Empires: Kingdom of David - The Saga of the Israelites: The Book and the Sword

SYNOPSIS

The second programme in the series begins with the arrival in Jerusalem of a scribe named Ezra, in 458BC, who proceeds to read the Bible to the mostly illiterate Judeans. Study of the Bible then becomes an essential part of Jewish life but, in 330BC, Alexander the Great's conquest of the Middle East brings Greek culture in its wake. With Jewish culture facing an existential threat, in 160BC Judah the Maccabee leads the Jews in an epic fight to defend their religious freedom.