Fatal Conflicts - The Rise and Fall of Civilisations

screenable online: 4 episodes

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Four ancient leaders. Two epic wars. Civilisations clash in a battle for supremacy – rewriting history forever.

Fatal Conflicts is a two-part documentary exploring two defining ancient rivalries: Xerxes vs Themistocles in the Second Greco-Persian War, and Hannibal vs Scipio in the Second Punic War. In each, a dominant empire, Persia or Carthage, faces a rising force, Greece or Rome.

Episode one follows Xerxes’ invasion of Greece and Themistocles’ bold naval resistance. Episode two sees Hannibal’s daring campaign in Italy and Scipio’s rise to challenge him. Told through cinematic recreations, stylised graphics, and expert insights, this series reveals how ambition and ideology shaped the ancient world. Through the eyes of four extraordinary leaders, Fatal Conflicts traces the razor’s edge between triumph and ruin.

In 486 BCE, Xerxes inherits the world’s largest empire and launches an invasion to crush Athens and assert his rule. In response, Themistocles, a rising force in Athenian democracy, pushes for a…

In 480 BCE, Xerxes’ army invades Greece as Themistocles leads the Greek fleet at Artemisium. Leonidas and 300 Spartans hold Thermopylae until a defector reveals a path, allowing Xerxes’ Immortals to…

After Rome’s First Punic War victory, Carthage’s power is diminished, but resentment simmers. In 218 BCE, driven by vengeance, Hannibal leads a daring invasion across the Alps, striking at Rome’s…

216 BCE. After surviving Hannibal’s deadly trap at Cannae, a young Roman officer begins a meteoric ascent. Scipio seizes the initiative by cutting off Carthage’s power in Spain, defeating its best…