OU on the BBC: Andrew Marr's History of the World

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Copyrighted imageCredit: BBC Andrew Marr presents History of the World Andrew Marr's History of the World is an epic 8-part journey through human history and the story of the world.

From our origins in Africa, global colonisation and battles with nature to the first farmers and the emergence of religion and philosophy.

From the rise of empires, brutal wars, revolutions in blood and iron to astonishing discoveries and the wonders of the digital age.

Andrew Marr charts the major turning points, decisive moments and pivotal questions—questions with which we’re still grappling now.

The final episode in the series was broadcast on 11 November 2012—more infomation can be found using the links below. You can get an overview of the entire series and more broadcast infomation by visiting the BBC One website.

Andrew Marr's History of the World on the BBC

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Cleopatra

Rauani Nunes

17 Nov 201222:35

Hi, I was very interested in this program since the subject is history of the world. I understand that is almost impossible to make a detailed program but I would rather emphasise to keep truthful sources since we expect that what is being said is true. I'm currently studying a module in the OU in the humanities subject and my first chapter was about Cleopatra. I notice that the program shows Caesar and Cleopatra but it says that she killed herself right after Caesar died, but this is a lie. Where is Mark Antony? and Octavian, the first roman emperor?? If I haven't studied this before I wouldn't know and I would believe that Cleopatra died after Caesar was stabbed to death in Rome. I was enjoying so much the program but now I don't know if the facts are true so I stopped watching it and I wouldn't recommend unless you have the knowledge to judge everything that is being said.

History of the world

Mark Stovold

20 Oct 201220:37

I recently posted a comment on here, just mentioning the fact that the programme did not mention the Sumerian civilisation and that I thought they should have. Considering they invented writing, the base sixty number system, the first schools, judicial and law systems etc. And most importantly they knew of the Earth's cycle of precession - a 26,000 year cycle!

I would like to know why my comment was removed. It was in no way offensive.
Perhaps it was because I mentioned that some researchers have interpreted Sumerian texts to have attributed all there knowledge as a 'gift from the Gods' - whom they referred to as 'The Annunaki' and that they came from a place called 'Nibiru' (The planet of crossing).

Yes, they were Extra-terrestrials.

Dear moderator - please do not remove this comment as I would very much appreciate yours and other's feedback on this.

Many thanks
Mark, Hampshire

Hi Mark, You posted you

Openlearn Moderator

22 Oct 201210:07

Hi Mark,
You posted you comment on another page within the site (on the get your free booklet page) and it can be found here -
http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/tv/get-your-free-how-do-they-know...
Please be assured that we do not delete comments unless they are obviously spam or contain offensive language or personal insults.
Your question has been passed onto our academics and as soon as we get an answer we will publish it - please note it will be published under the original location, so others can see what we are referring to.
Many thanks
OpenLearn Moderator

Algoritmi

Behzad Varpushty

18 Oct 201214:20

It was mentioned in the episode "Into the Light" that "Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī" or as known in Europe "Algoritmi" was from Uzbek origin, as far as I know his ethnicity is disputed to be from Persian or Arab origin and he is largely known to have been of Persian decent.

Not that his ethnicity really matters but can you please confirm on what basis he was declared as an Uzbek in this episode? just because his birth place is in current country of Uzbekistan it doesn't make him an Uzbek.

You are absolutely right that

Openlearn Moderator

26 Oct 201211:21

You are absolutely right that Andrew’s formulation of Al-Hwarizmi’s nationality is anachronistic. In a light-hearted aside in a piece to camera recorded on location we thought that this was acceptable. But unfortunately the reference to him being “an Uzbek scholar” also crept into the commentary. I apologise for any confusion caused. I hope you’re enjoying the series all the same.

Chris Granlund
Executive Producer, Andrew Marr’s History of the World

Now I look silly

Mark Stovold

20 Oct 201220:45

Ok, so maybe you only keep so many comments at one time and then they are deleted.
Nevertheless, I would still appreciate feedback on this.

As far as I am aware, Zacariah Zitchen was the main author coming up with this Sumerian/Alien connection and subsequent writings are merely commentary or repetition of his works.

I would like to know from the OU - what is the OFFICIAL interpretation of Sumerian writings, with regards to The Annunaki and Nibiru?

Thanks
Mark

I don't think this program

Maria Rodriguez

15 Oct 201220:31

I don't think this program should be called "history of the world", it's mostly "history of Europe". I mean, the program is good and interesting, but you are forgetting about the civilizations in America, you've hinted that they will be mentioned next week, but it seems to me that it will be more in the fashion of "there was nothing happening here until Europeans came" and of course that is not true. Centuries before this civilizations where growing and flourishing just as in Europe and Asia, or Africa.

Or maybe there should be another series now about American people. It will be interesting as well.

History of the World ....mmm

John Wenner

16 Oct 201220:00

I agree with your comment Maria.

The programme is brilliant and interesting but I also believe it is too western & too European centric. I love history and studied it at school, specialising on the usual British & European History, but from that I went on to read a lot of books about histories of other countries, as well as watching various BBC 4 programmes about, Birth of Civilisation, Africa, Islam & science etc.

I therefore really believe that someone needs to create a true Global history programme to explain what went on, why, how & where in a true chronological order, so that we can marvel at the advanced civilisation of China, India, seafaring of the Polynesians and so on, this way we can truly understand the waves of growth of languages,learning, art, trade & civilisation throughout the World.

I appreciate this would be a huge undertaking and possibly some political issues, but I think it would be a great benefit to all in the future and hopefully draw us into a true understanding of the history of the World and not just from the white, European perspective.

Andrew Marrs history of the world

Cadogan Enright.ie

15 Oct 201216:55

Andrew Marrs history of the world

Cadogan Enright.ie

15 Oct 201216:56

I am enjoying the series too, and most of it was top class.

I had one criticism though, when Andrew was describing the 'light that lit up the dark ages coming from the periphery' I though he was going to break with the usual myopic British vision and give credit to the cultural renaissance brought by thousands of Irish monks bringing literacy and Christianity to Britain, France, Germany, the Low Countries and further afield via Charlemanges empire.

But no, he started a couple of centuries later with the bands of viking slave traders and robbers who devasted that chink of light in the dark ages before setting up their trading centres that came to replace those that existed before their arrival in many parts of Europe.

We then reverted to the 'British Isles' rather than Britain and Ireland. My uncle Rick was a historian, and he once said (half in humour) to me, "God bless the Saints and Scholars, but they never should have taught the English how to read and write"

Andrew Marr's History ofthe World

Peter West

14 Oct 201222:34

A splendidly broad perspective but one which seriously underrates trends under way withing Europe that brought aboutthe Renaissance. The Renaissance was under way a century before Constantinople fell.

history of the world

Ernest Hosking

07 Oct 201222:22

what a great programme should be added to school lessons well done andrew marr, anb BBC can,t wait till next week,spent a great evening withBBC,meerkats,country file,antiques road show,and history of the world,keep it up,BBC
regards ernest

Thanks so much for your kind

Openlearn Moderator

09 Oct 201210:29

Thanks so much for your kind comments Ernest, I've passed them onto the production team.
I hope you continue to enjoy the programme.
Many thanks
OpenLearn Moderator

The illustrations in the accompanying booklet

David Tall

03 Oct 201211:59

The PDF has only low grade illustrations, so it is not possible to zoom in and actually read what is there on an iPad. Please use the technology in an innovative way to upgrade the quality and announce that you have done so!
Thanks.
(personal details removed by OpenLearn Moderator)

Fantastic claims

Emma Orford

24 Sep 201217:27

I had always understood that mitochondrial eve was our nearest common matriarch. The programme seemed to suggest she was the ONLY common matriarch. However as a basic overview it was a thoroughly enjoyable show and one that will hopefully encourage more people to learn about our ancestry and our history.

Why do they think that?

Paddy Shannon

24 Sep 201213:00

The supporting document 'How do they know that?' ought to be called 'Why do they think that?' because some of the claims made in the first episode can't possibly be 'known'. One of the most important claims falls into this category, that Hom Sap wiped out the Neanderthals, and the documentary shows us killing a Neanderthal to eat him. There is some evidence for this from cooking fires. However there is also good genetic evidence that humans interbred with Neanderthals. Of all the possible reasons why Neanderthals died out, mass murder is only one, and not even the most likely. So what is the basis of the claim that we were 'clever, clannish and remarkably violent'? There is no mention of Neanderthals in the booklet, and no Neolithic evidence cited at all.

The implications of this are anything but trivial. If humans are by nature violent, then coercive state control is an eternal necessity and political radicals are wasting their time. This is the Catholic doctrine of Original Sin, repackaged for the scientific age. There are certainly writers who think this, but there are others who think the opposite. In uncritically accepting just one side of an open debate the BBC is presenting a false picture of the past, one which conveniently serves the status quo.

The woman from whom we are all descended

John Pritchard

24 Sep 201211:19

Until recently I too thought we were all descended from one woman and that this woman was known as Mitochondrial Eve. However, I have recently learnt that this isn't the case and that Mitochondrial Eve referes to the most common ancestor to all modern humans on the matrilineal line. In other words she was the most recent woman from whom all living humans today descend, on their mother's side. Can anyone shed any light on Andrew Marrs statement that we are all descended from one woman, is he correct or has he picked up and misunderstood (as I did) the fact that there is (and must be) a most recent common ancestor on the exclusively female line of descent?

Our mother

Christelle Vangenot

24 Sep 201212:56

I understood the same as you: Mitoncondrial Eve only refers only to the mitonchondrial line, we have potentially as many mothers as we have genes.
I would also like to have some informaion on that one...

Mitochondrial Eve

Derek Matravers

27 Sep 201208:16

You are right; that part of the programme is certainly open to misinterpretation (one of the perils of making the kind of programme to fit that slot on BBC1). All our genetic material can be traced back in time, but only so far as a certain point. This point (serial coalescence) is the length of time ago that it will have taken for all the observable genetic variation in contemporary population’s genetic material to have developed through mutation, genetic drift, admixture, and so on. This is analogous to tracing a family tree back to a founding individual but it is not the same and it does not imply that there was ever one individual who held all our genetic variation. The degree of variation in all our mitochondrial genetic material (that is, that passed from mother to daughter) is such that it may have derived from that contained within a very small population (theoretically possibly only one female) that moved out of Africa c.150,000 years ago (debated!) and subsequently multiplied to colonise the remainder of the world. It does not imply that we are all in a lineal decent from this individual (so 'Mother' is a bit of dramatic licence!), nor that she is the source of all our genetic material.

Or course, if that particular individual had not existed it is very unlikely that the history of the world would have been much different.

Derek Matravers (Arts Media Fellow) on behalf of the OU academic consultant team for Andrew Marr’s History of the World.

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Originally published: Monday, 10th September 2012
Last updated on: Monday, 10th September 2012

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