Kingdom of David: the saga of the Israelites [Widescreen]

Episode of Series “Empires”.
Kingdom of David: the saga of the Israelites is the story of one of the most profoundly influential religions, Judaism. This illuminating work features historical re-enactments, as well as interviews with contemporary scholars, to recall the ancient worlds depicted in the Bible. Episode 1. “By the rivers of Babylon”: In 586 BC, the Israelites were exiled in Babylon and seemed destined to disappear; but they fought back by writing a book using Judean stories to explain the present disastrous situations - the Bible. Episode 2. “The Book and the sword”: In 458 BC a scribe named Ezra arrived in Jerusalem from Babylon; gathering the mostly illiterate Judeans together he read the Bible to them. In the following years study of the Bible became an essential part of Jewish life. Episode 3. “The End of days”: When the Roman General Pompeii led his legions into the land of Judea in 63 BC it was the beginning of a clash of cultures that grew into one of the most brutal conflicts in history. Terrorism, political assassination, starvation and crucifixion dominated the landscape, ending with the Roman sack of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. From the aftermath, two new religions rose: rabbinical Judaism and Christianity. Episode 4. “The Gifts of the Jews”: In 132 AD Jewish zealots rebelled against Rome’s legions, forcing them to withdraw from the region. The Romans returned with a vast army, slaughtered nearly 600,000 Jews, changed the name of the region from Judea to Palestine and banned all Jews from Jerusalem. Many Jews fled to distant lands only to face another challenge - a breakaway form of Judaism called Christianity.