Dates That Made History
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27:00Despite its worldwide fame, Lascaux is no longer considered to be the "Palace of Versailles" or the "Sistine Chapel" of prehistory, and is no longer considered to be the place of invention or creation of art.
31:00The Roman world had been certain of the day of its foundation for more than 1000 years. The mythical tale was based on the struggle of its founding twins: sons to a god, Mars, and a virgin, Rhea Silvia.
29:00What happened in the year 1000? Nothing: this date does not correspond to any major event. The passage from the first to the second millennium was not really an event for those who lived through it.
32:00What if Blake and Mortimer had been right in the Mystery of the Great Pyramid? The history of the seventeen-year reign of Akhenaten, the tenth pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, sometimes still seems to be a historical mystery.
30:00The defeat of Alesia, in 52 BC, marked the end of the well-known "Gallic War", immortalised by its winner, Julius Caesar. Year zero of our French national history, Alesia became the founding act of an improbable Gallic unit.
30:00The expression "Spring of Nations" inspired the more recent "Arab Spring" of 2011. Also known as the Springtime of the Peoples, the period was characterised by a cascade of national claims.
27:00The fall of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire - a power descending from none other than ancient Rome. Its symbolism has long since transcended its actual significance.
27:00The American revolution is sometimes watered down to the point where it can become an almost silent revolution.
27:00Season 1
28:00
28:00This event struck a chord worldwide, reminding us that South Africa, historically, was not only the first country to be colonised but also the last country to be decolonised.
28:00The United States viewed the Hiroshima operation as a large-scale scientific experiment to avoid a Russian invasion of Japan. It became the first mass bombing in history: approximately 70,000 sustained fatal injuries.
28:00Most tend to forget that the Tennis Court Oath was the key tipping point of the French Revolution, both from a symbolic and legal standpoint. What happened on that day in Versailles?
28:00We'd like to believe in the idea of a lost civilisation in the case of the Angkor Wat. Yet the magnificent ruins of these monumental temples show no sign of any brutal disappearance.
29:00Did the first outbreaks occur in China or in the Caspian Sea? Experts still argue. But how did the plague actually spread? After many controversies, it seems that the rat flea was the major carrier of this disease.
Season 2 31:00
31:00Apart from Tolstoy's readers, few people actually know about the battle of Borodino, fought some 100 km from Moscow. Even today it remains a landmark and symbol of the Russian resistance to the invader Napoleon Bonaparte.
29:00On April 21, 1526, the little king of Kabul Babur boldly took northern India from the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi. With his victory, the time of the second Islamisation begins, which will spread to the shores of Indonesia.
30:00Why was Socrates condemned by the city of Athens? Was the figure of the master thinker, who could subvert the youth, really a danger to a Greek democracy that was more idealised than it was understood?
Season 1 28:00
28:00The eruption of the Vesuvio froze the town of Pompei forever. Volcanology reveals the force of the eruption, archeology and the uncover of daily life but can one be sure that these discoveries date back to the eruption?
28:00Christians believe Jesus is a man who preached and performed miracles and died on the cross but was resurrected. But for historians, the crucifixion is the least unreliable indicator of the Jesus' existence.
27:00Mahomet's first year in Medina, in the year 622 of the Christian era, marks the beginning of the Muslim era and the birth of a new religion, civilization, empire and calendar.