Ancient Worlds

Archaeologist and historian Richard Miles examines the collapse of the Bronze Age 3,000 years ago, and how the civilisations of the subsequent Iron Age emerged. He explores the former Phoenician cities of Byblos and Tyre and their technological contributions, including the alphabet and deep-water sailing, before heading to Israel to learn how the Assyrian war machine affected small local powers

Archaeologist and historian Richard Miles explores the triumphs and legacy of Alexander the Great, the conqueror who rose from the minor kingdom of Macedon and went on to control a vast empire stretching to Persia. The presenter also focuses on those who succeeded him after his demise in Babylon, and how they tried to maintain the empire by cunning rather than by the sword

In the last of the series, archaeologist and historian Richard Miles examines the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. At the height of its power, the Roman Empire extended the benefits of its civilization to a 60 million citizens and subjects in a swathe of territory that extended from Hadrians Wall to the banks of the Euphrates. Even under the rule of mad, bad and dangerous emperors, the imperial system proved to be robust, buttressed by the support of elite families in the far-flung corners of the empire whose loyalty was ensured by a system of cultural aspiration, economic opportunity and military coercion. But the material benefits of the good order delivered by Roman rule provided its citizens and subjects with the security to ask profound questions about the meaning of life, questions that the pragmatic, polytheistic Roman belief system was ill-equipped to answer. Christianity grew to fill the spiritual vacuum at the heart of Roman civilization, eventually claiming an Emperor, Constantine, as its greatest prize. The City of Man would be eclipsed the City of God.