When Rome is sacked by barbarians, Europe enters a Dark Age. But from the fringes of the old empire, two new forces remake the world. The Arabs, funded by a gold rush, unite under the banner of Islam.

Genghis Khan, the bloodiest warlord in history, sweeps south from Mongolia into China and creates a mighty empire. He leaves 40 million dead bodies in his wake. But a greater killer stalks Mankind - the Plague.

Gold from Africa kickstarts the rebirth of Europe. Money flows into Venice, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to take risks. In China, a new weapon, the gun, allows a peasant uprising to unify the country.

In the Andes, the Spanish open up the largest silver mine in the world and mint millions of pesos de ocho (pieces of eight). These coins transform the global economy. They fill the treasure chests of pirates.

Mankind embarks on a new age of exploration and tames the wilderness. In North America, Siberia and Australia ancient traditions are swept away in the name of commerce and science.

Two great revolutions entwine. The American Revolution inspires dreams of political and personal liberty. The Industrial Revolution replaces muscle power with machines, freeing Mankind from nature's limits.

The end of the Civil War allows Mankind to go into overdrive. This is an age of innovation, transformation and mass production. People believe that `Anything, everything, is possible.

Mankind takes on godlike powers: to feed billions of people, reshape the landscape, re-engineer the human body. The greatest power of all was unleashed over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.