CNN'S MILLENNIUM SERIES: THE 11TH CENTURY, THE CENTURY OF THE SWORD (THE ELEVENTH CENTURY) {EPISODE 1} (TV)
Summary
The first in this ten-part miniseries documenting historical events and developments around the world in the individual centuries of the past millennium. This episode focuses on the 11th century. The program opens by explaining that the series will examine history “from a global perspective” and will analyze how many cultures, separated by distance, united into one world. In the 1000s, every nation had its own interpretation of the world’s map, usually with their own land as the biggest and most dominant. In China, travel to and from Europe was hampered by the Taklamakan Desert, along which the trade routes Silk Roads ran. A Buddhist monastery carved into the desert cliffs hid fabulous treasure in its caves, which the monks painted and used for worship. The nation was a highly religious one, believing that the emperor was divinely ordained. They also boasted many remarkable technological advances; the Grand Canal linked many smaller rivers and is still used for trade today. The markets which stood along it were open 24 hours a day and featured one of the world’s first popular restaurants in the city of Kaifeng, its menu comprising primarily of seafood. Other advances included the use of paper money, printing, compasses and gunpowder, far before any other country. The word of Confucius, the philosopher who had lived 1,500 years previously, dominated most social and political theory, and even when Kaifeng was sacked by invaders from the north seeking the land’s resources, Confucian leaders continued to have faith in the land’s endurance. In the middle east, Islam began to spread across Europe and Asia via nomadic tribes. Trade was an essential staple of the religion, and Muslims were often the “middlemen” in the exchange of currency and goods. Córdoba, in Spain, was the largest and most populous city in Europe, featuring a grand mosque and many metal workers and weavers. It also contained many libraries and was considered a center of learning. The Caliph, al-Nasir, lived in an extravagant palace staffed by 3,000 slaves and featuring a roof of gold and lavish fountains. Irrigation was essential to the area, and the use of water wheels led to something of an agricultural revolution. In India, the land from whence Buddhism and Hinduism had sprung, the Muslim scholar al-Biruni studied the land, the people and the river for many years, noting that the people believed that the Ganges flowed straight into paradise and the water had a purifying effect on the people. He noted many new temples, the layered structure of which reflected the Hindu belief of reincarnation and were usually decorated with erotic carvings of the gods whose union created all life. al-Biruni was fascinated by the holy men of India and learned Sanskrit to read their works, including the Ramayana (which is now a popular soap opera). He felt, however, that India cared little for lands and people outside of itself, and its period of world influence was largely over. In Japan, lady-in-waiting to the empress Sei Shonagon documented her experiences and thoughts in a work later known as “The Pillow Book.” Confined, as most women were, in her palace home, she made many astute observations about the royal lifestyle, especially about relationships between men and women, both good and bad. In Europe, Christianity was experiencing a great deal of unrest: 1033 was the 1,000th anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ, and many flocked to Jerusalem on pilgrimage; some believed that the Antichrist would come and the world would end. The city was full of Muslims and Jews as well as Christians, but trouble came primarily from within the church, between the Western Catholics, whose allegiance was to Rome, and the Eastern Orthodox Church, based in Constantinople. The two frequently struggled over power and traditions. The basilica of Ayasofya was the headquarters of the Eastern Church, and the Western church was jealous of its wealth. Finally, in 1054, the Pope excommunicated the Eastern Church, and many of its members were driven into the woods on the northern fringes of Europe, which were already populated by Pagans and “barbarians.” Soon, however, the many northern kings were converted to Christianity, and over the next one hundred years, the Christians began to “tame” the wilderness around them. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CNN
- DATE: October 10, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:90808
- GENRE: Documentary
- SUBJECT HEADING: Pat Mitchell Collection, The; History
- SERIES RUN: CNN - TV, 1999
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Pat Mitchell … Executive Producer
- Jeremy Isaacs … Executive Producer
- Jody Gottlieb … Coordinating Producer
- Vivian Schiller … Senior Producer
- Henry Chancellor … Producer, Director
- Gillian Widdicombe … Associate Producer
- Peter Sommer … Assistant Producer
- Xiaosong Atiyah … Assistant Producer
- Janina Stamps … Line Producer
- Emma De'Ath … Series Producer
- Neil Cameron … Series Producer
- Richard Blackford … Music by
- Felipe Fernández-Armesto … Based on the book by
- Ben Kingsley … Narrator
- Jennifer Ehle … Cast, Voice, Sei Shonagon
- Abd-ar-Rahman III
- Abu Rayhan al-Biruni
- Confucius
- Jesus Christ
- Sei Shonagon