Engineering an Empire

Twenty-five hundred years before Rome, ancient Egyptian temples, fortresses, pyramids and palaces forever redefined the limits of architectural possibility. (100 min, 11 segments)

Consistently great engineering feats were the cornerstone to the foundation of Roman culture and civilization. Peter Weller hosts. (85 min, 9 segments)

Remarkable engineering feats by the ancient Persian empire under Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great (44 min, 5 segments)

In less than 200 years the Aztec’s transformed themselves from a band of wandering nomads to the greatest civilization the New World had ever known. (44 min, 5 segments)

From the Temple-Pyramids at Tikal, to the royal tomb at Palenque, to the star observatory at Chichen Itza, this episode examines the architecture and infrastructure that enabled the rise and fall of the ancient Maya civilization. (45 minutes in 5 segments)

As much of the world descended into the Dark Ages after the fall of Rome, the Byzantine Empire shone brilliantly. Ingenious but ruthless, the Byzantines ruled over vast swaths of Europe and Asia for more than a thousand years. (45 minutes in 5 segments)