Mankind Decoded premiered on 1/26/13 on the H2 channel: http://www.history.com/shows/mankind-decoded/articles/about-mankind-decoded Two 30 minute episodes are aired each week. A quick summary of the main points is at the end of each show.
Episode 1 "Lust For Luxury" depicts how the desire for luxury shaped mankind. When ordinary people desire the luxuries of the rich, ingenuity and innovation come together to take history in a new direction. From the obsession with silk to the fall of Constantinople, the discovery of the Americas to the launch of the Industrial Revolution, our desire for luxury has shaped our history and evolution. Topics covered include: gunpowder, pepper, silver as currency, cotton, and automobiles. Today's luxury become tomorrow's necessities. Mechanization (factory automation and assembly lines) vastly changes what products are available to the masses.
Episode 2 "Arms Race" depicts how history was forged in the fires of war and the birth of the arms races. About 10,000 years ago we discover farming. But when crops fail, early farming communities face a new threat. War. The path from spear to modern warfare occurred due to a number of technological advances. Megiddo (which was the inspiration for Armageddon) combined chariots with archers. The Chinese developed crossbows (which were the first modular weapons system in history and also the first weapons created by mass production). The Chinese discovery of gunpowder was a MAJOR game changer. The Turks developed canons and seized the city of Constantinople. Penicillin helped us win the war against infection. The atomic bomb was dropped on Japan causing them to surrender ending WWII and ushering in the atomic arms race.
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Per Wikipedia, Armageddon (from Ancient Greek: Ἁρμαγεδών Harmagedōn,[1][2] Late Latin: Armagedōn[3]) will be, according to the Book of Revelation, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end of the world scenario.
The word "Armageddon" appears only once in the Greek New Testament, in Revelation 16:16. The word may come from Hebrew har məgiddô (הר מגידו), meaning "Mountain of Megiddo". "Mount" Megiddo is not actually a mountain, but a tell (a hill created by many generations of people living and rebuilding on the same spot)[4] on which ancient forts were built to guard the Via Maris, an ancient trade route linking Egypt with the northern empires ofSyria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Megiddo was the location of various ancient battles, including one in the 15th century BC and one in 609 BC. Modern Megiddo is a town approximately 25 miles (40 km) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee in the Kishon River area.[5]
According to one premillennial Christian interpretation, the Messiah will return to earth and defeat the Antichrist (the "beast") and Satan the Devil in the Battle of Armageddon. Then Satan will be put into the "bottomless pit" or abyss for 1,000 years, known as the Millennium. After being released from the abyss, Satan will gather Gog and Magog (peoples of two specific nations) from the four corners of the earth. They will encamp surrounding the "holy ones" and the "beloved city" (this refers to Jerusalem). Fire will come down from God, out of heaven and devour Gog and Magog after the Millennium. TheDevil, death, hell, and those not found written in the Book of Life are then thrown into Gehenna (theLake of Fire burning with brimstone).
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