Alastair Sooke follows in the footsteps of Rome's mad, bad and dangerous emperors in the second part of his celebration of Roman art. He dons a wetsuit to explore the underwater remains of the Emperor Claudius's pleasure palace and ventures into the cave where Tiberius held wild parties. He finds their taste in art chimes perfectly with their obsession with sex and violence. The other side of the coin was the bombastic art the Romans are best remembered for - monumental arches and columns that boast about their conquests. Trajan's Column in Rome reads like the storyboard of a modern-day propaganda film. Sooke concludes with the remarkable legacy of the Emperor Hadrian. He gave the world the magnificent Pantheon in Rome - the eternal image of his lover Antinous, the most beautiful boy in the history of art - and a villa in Tivoli where he created one of the most ambitious art collections ever created.
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The Romans were brilliant engineers and soldiers, but what isn't as well known is that they also gave us wonderful artistic treasures. In this three-part series, Alastair Sooke argues that the old-fashioned view that the Romans didn't do art is nonsense. He traces how the Romans during the Republic went from being art thieves and copycats to pioneering a new artistic style - warts 'n' all realism. Roman portraits reveal what the great names from history, men like Julius Caesar and Cicero, actually looked like. Modern-day artists demonstrate the ingenious techniques used to create these true to life masterpieces in marble, bronze and paint. We can step back into the Roman world thanks to their invention of the documentary-style marble relief and to a volcano called Vesuvius. Sooke explores the remarkable artistic legacy of Pompeii before showing how Rome's first emperor, Augustus, used the power of art to help forge an empire.
2012 • History
Alastair Sooke follows in the footsteps of Rome's mad, bad and dangerous emperors in the second part of his celebration of Roman art. He dons a wetsuit to explore the underwater remains of the Emperor Claudius's pleasure palace and ventures into the cave where Tiberius held wild parties. He finds their taste in art chimes perfectly with their obsession with sex and violence. The other side of the coin was the bombastic art the Romans are best remembered for - monumental arches and columns that boast about their conquests. Trajan's Column in Rome reads like the storyboard of a modern-day propaganda film. Sooke concludes with the remarkable legacy of the Emperor Hadrian. He gave the world the magnificent Pantheon in Rome - the eternal image of his lover Antinous, the most beautiful boy in the history of art - and a villa in Tivoli where he created one of the most ambitious art collections ever created.
2012 • History
This episode looks at the turning of the war against Germany, with Allied victory at El Alamein and Russian triumph at Stalingrad. Inside Hitler's Germany the SS gain more power, and in southern Europe the Allies fight their way though Italy
S1E5 • Apocalypse: The Second World War • 2009 • History
Jago explores the ancient civilisation of Teotihuacan that exploded into a position of dominance in the ancient Americas almost 2,000 years ago. For hundred of years this great city state was the biggest in the New World. Its rulers built monumental pyramids and temples and then went on to build a vast empire that was maintained through force. Yet the identity of the people who led this civilisation remains a mystery.
S1E4 • Lost Kingdoms of Central America • 2014 • History
The Big Crash” relates the dramatic history of how the continent of Europe came to be – from the carboniferous period to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. During its long creation process Europe has “traveled” through various climate zones, has been shaped by the elements and transformed by collisions with other continents. Dinosaurs were also at home here – until the Big Crash came.
S1E1 • 300 Million Years: Where Life Began • 2015 • History
As Nobunaga's ambitions intensify, some generals begin to question his command, leading to a betrayal that alters the political landscape forever.
S1E3 • Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan • 2021 • History
In year 1459 a book was written which contained images so bizarre that even 500 years later their meaning is still shrouded in mystery. Violent, secretive, and packed full of knowledge, Medieval Fight Book uncovers the real story of Europe in the Middle Ages. Its 150 beautifully illustrated paper folios depicts a unique imagery of bloody, highly sophisticated combat, strange futuristic designs and inventions, ingenious engineering and judicial duels. Its timeworn leather cover bears one simple inscription: Talhoffer. The mysterious fightmaster of the middle ages and the author of the mysterious medieval fight book. Hans Talhoffer's 1459 Fightbook (Fechtbuch) is one of medieval worlds' most mysterious manuscripts, challenging the legends and myths that surrounded this so often misunderstood period of our history. Today, the manuscript is located deep in the vaults of the Danish Royal Library. Using historical recreations, amazing CGI and leading historians, Medieval Fight Book reveals that medieval society was far more sophisticated and peculiar than we realized. Hidden in a dusty library, this obscure and strange manuscript contains unique imagery of bloody but highly sophisticated combat, futuristic designs and inventions, ingenious engineering and judicial duels. Hans Talhoffer's 1459 fightbook is one of the medieval worlds' most mysterious manuscripts, challenging the legends and myths that surrounded this often misunderstood period of our history. In Medieval Fight Book we'll join a documentary film crew and a team of historians as they test out most of the designs and inventions within Talhoffer's book. Will the inventions live up to being usable?
2010 • History
An international team of scientists began a 3-year exploration of the Black Sea in search of evidence of the ancient empires that sailed their ships into unknown waters in pursuit of trade.
S1E1 • Expedition: Black Sea Wrecks • 2018 • History