Empires - Egypt's Golden Empire

Starring:John Ray (IV), Professor Antonio Loprieno, Nicole Douek, Kate Spence (II), Zahi Hawass, Kent Weeks, Paul Brightwell, Professor David O'Conner
Director: James Hawes, Ciara Byrne, Richard Bradley (II)
Studio: Pbs Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Description

Empires Collection: The Dynasties (5 Disc Gift Set) - Empires Collection: The Dynasties is a compilation of five outstanding stories of some of histories greatest dynasties.

Egypt's Golden Empire
In 1570 B.C., when Rome was still a marsh and the Acropolis was an empty rock, Egypt was already 1000 years old. Although the period of the pyramid-builders was long over, Egypt lay on the threshold of its greatest age. The New Kingdom would be an empire forged by conquest, maintained by intimidation and diplomacy, and remembered long after its demise. Led by a dynasty of rich personalities, whose dramatic lives changed the course of civilization, Egypt's Golden Empire presents the most extraordinary period in Egyptian history: from 1570 B.C. to 1070 B.C., when the Egyptian Empire reached its zenith.

The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance - From a small Italian community in 15th century Florence, the Medici family would rise to rule Europe in many ways. Using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, they would amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. They would also ignite the most important cultural and artistic revolution in Western history- the European Renaissance. But the forces of change the Medici helped unleash would one day topple their ordered world. An epic drama played out in the courts, cathedrals and palaces of Europe, this series is both the tale of one family's powerful ambition and of Europe's tortured struggle to emerge from the ravages of the Dark Ages.

Japan: Memoirs Of A Secret Empire
Commanding shoguns and samurai warriors, exotic geisha and exquisite artisans -- all were part of the Japanese "renaissance" -- a period between the 16th and 19th centuries when Japan went from chaos and violence to a land of ritual refinement and peace. But stability came at a price: for nearly 250 years, Japan was a land closed to the Western world, ruled by the Shogun under his absolute power and control. Japan: Memoirs of a Secret Empire brings to life the unknown story of a mysterious empire, its relationship to the West, and the forging of a nation that would emerge as one of the most important countries in the world.

The Roman Empire in the First Century
Two thousand years ago, at the dawn of the first century, the ancient world was ruled by Rome. Through the experiences, memories and writings of the people who lived it, this series tells the story of that time - the emperors and slaves, poets and plebeians, who wrested order from chaos, built the most cosmopolitan society the world had ever seen and shaped the Roman empire in the first century A.D.

The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization
The Greeks - Classical Greece of the 4th and 5th centuries, B.C. was a magnificent civilization that laid the foundations for modern science, politics, warfare, and philosophy, and produced some of the most breathtaking art and architecture the world has ever known. Through the eyes and words of the great heroes of ancient Greece, this dazzling production charts the rise, triumph, and eventual decline of the world's first democracy. Now, through dramatic storytelling and state-of-the-art computer animation, you witness history, art, and government with giants like Pericles, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.

Customer Reviews:

A really good review of the 5 civilizations covered.......2007-03-09

I've been reviewing areas of history that I don't usually cover to balance out my general knowledge. No video can compress into a couple of hours the libraries that have been written on these subjects, but I watched them with a pad nearby and started searching names and topics for further study. Then I added books on those areas to my wish list here on Amazon.

All in all, each disc is a great review if you're rusty or a place to start if you're moving into new areas of history.

Excellent collection.......2007-01-05

I was very impressed with this series. I learned very much, escpecailly about the Medici's. If you enjoy history/documentaries you'll love this collection. I was so impressed I've ordered other Empire series. Props to PBS on this one!

Average customer rating:

Very informative intoduction!
you know
Good Introductory Material

Empires - Egypt's Golden Empire
Starring: Kent Weeks , John Ray (IV) , Paul Brightwell , Professor Antonio Loprieno , and Nicole Douek
Director: James Hawes , Richard Bradley (II) , and Ciara Byrne
Manufacturer: PBS Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Empires - The Roman Empire in the First Century
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ASIN: B0007KIFVE
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Description

In 1570 B.C., Rome was a marsh, the Acropolis an empty rock, but Egypt was 1,000 years old. The pyramid-builders were gone, yet Egypt still awaited its New Kingdom, an empire forged by conquest and remembered for eons. EGYPT'S GOLDEN EMPIRE comes to life through letters and records evoking the passion and riches of a time when Egypt was the center of the known world, its Pharaohs called gods, and great cities, temples and tombs built.

Customer Reviews:

Very informative intoduction!.......2006-04-17

I rated this DVD with 4 stars because it started the story of the ancient Egyptians civilization from Chapter 2; Chapter one is the old kingdom of ancient Egypt. The missing chapter is a very rich era of Egypt old civilization since it covers the origin of the religion, the idea of death in ancient Egypt civilization, the idea of resurrection, the idea of building the pyramids (the king tomb), the explanation of the title "pharaoh" which means " the owner of the big house (i.e the big house refers to Egypt)"...etc. There are a lot of weak conclusions in this documentary, lack of solid evidences; for example, the movie mentioned that by the end of pharaohs' era the Egyptians themselves started to steal the tombs and the gold of their dead pharaohs!! This is a false claim since most of the ancient Egyptians' treasures are displayed in all well-known world museums!!_The treasures of ancient Egyptians had been stolen more likely in the recent history during/after discovering the tombs!
Moreover, I find the explanation of the pharaoh Akhenaten's religious revolution is really so superficial! According to the documentary movie, Amenhopet IV (Akhenaten) was worshiping Aton(translated according to the movie as "Sun god"; Sun god of ancient Egyptian civilization is known as "Ra or Re" pronounced as Raah" not "aton"!...Akhenaten in his scriptures, the great hymn, mentioned that God is so obvious like the aton "the sun disk" ; thus, Akhenaton did not worship the sun itself but, he used "aton" as a metaphor to describe God!...As the movie showed clearly, the ancient Egyptians priests did their best to defame Akhenaton and his religion. It seems that the priests of Thebes were so strong since Akhenaten built a new city called Akhetaten (located at Tel El-Amarna) and left the religious capital of ancient Egypt, Thebes(Located at upper Egypt). The idea of leaving Thebes to a new city "Akhetaten" is nearly very close to the idea Moses exodus!! In fact, Egyptians knew God before the born of Abraham (PBUH); the myth of Isis and Osoris (Enoch (Iddris) (PBUH) had been changed to Osoris) is an obvious evidence. Abraham, PBUH, came to Egypt and married Hajjar, then Joseph (PBUH) came to Egypt and stayed in Egypt for long time. After that Moses was born in Egypt and stayed there also for long time until the exodus (Since the exact time of exodus is not precisely known thus, it could be after or before Akhenaten's era). Those prophets, for sure, improved the idea of worshiping one God among ancient Egyptians and, in turn, could affect Akhenetan ideology and made him refuse the polytheism of ancient Egypt civilization and led to the conflicts among Akhenaten and the ancient Egyptian priests _given that Akhenaten himself was not a messenger/prophet of God!....The title of this DVD could explain why this movie has started with chapter 2(although this made the STORY incomplete)...Nevertheless, I find this DVD is so interesting since you will be familiar with major ancient Egypt history(the middle and the new ancient Egypt kingdoms). The majority of people understand title pharaoh (usually a man's title) as analogous to Tyrant/oppressor, this DVD provided clear historical evidences that Pharaoh could a diplomat, religious figure, statesman,..etc and not necessarily to be a man (the story of Hatshipsout mentioned as an example of Egyptian woman pharaoh). Anybody who is not familiar with the ancient Egyptian civilization, for sure, will enjoy watching this DVD especially the ancient Egyptians temples and traditions. I do recommend Egypt: the land of gods(History channel) along with this DVD.

you know.......2005-12-11

you know instead of pairing this film up with empires-the greeks you could have paired it up with rome the power and the glory i just wanted to say that before i get down to bussiness. friends,countrymen,amazonians lend me your hands and we shall talk about EGYPT AND IT`S GOLDEN EMPIRE. it`s good but not as good as ROME THE POWER AND THE GLORY OR EMPIRES;THE GREEKS but it is worth four stars. PALS

Good Introductory Material.......2005-06-12

This DVD is a good introduction to the history of Egypt's New Empire period. Most of the interviewed scholars make insightful and accurate commentaries. The two exception I would point out to is when they speak of Pharaoh Akhenaten, of whom they present the conventional, questionable views of a fanatic, incompetent king; and secondly when they refer of the relationship between Queen Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III, attributing to the latter the erasing of the Queen's name and images from certain monuments without having proof of the matter. Other than this are remarkable the many dramatizations and the shots from the monuments, works of art ( most of which are the originals ), and the compelling storytelling of a long history. If you really like Ancient Egypt or would like some nice introductory stuff this is a good choice. But keep learning more and make your own conclusions.

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