Downfall of the Empires - The Roman Empire

No head in world history has probably been carved into stone or marble as often as that of the Roman senator and general Gaius Julius Caesar (100 to 44 BC). However, in the last 40 years, the illustrated Julius Caesar was rather in vogue: as the rival of the cunning Gaul Asterix. The 'Head of the Week' evening illuminates the rise and fall of Caesar and visits the illustrator Albert Uderzo. At the beginning of the Roman Empire stood a legend: a she-wolf is said to have nursed the abandoned twins Romulus and Remus. On the hills by the Tiber, the youths founded the city of Rome in 753 BC – and from the small settlement, a world empire emerged. Rome was the birthplace of European culture, but also a stage for intrigues, the scene of insidious murders, and political conspiracies. Jürgen Vogt describes the rapid rise and slow fall of the empire.

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DE • 2003 • U •

Episodes in Season 1

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Episode 01 - Das Ägyptische Reich

28 Min 16 Sec

For almost 4,000 years, the Egyptian Empire existed. Pharaohs and priests created a high culture that developed hieroglyphics, the Egyptian calendar, a diverse pantheon of gods, and a pronounced cult of the dead. The millennia-long era of Egyptian pharaohs ended with the death of a woman: Cleopatra VII, said to be beautiful, intelligent, and a shrewd politician. After the conquest of Alexandria by the Roman general Octavius in 30 BC, Egypt's last queen took her own life. A film about the fall of an empire.

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Episode 02 - Das Römische Reich

29 Min 35 Sec

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Episode 03 - Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation

29 Min 33 Sec

Few surviving writings and legends provide facts about the Holy Empire. Charlemagne ruled it, and Napoleon brought it down. All its rulers considered themselves the legitimate successors of the Roman Emperors. Not least because the territory stretched from Sicily to the North Sea. Even the Nazis benefited from its myth, proclaiming a new thousand-year empire. Elaborate animations, dramatic reconstructions, and interviews with historians illustrate the eventful history of the empire until its downfall.