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The speech is taken from the 'Anabasis of Alexander' (Book VII Chapter X), written around 130 AD by the Roman/Greek historian Arrian. Arrian had access to eyewitness accounts which are now lost (principally Ptolemy and Nearchus), and modern historians generally agree that this speech was a real historical event, and that Arrian gives a good representation of its likely content. Ultimately, however, this speech was written by Arrian, and Alexander's exact words are not known.
Part 1 of our animated timeline of America's first 44 Presidents, from George Washington and the Founding Fathers to the trauma of Civil War and Reconstruction.
Part 2 of our timeline of America's first 44 Presidents, from Benjamin Harrison to Barack Obama.
All 44 Presidents in 150 seconds! A timeline of all the presidents in chronological order.
Original Title: Epic History: World War One - 1914 Everything you need to know about the first year of World War One in a 12 minute video.
The second year of World War One in 13 minutes, with maps and a blow-by-blow account so you can follow events in detail, and make sense of the big picture.
Epic History TV brings you the third year of World War One with animated maps and a blow-by-blow account of the action, helping you to make sense of the big picture.
This is the story of the first day of the Somme Offensive - the worst single day in British military history.
Epic History TV's year-by-year account of World War One continues into 1917. It is the year Germany makes a desperate gamble by reintroducing unrestricted submarine warfare. They hope to knock Britain out of the war in 6 months by cutting off her food supplies, but the new policy soon leads to an American declaration of war.
This is the story of 1918, the last year of World War One, when Germany launched a final do-or-die offensive, as American troops began to arrive in Europe in force.
Original Title: U.S. Presidents Part 1 Part 1 of our animated timeline of America's first 44 Presidents, from George Washington and the Founding Fathers to the trauma of Civil War and Reconstruction.
Original Title: U.S. Presidents Part 2 Part 2 of our timeline of America's first 44 Presidents, from Benjamin Harrison to Barack Obama.
All 44 Presidents in 150 seconds! A timeline of all the presidents in chronological order. If you want more detail check out Epic History TV's 2-part guide to America's Presidents
Russia Part 1 traces the origins of modern Russia and Ukraine among Slavic tribes, Viking raiders, and the medieval kingdom of Kievan Rus. Mongol hordes brought death and destruction, but under the first Tsars, a strong Russian state slowly emerged.
Epic History TV's history of Russia continues! Emerging from the Time of Troubles, Russia fights back against foreign invaders, as Prince Pozharksy and Kuzma Minin liberate Moscow from Polish forces. Russia's assembly, the Zemsky Sobor, turns to a 16 year old boy, Mikhail Romanov, for leadership. He and the early Romanovs oversee a turbulent period of war, reform and rebellion: all Russian peasants are made serfs by the terms of the Sobornoye Ulozheniye, while Patriarch Nikon's religious reforms split the Russian Orthodox Church between Reformers and Old Believers. The Thirteen Years War (1654 – 67) against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth brings Smolensk and Kiev under Russian control, as Cossack renegade (and folklore hero) Stenka Razin leads revolt in the south.
The History of Russia continues with the reign of Catherine the Great, a time of cultural splendour, 'enlightened autocracy', and enormous territorial expansion. Catherine's reign saw the annexation of Crimea, and the Partition of Poland, and the settlement of Novorossiya by Russian colonists under the supervision of Count Potemkin. European migrants, such as the Volga Germans, settled in Russia, while Russia's new Jewish population lived within the 'Pale of Settlement'.
The History of Russia continues with the accession of Emperor Nicholas I in 1825, who survives the Decembrist Revolt to adopt a doctrine of 'Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality'. Russia is victorious against Persia (1828) and the Ottoman Empire (1829), and crushes the November Uprising in Poland (1830).
The History of Russia continues with the aftermath of the assassination of Alexander II in 1881. The reign of his son, Alexander III, saw a return to Russian autocracy, as revolutionaries were pursued by the Okhrana - the Tsarist secret police - and Jews were targeted in pogroms. Sergei Witte helped to modernise Russia's economy, and work began on the Trans-Siberian railway.
Everything you need to know about the Russian Revolution in a 13 min video. Produced in partnership with Bridgeman Images
The First Crusade was one of the most extraordinary, bloody and significant episodes in medieval history. It began with an appeal for aid from the Christian Byzantine Empire, threatened by the rising power of the Muslim Seljuk Turks. But when Pope Urban II preached a sermon at Clermont in 1095, the result was unlike anything ever seen before. The Pope offered spiritual salvation to those willing to go east to aid their fellow Christians in a holy war, and help liberate Jerusalem from Muslim rule. Knights and peasants alike signed up in their thousands, leading to the disastrous People's, or Peasants', Crusade, then to a much more organised and powerful Princes' Crusade. Their forces gathered at Constantinople, where they made an uneasy alliance with Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus. Entering Anatolia, they helped to win back the city of Nicaea, then won a decisive but hard-fought victory at Dorlyaeum, before marching on the great city of Antioch...
Part 2 of Epic History TV's story of the First Crusade continues with the Siege of Antioch. The Crusaders endure immense hardships outside the city walls, but finally take Antioch thanks to a ruse by Bohemond of Taranto. Against the odds, and inspired by their recent discovery of a relic believed to be the 'Holy Lance', the Crusaders then defeat the Seljuk army of Kur Burgha. After disagreements within the Crusader camp, the army finally moves on to Jerusalem in the spring of 1099. During a full-scale assault of the city walls, Godfrey of Bouillon's troops gain a foothold in the defences, and Crusader troops pour into the city. A bloodbath follows. Victory results in the creation of four Crusader states, but their existence is precarious, surrounded by hostile Muslim powers, who will one day return with a vengeance.
Original Title: Venice: Rise of the Republic
This is Epic History TV's guide to building the perfect castle, based on the development of European medieval castles over 400 years of history. We trace the origins of the castle in the feudal system that emerged in France c.900 CE, and look at the early motte-and-bailey castle, used by the Normans to subjugate England and Wales in the 11th century. We then look at how castle's became stronger and more sophisticated, with the addition of stone curtain walls, massive keeps, towers (square, round and D-shaped), as well as powerful gatehouses, barbicans, machicolations and moats.
The Battle of Salamis was one of the decisive battles of world history, in which the small city-states of ancient Greece joined forces to take on the mighty Persian Empire. After the defeat and death of the Spartan King Leonidas at Thermopylae, the Persians burned Athens, and the Greek alliance seemed close to collapse. But thanks to the foresight of Athenian general Themistocles and the heroism of the Greek fleet, the Persians would meet with disaster in the narrow straits of Salamis.
The incredible story of Alexander the Great and his conquest of the known world is brought to life with animated maps, images from Osprey Publishing and Total War game footage. In Part 1, we look at the background: Persia's invasion of Greece in 480 BC, the rise of Macedonia under King Philip II, and the formation of the Hellenic League. Following Philip's assassination, his 20 year old son Alexander inherited the kingdom and a formidable army. In 334 BC he used this army to launch a invasion of the Persian Empire, winning a crucial victory at the River Granicus.
Alexander the Great's astonishing military campaign against the Persian Empire is brought to life with animated maps, images from Osprey Publishing and Total War game footage. In Part 2, Alexander cuts the Gordian Knot, then defeats the army of Darius III at the Battle of Issus. He goes on to conquer the island-city of Tyre in a brutal siege, and seizes control of the rich and ancient land of Egypt, where he is recognised as the new pharaoh. He founds a new city at Alexandria, and at the oracle of Siwah, he is welcomed as son of Amun - king of the gods. King Agis of Sparta leads a rebellion against Macedonian rule back in Greece, but is crushed by Antipater, leaving Alexander free to continue his advance into the heartlands of Persia...
Alexander the Great has subjugated the Persian Empire west of the Euphrates, winning battles at the Granicus and Issus, capturing the city of Tyre and seizing control of Egypt. Now he heads east for a final showdown with Darius III, King of Kings, at Gaugamela. The great clash there will determine the fate of two empires, and win Alexander everlasting glory. But in the wake of victory, he faces the challenge of ruling over his new, sprawling empire, and dealing with usurpers and rebellion.
Alexander the Great has defeated King Darius at the Battle of Gaugamela, and now pursues the Persian usurper Bessus east into modern Afghanistan. He will face revolt, guerilla war and Scythian nomads, but finally he reaches the furthest point of the Persian Empire. He marries Roxana, daughter of a Bactrian lord, then continues his advance into modern Pakistan and India, where he clashes with King Porus of Pauravas at the Battle of the Hydaspes...
Alexander the Great is one of the most extraordinary individuals in history. He became king of the fringe Greek kingdom of Macedonia in 336 BC at the age of just 20, and before his death twelve years later, had imposed Macedonian overlordship on Greece, destroyed the mighty Persian Empire and led an army deep into modern Afghanistan and to the Indian frontier. At Opis he faced a mutiny by his Macedonian troops, angered that he wanted to send some of them home, while appearing to give preference to his new Asian subjects, and adopting many of their customs. Alexander dealt ruthlessly with the ringleaders, before (according to 'The Anabasis' by Roman historian Arrian) making a speech to his army in which he berated his troops for their disloyalty. The speech, as it has reached us, was no doubt written by Arrian rather than Alexander. His actual words are now impossible to ascertain. But Arrian had access to eyewitness accounts which are now lost (principally Ptolemy and Nearchus), and modern historians generally agree that the speech was a real historical event, and that Arrian gives a good representation of its likely content. Putting its (contested and debated) value as a historical source to one side, the scene - as it appears in Arrian - is a brilliantly written moment of high drama and emotion, in which Alexander first highlights his debt to his father Philip, before launching into a tirade in which he lists his own astounding achievements and qualities of leadership.
Alexander is played by Charlie Merriman, an actor who studied Ancient Greek and Latin at Cambridge University. With Barefaced Greek, he performs in plays and videos in Ancient Greek. The speech is taken from the 'Anabasis of Alexander' (Book VII Chapter X), written around 130 AD by the Roman/Greek historian Arrian. Arrian had access to eyewitness accounts which are now lost (principally Ptolemy and Nearchus), and modern historians generally agree that this speech was a real historical event, and that Arrian gives a good representation of its likely content. Ultimately, however, this speech was written by Arrian, and Alexander's exact words are not known.
A quick guide to infantry tactics and formations of the Napoleonic period, which first appeared in our video on the Battle of Aspern. In this video we try to explain why lining up shoulder-to-shoulder was not as stupid as it first seems, and how different formations were used to maximise firepower, mobility and defence. All achieved through the miracle of drill.
Original Title: Napoleonic Wars: Austerlitz 1805 Napoleonic Wars Part 1: Napoleon's brilliant 1805 campaign culminates in victory at Austerlitz.
Original Title: Napoleonic Wars: Jena 1806 Napoleon smashes Prussia's feared army in just 5 weeks of 'Napoleonic Blitzkrieg'.
Original Title: Napoleonic Wars: Friedland 1807 Napoleon brings his war against Russia and Prussia to an end with victory at Friedland, leading to the famous Tilsit conference, after which Napoleon stood at the peak of his power.
In 1808, Napoleon's rivalry with Britain led to an ill-fated intervention in Portugal and Spain, that sparked a nationalist revolt against the French. At Bailén Napoleon's Empire suffered its first major defeat, and though Napoleon himself then arrived in Spain to reassert French military dominance, he could not prevent the escape of Sir John Moore's small British army, after its defensive victory at Corunna on 16 January 1809. The British army would return, under new leadership, to play a major part in his downfall.
In 1809, with Napoleon and his best troops bogged down in Spain, Austria decided to try to get revenge for her humiliation at Austerlitz three years before. Archduke Charles led an invasion of France's ally Bavaria, but Napoleon raised fresh troops and transformed the strategic situation in four days of hard fighting along the Danube. But having taken Vienna, Napoleon's overconfidence led to a desperate battle at Aspern-Essling, resulting in his first major defeat as Emperor, and the death of his closest friend.
Original Title: Napoleon Strikes Back: Wagram 1809 Six weeks after his bloody repulse at the Battle of Aspern-Essling, Napoleon led his reinforced army back across the Danube. The resulting clash with Archduke Charles's Austrian army was the biggest and bloodiest battle yet seen in European history, and despite heavy French losses, resulted in a decisive strategic victory for the French Emperor.
In 1809, as Napoleon fought the Austrians at Wagram, the war in Spain and Portugal continued to rage. The French had inflicted several heavy defeats on Spanish field armies, but now they faced a popular insurgency as well as a well-trained Anglo-Portuguese army led by British general Lord Wellington. The Peninsular War, as it became known, became Napoleon's 'bleeding ulcer', or his Vietnam, costing his empire nearly quarter of a million soldiers, in a war that looked increasingly unwinnable.
In 1812 French forces in Spain were severely overstretched, as Napoleon withdrew the best troops for his invasion of Russia. Wellington saw an opportunity to strike. First he secured the strategic fortress-cities of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, both taken in bloody assaults, then advanced to Salamanca, where his Anglo-Portuguese army met Marshal Marmont's French army in one of the most decisive clashes of the Peninsular War.
In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with the largest army Europe had ever seen. As it advanced, the Russian army retreated, and by September Napoleon's army had marched 470 miles into the depths of Russia. 70 miles west of Moscow near the village of Borodino, the Russian army, under a new commander, General Kutuzov, finally made a stand. The battle that followed was the bloodiest day's fighting of the Napoleonic Wars, and proved one of the most infamous battles of history.
In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia with the largest army Europe had ever seen. But after winning a costly victory at Borodino and occupying Moscow, Napoleon's invitation to Russian Emperor Alexander to make peace met with no response. Napoleon now found himself 500 miles from friendly territory, outnumbered, poorly supplied, and with winter approaching. What followed was one of the most harrowing and disastrous events in military history - the Retreat from Moscow - in which Russian attacks, freezing weather and starvation virtually wiped out the once-proud Grande Armée.
In 1813, following his disastrous invasion of Russia, Napoleon faced a desperate battle to save his empire. His enemies were gaining in strength, as Prussia and Sweden joined the Sixth Coalition against him, while Russian armies advanced across Poland and into Germany. The French Emperor worked miracles to raise a new Grande Armée of young conscripts, leading them to victory at Lützen and Bautzen. But Napoleon knew everything might ultimately depend on Austria - which side would his father-in-law, Austrian Emperor Francis I, chose to support? The matter would be settled after a fateful and ill-tempered meeting in Dresden between Napoleon and Austrian foreign minister von Metternich...
In May 1813, as Napoleon launches a desperate bid to save his empire following the disastrous defeat in Russia, the situation in Spain is particularly precarious. French forces have been weakened to make up for the enormous losses in Russia. But Wellington's Anglo-Portuguese army, as well as the Spanish guerrillas, are stronger than ever. Wellington's advance into Spain will liberate Madrid a second time, and conclude with the final showdown of the Peninsular War - the Battle of Vitoria.
In October 1813 Napoleon faced the combined might of the Sixth Coalition (Russia, Austria, Prussia, Sweden) near Leipzig, in what would prove to be the decisive battle of his career. Outnumbered, virtually encircled, Napoleon opted for a high-risk strategy of striking against Scwarzenberg's Army of Bohemia, before the other Coalition armies could come to his aid. The four-day Battle of Leipzig would be the largest and bloodiest battle in European history before the First World War, and one that changed the destiny of Europe.
Following his defeat in the giant Battle of Leipzig (Oct 1813), Napoleon's final defeat seemed only a matter of time. But when Coalition armies crossed the Rhine and invaded France, Napoleon - outnumbered 4 to 1 -began one of the most daring and brilliant campaigns in military history. However Napoleon's hope that his victories would cause a fatal split in the Coalition did not materialise, and eventually, Schwarzenberg and Blücher's dash for Paris would seal the fate of the Napoleonic Empire.
Epic History TV brings you a blow-by-blow account of the entire Waterloo campaign in 14 minutes, with animated maps and artwork, plus rarely seen photographs of survivors of Napoleon's army.
This video looks at the dramatic history of NASA's Apollo Program, from President Kennedy's ambitious deadline for a manned lunar landing, the tragic disaster of Apollo 1 which nearly ended the entire program, to the triumph of Apollo 8's first orbit of the Moon, paving the way for an attempted landing in 1969.
We explore the dramatic story of NASA's Apollo Program, beginning with President Kennedy's ambitious deadline for a lunar landing in response to Soviet success with Sputnik and cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin. After groundbreaking success with the Mercury and Gemini missions, NASA was rocked by the Apollo 1 disaster, in which three crew members were killed in an accidental fire. But NASA recovered, overhauling its designs and methods, to achieve a successful manned launch with Apollo 7. Apollo 8, the first mission to ride the mighty Saturn V rocket, was also a complete success, culminating in the first manned orbit of the moon. But before a moon landing could be attempted, NASA needed to test the world's first true 'spacecraft' - the Lunar Module, as well as identify what risks the moon's unexpected 'mascons' posed to future Apollo missions. But in 1969, everything was in place for the Apollo Program to make history, with the first lunar landing attempt - a mission which would test the skills of crew-members Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to their limit.
We explore the dramatic story of NASA's Apollo Program, beginning with President Kennedy's ambitious deadline for a lunar landing after the Soviet Union took the lead in the 'Space Race'. Following the success of Apollo 11, and the fulfilment of Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the Moon, questions hung over the future of the Apollo Program. With declining public interest in Moon missions, and government funding slashed, NASA focused on scientific research. But the final phase of the Program is best remembered for the dramatic near-disaster of Apollo 13, in which the ingenuity of astronauts and Mission Control was pushed to the limit.
Original Title: Belisarius: The General & The Eunuch
Everything you need to know about the Russian Revolution in 13 minutes.
This is the story of the Decembrists, a group of young Russian aristocrats and army officers, including decorated veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, who returned home after the conflict hoping Russia would embark on a course of modernising reform. Instead, Emperor Alexander turned his back on the liberal ideals of his youth. He opposed all attempts to reform Russia's autocratic government, or end its brutal system of serfdom. The Decembrists, organising themselves into secret societies and publishing their own draft constitutions for a future Russia, decided that the only way forward was by revolution.
This is the story of the Decembrist revolt of 1825, in which a group of army officers tried to change the course of Russian history by overturning the country's traditional systems of autocratic government and serfdom. In St.Petersburg, the chaos of the interregnum following Emperor Alexander's death was exploited by the Decembrists, who attempted to launch a military coup. While in Ukraine, the Decembrists' Southern Society planned its own military revolt. This video follows the course of both risings, the aftermath, and how future Russian reformers and revolutionaries viewed the Decembrist revolt.
Original Title: Blackbeard the Pirate The complete story of the dreaded pirate Edward Thatch, AKA Blackbeard, in a 6 minute video with detailed maps of his voyages and notorious deeds. (no narration, just music)
Original Title: Blackbeard the Pirate The complete story of the dreaded pirate Edward Thatch, AKA Blackbeard, told in 6 minutes with detailed maps of his voyages and notorious deeds.
Collaboration series about the first voyages around the world.
This is Epic History TV's guide to HMS Victory, one of the most famous warships in history, and flagship of Vice Admiral Nelson at his decisive victory over the Franco-Spanish Combined Fleet at Trafalgar in 1805. In this episode we look at the composition of naval crews, and how they sailed, fought and lived aboard a warship like Victory.
From Prince Rurik to the Russian Revolution, this is a compilation of the first 5 episodes of Epic History TV's History of Russia.
Epic History TV's complete four-part history of Alexander the Great in one video. Follow the incredible story of the Macedonian king as he embarks on the total conquest of the ancient world's greatest superpower, the Persian Empire. With dramatic victories at the Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela, Alexander defeats Darius III and claims the throne of Persia. But his campaign to subdue the empire's easternmost provinces and reach the edge of the known world will take him into modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and the frontier of India, where he meets the Indian king Porus in battle at the Hydaspes. This is the complete overview of Alexander's conquests, a 10 year period of immense drama and historical significance, as the young Macedonian king's breathtaking achievements ushered in a new era in European and Middle Eastern history - the Hellenistic Age.
The Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815) brought upheaval and destruction to Europe on an unprecedented scale. This is the story of the first half of those wars, when Napoleon Bonaparte, self-crowned Emperor of the French, ruled supreme on the battlefield and international stage - the greatest man of his age. But in the midst of victory, the seeds of his eventual downfall were sown. This video is a compilation of the first six episodes of Epic History TV's Napoleonic Wars series.
In 1804 Napoleon created 18 'Marshals of the Empire', to serve as the senior officers of the Grande Armée. He created a further 8 before his abdication in 1814. A few were aristocrats, but others were the sons of shopkeepers or tailors. The most favoured became princes and kings. Among their ranks were legendary figures such as Marshals Lannes, Ney, Soult, Davout and Masséna, but also less well know figures like Pérignon, Brune and Moncey. Our series explores the lives of all 26 Marshals, and ranks them according to our own judgement of their achievements as Marshals.
All 5 parts of Epic History TV's history of World War One in one place (re-edited in 2021). From the Schlieffen Plan to the Versailles Treaty, a global history of the entire conflict.
This compilation of our Napoleonic Wars series covers the period from 1809 to the Emperor's abdication in 1814. Along the way we encounter the horrors of the French occupation of Spain and Portugal, Napoleon's disastrous invasion of Russia, and the great struggle for German in 1813. The series concludes with arguably Napoleon's finest campaign - his doomed defence of Paris in 1814.
This is the dramatic story of NASA's Apollo Program, beginning with President Kennedy's ambitious deadline for a lunar landing by the end of the decade, in response to Soviet success with Sputnik and cosmonaut Yuri Gargarin.
The First Crusade was one of the most extraordinary, bloody and significant episodes in medieval history. It began with an appeal for aid from the Christian Byzantine Empire, threatened by the rising power of the Muslim Seljuk Turks. But when Pope Urban II preached a sermon at Clermont in 1095, the result was unlike anything ever seen before.
All 5 parts of Epic History TV's history of World War One in one place (re-edited in 2022). From the Schlieffen Plan to the Versailles Treaty, a global history of the entire conflict.
In the 6th century AD, during the reign of Emperor Justinian, the Roman Empire experienced an extraordinary resurgence, reconquering lands - including Italy, North Africa and Rome itself - that had been lost to the 'barbarians' a century before. Leading these campaigns, a brilliant Roman general named Flavius Belisarius - a skilled tactician, inspirational leader, pragmatic and humane. This is the story of those campaigns, as recorded by Procopius, an eyewitness to many of them, as well as other ancient historians, texts, and archaeological remains.
