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The Worst Episodes of The Western Tradition

Every episode of The Western Tradition ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of The Western Tradition!

Covering the ancient world through the age of technology, this illustrated lecture by Eugen Weber presents a tapestry of political and social events woven with...
Genre:Documentary
Network:PBS

Worst Episodes Summary

"The Dawn of History" is the worst rated episode of "The Western Tradition". It scored N/A/10 based on 0 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 1/1/1989. This episode scored NaN points lower than the second lowest rated, "The Ancient Egyptians".

  • The Dawn of History
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    #1 - The Dawn of History

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/1/1989

    The origins of the human race are traced from anthropoid ancestors to the agricultural revolution.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Ancient Egyptians
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    #2 - The Ancient Egyptians

    Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Egyptian irrigation created one of the first great civilizations.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Mesopotamia
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    #3 - Mesopotamia

    Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Settlements in the Fertile Crescent gave rise to the great river civilizations of the Middle East.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • From Bronze to Iron
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    #4 - From Bronze to Iron

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Metals revolutionized tools, as well as societies, in the empires of Assyria, Persia, and Neo-Babylonia.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Rise of Greek Civilization
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    #5 - The Rise of Greek Civilization

    Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Democracy and philosophy arose from Greek cities at the edge of the civilized world.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Greek Thought
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    #6 - Greek Thought

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle laid the foundation of Western intellectual thought.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Alexander the Great
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    #7 - Alexander the Great

    Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Alexander's conquests quadrupled the size of the world known to the Greeks.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Hellenistic Age
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    #8 - The Hellenistic Age

    Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Hellenistic kingdoms extended Greek culture throughout the Mediterranean.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Rise of Rome
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    #9 - The Rise of Rome

    Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Through its army, Rome built an empire that shaped the West.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Roman Empire
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    #10 - The Roman Empire

    Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Rome's civil engineering contributed as much to the empire as did its weapons.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Early Christianity
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    #11 - Early Christianity

    Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Christianity spread despite contempt and persecution from Rome.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Rise of the Church
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    #12 - The Rise of the Church

    Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/1/1989

    The old heresy became the Roman empire's official religion under the Emperor Constantine.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Decline of Rome
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    #13 - The Decline of Rome

    Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/1/1989

    While enemies slashed at Rome's borders, civil war and economic collapse destroyed the empire from within.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Fall of Rome
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    #14 - The Fall of Rome

    Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Despite the success of emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius, Rome fell victim to barbarian invasions.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Byzantine Empire
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    #15 - The Byzantine Empire

    Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 1/1/1989

    From Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire carried on the traditions of Greece and Rome.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Fall of Byzantium
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    #16 - The Fall of Byzantium

    Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Nearly a thousand years after Rome's fall, Constantinople was conquered by the forces of Islam.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Dark Ages
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    #17 - The Dark Ages

    Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Barbarian kingdoms took possession of the fragments of the Roman Empire.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Age of Charlemagne
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    #18 - The Age of Charlemagne

    Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Charlemagne revived hopes for a new empire in Western Europe.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Middle Ages
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    #19 - The Middle Ages

    Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Amid invasion and civil disorder, a military aristocracy dominated the kingdoms of Europe.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Feudal Order
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    #20 - The Feudal Order

    Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Bishop, knight, and peasant exemplified some of the social divisions of the year 1000 A.D.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Common Life in the Middle Ages
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    #21 - Common Life in the Middle Ages

    Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Famine, disease, and short life expectancies were the conditions that shaped medieval beliefs.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages
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    #22 - Cities and Cathedrals of the Middle Ages

    Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 1/1/1989

    The great churches embodied the material and spiritual ambitions of the age.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The Late Middle Ages
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    #23 - The Late Middle Ages

    Season 1 Episode 23 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Two hundred years of war and plague debilitated Europe.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • The National Monarchies
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    #24 - The National Monarchies

    Season 1 Episode 24 - Aired 1/1/1989

    A new urban middle class emerged, while dynastic marriages established centralized monarchies.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A

  • Renaissance & the Age of Discovery
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    #25 - Renaissance & the Age of Discovery

    Season 1 Episode 25 - Aired 1/1/1989

    Renaissance humanists made man "the measure of all things." Europe was possessed by a new passion for knowledge.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: N/A