Ancient Empires

It isn't too late.

Any man who wishes to turn back...

go now...

with no dishonor.

We cross this stream...

we are fighting all the way to Rome.

Are you with me?

Long live Caesar!

- Let the dice fly high! -

Caesar stands as a colossus in world history.

He is one of the most brilliant

but also dangerous statesmen who ever lived.

He was an orator, a warrior.

He built an empire.

Victory, or death!

Caesar took on the greatest rivals of his day

and defeated them one by one.

Caesar turns the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.

The defining aspect of Caesar's personality

is his willingness to gamble.

He is cunning, he's devious,

he's not always as sincere as he proclaims.

The three of us would be invincible.

Does he declare war on the Republic

in order to save it, or to dismantle it?

Your bruised ego means war, does it?

So much of our modern world is shaped

by Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire.

Julius Caesar is this pivot point

in Western history.

Now!

This is a man who amassed power

and couldn't be satisfied with what he had.

There's a tremendous warning for us in Caesar's story.

As dark as it sounds,

Caesar's story is the story of Rome.

Rome, 81 BC.

For eight years, a brutal civil war

between rival political factions has torn the city apart.

Now, a ruthless commander, called Sulla, has triumphed.

- -

And he is purging his political rivals.

Thousands are killed.

Caught up in this bloody violence,

is a young man, called Julius Caesar.

Caesar comes from a moderately well-known family.

They weren't the wealthiest, the most powerful

and they were actually on the defeated side

of the civil war.

He was in danger.

He is tied by blood and by marriage

to the losing side.

This puts Caesar in a difficult position.

Hey! Stop right there!

Hey! Stop right there!

Wait, wait, wait!

Hey, stop! Hey, stop!

- -

Over the centuries, before the civil war...

Rome has gone from a small regional power,

to a major player on the world stage.

From a city state on seven hills,

it's bit by bit conquered and absorbed surrounding tribes

until it dominates Italy, Greece

and most of the Mediterranean.

Once a monarchy, Rome has been a republic,

a city ruled by elected officials,

since 500 BC.

A period of more than 400 years.

The whole principle of the Roman Republic

is that no one individual

should gain permanent, supreme power.

So, power is divided.

But at the end of the civil war,

one man rules the Roman Republic unchallenged,

Sulla, the dictator.

A dictator was a special office

that was only called upon in times of emergency.

A dictator had absolute authority

but a dictator only served for a period of six months,

or the duration of the crisis, whichever was shorter.

What makes Sulla's dictatorship unique,

is that he never puts a deadline

on when he's gonna give up power.

Caesar's uncle, Marius,

and father-in-law, Cinna,

were both leaders of the defeated side in the war.

Cinna and Marius fought the war on behalf of the populares,

which essentially means "populists."

These are the aristocrats who are looking to support

the causes of the general public.

Sulla had fought the civil war on behalf of the optimates,

meaning "Rome's best men."

They were conservative aristocrats

and they were really looking to maintain the status quo.

Given the suspect loyalty of Caesar's family...

- Get up. ...Rome's new ruler

wants to see where his allegiances lie.

Now I heard you ran from my men.

Not sure your uncle would approve.

Do you stand against me like your dead father-in-law?

I stand with the Republic.

Oh.

Prove it.

Divorce your wife.

How does that benefit the Republic?

It benefits me.

I am the Republic.

Caesar is married to Cornelia,

the daughter of Cinna.

Cinna had been Sulla's mortal enemy

and so Sulla wants to make sure

Julius Caesar does not become a threat

because of his marriage connection.

You have until sunrise.

Refusing Sulla's request would be an amazing risk.

Sulla is a terrifying and ferocious character

who had brought a new level

of ruthless savagery to Roman politics.

But Caesar doesn't divorce Cornelia.

Is it because of the political connections?

Is it because he genuinely loved Cornelia?

We don't know but we know it's a great risk.

Cornelia. Cornelia.

Why didn't you leave when you heard they were coming for you?

I couldn't go without seeing you.

There are heads up on spikes by the bridge,

- do you want to be one? - Cornelia!

It won't always be like this.

- -

You have to go now.

Having made an enemy of Sulla,

Caesar slips out of the city.

Caesar may hope that one day, he can return to Rome

and fix what he sees as a broken Republic.

By the time Julius Caesar is a young man,

Rome has grown to a city of almost a million people.

The population density is approaching

what we see in modern Manhattan.

As Rome's power and population increase,

it's Republic becomes fundamentally less democratic.

The line between Rome's rich and poor

has only gotten greater.

There are a great number of very impoverished people in the city

who actually survive on a grain dole from the state.

The populares, including Caesar's family,

think that they can fix these problems of Rome's poor.

But first,

the fugitive Caesar has to stay alive.

Caesar is being hunted down

by some of Sulla's bounty hunters

because his name is now on the lists.

Caesar is forced to go on the run for months,

it's one of the worst times in his life.

And when he gets caught by Sulla's men,

he's forced to bribe them using all the money he has.

Back in Rome, Caesar's family

lobbies Sulla to pardon Caesar.

He eventually gives in to their persistence.

Despite being pardoned by Sulla,

Caesar returning to Rome would not necessarily be safe.

And so, instead, he joins up with the Roman military,

looking for experience that will possibly lead

to some degree of advancement later on.

My name is Caesar.

I believe my family's been in touch.

Every Roman aristocrat

was expected to serve in the military.

It was a society which rewarded it's warriors.

Caesar is sent to a Greek island.

Part of a force

tasked with bringing down a rebellion.

They end up in a battle.

Caesar steps in to save

one of his fallen Roman soldiers.

In this, it is witnessed as an act of bravery.

He wins what the Romans know

as the Corona Civica.

This is the Civic Crown, it was the highest award

for individual gallantry that the Roman state could issue.

It is perhaps the first sign

that Caesar is not your ordinary Roman soldier.

Caesar stays in the army for several years.

During this time, he gets a real understanding

of what it means to be part of an empire.

Roman politics is not just about the city of Rome,

it's about the world at large.

Finally, four years after he left Rome...