The Barbarian West | Legacy: A Search for the Origins of Civilisation | Up Close

Legacy: A Search for the Origins of Civilisation Episode 6 ➔ Subscribe to the channel: https://bit.ly/3zMSJ1H Michael Wood looks at the spread of Western civilisation, which began in the 4th Century A. invasion of the Near East by Alexander the Great. Charts the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, which, at its height, extended from Hadrian's Wall in Scotland to the Persian Gulf, and the opening up of trade routes through Central Asia into China. Also looks at the spread of Christianity, the conquest and subjugation of the New World by European powers, the worldwide implications of the Industrial Revolution, and the rise of the United States as a superpower. Traces the emergence in the West of ideas based on democracy defining the world, and cites these as possible explanations behind the success of Western civilisation. Ends the programme by questioning whether a society based upon expansion, acquisition and over-consumption can be sustained, and whether the West needs to learn from the other great ancient civilisations. The programme is filmed at the First World War battlefield of Verdun in northern France; Samos in Greece, where Pythagoras developed his mathematical theories; Athens, the birthplace of the first democracy; the church of St Peter and Paul in Jarrow, Northumbria, home of the 8th century Christian historian, the Venerable Bede; Durham Cathedral; the library of Thomas Plume in Maldon, east England; Manchester, England, one of the world's first industrial cities; and Washington D.C. Watch More Documentaries True Lives - https://bit.ly/3A8xRMJ Our History - https://bit.ly/3rUpdhL Our World - https://bit.ly/3ftuckM Our Stories - https://bit.ly/3ynfFyk Taste - https://bit.ly/3OZoDcV Content distributed by ITV Studios. #UpClose #documentaries #ITV