The Western Tradition

Episode 01

The Dawn of History

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 02

The Ancient Egyptians

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.

Episode 03

Mesopotamia

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 04

From Bronze to Iron

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 05

The Rise of Greek Civilization

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 06

Greek Thought

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 07

Alexander the Great

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 08

The Hellenistic Age

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.

Episode 09

The Rise of Rome

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 10

The Roman Empire

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 11

Early Christianity

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.

Episode 12

The Rise of the Church

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 13

The Decline of Rome

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 14

The Fall of Rome

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 15

The Byzantine Empire

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 16

The Fall of Byzantium

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 17

The Dark Ages

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 18

The Age of Charlemagne

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.

Episode 19

The Middle Ages

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 20

The Feudal Order

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 21

Common Life in the Middle Ages

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 22

Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 23

The Late Middle Ages

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.

Episode 24

The National Monarchies

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 25

Renaissance & the Age of Discovery

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 26

Renaissance & the New World

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

The discovery of America challenged Europe.

Episode 27

The Reformation

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 28

The Rise of the Middle Class

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 29

The Wars of Religion

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 30

The Rise of the Trading Cities

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 31

The Age of Absolutism

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 32

Absolutism and the Social Contract

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 33

The Enlightened Despots

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 34

The Enlightenment

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 35

The Enlightenment and Society

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 36

The Modern Philosophers

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 37

The American Revolution

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 38

The American Republic

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 39

The Death of the Old Regime

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 40

The French Revolution

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 41

The Industrial Revolution

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 42

The Industrial World

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 43

Revolution and Romantics

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 44

The Age of the Nation-States

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 45

A New Public

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 46

Fin de Siècle

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 47

The First World War and the Rise of Fascism

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 48

The Second World War

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 49

The Cold War

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 50

Europe and the Third World

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 51

The Technological Revolution

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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

Episode 52

Toward the Future

Jan 1, 1989 · 30 min

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