Sandra Papadopoulos

This three-part series illuminates the rise and fall of the ancient American empires of Maya, Inca and Aztecs. These high cultures brought about astonishing civilizational achievements in agriculture, architecture and astronomy to this day and dominated the Mesoamerican continent for over a millennium.

In the 18th century, the Barbary threat became serious. In July 1785, two American boats were returned to Algiers; In the winter of 1793, eleven American ships, their crews in chains, were in the hands of the dey of Algiers. To ensure the freedom of movement of its commercial fleet, the United States was obliged to conclude treaties with the main Barbary states, paying considerable sums of money as a guarantee of non-aggression. With Morocco, treaty of 1786, 30,000 dollars; Tripoli, November 4, 1796, $56,000; Tunis, August 1797, 107,000 dollars. But the most expensive and the most humiliating was with the dey of Algiers, on September 5, 1795, “treaty of peace and friendship” which cost nearly a million dollars (including 525,000 in ransom for freed American slaves). , with an obligation to pay 20,000 dollars upon the arrival of each new consul and 17,000 dollars in annual gifts to senior Algerian officials...

While it has been debated for many years, new evidence might finally put one debate to rest: Marco Polo has gone to China. Explore the mysteries of the historical figure in this documentary.

In Cairo, a German-Egyptian team is searching for traces of the largest temple of the Pharaohs, seeking answers as to why the sanctuary was abandoned more than 2000 years ago.

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The Incas appear out of nowhere and within a few decades their empire develops into the largest empire in the world at that time. Until today the Inca are surrounded by an aura of mystery. How could their meteoric rise take place in such a short time? And how did a handful of Spaniards succeed in bringing down the empire?