#101 - The Dawn of History
Traces the origins of culture from the beginnings of human life to the first agricultural settlement.

#102 - The Ancient Egyptians
Politics, religion, and agriculture intersect to create one of the first civilizations in the Western tradition.

#103 - Mesopotamia
Trade, religion, and technological advances help establish civilizations along the great rivers of the Middle East.

#104 - From Bronze to Iron
War and trade extend the power of the great empires of the Middle East.

#105 - The Rise of Greek Civilization
Democracy and philosophy arise in a collection of Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.

#106 - Greek Thought
Greek thinkers lay down the main paths of the Western intellectual tradition.

#107 - Alexander the Great
For a brief moment, Alexander rules the ancient world, from Greece to India.

#108 - The Hellenistic Age
After the break-up of Alexander's empire, a series of Hellenistic kingdoms extends Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean world.

#109 - The Rise of Rome
A small city in central Italy builds an empire that will shape the whole of the Western tradition.

#110 - The Roman Empire
Even while expanding their empire, the Romans begin to destroy its greatness from within.

#111 - Early Christianity
In the midst of the Roman Empire, the greatest empire of its time, the first Christians preach a message of another kingdom that is not of this world.

#112 - The Rise of the Church
After centuries of contempt and persecution of its followers, Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire.

#113 - The Decline of Rome
While rivals slash at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroy the empire from within.

#114 - The Fall of Rome
Exhausted by centuries of power, the first great Western empire collapses before its enemies.

#115 - The Byzantine Empire
From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carries on the traditions of Greece and Rome.

#116 - The Fall of Byzantium
Nearly 1,000 years after the fall of Rome, Constantinople is conquered by the forces of Islam.

#117 - The Dark Ages
In the West, a series of barbarian kingdoms take possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.

#118 - The Age of Charlemagne
For a brief moment, Charlemagne revives hope for a new empire in western Europe.

#119 - The Middle Ages
In the midst of invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominates the kingdoms of Europe.

#120 - The Feudal Order
Medieval society in Europe divides itself into three parts: those who pray, those who fight, and those who work.

#121 - Common Life in the Middle Ages
Though remaining nasty, brutish, and short, medieval life gradually becomes a little less nasty and much less brutish.

#122 - Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages
As Europe's cities come back to life, their great churches embody the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.

#123 - The Late Middle Ages
Dissent within the church and wars between the great powers exhaust European society.

#124 - The National Monarchies
As Europe recovers from the wars of the 15th century, some rulers make themselves more powerful than ever before.

#125 - The Renaissance and the Age of Discovery
In art, scholarship, and exploration, Europe is possessed by a new passion for knowledge.

#126 - The Renaissance and the New World
The discovery of the Americas presents new challenges to Europe's ideas and institutions.

#127 - The Reformation
A new kind of piety shatters the unity of the Catholic Church.

#128 - The Rise of the Middle Class
As the cities grow, members of the middle class gain power, including the power to worship God in their own ways.

#129 - The Wars of Religion
For a century and a half, the quarrels of Protestants and Catholics tear Europe apart.

#130 - The Rise of Trading Cities
In the midst of religious wars, a few cities learn that tolerance is good for society and good for business.

#131 - The Age of Absolutism
Exhausted by war and civil strife, many Europeans surrender liberty for the sake of peace and order.

#132 - Absolutism and the Social Contract
England develops an ideal that governments exist to protect the rights of the governed.

#133 - The Enlightened Despots
Many of Europe's rulers see the need for reform, although not at the expense of surrendering any of their powers.

#134 - The Enlightenment
Intellectuals come to believe that it is possible to change the world with theories.

#135 - The Enlightenment and Society
During the 18th century's Age of Reason, scientists and social reformers believe that they are finally learning lessons that will bring happiness to peoples throughout the world.

#136 - The Modern Philosophers
The works of such thinkers as Rousseau, Locke, and Descartes promote freedom of thought and expression as the great engines that will bring virtue, happiness, and enlightenment to the whole world.

#137 - The American Revolution
The British colonists in America fight first for their rights as Englishmen and then for universal freedoms.

#138 - The American Republic
The new republic demonstrates that a revolution can create a free, stable society.

#139 - The Death of the Old Regime
In France, the old order collapses under the attacks of revolutionists and the burden of its own weaknesses.

#140 - The French Revolution
Liberty, fraternity, equality—must they be won by total war and revolutionary terror?

#141 - The Industrial Revolution
Technology and mass production create a new kind of wealth and a new kind of servitude.

#142 - The Industrial World
Industry transforms Europe, from the broadest maneuverings of political power to the smallest details of everyday life.

#143 - Revolution and the Romantics
Late-18th-century art, literature, and political theory all agree: People will never lead decent lives until they have freed themselves from the tyranny of other nations or ruling classes.

#144 - The Age of the Nation-States
During the early 19th century, nations throughout Europe struggle against foreign oppression or to expand their own power at the expense of others.

#145 - A New Public
Widespread public education and mass communications create a new political life and a new life of the mind.

#146 - Fin de Siècle
Everyday life is transformed as leisure becomes a mass industry in its own right.

#147 - The First World War and the Rise of Fascism
As the old empires crumble in the war, totalitarian states arise throughout Europe.

#148 - The Second World War
The war leaves Europe balanced between the first two superpowers: the Soviet Union and the United States.

#149 - The Cold War
The rivalry between the superpowers is played out across the globe, although the United States and the Soviet Union never face each other in direct conflict.

#150 - Europe and the Third World
In the post-colonial era, the Third World attempts to squeeze 200 years of history into one generation.

#151 - The Technological Revolution
Many people still living can remember the invention of antibiotics, computers, and atomic weapons. Can we keep up with the promises and threats of technology?

#152 - Toward the Future
No longer at the center of the world stage, Europe has suffered or celebrated every variety of the human experience.