Discovery – Ancient Warriors

June 25, 2008

Discovery – Ancient Warriors
English | Xvid | 672×480 | MP3 | 128kbps | ~350MB

This Ancient Warriors series from the Discovery Channel is an excellent look at the warrior groups and armies that shaped history. Each half-hour episode looks at a major fighting people or force and charts the reasons for their rise to dominance and subsequent fall.
The warriors highlighted are: The Assyrians, Celts, Normans, Legions of Rome, Macedonians, Soldiers of the Pharaoh, Spartans, Janissaries, Huns, Knights Templar, Vikings, Highlanders, Irish Warriors, Maurya Warriors of the Elephant, Aztecs, Samurai, Shaolin Monks, Hawaiians, Ninja, Sioux.
There are 20 episodes and almost all include re-enactors hacking and slashing at each other with great abandon. Some are better than others but, overall, the series is first-rate.
The scripting is good, filled with interesting detail, and each programme follows one soldier and his life in the army. Not all of them end happily, it has to be said.

pass for all: lollylegs

Volume 1

01. The Assyrians: Masters of War
By the eighth century BC, the Assyrians had created the largest empire to date – stretching from the Persian Mediterranean and encompassing the whole of the Middle East.

02. Celts
The Celts were one of the most important civilisations of Europe. At the height of their power, the Celts had conquered Central Europe, France, Spain and the British Isles. The source of their military success lay in their use of finely made iron weaponry.

03. Normans
Descendants of the Vikings, the Normans were one of the most successful warrior groups of the Middle Ages, conquering the French coast and England.

04. Legions of Rome
Originally just one Italian city-state among many, the story of Rome’s rise to a world empire is one of the most fascinating in history.

05. Macedonians
Philip of Macedonia transformed a largely peasant society into one of the most effective and successful armies of antiquity.

06. Soldiers of the Pharaoh
The fabulous monumental remains of Egyptian civilisation are known throughout the world. Many of these celebrate the military exploits of the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom, and most impressive are those of Ramses II.

07. Spartans
The Spartans were the most effective warriors of the Greek civilisations. In an attempt to permanently suppress their much larger class of slaves, the Spartans devoted themselves exclusively to military training.

Volume 2

08. Janissaries
Recruited from Christian populations of the Balkans and trained in the Muslim faith and culture of the Turks, the Janissaries formed a warrior caste, distinguished by military skill and unequivocal loyalty to the sultan.

09. Huns
Though the Huns are popularly imagined as mere bloodthirsty wildmen, every detail of Hun battle was a finely ordered drill.

10. Knights of the Templar
Essentially Christian warrior-monks, the Knights’ mission was to rid the Holy Land of Muslims. Usually of noble birth, the knights adhered to a strict moral code of poverty, chastity and obedience.

11. Vikings
The Vikings were remembered by their contemporaries as fierce, pagan raiders who threatened the Christian world.

12. Highlanders
On Midsummer Day, 1314, the exiled Scottish king led an army against an English force three times as large. Pikemen in dense formation routed the English, restoring Scotland to the kingdoms of Europe.

13. Irish: Warriors of the Emerald Isle
The ancient Irish were a highly sophisticated society divided into three dominant groups: druids, farmers and warriors. Warlike and dangerous, their coasts were protected from invading Celts and Vikings by huge stone forts.

14. Maurya: Warriors of the Elephant
The vastness of the Mauryan army of India was a sight to behold. Enlisting every source of manpower, the army was composed of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry and 9,000 elephants.

Volume 3

15. Aztecs
The Aztecs are one of the great Central American people who, through force, rose to become a major nation. Their warfare was heavily stylised but remarkably effective.

16. Samurai
In 1160 Japan’s two greatest clans fought a war of annihilation. The way of the Samurai was a path of honour or death, a strict code of unswerving loyalty.

17. Shaolin Monks
As warrior-monks, their philosophy and teachings reflected the perfect blend of rigorous martial training and strict Buddhist asceticism. Their martial training was based on both the movements of animals and a system of weaponry.

18. Hawaiians: The Warriors of Paradise
Kamehameha, the leader of the Hawaiian Warriors of Paradise, trained his warriors for several years, determined to win complete control of the Hawaiian Islands.

19. Ninja: Warriors of the Night
The Ninja, respected for their stealth and cunning manners, were considered the most devious and feared warriors in ancient Japan.

20. Sioux
Courageous, brave and proud — the Sioux were a people of war. Forced onto the grasslands by woodland tribes in the east, they had to fight to survive. Soon they ousted neighbouring tribes, seized their hunting grounds and became known as the mightiest warriors across the heartland.

PASS: lollylegs

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Related posts:

1. Discovery Channel – Warriors of the French Foreign Legion
2. Discovery Channel – Scandals of the Ancient World: Egypt (2010)
3. PBS – The Spartans (Complete)
4. Discovery Channel – Ancient Inventions (1998)
5. Channel 4 – The Ancient Worlds – S01E05 – The Spartans

Posted in Discovery Channel, Documentary by Admin