Watch The Western Tradition (Season 1, Episode 39)

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The Western Tradition

Season 1, Ep 39: The Death of the Old Regime

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S1 · E39

30m

1. The Dawn of History

The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.

30m

2. The Ancient Egyptians

Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.

30m

3. Mesopotamia

Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.

30m

4. From Bronze to Iron

Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.

30m

5. The Rise of Greek Civilization

Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.

30m

6. Greek Thought

Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.

30m

7. Alexander the Great

Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.

30m

8. The Hellenistic Age

Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.

30m

9. The Rise of Rome

Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.

30m

10. The Roman Empire

Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.

30m

11. Early Christianity

Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.

30m

12. The Rise of the Church

The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.

30m

13. The Decline of Rome

While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.

30m

14. The Fall of Rome

Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.

30m

15. The Byzantine Empire

From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.

30m

16. The Fall of Byzantium

Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.

30m

17. The Dark Ages

Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.

30m

18. The Age of Charlemagne

Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.

30m

19. The Middle Ages

Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.

30m

20. The Feudal Order

Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.

30m

21. Common Life in the Middle Ages

Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.

30m

22. Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages

The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.

30m

23. The Late Middle Ages

Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.

30m

24. The National Monarchies

A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.

30m

25. Renaissance & the Age of Discovery

Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.

30m

26. Renaissance & the New World

The discovery of America challenged Europe.

30m

27. The Reformation

Voiced by Martin Luther, Protestantism shattered the unity of the Catholic Church.

30m

28. The Rise of the Middle Class

As the cities grew, new middle-class mores had an impact on religious life.

30m

29. The Wars of Religion

For more than a century, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tore Europe apart.

30m

30. The Rise of the Trading Cities

Amid religious wars, a few cities learned that tolerance increased their prosperity.

30m

31. The Age of Absolutism

Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans exchanged earlier liberties and anarchies for greater peace.

30m

32. Absolutism and the Social Contract

Arguments about the legitimate source of political power centered on divine right versus natural law.

30m

33. The Enlightened Despots

Monarchs considered reforms in order to create more efficient societies, but not at the expense of their own power.

30m

34. The Enlightenment

Intellectual theories about the nature of man and his potential came to the fore.

30m

35. The Enlightenment and Society

Scientists and social reformers battled for universal human rights during a peaceful and prosperous period.

30m

36. The Modern Philosophers

Freedom of thought and expression opened new vistas explored by French, English, and American thinkers.

30m

37. The American Revolution

The British colonists created a society that tested Enlightenment ideas and resisted restrictions imposed by England.

30m

38. The American Republic

A new republic, the compromise of radicals and conservatives, was founded on universal freedoms.

30mPlaying

39. The Death of the Old Regime

In France the old order collapsed under revolutionaries' attacks and the monarchy's own weakness.

30m

40. The French Revolution

Liberty, equality, and fraternity skidded into a reign of Terror.

30m

41. The Industrial Revolution

Technology and mass production reduced famine and ushered in higher standards of living.

30m

42. The Industrial World

A consumer revolution was fueled by coal, public transportation, and new city services.

30m

43. Revolution and Romantics

Leaders in the arts, literature, and political theory argued for social justice and national liberation.

30m

44. The Age of the Nation-States

The great powers cooperated to quell internal revolts, yet competed to acquire colonies.

30m

45. A New Public

Public education and mass communications created a new political life and leisure time.

30m

46. Fin de Siècle

Everyday life of the working class was transformed by leisure, prompting the birth of an elite avant-garde movement.

30m

47. The First World War and the Rise of Fascism

Old empires crumbled during World War I to be replaced by right-wing dictatorships in Italy, Spain, and Germany.

30m

48. The Second World War

World War II was a war of new tactics and strategies. Civilian populations became targets as the Nazi holocaust exterminated millions of people.

30m

49. The Cold War

The U.S. and Soviet Union dominated Europe and confronted each other in Korea.

30m

50. Europe and the Third World

Burdened with the legacy of colonial imperialism, the Third World rushed development to catch up with its Western counterparts.

30m

51. The Technological Revolution

Keeping up with the ever-increasing pace of change became the standard of the day.

30m

52. Toward the Future

Modern medicine, atomic energy, computers, and new concepts of time, energy, and matter all have an important effect on life in the 20th century.