their engineering expertise

to consolidate
an expanding empire.

Each ancient power
has succeeded

in building foundations
for their civilisations,

but to continue growing,

they need to make some money.

♪