19 episodes · 1st August 2007
The Seven Wonders were a celebration of religion, mythology, art, power, and science. Built in a time before Christ and their scale and majesty continues to mesmerize.
1,000 years ago in the central India, the Hindu Kings built their capital city, Khajuraho, 85 temples were built, 20 of which remain. Famed above all for the delicate sensuality and eroticism of their sculptures, these frank representations of sexuality are considered an expression of India's world renowned Kama Sutra.
The end of World War II heralded the Cold War, war of paranoia and potential nuclear catastrophe. In the wreckages of missile sites, secret cities and crumbling nuclear facilities, search for clues to understand how this war was played out and the secret structures that were constructed to arm the nation against attack.
Considered one of England's greatest Kings and builders, Henry VIII remains famous for his six wives. Henry ruled by fear, executing his opponents and several of his wives. He ordered the destruction of beautiful buildings, libraries and works of art. However, Henry also built many magnificent palaces like Hampton Court and transformed Westminster Abbey from a modest church into the epicenter of the Protestant religion. Henry VIII remains one of the most important monarchs to have ruled England.
As the Cold War reached its boiling point elaborate defense preparations were made in the event of nuclear war. Scret bunkers were constructed and a covert shadow government program was born.
Herod, king of Judea, was famous for creating a series of great buildings, and laying the foundations for Jerusalem. Watch as Herod's impressive projects are charted, including his masterpiece, Herod's Temple.
The construction of the Titanic needed an army of workers & the resources of a purpose-built town complete with an array of specially built docks & facilities to construct it.
The wild west was an era fueled by lawless gambling towns, frenzied gold rushes, & legendary racketeers. Gunfighters & misfits thrived in a society where people were simply looking for a good time and a way to get filthy rich.
The Vikings were fearsome warriors from Denmark and Norway who burst upon Western Europe, raiding and plundering at the end of the 8th century. They first targeted coastal monasteries, but later they constructed magnificent ships that could sail up rivers and sack inland towns.
Al Capone's, rise to power coincided with the notorious Roaring Twenties in Chicago. Capone & his fellow mobsters flooded the city with bootleg liquor, while buying off government officials.
The Hittites are the forgotten superpower of the Bible. Hattusha, the capital was the heart of their empire. They were a highly advanced military powerhouse who struck fear into the hearts of all their enemies, yet the Hittites disappeared as quickly as they emerged--the greatest vanishing act in history.
See what the Soviet Union looked like during Stalin's rule.
Located on a rocky plateau overlooking the Dead Sea, the now-ruined fortress of Masada once had walls 1400m long and 4m thick, storehouses, barracks, an armory, a palace and massive cisterns filled with rainwater. Designed to withstand any invader, it became the scene of one of history's most bloody sieges... a siege that ended in mass suicide.
One of the most frightening horror stories ever written was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Was this story, however, Robert Louis Stevenson's disturbing fantasy or was it based on a series of blood-curdling episodes that took place in the town of Edinburgh?
Airships flew years before the Wright Brothers flew the first airplane, yet it has been almost forgotten. The largest aircraft ever built was an airship. The first aerial bombardment of one nation by another was conducted using airships and they still are the only airborne aircraft carriers ever built. Follow the rise and fall of the airship and discover the shining future of air travel that never was.
Ivan the Terrible, Russia's first Tsar, led a brutal and unpredictable life. A renowned sadist, Ivan was the originator of Russia's secret police. He fortified walls to counter the advancing age of artillery, expanded the borders of his nation and built a new generation of Kremlins. Follow a team of historical detectives who use evidence from recent excavations, scientific studies and historical documents to piece together clues to what Ivan's Russia looked like.
During the heyday of piracy, fearsome buccaneers sailed the Caribbean in search of booty. Fortresses are raided, swords are drawn and galleons clash in an incredible story of glittering treasure and swashbuckling adventures. From the icy docks of Bristol to the tropical paradise of the Caribbean, discover the incredible world of the buccaneers.
Four hundred years ago Emperor Shah Jahan was the most powerful man in the world. The Taj Mahal, in Agra, India was built to honor his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. The Taj Mahal is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World and considered to be the finest example of Mughal architecture. 20,000 workers toiled to create an astounding feat of engineering, but what we see today is only a fraction of what was originally erected.
Aphrodisias is a magnificent city of marble dedicated to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. It is widely recognized as one of the best-preserved sites in the Classical World. Although forgotten until the mid-20th century, the city's remarkable state of preservation led to comparisons with Pompeii.
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