Ancient Warriors Season 1

Mark Seen

Assyrians: Masters of War Apr 17, 1994 The Assyrians were the first people to employ a standing army, using recruits from conquered nations to put 200,000 men in the field. The Assyrians' best-known development was their use of two-wheeled chariots and cavalry.

Mark Seen

Celts Apr 24, 1994 The Celts were one of the most important civilisations of Europe and at their zenith 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, especially their swords and helmets, and their skilled chariot tactics.

Mark Seen

Normans May 1, 1994 Descendants of the Vikings, the Normans were one of the most successful warrior groups of the Middle Ages, conquering the French coast and England.

Mark Seen

Legions of Rome May 8, 1994 The story of Rome's rise to a world empire is one of the most fascinating in history and it was the training, discipline and manoeuvrability of the legion that brought the Romans victory.

Mark Seen

Macedonians May 15, 1994 Philip of Macedonia created one of the most effective and successful armies of antiquity based on the phalanx, a compact body of infantry armed with long spikes. His even more illustrious son, Alexander the Great, defeated and conquered the great Persian Empire.

Mark Seen

Soldiers of Pharoah May 22, 1994 Enormous preparation and financial expenditure went towards creating a fighting force for Ramses II that could protect and expand Egyptian territories in Palestine and Syria, especially against the threats of the Hittites.

Mark Seen

Spartans May 29, 1994 The Spartans were the most effective warriors of the Greek civilisations due to their rigorous training and the austerity of the Spartan culture.

Mark Seen

The Janissaries - An Army of Slaves Sep 11, 1994 For 5 centuries the city that guarded the gateway between Europe and Asia minor has been known as Istanbul. Before that it was Constantinople. A Christian island in a Muslim sea. It withstood every assault by the warriors of Allah but in 1453 the Ottoman emperor besieged the city with a new army of men. An army of slaves. The swords of Allah. And the scourge of Christianity.

Mark Seen

The Huns Sep 18, 1994 Without warning they appeared one day in the east. An unknown tribe from an unknown land. Masters of the horse and the bow they struck as swiftly as an arrow, robbing, burning, killing, passing over the land like locusts. In the 5th century AD they swept across the plains of Europe to the gates of Rome itself. The horsemen of the apocalypse. The Huns.

Mark Seen

The Knights Templar Sep 25, 1994 1000 years after the crucifixion of Christ the holy city of Jerusalem was sieged by the Seljuk Turks. Pope Urban II beseeched all Christians to unite in a great crusade. His call was heeded buy noblemen and commoners alike, among them a new order of knights who pledged their lives to retake the holy land. Warrior monks fighting for god, and ultimately betrayed by their own church.

Mark Seen

The Vikings Oct 2, 1994 A scribe records that in the year 1793 marauders from the north crossed the sea to England and shattered the peace. Pagans in search of treasure they surprised the defenseless monastery of Lindisfarne. For Christian Europe the blackest hour of the dark ages was about to strike at the hands of the Vikings.

Mark Seen

The Highlanders Oct 9, 1994 In the Scottish highlands where hatreds are as old as the hills, men die easier than feuds. Where clan fights clan, only one hatred can unite them. Their hatred of the English. Against the odds a band of warriors will help Scotland win its greatest victory and deal England one of its worst defeats.

Mark Seen

The Irish - Warriors of the Emerald Isle Oct 16, 1994 1000 years after the death of Christ, Ireland fights for it's life against pagans from the north. Outnumbered, the Irish put their faith in one man. A fanatical warrior destined to become a king and then a legend. Before the last battle is over, Ireland will know unity and treachery in the same moment.

Mark Seen

The Maurya - Warriors of the Elephant Oct 23, 1994 In ancient India one creature was both a god and a weapon. For one king, these beasts were the shock troops as organized as any army before or since. Riding a juggernaut, Maurya soldiers carved out one of the largest empires in history.

Mark Seen

The Aztecs May 7, 1995 27 years after Columbus had discovered America, Spanish adventurers stumbled onto a strange new world where boys were born to fight and warriors ate the flesh of their vanquished foes. The Aztecs.

Mark Seen

Samurai May 14, 1995 In the year 1160 Japan's two greatest clans fought a war of annihilation. The leader of the Taira clan gathered his soldiers to hunt down his bitter rivals, the Minamoto. Few of the Minamoto survived. Minamoto's young sons, Yoritomo and Yoshitsune escaped. They swore to take up the sword and avenge their father. they would follow the path of honor, or death. The way of the samurai.

Mark Seen

Shaolin - Masters of Kung Fu May 21, 1995 In the year 621 china was ruled by chaos. Warlord fought warlord. No one was safe, not even the emperor. His estates were seized, his subjects murdered, and his son taken hostage. A peasant found the emperors imperial seal, and took it to a monastery nearby. The monks resolved to rescue the emperors son. For despite their peaceful manner they were the Shaolin masters of the deadly art of Kung Fu.

Mark Seen

The Hawaiians - Warriors of Paradise May 28, 1995 Behind its peaceful facade, this Hawaii was a battleground. Rival armies spanned across the land and no chief ruled supreme. One would try. Daring to link, by force, a chain of islands that had never been conquered.

Mark Seen

The Ninja - Warriors of the Night Jun 4, 1995 Far from the din of battle in feudal japan the most powerful warlord live in luxury, protected by mighty samurai. for the samurai, war is regimented and honorable. But another type of warrior stalks Japan. The Ninja. Cunning, courageous, and cutthroat.

Mark Seen

The Sioux - Warriors of the Plains Jun 11, 1995 When the American west was still wild, the Sioux tribe was its master. On the backs of their horses they swept across the plains. At the battle of little big horn, Crazy Horse humbled a nation, and won the greatest victory in the war for the west.

Mark Seen

The Zulus Jun 18, 1995 A young tribe is under attack, and a young chief faces his greatest test. His genius and cruelty turns a band of farmhands into a weapon of conquest. In time they will become the fiercest warriors in Africa, and take on the mightiest army in the world.