Highlights
- Streaming services offer a variety of ancient history documentaries to fulfill the desire for factual content without sensationalism.
- The list of the best ancient history documentaries has been updated to reflect changes in streaming platforms and new entries have been added for more variety.
- From Egypt to China to Africa, these documentaries explore lesser-known aspects of ancient civilizations, shedding light on their monuments, empires, and cultures.
Sometimes, there’s nothing better than settling down and feeding the gray matter with a good documentary. Except they can feel thin on the ground as the old documentary channels give way to sensationalist shows like Ancient Aliens. Is it really difficult to learn how ancient civilizations built their monuments and lived their lives without injecting little gray men into them?
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Luckily, where TV may have failed, streaming services can succeed. Each one has some strong contenders to deliver solid facts about the past. But here are the best ancient history documentaries people can find across the different streaming services out there.
Updated November 11, 2023, by David Heath: Since this article was last updated, there have been more than a few changes to streaming platforms. Many have lost their old lineups and have gotten new shows in their place. In turn, old documentaries have found new homes on other services, some of which may cost less or even be free of charge.
As such, this list has been tweaked to show where its original entries can now be found, how much those streaming services cost, and if they have any free trials. It's also received a few new entries to offer ancient history fans more variety, and to make up for the few that have been left in limbo. Overall, these are more of the best ancient history documentaries on streaming services.
18 Egypt: The Temples Saved From the Nile
IMDB Score: N/A
- Service: MagellanTV ($4.99 per month), Tubi.
- Free Trial Available.
When it comes to monuments, there are few (if any) places that can beat Egypt. Its Sphinx, Great Pyramids, and grand temples have stood for thousands of years. But when the country erected the Aswan dam across the Nile, its waters threatened to swallow up the legendary sights at Abu Simbel and Philae.
Luckily, as the title of Egypt: The Temples Saved From the Nile suggests, the temples were secured. But it took an international effort to do so. The documentary goes over the measures it took to save the temples, as well as its history from its first carvings to its completion. If viewers don't already have a MagellanTV subscription, the documentary can be seen for free on Tubi.
17 First Emperor: The Man Who Made China
IMDB Score: N/A
- Service: MagellanTV ($4.99 per month), Amazon Prime via XiveTV ($4.99 per month), and True Royalty TV ($5.99 per month).
- Free Trial Available.
Ancient Egypt is fairly well-trodden ground, as this list offers plenty for fans of the period to check out. But there are other places with equally rich histories, like China. Before Rome became an Empire, King Zheng of the state of Qin unified the warring states into one nation. He'd become its First Emperor: The Man Who Made China.
The documentary goes over Qin Shi Huang Di's achievements, like his grand tomb and the Terracotta Army. It also doesn't shy away from his notorious sense of brutality, and his quest for immortality. It can be found on MagellanTV and XiveTV, but viewers with a keen interest in monarchs can find this documentary and more on True Royalty TV, a whole service dedicated to kings, queens, and more.
16 Africa's Great Civilizations
IMDB Score: 7.2/10
- Service: Amazon Prime via PBS Documentaries ($3.99 per month).
- Free Trial Available.
The problem with history shows is that they focus a lot on the same old things. There are tons of sources about the Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans. But they rarely cover places like Africa beyond its Pharaoh-ruled territory because people assume there wasn't much to talk about. Just tribes living humbly until colonizers came to upset things. But that's far from the case, as Africa's Great Civilizations aims to show.
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Hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr, this 6-part series goes over the continent's 200,000 years of history. The latter three episodes cover its relatively more modern events. But the first three focus on its lesser-known ancient history, from Mitochondrial Eve to the spread of religion. That's not to mention its own monuments and empires, like the Nubian Pyramids and the Mali Empire. With one PBS subscription, viewers can discover a whole new world to learn about.
15 Colosseum: The Whole Story
IMDB Score: 6.8/10
- Service: MagellanTV ($4.99 per month), Tubi, Pluto, Freevee.
- Free Trial Available.
The Colosseum is one of the most iconic sites in the world. Originally known simply as the Amphitheatre, it was the largest of its kind ever built and is the largest one still standing today. The building didn't gain the 'Colosseum' name until people associated it with a statue of the late Emperor Nero in the style of the Colossus of Rhodes that stood outside it. The statue was reworked, moved, and eventually scrapped, but the Colosseum name stuck.
These facts and more can be learned from Colosseum: The Whole Story, a 2-part documentary that goes into the history of the Colosseum, of Rome's other notable amphitheaters, and its restoration, which has had its own ups and downs over the centuries. Viewers can find it on their MagellanTV subscription, but it's also available for free on Tubi, Pluto, and Freevee.
14 Kurdistan: The Untold Story of Mesopotamia
IMDB Score: N/A
- Service: Curiosity Stream, MagellanTV.
- Free Trial Available (MagellanTV).
Archeology isn't usually as thrilling as the Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider series make it out to be. But it can be just as dangerous. For example, Kurdistan: The Untold Story of Mesopotamia follows a team as they look into the sights and ancient cities of Mesopotamia. Specifically, the ones in Iraq via its Kurdistan territories. As fascinating as they are to look at, detailing one of humanity's earliest civilizations, Iraq on its own isn't a safe place to be.
Aside from being close to ISIS-controlled areas, Kurdistan is the center of a war between Iraq and Turkey. Using drone footage, satellite imagery, and more, the team details 3,000 years of history while trying to keep them safe. It's a fascinating watch on MagellanTV, but it may be more economical to watch on Curiosity Stream. Viewers can pay for its $4.99 monthly plan, or opt for the annual $39.99 plan, which works out to $3.44 per month.
13 Africa and Britain: A Forgotten History
IMDB Score: 8.1/10
- Service: Amazon Prime via BBC Select ($4.99 per month) and Britbox ($8.99 per month).
- Free Trial Available.
Also known as Black and British: A Forgotten History, Africa and Britain isn't strictly about ancient history. Consisting of four 50-minute episodes, the latter three cover comparatively more modern events like the transatlantic slave trade, Queen Victoria's black god-daughter, and the African kings who stood up to the British Empire. Fascinating, but not ancient.
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However, the first episode reveals that ancient Britain, and Europe as a whole, was much more diverse than people would care to admit. Africans had settled across the continent and in England via the Roman Empire since the early CE years, and still maintained a presence throughout the Dark Ages and Medieval period. Historian David Olusoga delves into these Black Britons' stories to learn how they were discovered, how they made it to the UK, and why they moved there.
12 Hannibal: The Man Who Hated Rome
IMDB Score: 8/10
- Service: Amazon Prime, Roku.
- Free Trial Available (Prime).
For something more definitively ancient, Hannibal: The Man Who Hated Rome covers Carthage's most famous general and his campaign against Rome. It's a pretty old documentary, so its claims to use the latest 3D technology aren't as exciting now as they were in 2003. Yet it's still an enjoyable and informative source on how even Hannibal's enemies grew to respect him as well as fear him.
The documentary can be found on Roku, but it's more easily accessible on Amazon Prime. Regular Prime too, so viewers don't have to pay extra for a channel add-on like History Vault or PBS Documentaries. If anyone would rather stick to one service, Hannibal's a good advert for sticking with Amazon.
11 Ancient Egypt: Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings
IMDB Score: 7.7/10
- Service: Amazon Prime via XiveTV ($4.99 per month), Pluto.
- Free Trial Available.
The lives of the Egyptian Pharaohs, and their reigns through their different empires have inspired tons of movies, TV shows, and other documentaries. But 2013's Ancient Egypt: Life and Death in the Valley of the Kings aims to examine just how the average ancient Egyptian lived. What were they doing while their kings and queens had their squabbles? The documentary examines their rituals, culture, and their remains to find the answers.
XiveTV costs $4.99 per month on top of a $14.99 Prime subscription, past the requisite 7-day and 30-day free trials respectively. However, the documentary can also be seen on Pluto, which is completely free! So, unless viewers already have Amazon Prime and XiveTV, Pluto is the most economical option of the two.
10 Horrible Histories
IMDB Score: 8.7/10
- Service: Redbox (2 Seasons), Tubi (2 Seasons), Roku (2 Seasons), Freevee (5 Seasons), Pluto (6 Seasons), Hulu (6 Seasons, $7.99 per month).
- Free Trial Available (Hulu).
Okay, this one isn’t strictly about ancient history, nor is it really a serious documentary show. Based on the book series by Terry Deary, Horrible Histories is a BBC show that teaches history through the power of skits and songs. While it’s primarily for kids, it doesn’t skimp on detail for the sake of sanitization. It just presents them in a way that’s meant to be entertaining for the young and old alike.
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It covers a broad range of ancient cultures too, from the Savage Stone Age to the Awful Egyptians. Groovy Greeks to Rotten Romans, Angry Aztecs to Incredible Incas. Its streaming situation has also changed a lot over the past few years. Viewers on Hulu can catch its best seasons, but it's also available across a range of free services, with Pluto also offering the show's prime run.
9 Rome: Rise and Fall
IMDB Score: 7.7/10
- Service: Amazon Prime via History Vault ($4.99).
- Free Trial Available.
Not to be confused with the BBC drama series Ancient Rome: Rise & Fall of an Empire, the Rome: Rise and Fall documentary miniseries focuses on the history of Rome from its first barbarian war to its last. Through its thirteen 1-hr episodes, the series covers Rome’s biggest players in Spartacus and Julius Caesar, to its lowest moments with its internecine conflicts and eventual fall to tribes like the Visigoths.
The DVD set can be bought for $35 from Amazon. Or by paying an extra $4.99 per month on top of an Amazon Prime subscription by checking out the History Vault on Amazon Prime. They even offer a 7-day free trial, so viewers with time to spare could binge right through it.
8 Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show On Earth
IMDB Score: 8.3/10
- Service: MagellanTV ($4.99), Pluto.
- Free Trial Available.
Hopping over the sea to Italy’s older neighbors, Ancient Greece: The Greatest Show on Earth follows Dr. Michael Scott as he looks into the origins of drama, comedy, tragedy, and theater in general through the ancient nation. Not only that, but the show also goes into Greek theater’s connections to Athenian democracy, its success when Athens faltered, and its influence over the Romans and other cultures.
The show can be watched on Magellan TV for $4.99 per month. It does come with a free trial if people want to try it before they buy it. Whereas Pluto TV allows viewers to try without buying. Just sign up for the service and all their films and shows can be watched anytime and anywhere for no extra cost.
7 The Buddha: The Story Of Siddhartha
IMDB Score: 7.5/10
- Service: Amazon Prime via PBS Documentaries ($3.99), Kanopy.
- Free Trial Available (PBS Documentaries).
Going on about the Romans, Greeks, Celts, and the like might be all well and good. But is there anything out there for people tired of ancient Europeans? Yes, with a little digging. Directed by David Grubin, and narrated by Richard Gere, The Buddha: The Story of Siddhartha does exactly what it says on the tin: it tells the viewer the life, history, and teachings of the founder of Buddhism.
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Alongside the religious discussion, it covers what life was like in ancient India with its hardships and different cultures. It can be watched through the PBS Documentaries channel on Amazon Prime, with the same 7-day free trial offer. However, the documentary is also now available on Kanopy, the free streaming service used by libraries. If viewers have a compatible library card, then they're a page away from checking it out.
6 Secrets Of The Parthenon
IMDB Score: 7.6/10
- Service: Kanopy.
- Free service via supported library card.
Besides, Kanopy now also offers this classic documentary on the most famous building within the Acropolis. Formerly available on Amazon Prime, Secrets of the Parthenon goes over the ancient Greek temple's history from its construction to the modern day. It looks into its architectural quirks and how they’ve challenged modern-day masons in their efforts to restore the building.
That's not to mention the techniques they use to get around them, either with new methods or replicating the surprisingly accurate ones the original Greeks used to make it in the first place. They didn't even need to invoke aliens. The documentary just shows how ancient people could be as complex as people today.
5 Secrets Of The Saqqara Tomb
IMDB Score: 7.2/10
- Service: Netflix ($6.99 with ads, $15.49 without).
- No Free Trial.
Even with the changes, Amazon Prime has had the strongest showing on this list so far, albeit due to making viewers pay extra for additional channels. With Netflix, people can just sign up for it and watch whatever’s on there with no extra cost. Unless they decide to bump their prices up again or make some other controversial decision. As shaky as things can get with Netflix, it's still the only way to check out Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb.
The documentary follows Mohammad Yousef and his team as they examine a freshly discovered tomb within the Saqqara necropolis. It dates back to the 25th century BCE and has been perfectly preserved over the past 4,400 years since humans last went inside it. As such, it holds plenty of unique sights and contents that grave robbers and the passage of time haven't touched in millennia.
4 Egypt’s Golden Empire
IMDB Score: 7.3/10
- Service: Amazon Prime ($14.99 per month).
- Free Trial Available.
Not to be beaten out, Amazon Prime can still offer interesting documentaries on its own without History Vault or XiveTV. For example, Egypt’s Golden Empire focuses on the civilization from 1560 BCE to 1080 BCE. This time covers how Egypt went from being on the verge of destruction to conquering its neighbors as far as modern day South Sudan and Syria.
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Alongside the rise of its culture and construction, the documentary goes into the history of Egypt’s most famous and infamous Pharaohs. From Akhenaten to Tutankhamen, Hatshepsut to Ramesses the Great, Egypt’s Golden Empire delves deep into the peak of Egypt's power.
3 Dawn Of The Maya
IMDB Score: 6.5/10
- Service: None.
- Available on DVD and YouTube.
Dawn of the Maya, unsurprisingly enough, covers the early development of one of Mexico’s most iconic cultures. While most sources prefer to focus on the Mayans’ later years, this documentary goes to bat for its pre-classic years. This is when the Mayans formed their early writing system, produced a wide variety of art, their classic pyramids, and began building their cities when their counterparts elsewhere were living much more humbly.
However, in the intermittant years, the documentary has since been taken down from Amazon Prime. Then, according to some sources, it was on and then off Netflix before then. No other service has picked it up as of this writing, so for now it can only be seen either via YouTube or its old DVD release.
2 Genius Of The Ancient World
IMDB Score: 7.3/10
- Service: Amazon Prime via BBC Select ($4.99 per month) or Acorn TV ($6.99 per month), MagellanTV ($4.99), Spectrum TV, Tubi.
- Free Trial Available (BBC Select, Acorn TV, MagellanTV).
PBS covered the Buddha alone in their documentary. But what if people wanted more than just one philosopher? The BBC series Genius of the Ancient World includes the Buddha alongside Socrates and Confucius. It examines their philosophies and how they influenced the world around them. How important is Confucianism to China? Or Socratic philosophy to Greece and beyond? The show offers its thoughts on these questions and more.
It just involves adding the BBC Select channel to Amazon Prime. Or viewers could add Acorn TV instead if they find it worth $2 more. The show is fairly short, consisting of three episodes at 1 hour long each, so viewers will likely finish it during the free trial. However, it's since gone beyond Amazon Prime to reach Spectrum TV and MagellanTV too. It can even be found for free on Tubi for people who want a risk-free option to watch it.
1 Dawn Of Humanity- Kanopy, PBS Documentaries Via Amazon Prime
IMDB Score: 7.7/10
- Service: Amazon Prime via PBS Documentaries ($3.99 per month), Kanopy.
- Free Trial Available (PBS Documentaries).
Still, human history goes longer than the Romans, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, or even the Egyptians. What’s there for people who really want to go back in time? Right to when the first ape decided walking on two legs was better than swinging from tree branches. The answer is Dawn of Humanity, a documentary that goes into the discovery of Homo Naledi, a type of hominid that lived in South Africa.
It covers Naledi's excavation and examination: from how it measured up to other hominids, to what its remains say about its abilities. The documentary is available on PBS Documentaries via Amazon Prime. But with Kanopy being free via supported libraries, it may be cheaper and quicker to get a library card than cough up cash.