The Western Tradition
Season 1
1989 · 52 episodes
1. The Dawn of History
1989-01-01 · 30m
The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.
2. The Ancient Egyptians
1989-01-01 · 30m
Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.
3. Mesopotamia
1989-01-01 · 30m
Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.
4. From Bronze to Iron
1989-01-01 · 30m
Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.
5. The Rise of Greek Civilization
1989-01-01 · 30m
Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.
6. Greek Thought
1989-01-01 · 30m
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.
7. Alexander the Great
1989-01-01 · 30m
Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.
8. The Hellenistic Age
1989-01-01 · 30m
Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.
9. The Rise of Rome
1989-01-01 · 30m
Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.
10. The Roman Empire
1989-01-01 · 30m
Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.
11. Early Christianity
1989-01-01 · 30m
Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.
12. The Rise of the Church
1989-01-01 · 30m
The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.
13. The Decline of Rome
1989-01-01 · 30m
While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.
14. The Fall of Rome
1989-01-01 · 30m
Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.
15. The Byzantine Empire
1989-01-01 · 30m
From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.
16. The Fall of Byzantium
1989-01-01 · 30m
Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.
17. The Dark Ages
1989-01-01 · 30m
Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.
18. The Age of Charlemagne
1989-01-01 · 30m
Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.
19. The Middle Ages
1989-01-01 · 30m
Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.
20. The Feudal Order
1989-01-01 · 30m
Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.
21. Common Life in the Middle Ages
1989-01-01 · 30m
Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.
22. Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages
1989-01-01 · 30m
The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.
23. The Late Middle Ages
1989-01-01 · 30m
Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.
24. The National Monarchies
1989-01-01 · 30m
A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.
25. Renaissance & the Age of Discovery
1989-01-01 · 30m
Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.
26. Renaissance & the New World
1989-01-01 · 30m
The discovery of America challenged Europe.
27. The Reformation
1989-01-01 · 30m
Voiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.
28. The Rise of the Middle Class
1989-01-01 · 30m
As the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.
29. The Wars of Religion
1989-01-01 · 30m
For more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.
30. The Rise of the Trading Cities
1989-01-01 · 30m
Amid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.
31. The Age of Absolutism
1989-01-01 · 30m
Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.
32. Absolutism and the Social Contract
1989-01-01 · 30m
Arguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.
33. The Enlightened Despots
1989-01-01 · 30m
Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.
34. The Enlightenment
1989-01-01 · 30m
Intellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.
35. The Enlightenment and Society
1989-01-01 · 30m
Scientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.
36. The Modern Philosophers
1989-01-01 · 30m
Freedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.
37. The American Revolution
1989-01-01 · 30m
The British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.
38. The American Republic
1989-01-01 · 30m
A new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.
39. The Death of the Old Regime
1989-01-01 · 30m
In France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.
40. The French Revolution
1989-01-01 · 30m
Liberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.
41. The Industrial Revolution
1989-01-01 · 30m
Technology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.
42. The Industrial World
1989-01-01 · 30m
A consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.
43. Revolution and Romantics
1989-01-01 · 30m
Leaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.
44. The Age of the Nation-States
1989-01-01 · 30m
The great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.
45. A New Public
1989-01-01 · 30m
Public education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.
46. Fin de Siècle
1989-01-01 · 30m
Everyday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.
47. The First World War and the Rise of Fascism
1989-01-01 · 30m
Old empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.
48. The Second World War
1989-01-01 · 30m
World War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.
49. The Cold War
1989-01-01 · 30m
The U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.
50. Europe and the Third World
1989-01-01 · 30m
Burdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.
51. The Technological Revolution
1989-01-01 · 30m
Keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.
52. Toward the Future
1989-01-01 · 30m
Modern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.
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