A History of the World in 100 Objects Folgen

Neil MacGregor's world history told through objects at the British Museum arrives in Persia 2500 years ago. Throughout this week, Neil is looking at powerful leaders across the ancient world. Today he focuses on Cyrus, the first Persian emperor who created the largest empire the world had ever known. It stretched from Turkey to Pakistan and required a hugely sophisticated network of communications and control. At the heart of today's programme is a gold chariot pulled by four gold horses. This hand-sized model helps explain the rule of Cyrus, the "king of kings", and his ambitions for his vast territory - with contributions from the historian Tom Holland and Michael Axworthy of the University of Exeter. How does this glorious pre-Islamic past sit with the people of Iran today?

The history of the world as told through one hundred objects from the British Museum. This week Neil MacGregor, the Museum's Director, has been looking at the collapse of old regimes and the emergence of new powers from the Middle East to China. In today's programme, he describes how a powerful new state finds a dramatic way to help run its increasingly complex economy and trading networks - using coins. Croesus was a king in what is now Western Turkey and his kingdom was called Lydia. It's remarkable that over two thousand years later we still have an expression that celebrates his wealth. Neil MacGregor considers how money, in the form of coins, first came about and describes the (hugely complex) methods of creating them. And whatever happened to Croesus?

A history of the world described through individual objects at the British Museum. This week Neil MacGregor, the Museum's Director, is looking at what was happening around the world between 2000-3000 years ago. The theme so far has been one of empires collapsing, new regimes and warfare. In South America there were no new empires and we still don't entirely understand the cultures that were thriving there. In this programme, Neil MacGregor shows off some of the remarkably preserved textiles discovered in the Paracas peninsula on the southern coast of Peru and tries to piece together what life might have been like for these people living in around 500 BC. The early Peruvians went to astonishing lengths to make and decorate their textiles whose colours remain striking to this day. What were they for and what do they tell us about beliefs of this time?