Alexanders Greatest Battle 2 of 4

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Michael Wood travels through Syria and Iraq to uncover the story of Alexander the Great's decisive battle against the might of the Persian Empire in 331 BC. Ancient writers agreed that it was fought somewhere near the city of Irbil in northern Iraq, but the exact location has never been discovered. Using dramatic new finds in the UK -- a cuneiform clay tablet in the British Museum and a papyrus dug up in Egypt -- Michael sheds new light on the course of events. Then to reconstruct the campaign, he follows Alexander's route through Damascus and Alleppo to the river Euphrates in Syria and travels into Northern Iraq with the British and US military. Exploring a landscape long barred to outsiders by Saddam Hussein, he carries out a detailed reconnaissance on the ground with US forces on patrol between Mosul and Kurdistan. Accompanied by the Head of British forces in Iraq, General Sir Rob Fry, he pieces together the dramatic events that led to this ancient War of the Worlds, and finally, with the help of Kurdish villagers, solves a mystery that has baffled historians and archaeologists for centuries.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• documentary
• history
• documentaries
• bbc
• pbs
• michael wood
• wood
• alexander
• greece

[YaxKukMo1426]

Great documentary apart from the rather blunt Syrian nationalism expressed in this particular clip. But maybe thats the price the makers had to pay for shooting in Syria

[YaxKukMo1426]

@Mr1958louief The history of man is the history of war Mr1958.

[108Dax]

this is a very nice doc. really rich settings.

[Mr1958louief]

Sad to think the word "Civilized" means War! I always thought "Barbarians" Love War. Seem we are Civilized Barbarians now:(

[Caracalla23]

I love it when Dr Irving Finkel says that the cuneiform is written in an "ideosyncratic hand". Wonderful.