China, the mandate of heaven: Many breakthroughs on which the modern world is based were discovered in China long ago...iron-casting, gunpowder, even printing. When introduced to Europe, these things changed Western civilization. This episode presents the synthesis of East and West. Egypt, the habit of civilization: Ancient Egypt was the first great nation on earth and endured for thousands of years. The god-like Pharaoh ws the rock on which this civilization was built. Ancient traditions come together in the Moslem culture that is the Middle East today.