Ancient Warriors Documentary Series Overview (1994-1995)

Introduction Ancient Warriors is a 1994 documentary series from the Discovery Channel. Outline Each 30 minute episode looks at a major fighting people or force and charts the reasons for their rise to dominance and subsequent fall. The show explores the motivations of ancient soldiers, as well as how they lived, fought, trained, died, and…

Andrew Marshall

07/08/2021

1–2 minutes

Ancient Warfare, History, Medieval Warfare, Military Documentary, War, Warriors

Introduction

Ancient Warriors is a 1994 documentary series from the Discovery Channel.

Outline

Each 30 minute episode looks at a major fighting people or force and charts the reasons for their rise to dominance and subsequent fall. The show explores the motivations of ancient soldiers, as well as how they lived, fought, trained, died, and changed their world. It also uses re-enactments and computer graphics to demonstrate tactics and military strategy.

Ancient Warriors Series

The shows were aired as “three series” over a one-year period, from April 1994 to June 1995.

Series 01 (1994):
- Episode 01: The Assyrians: Masters of War.
- Episode 02: The Celts.
- Episode 03: The Normans.
- Episode 04: The Legions of Rome.
- Episode 05: The Macedonians.
- Episode 06: The Soldiers of the Pharaoh.
- Episode 07: The Spartans.

Series 02 (1994):
- Episode 01: The Janissaries: An Army of Slaves.
- Episode 02: The Huns.
- Episode 03: The Knights Templar.
- Episode 04: The Vikings.
- Episode 05: The Highlanders.
- Episode 06: The Irish: Warriors of the Emerald Isle.
- Episode 07: The Maurya: Warriors of the Elephant.

Series 03 (1995):
- Episode 01: The Aztecs.
- Episode 02: The Samurai.
- Episode 03: The Shaolin: Masters of Kung Fu.
- Episode 04: The Hawaiians: Warriors of Paradise.
- Episode 05: The Ninja: Warriors of the Night.
- Episode 06: The Sioux: Warriors of the Plains.
- Episode 07: The Zulus.

Some websites highlight episode 21 as one of two ‘special’ episodes, with the second titled ‘The Romans’ (nominally episode 22). Seventh Art Productions does not make this distinction for The Zulus and does not recognise an ‘Episode 22’. Other websites record only 20 episodes.

Production & Filming Details

Director(s):
- Phil Grabsky.
- Peter Nicholson.
- Nigel Maslin.
Producer(s):
- Phil Grabsky … producer.
- Mary Ellen Iwata … executive producer.
Writer(s):
Music:
Cinematography:
Editor(s):
Production:
- Seventh Art Productions.
- MagellanTV.
Distributor(s):
- Discovery Channel (1994) (US) (TV).
Release Date: 17 April 1994 to 18 June 1995.
Running time: 24-25 minutes.
Rating: 13+.
Country: US.
Language: English.