Ancient Worlds [DVD] (2010)

This six part series started slowly with quite a dry first episode, which might put you off watching the following five hours. It really is worth persevering because the pace picks up dramatically with the second programme and, overall, this is a fascinating, insightful and entertaining series.
The host is historian and archaeologist Richard Miles, an expert on the ancient world of the Mediterranean which is where much of the story takes place. The series explores what holds the modern world together - civilisation - by examining its roots some 6000 years ago, and tracing the development of cities and human integration through the ancient worlds to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire - when `modern' historians can take over!
Miles is a good storyteller who talks directly to the viewer as he visits sites all over the Middle East and Mediterranean. He works from a polished script, giving a lot of emphasis to key one-liners. This isn't a rambling old duffer elaborating upon his specialised subject in meandering fashion; it's a discourse with a purpose, with Miles hitting home his point that people in 3000 BC were much the same then as we are now - and they organised themselves in the same ways. Religion, politics, war, diplomacy, technology, trade, art and culture all play a part in the development of civilisation, and we are shown how each come to the fore at different points in the timeline.

The story starts in Uruk, considered to be the 'mother of all cities', in southern Iraq, then explores Syria, Egypt, Anatolia and Greece to find the very first Bronze Age cities. Little written evidence remains from this time - and other archaeological remains are fragmentary - so this history blurs into myth and supposition at times. However, it was interesting to see how we can trace the movement of cultural influence across a continent by digging up common forms of pottery! The few precious letters from rulers and chieftains of this period were fascinating, too; especially the one where a petulant princeling complains that his relative can't think very much of him because he hasn't been sent any ostriches!
That first episode was the weakest, probably because of the paucity of evidence from the period, but once we get into the collapse of the Bronze Age society thanks to the invasion of the Sea People, and then the rise of Iron Age culture, it really kicks off. I was fascinated by the letters from one ruler, calling for help in fighting off the Sea People, who described in painful details the collapse of his city's infrastructure.
Then we find out how the Phoenicians got their name (from a purple dye; their major trade asset), and learn about the rise of the fearsome Assyrian army. One Assyrian king was on the throne for a massive 35 years and he waged war for 31 of those years - astonishing. The Assyrian empire commanded countless vassal states, and laid waste to the northern state of Israel -- which allowed the southern land of Judea to flourish. That's one of the first moments when we can clearly see a connecting thread of history, running straight from the Iron Age through to the modern world.
Miles then follows the development of civilisation through its Greek period, which also has direct influences on how modern societies are organised, including both democracy and totalitarian forms of government. There's insight into the lives of the Spartans - and much more thereafter. The Romans are fairly crammed in, however; we get an overview of their society and its different forms of government, not an in-depth examination.

So if you enjoy history, political or cultural investigations then you'll be rewarded by watching these six, one-hour programmes. They showcase a huge variety of ancient artefacts and fascinating documents, drawing on the expertise of the presenter to highlight revealing single lines of script and draw parallels with the modern situation. It's also a relief to be given a big dollop of history without it being infested by ridiculous `recreations' or dramatisations of `what might have happened'. Listening to an enthusiastic expert in the subject beats watching actors clanging fake swords, any day!
(Although it would have been nice to see some CGI recreations of some of the ancient cities, now and then; it can be hard to visualise an entire city from a mound on the horizon, or from the bare, rocky foundations which remain today).
I also found some of the presenter's pronunciation a little odd; he has a habit of inserting syllables where none exist (so 'assembly' becomes ass-em-ber-ley) and leaving out other quite crucial ones (so 'regularly' becomes 'regly', and so on). It's not a major point, but seems a little at odds with the otherwise scrupulous attention to detail.

Overall, excellent documentary television.
9/10

I read the first reviewer's comment about part 1 being dry, but I can't agree with that. Yes, the first 2 minutes are not exactly scene stealers - it's him, on a ferry somewhere on a river in Istanbul, talking quietly and seriously to you, the viewer, or gazing out at the river. In other words, "nothing to see here" and I wasn't at all sure I would continue watching the full hour. Then it all changes.....about 2 minutes in he is standing at the perfect spot to get one of the most incredible and lovely views of an ancient Syrian ruin called Apamea. He talks to the camera and ends with "...it's like that when you look down into the well of history, it gets dark so quickly. But then just sometimes, you catch a glimpse of something at the bottom, alive and moving. Then suddenly you realize that it's your own reflection, looking back at you. That's the story that I want to tell to you now. It's not the story of ancient worlds long past, it's the story of us, then." He walks away, down this immense and magnificent ancient road, and YOU want to follow him, you want to hear more, you want to see where he's going to take you next.
Not long after that he goes to Tel Brak, tells you a little about the people there and starts excavating a bowl from high wall. You feel that you there digging alongside him, somehow holding the ladder or handing him the trowel and brush.
He takes us to ruins, modern cities, and museums that most of us would not otherwise have an opportunity to experience, and many of which I had never seen before, like the beautiful remains of Apamea.
When Richard Miles is not onscreen, but narrating from the sidelines, you feel like you're listening to a really great lecturer. For someone like me, who once had a dream of going to university to study ancient history, this is a real treat.
I'm an American, but I prefer BBC history series to History Channel series for precisely the same reason the first reviewer does, all that fake clanging of swords by people dressed in period costumes, too much CGI and too much supposition and speculation for my taste. They also have a nasty habit of using dramatic voice narration from someone who remains site unseen. All of it coming across as a little too loud and little too forced.
Richard Miles doesn't make you WANT to be there, he makes you believe you ARE there, and I can't say the same about very many other presenters these days, including Michael Wood, who frankly leaves me a little cold.
I give a lot of credit to the wonderful camera crew too, they made you feel an intimacy with the presenter and with the places you were visiting.
By episode 2 I was eager for the next week to go by so I could see episode 3, and I can't wait to see the entire series(as of this writing part 4 hasn't been shown yet).

I saw the first episode of this series on the BBC, and it is one of the best Ancient History programmes to have come out of the TV for years. I took an Ancient History degree, am a History teacher, and have travelled to many of the places referenced in the programme, and I could find not one single fault in the entire piece.

What is perhaps so excellent about the programme is the seamless way that the presenter links the growth and development of civilisation in different areas, showing exactly how the city states of Mesopotamia grew and interacted with their neighbours ... which led to a (brief) examination of Egypt; and showing how trade broadened people's horizons, leading to an investigation of different civilisations around Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. Any programme which manages to incorporate the Sumerians, Assyrians, Hittites, Egyptians, Mycenaeans, and Ugarites, so perfectly, has to be good in my book.

I am writing this review before the DVD has been released, as the TV series has not yet ended. I have put the DVD straight into my wish-list, hoping that someone will see it and get it for me in time for Christmas!