Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua. The history of human occupation in Mesoamerica is divided among a number of stages or periods. These are known, with slight variation depending on region, as the Paleo-Indian, the Archaic, the Preclassic, the Classic, and the Postclassic.
Byzantium, brings to life an empire that, while seemingly distant, is very closely linked to the evolution of Western Civilization. Traces the growth of the first Christian empire, one that lasted for over a thousand years and the maturity and decline of Byzantium through its conquest by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. For more than 1,000 years, the Byzantine Empire was the eye of the entire world the origin of great literature, fine art and modern government. Heir to Greece and Rome, the Byzantine Empire was also the first Christian empire.
Ten short years after his discovery of the New World, Columbus languished in a Caribbean prison. There, awaiting the gallows, he plotted what he called his most treacherous voyage – one that ended with the loss of all four of his ships and left Columbus and his crew shipwrecked with little hope of survival. The true story of Christopher Columbus was not only one of victorious discovery; it was also marked by disaster, accusation, and betrayal.
For 25 centuries, the Parthenon has been shot at, set on fire, rocked by earthquakes, looted for its sculptures, and disfigured by misguided restorations. Now, a team of architects and engineers is investigating the many mysteries of this icon of Western Civilization: How did the ancient Greeks design and build their masterpiece so quickly.
The Templar Code is an in-depth examination into the remarkable rise and rapid descent of the powerful and obscure Knights Templar. In this insightful program, Decoding The Past interviews some of the world’s leading biblical scholars and visits historic sites throughout Europe and the Near East to probe the past of this mysterious order. For nearly two centuries, the Knights Templar was the most powerful order in the medieval world. Today, the group’s legacy is played out in an array of Hollywood blockbusters and numerous works of popular literature.
Historian Christopher Clark re-examines the life and achievements of one of Germany's most colourful and controversial leaders. The Prussian king Frederick the Great was one of the greatest warriors and leaders in modern European history, achieving greatness through the Seven Years War and lauded as a philosopher and cultured 'Prince of the Enlightenment'. Yet the reputation of both Frederick and his Prussia was to be tarnished by association with Hitler's Nazi regime.
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