Decoding the Past: Secret of Kabbalah

Kabbalah also Romanised Cabala, Qabbālâ, etc.; different transliterations now tend to denote alternative traditions, is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought. A traditional Kabbalist in Judaism is called a Mekuba.

Kabbalah's definition varies according to the tradition and aims of those following it, from its religious origin as an integral part of Judaism, to its later Christian, New Age, or Occultist syncretic adaptations. Kabbalah is a set of esoteric teachings meant to explain the relationship between an unchanging, eternal and mysterious Ein Sof (no end) and the mortal and finite universe (his creation). While it is heavily used by some denominations, it is not a religious denomination in itself. Inside Judaism, it forms the foundations of mystical religious interpretation. Outside Judaism, its scriptures are read outside the traditional canons of organised religion.

The Lost City: Finding Atlantis

Could the fabled lost city of Atlantis have been located? Using satellite photography, ground-penetrating radar and underwater technology, experts are now surveying marshlands in Spain to look for proof of the ancient city.

If the team can match geological formations to Plato’s descriptions and date artifacts back to the time of Atlantis, we may be closer to solving one of the world’s greatest mysteries.

Ancient Egyptian Weapons and Battles

Documentary about description and origins of the weapons used by the Ancient Egyptian army.

Over its long history the Egyptians employed a wide variety of ancient weapons. During the earliest periods stone and wood weapons were used, these early Egyptian weapons included slings, clubs, throwing sticks, stone maces and stone tipped spears. Horn and wooden bows were also constructed and used with stone tipped arrows.

The Secret of The Great Pyramid of Khufu - Revealed

4500 years ago, a civilization that knew nothing of iron tools, wheels or pulleys built the Great Pyramid of Khufu. For centuries, its construction remained an unsolved mystery.

But recently, a French architect disclosed a revolutionary theory: the pyramid may have been built from the inside out. Using the most advanced scientific 3D technology, Jean Pierre Houdin tested and re-enacted the construction of Khufu's tomb. He believes that an internal spiral ramp is still there.... just waiting to be found.

Ancient Egypt: Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings

Egypt captivates us like few other ancient civilizations -- but what was it like to actually live there as an ordinary person 3,500 years ago? Egyptologist Dr Joann Fletcher goes on a fascinating journey in search of people like us, not the great Pharaohs but the ordinary people who built and populated this incredible ancient civilization, creating a remarkable way of life and an extraordinary way of death.

Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land

This documentary caused controversy among Christian and Jew and Muslim alike: religious believer or staunch atheist. Everything is at stake. The answers are buried in that cave.

Almost 2,000 years ago a cave near the Dead Sea became a hideout for Jews fleeing Roman persecution. Jesus had died a few years earlier (so they say), and the Jewish world was coming crashing down under the mighty Roman heal. In the 1960′s, archaeologists found letters actually written by hand by Bar-Kokhba: a Jewish rebel and one of the most famous defenders of the Jewish resistance. Could there be more treasures in the cave? That is the premise.

Planet of the Apemen: Battle for Earth

This documentary follows the journeys of two different groups of modern humans as they encounter other human species. The first group encounters Homo erectus and is forced to cross the Thar Desert to reach the sea. The second group encounters Neanderthals in Europe.

In the not-too-distant past, humans shared this planet with other species of hominid. This series tells how, against all the odds, Homo sapiens survived.

The Mystery of the People Frozen in Time

Pompeii is one of the most iconic monuments of the Roman world. Millions of tourists go there every year to see the remains of this ancient city destroyed by the volcano Vesuvius. What makes Pompeii so special are its remarkable relics. They're not statues but remains of people frozen in the last few seconds of their lives. Nothing like them has ever been seen anywhere else.

This documentary film show everything there is so well-preserved that we know almost every detail of what happened on those days in August, 79 AD; the earthquakes, the massive eruption, and the hale of ash, rock and pumice. We even know the stories of the people who perished. But why they're fixed in those extraordinary positions had been a mystery for centuries. Now it seems that vital clues have been overlooked.

NatGeo: Lost Treasures of Afghanistan

During the last three decades, war and terrorism have devastated much of Afghanistan's rich cultural past. Two giant Buddha statues were blown up by the Taliban, gold and priceless archaeological artifacts disappeared, artworks were destroyed, historic films were burned.

But many courageous Afghan people were determined to save their heritage. Join National Geographic as it highlights the efforts of heroic Afghans who have refused to allow their culture to be destroyed.

The Lost Empire: Byzantium

For over 1,000 years, the Byzantine Empire was the eye of the world -- the origin of great literature, fine art and modern government. Heir to Greece and Rome, the Byzantine Empire was also the first Christian empire.

After a year of filming on three continents, TLC unlocks this ancient civilization, spanning 11 centuries and three continents. Pass through the gates of Constantinople, explore the magnificent mosque of Hagia Sophia and see the looted treasures of the empire is now in San Marco, Venice.

Kublai Khan’s Lost Fleet

Kublai's seizure of power in 1260 pushed the Mongol Empire into a new direction. Despite his controversial election, which accelerated the disunity of the Mongols, Kublai's willingness to formalize the Mongol realm's symbiotic relation with China brought the Mongol Empire to international attention. Kublai and his predecessors' conquests were largely responsible for re-creating a unified, militarily powerful China. The Mongol rule of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia proper from a capital at modern Beijing were the precedents for the Qing Dynasty's Inner Asian Empire.

In 1274 AD storms had wrecked a Mongol invasion fleet trying to attack Japan, killing more than 20,000 troops. In 1281 the Mongol emperor tried again with a vast fleet of 4400 ships and maybe more than 100,000 Chinese and Mongol soldiers. These numbers are based on contemporary sources and have not been confirmed. During the invasion attempt, Japanese naval attacks and a another subsequent typhoon sank most of the ships off the Japanese coast, killing most of the soldiers.

Ancient Apocalypse Mystery of the Minoans

Three and a half thousand years ago, the tiny Aegean island of Thera was devastated by one of the worst natural disasters since the Ice Age - a huge volcanic eruption.

This cataclysm happened 100km from the island of Crete, the home of the thriving Minoan civilization. Fifty years after the eruption, that civilization was in ruins. Did the volcano deliver a death blow to the Minoans? It's a whodunnit that has haunted historians and scientists for decades.

Decoding the Past: Biblical Prophecies of Israel

Bible prophecy or biblical prophecy is typically the prediction of future events based on the action, function, or faculty of a prophet. Such passages are widely distributed throughout the Bible, but those most often cited are from Ezekiel, Daniel, Matthew 24, Matthew 25, and Revelation. Believers in biblical prophecy engage in exegesis and hermeneutics of scriptures which they believe contain descriptions of global politics, natural disasters, the future of the nation of Israel, the coming of a Messiah and a Messianic Kingdom, and the ultimate destiny of humankind.

The Precursors of the Inca

Past the mighty Inca empire, various cultures developed their science, art and customs to astonishing degrees before being relegated to oblivion, swallowed by the passage of centuries and the splendor of the peoples who succeeded them. In the hands of most recent archaeological research will travel through time and history to show the mysteries of these brilliant civilizations.

So, will visit the ceremonial centers of Tiahuanaco culture developed in the sixth century AD in the region of the plateau, whose enigmatic sculptures and constructive forms baffle archaeologists and specialists. Today observatories shamans use their mystical rites who worship the sun by burning charms.

The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization

The final segment describes how Athens, at the height of her glory, engaged in a suicidal conflict with her greatest rival, Sparta. Through the eyes of Socrates, Athens' first philosopher, viewers see the tragic descent of Athenian democracy into mob rule.

The episode opens in 399 B.C., after the great philosopher Socrates has been sentenced to death and Athens lies in ruins after a war with Sparta. This episode goes back to 431 B.C., to an Athens at the height of its cultural, political, and economic power. Having taken great leaps forward in every field of learning, and with a strong economy that dominates Mediterranean trade, Athens and its 150,000 residents are the envy of their neighbors, in particular, bellicose Sparta. Jealous of Athenian success, the Spartans yearn to spill Athenian blood and dominate the region. Of course, Pericles knows what is coming, and he orders the citizens to abandon open areas and take refuge inside the walls of Athens.

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire

Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire is a BBC One docudrama series, with each episode looking at a different key turning point in the history of the Roman Empire.

Factually accurate and based on extensive historical research, it reveals how the greed, lust and ambition of men like Caesar, Nero and Constantine shaped the Roman Empire.

It describes how Rome destroyed Carthage, was conquered by Caesar, how it suppressed the Jewish revolt, and converted to Christianity.