Engineering an Empire: The Complete Series (History Channel)

Leaving the dusty history books behind, ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE takes to the streets -as well as the sewers, mountaintops, jungles and beyond- to trace the magnificent physical achievements and technologies of past societies. Host Peter Weller travels around the world and, assisted by cutting-edge computer renderings and note-perfect dramatizations, far back in time to chronicle the innovation and architectural brilliance that gave birth to modern civilization. Experience street-level life in ancient Greece and China; track the expansion of history's most ambitious cultures like Rome and Byzantium; and marvel at the touchstone achievements -the Parthenon, Tenochtitlan, the Great Wall, Chichen Itza, and many more- that defined the past and awe us to this day. Computer enhancements and location filming transport you to the very sites where empires thrived and collapsed. ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE breathes life into the past, reanimates the achievements of the history's greatest civilizations, and illuminates the ingenuity and boldness of our forebears.This show is amazing !! If, like me, you buy a lot of DVDs about History then this set is a must-buy. Everything about this show is great, but the most interesting aspect is how much information is given to us in every episode. It's fascinating to learn about all the important Emperors, how these civilizations evolved, how so many of these civilizations changed the course of history.....The host, Peter Weller (Robocop !), is great. The narrator is also great, his voice is perfect for such documentaries. The people interviewed are mostly History teachers, and all of them obviously know what they are talking about.However beware: these documentaries are mostly about wars and battles. I highly recommend this DVD set. :)DISC 1- GREECE: The cradle of Western civilization sustained remarkable technological advancement for over 1,000 years, including such masterpieces as the Tunnel of Samos and the Parthenon.- GREECE: AGE OF ALEXANDER: After a century of tremendous accomplishment, Greece's territorial ambitions were stymied by constant warfare - until Alexander ventured abroad and initiated the Hellenistic era.- THE AZTECS: The Aztecs became one of the greatest civilizations in history through brilliant military campaigns and technological mastery of their harsh environment.DISC 2- CARTHAGE: Find out how Carthaginian engineers harnessed their extensive resources and manpower to develop some of the ancient world's most groundbreaking technology.- CHINA: Century after century, China's regal emperors mobilized immense peasant armies to accomplish unfathomable feats - including the most ambitious construction project ever accomplished.- RUSSIA: From the Moscow Kremlin to St. Petersburg to the Trans-Siberian railroad, examine the architecture and infrastructure that led to the rise and fall of the Russian Empire.DISC 3- GREAT BRITAIN: Through the centuries, the British Empire used extraordinary engineering technology to become an industrial and military titan, giving rise to such inventions as the first locomotive.- THE PERSIANS: The engineering feats of the mysterious Persian Empire include a water management system, a paved cross-continent roadway, and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.- THE MAYA: By 900 AD, the once-glorious Mayan cities disappeared. Unravel the mystery surrounding this mythic civilization through its spectacular infrastructure and architecture.DISC 4- NAPOLEON: STEEL MONSTER: When France stood on the precipice of disaster, one of the most legendary military strategists in history arose from its ashes: Napoleon.- THE BYZANTINES: As much of the world descended into the Dark Ages, the Byzantine Empire emerged with ruthless might and supreme ingenuity, ruling over vast swaths of Europe and Asia.- DA VINCI'S WORLD: After the deep sleep of the Dark Ages, it wasn't until the 11th-century that autonomous city-states emerged in Italy, revitalizing metropolises and paving the way for the Renaissance.Note: Also available is a 6 DVDs set, featuring these episodes plus the episodes about Rome and Egypt.

The History Channel's Engineering an Empire series, containing six DVDs, focuses on the engineering and architectural triumphs of great (and not so great) civilizations. Each of the programs attempts to feature a society's engineering accomplishments as a prism through which to view its history and culture. Because of the arbitrary selection of societies and engineering accomplishments and the limited length of each program, the series fails to achieve this grand goal, but it is still both entertaining and to a limited extent educational.All too often, the engineering accomplishments of the civilizations covered are limited to aqueducts, the use of pilings to support buildings in marshes and over bodies of water, the discovery of the corbelled arch, and military inventions like the Greek triremes and the ubiquitous catapult in its various forms.Although actors are used extensively, they look like you expect real people of the time would have looked, a major advantage that the History Channel has over PBS, where the actors are always English and good-looking. A History Channel Persian or Mayan looks like a Persian or Mayan.One area in which the History Channel excels is that of Computer-Aided Design, which they use to "reconstruct" buildings that either lie in ruins or have disappeared. The results are remarkable.On the negative side, while the experts who appear are clearly highly knowledgeable leaders in their field, that field is limited to history; relatively few professional engineers or architects appear.The selection of Peter Weller (of RoboCop fame) as a host was initially off-putting to me (despite constant references to his links to Syracuse University, he apparently only received an M.A. from that institution, later becoming an adjunct lecturer there in film), but over time I came to appreciate his enthusiasm and willingness to laugh at himself.Programs on the first four disks include: Engineering An Empire, Vol. 1: Greece, Age of Alexander, & The Aztecs [DVD ] (141 min.)I question the inclusion of the Aztec segment which generally talks about their use of pilings to build their city on a lake. In contrast the Mayan segment, which appears in Vol. 3, is fascinating -- truly an advanced civilization. Engineering An Empire, Vol. 2: Carthage, China & Russia [DVD ] (141 min.) Engineering An Empire, Vol. 3: Britain-Blood & Steel, Persians, & Maya-Death Empire [DVD ] (141 min.) Engineering An Empire, Vol. 4: Napoleon-Steel Monster, Byzantines, & Da Vinci's World [DVD ] (141 min.)The segment on Da Vinci's world has nothing to do with Da Vinci, focusing instead on Brunelleschi's building of the Duomo and the rebuilding of Rome in the 1500s. A separate segment includes a Syracuse University architecture professor discussing Brunelleschi's Pazzi Chapel. I only wish it had lasted longer.The final two disks, which appear to have been made before the first four, are the flagships of the series, each containing one long, high quality program: Engineering An Empire, Vol. 5: Rome [DVD ] (94 min.)More dramatic than the others, this program provides a nice overview of the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. If you're only going to buy one disk, this is the one. It features excellent CAD reconstructions of many of the most famous Roman engineering accomplishments. Engineering An Empire, Vol. 6: Egypt [DVD ] (92 min.)Also of very high quality. Again, the CAD reconstructions are excellent. The experts, especially a woman professor from the American University in Cairo, are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their subject. There's also an interesting add-on featuring Peter Weller talking about how he got into this line of work and why he enjoys it so much.As indicated above, I question the inclusion of the Aztecs in this series, especially since there are other culturs that would have been more interesting (e.g., Babylon, India and the Incas.)I did not experience the screen format problems that other viewers complain about, perhaps because my TV allows me to switch between five different formats, so I can use the best-fitting one.

Bought one of the series (Engineering Rome) for my Dad for Christmas, and he enjoyed it so much, I bought the full series soon after. Each program is interesting, and can be viewed on its own - you don't have to watch the whole set for them to make sense. The only thing that we didn't like is that it is clearly taken from a TV program where there are adverts every 10 minutes. Although of course the DVD doesn't have the adverts in, there is some repetitiveness and a slightly disjointed feel caused by this.

Faithfully shows the architecture via CGI recreations, and is passionately communicated by Peter Weller.Very technical and educational, but it makes every effort to bring educational and technical knowledge to rhe watcher. My 8 year old can follow almost everything, a testament to rhe success of rhe endeavour

Amazing Documentary, Must watch bucket list.

Excellent balanced view of history with emphasis on infrastructure and what it says about a civilization

If you are interested in history you will love this.