Rome and its Claim to World Supremacy (36/39)

Rome and its Claim to World Supremacy (36/39)

The eternal city, the hub of the universe - which other city would dare to boast these titles? Which city can claim that it was the linchpin of history, both in antiquity and in modern times? In which city did Emperors claim that the gods had appointed them rulers of the world? And where, centuries later, did the Popes, the Princes of the Church, believe that the Christian god had ordained them as the highest instance of power? Rome and power, Rome and world supremacy - a chapter in the history of the world, in which rivers of blood were shed, yet which, at the same time, inspired the creation of timeless works of art, whose beauty and splendour is unparalleled.

Ewige Stadt und Nabel der Welt - welche Stadt sonst darf sich erdreisten, solche Titel zu führen? Welche Stadt kann von sich behaupten, sowohl in der Antike als auch in der Neuzeit Dreh- und Angelpunkt der Geschichte gewesen zu sein? In welcher Stadt erhoben Kaiser den Anspruch, Herrscher der Welt durch den Willen der Götter zu sein? Und wo glaubten sich einige Jahrhunderte später die Päpste, die Kirchenfürsten, durch den Willen des Christengottes als oberste Machtinstanz eingesetzt? Rom und die Macht, Rom und die Weltherrschaft - ein Kapitel der Weltgeschichte, in dem Ströme von Blut vergossen wurden, zugleich aber zeitlose Werke der Kunst entstanden, deren Schönheit und Pracht ihresgleichen sucht.

This series portrays landscapes, metropoles, sacred sites and monuments, all of which have made a unique contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind. Each episode breathes life into civilizations which thrived in the past ten thousand years, some of them then vanishing without a trace into the shadows of history. The films describe epochs whose legacy lingers in the perceptions and ideas of our own age, and cult sites which have managed to preserve their religious and cultural power up to the present day.