(inspiring music) - [Narrator] From the very beginning of human civilization, monumental architecture has been a defining feature of many societies.

Oversized, overbearing and often over-egged, these structures expressed the vision and values each culture held dear.

What they believed in, what they aspired to, and what they became.

Inextricably linked to these buildings was the quest for power.

Be it taking control over dominions and trade routes, or nations and their populations, the ruling elite conveyed their authority through the buildings and structures they commissioned, casting a shadow, literally and figuratively, over history.

(dramatic music) Throughout the ancient world, pyramids were seen as an expression of political power.

The rulers that sanctioned their construction, were not only able to recruit highly skilled architects and engineers, but organise massive teams of labourers to do all the heavy lifting.

The mining and moving of countless tonnes of stone needed to create the monuments they envisaged.

The Mayans, the Aztecs, and before them, the Egyptians, all working for the greater good, under the command and direction of their god-like leaders.

Every household across ancient Egypt was required to contribute to a pharaoh's pyramid, by providing manpower, materials or food to feed those who laboured on its construction.

Together, they built the pyramids, and the pyramids helped to build Egypt, the first truly unified nation in history, a civilization that flourished for thousands of years.

The sacrifices many individuals made were significant, but in submitting to, and fulfilling, the ambitions of their rulers, they shared in their quest for immortality, a dream which gave the entire Egyptian society a sense of hope.

(sombre music) But the final dynasty of ancient Egypt ended in 30 BCE, When the mighty Romans seized control.

(gentle music) The Roman empire expanded quickly and exponentially, bringing great power, prestige and wealth to the city of Rome.

Regarded at the time as the epicentre of the modern world.

To this day, the city boasts an excess of self-aggrandizing monuments that were built to impress, powerful reminders of the ruling elite.

The mausoleums of Augustus and Hadrian.

The Pantheon.

The column of Marcus Aurelius.

Plus a plethora of public structures and religious icons that were built under papal rule.

As the Roman empire flourished, it expanded into the Middle East, notably taking control in 106 CE of the pre-historic Jordanian city of Petra.

Carved into the rugged sandstone cliffs in the middle of the desert, Petra was a thriving centre of trade, a tantalising jewel to add to the Roman empire's crown.

It was established over 2,000 years ago by the Nabateans, a wily group of desert nomads, who struck it rich as merchants, gaining control of the movement of spices, textiles, ivory and incense along the trading routes between Arabia, Egypt and the Mediterranean sea.

The Nabateans traded freely with the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and as their wealth and status grew, the Nabateans turned the mountains that surrounded them into massive monuments, making Petra the sublime capital and commercial hub of their kingdom.

Traders from the east and west passed through Petra for many centuries, bringing ideas that would lead to the city distinguishing itself as a major cultural centre of the ancient world, soaring to an all time high during the Roman era.

The Roman influence was evident in the layout of the city and its architecture, long before their conquest, and was reflected in the grand colonnades and stairways that led to structures such as the amphitheatre.

Built in the first century CE, the so-called Great Temple was once the centrepiece of Petra.

Although its actual function is still unclear, it may have been a religious building or perhaps a political one, used for administrative purposes.

With a majority of the city still to be excavated, there is much for local archaeologists to discover, as they seek to learn more about this world heritage treasure.

To date, some of their most significant finds include several elephant-headed capitals, and these truly magnificent wall paintings, revealed to the world for the first time in centuries, back in 2010.

Hailed as one of the most important art finds of the 21st century, the level of detail is stunning, so much so, it's possible to discern the actual species of flowering plants and birds that feature, swirling around a chubby cupid playing a flute.

Grape vines, ivy and vine weed, all associated with the Greek god of wine, have been identified, adorning the walls and vault of a biclinium, a room where ritual dinners were no doubt held, within an area reserved for the elite, some five kilometres from the main precinct of the city.

As the Romans began to increase their trade by sea, Petra became almost obsolete.

Adding insult to injury, the city was rocked by an earthquake in 363 CE and in the centuries that followed, was lost to the outside world.

For Europeans the city remained unknown until 1812, when Johann Ludwig Burkhardt, a Swiss explorer disguised as a bedouin, infiltrated the location and was astounded by its splendour.

His find soon piqued the interest of archaeologists, architects and scholars throughout Europe, who paved the way for the fabled city to bolster its fame once more.

As overexposed as the icons of Petra have become, they still take the breath away.

Hidden at the end of the seductive and sinuous Siq Canyon is by far the most popular structure within Petra's orbit.

The ethereal Al Khazneh, AKA, the treasury.

Built between the 5th century BCE And the 1st CE, this 39-meter-high structure was carved out of a single block of stone.

There's little to it, beyond the facade, a relatively small hall that may have once housed a tomb.

The treasury takes its name from a more recent chapter in history.

Local Bedouins in the 19th century became convinced that an Egyptian pharaoh had hidden treasures inside the urn on top of the building, which they pock-marked with the bullets they fired at the rock-solid vessel, attempting to release its riches.

Today, China is a nation whose star is economically and militarily, on the rise.

And its power is nowhere more forcefully expressed than in China's capital, Beijing.

In Beijing's city centre is Tiananmen Square.

The square is replete with iconography celebrating the power of the country's ruling regime, the Chinese Communist Party, and its founding father, Mao Zedong.

But on the northern edge of Tiananmen Square is the symbol of another powerful Chinese regime.

This is the Forbidden City.

Built between 1406 and 1420, the Forbidden City was the brainchild of the Ming emperors who ruled China between the 14th and 17th centuries.

It served as the imperial power base for a succession of sovereigns and their governments for just under 500 years, and it took a monumental effort to build.

A workforce of 1 million took 14 years to construct and decorate the 980 buildings that rise within the 70 palace compounds inside the Forbidden City.

The massive stones required for construction, were moved during winter so that workers could slide them on ice from where they were quarried, to the site of the Forbidden City.

The layout of the city was in keeping with Confucian ideology, which still underscores the structure of Chinese society.

In accordance with the practise of feng shui, each building in the city followed a south-facing alignment.

The colour, too was culturally significant, red being associated with success and vitality, and yellow, a symbol of the emperor's ultimate power.

The main entrance to the Forbidden City was via the Meridian Gate, so named because the emperors believed their imperial residence to be the centre of the cosmos, with a meridian line running right through the middle of their realm.

This was as close to Heaven as any man or woman could get, while still being bound to the Earth.

A belief that echoes in the names of the three most important sights.

The Gate of Heavenly Purity.

The Palace of Earthly Tranquillity.

And between them, the Hall of Celestial and Terrestrial Union, which was used for imperial weddings and important rituals and ceremonies.

Then there is the gate to the north called Tiananmen, which gives its name to Tiananmen square.

One of the largest public plazas in the world, Tiananmen Square stands today as a symbol of Chinese power and aspirations.

But for many, it's also a reminder, of the bravery of ordinary people in the face of excessive power.

Around the same time the 6th Ming emperor was busy settling into the Forbidden City, another great monument was on the rise in the Andean mountains of Peru.

This is the citadel of Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the peak of the Incan empire.

A territory that encompassed and unified much of the western half of South America.

At the time, the Incan empire was one of the largest in the world, embracing 10 million people and representing more than a hundred different ethnicities.

The Incan empire's expansion was rapid thanks to the creation of the great Inca road, a 40,000 kilometre system of pathways that criss-crossed the forbidding terrain and which was constructed, by hand, in little more than a century.

For all their military prowess, the Incan emperors were best known for ruling a dominion that was prosperous and relatively peaceful.

Their religion centred on a pantheon of gods, who were honoured through the building of shrines and temples, many of which were dedicated to Inti, the sun god, or Viracocha, the creator and divine protector of the 15th century Incan ruler, Pachacuti.

Machu Picchu is believed by many archaeologists to be Pachacuti's personal royal retreat.

Others suggest it's a sacred site, based around the worship of the sun.

Either way, it needed an entire community of dedicated workers to maintain the sanctuary and cater to the needs of visitors, whether they were blue-bloods or wide-eyed pilgrims, here to witness the rising or setting of the sun.

Without the benefit of iron tools, the Incas constructed over 170 buildings at Machu Picchu.

Along with thousands of steps, several temples and 16 fountains, all engineered with extraordinary precision.

A feat made all the more remarkable due to the absence of mortar.

The 600 giant stone terraces that also define the site, gave the citadel stability, particularly in the event of heavy rains, earthquakes and landslides.

They also created platforms on which the Incas could grow their crops.

The Incas were deeply religious people who were fond of precious metals, not so much for their monetary value, but for their spiritual aesthetic.

In their world, gold represented the sweat of the sun.

And silver, the tears of the moon.

And in order to feel more connected to divinity, they amassed one of the largest accumulations of gold in history.

It was a legendary collection that ultimately led to their downfall, for it excited a greed that would prove insatiable and merciless.

From the early 16th century onwards, Spanish invaders stole Incan territory, authority, and gold, and soon became the foremost empire on earth.

To celebrate their conquest, the Spanish, of course, built monuments to their power.

The old town of Seville in southwestern Spain, still harbours a trio of world-heritage listed monuments that pay tribute to that so-called golden age of Spain.

Monuments such as, the Cathedral of St Mary.

The General Archive of the Indies.

And the incomparable Alcazar of Seville, the oldest royal palace still in use in Europe today.

The Alcazar showcases a blend of architectural styles that run the full gamut of the site's 1000 year-long history, from the era of the Caliphate of Cordova to the present day.

Originally developed as a fort in 913 CE, The Alcazar had its first major make-over in the 11th century to accommodate the city's Abbadid rulers, and the offices of the state administration.

In 1364, when Peter I was the King of Castile and Leon, he added the sumptuous Palacio de Don Pedro, the crowning glory of the Alcazar.

Despite being a Christian, Peter I greatly admired the Islamic culture and its architectural heritage, and made sure this predilection was reflected in the exterior and interior design.

Peter's long-standing ally, the Emir of Granada, who had earlier built the Alhambra, sent many of his top artisans to work on the Alcazar alongside Christian craftsmen from Toledo and Seville.

At the heart of this masterpiece, is the Patio of the Maidens.

Surrounded by beautiful arches elaborately decorated with tiling and plaster work, these sunken gardens were discovered in 2004 having been buried under marble paving since the 16th century.

The most spectacular room in the palace, is the Hall of the Ambassadors, which was originally built as Peter I's throne room and reception centre.

The wooden dome that forms a canopy over the room was added in 1427, long after Peter's death, and its multiple star patterns are said to symbolise the universe.

Yet renovations from the 17th to the 20th century emphasised nature as much as architecture.

One of the most enjoyable gardens within the complex is the rambling Portal of the Privilege.

With its understated pavilion built to honour Charles V, the head of the house of Habsburg, this area, and indeed the whole Alcazar, was a fitting nod to a royal dynasty that would rule vast swathes of the globe for centuries.

No doubt envious of the great wealth accumulated by the Spanish, the British decided to crash the colonial party.

And one of the most enduring symbols of Britain's imperial power, was its prisons.

In the conquest of Australia in particular, the British were reliant on convict labour to build its infrastructure, including the prisons that held the convicts themselves.

Many examples of these prisons still exist today, including Cockatoo Island Convict Site, in Sydney Harbour, The Port Arthur Historic Site in Tasmania, and one of the most isolated prisons in the world on Norfolk Island, off the east coast of Australia.

This is the Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area.

Here the Norfolk Island prison was established in March 1788, barely five weeks after the British had arrived on mainland Australia.

Norfolk was chosen for its remote location and its pine trees and flax, materials used in mast building and sail making, so of huge value to the seafaring British.

For its thousand convicts, Norfolk was a place of unrelenting labour, and brutal discipline.

For those who broke prison rules, flogging was a common punishment.

In 1845, one convict, received a total of 250 lashes, made more painful by the fact that human skin splits after four lashes and the spine is exposed after 50.

The British had hoped that Norfolk's convicts would also grow food for the settlement in Sydney on the mainland, something the convicts did whilst building all the structures required on the island.

Structures like the compounds where convicts were incarcerated, a hospital, the military barracks, offices, cottages, a commissariat store and, a cemetery.

Some of the grander Georgian buildings are still in use today, functioning as museums, government administration offices, and homes for public servants seconded to Norfolk from mainland Australia.

But the prisons themselves lie in ruins, an evocative reminder of a very dark chapter in the history of colonialism.

When Norfolk Island eventually became overcrowded, convicts were relocated to Sydney on mainland Australia.

Here they were put to work building their next prison, on Cockatoo Island.

Conditions were abominable.

Men were permanently in irons, solitary confinement was frequent, sometimes for weeks.

And overcrowding was so severe a government inspector described prisoners, squeezing themselves against barred windows just to breathe.

Cockatoo was an amenable site for the British authorities.

It was isolated, secure, and easy to provision because it was in Sydney, the fledgling colony's major settlement.

A win-win for the British, a no way-out for the convicts.

For their sins, other unfortunates ended up on an even more isolated island.

Tasmania, off the southern coast of Australia.

This beautiful island is the location of Port Arthur, one of the most notorious prisons in the British empire.

Port Arthur began life as a convict timber station in 1830, but quickly grew in infrastructure and numbers over the next 20 years, eventually holding over 1100 prisoners.

Sealed off by a narrow neck of land, Port Arthur held repeat offenders from places like Norfolk and Cockatoo Islands.

Notable for its cruelty, Port Arthur was largely a labour camp, but the insubordinate were subject to flogging, chaining, solitary confinement and, the most feared punishment of all, sent to work in nearby coal mines, the site of many a death.

But, aside from physical punishment, Port Arthur also specialised in psychological torture.

In 1848, this building was constructed.

Known as the separate prison, it was designed to reform prisoners through complete isolation and total silence.

Pioneered in prisons in England, this so-called, silent system involved prisoners spending 23 hours a day in their cells, alone, and in total silence.

On the rare occasions they left their cells, usually to attend church, prisoners were forbidden to talk and wore hoods to prevent them looking at, or being seen by, other prisoners.

The system was imposed to such a degree, that prisoners wore felt slippers over their boots to dampen all and any sound they made.

If separation and silence didn't reform a convict, the next step was isolation.

Solitary cells in the separate prison were smaller than the usual cells, but just as silent and also, completely dark.

Incarcerated here for anywhere between a week and a month, prisoners often emerged hallucinating, disoriented and often so psychologically broken they were sent to lunatic asylums.

Port Arthur was eventually closed in 1877, but not because it was thought too cruel.

In 1853, the transportation of criminals to Tasmania ceased and there were just too few prisoners to make the place economically viable.

Today, Port Arthur is one of Tasmania's biggest tourist attractions, and remains for all as a symbol of the excesses of power and empire.

(triumphant music) If the power of an empire was judged solely on the area of land it occupied, then all hail the mighty Tsardom of Russia.

Grand masters of the territorial takeover, between 1551 and 1700, the Russian tsars expanded their dominion by 35,000 square kilometres a year.

Today, at around 17 million square kilometres, Russia is the largest country on the planet.

Each phase of this federation's epic history is preserved in the architecture of Moscow, the capital city of Russia.

Three of Russia's most iconic monuments are found in the city's historic centre.

Red Square, or Krasnaya Ploshchad, is the heart and soul of not only Moscow, but the entire Russian realm.

Contrary to popular belief, the square is not named after the colour associated with communism, or the wash that adorns many of its buildings.

Krasnyi in old Russian, simply means beautiful, only later becoming the word for red.

The square, which is actually a 73,000 square metre rectangle, borders the Kremlin, the centre of the Russian government.

As the front yard of every ruler from Ivan the Terrible to Vladimir Putin, Red Square has seen more than its fair share of speeches, executions, demonstrations, and parades.

It became globally famous during the 20th century, as the stage on which the Soviet military regularly demonstrated its superior strength.

It's also well known as the final resting place of Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union's first leader, whose body had been on display inside this purpose-built granite tomb since 1930, six years after his death.

The oldest part of Moscow is the Kremlin, with a fortified wall to define the extent of the settlement.

The Kremlin expanded over the centuries, with most of the stone walls and towers evident today, erected in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.

This gives it the sense of being a city within a city, complete with its own squares and cathedrals that have witnessed many of the weddings and coronations of old Russia's ruling elite.

To this day, Russian heads of state maintain an office in the Kremlin, although some, like Vladimir Putin, chose to live off-site and commute via helicopter, thus avoiding the horrendous Moscow traffic.

By far the most recognisable building in Moscow's historic precinct, is St.

Basil's, a Russian orthodox cathedral built in the mid 1500s to commemorate Ivan the Terrible's victories over the independent khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan.

Legend has it that Ivan blinded the cathedral's architect, so he would never be able to replicate St Basil's extraordinary design.

The original colour of the cathedral was thought to be white, with the domes a lustrous gold.

But from the 17th century on, a riot of different pigments added a Disney-like distinction to the building, that has ensured its iconic status for ever more.

The nine domes of the cathedral sit above nine separate chapels, and are said to be shaped like the flames of a bonfire rising into the sky, an image which, however fanciful, seems just as fitting within the building, as it exudes its ember-like glow.

The Russian Revolution in 1917 brought an end to the tsars and gave birth to the Soviet Union.

Joseph Stalin, Soviet leader from the late 1920s onwards, wanted a new architecture to reflect the advent of this new communist regime.

This gave rise to a type of architecture, known as socialist classicism, or more simply, the Stalinist style.

Communists across Europe embraced the genre, but in 1984, the regime in Romania, under the brutal dictatorship of Nicholae Ceausescu, sought to take the Stalinist style to the next level.

Currently valued at over 2 billion euros, the palace of the parliament building in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, is the most expensive administration building in the world, and the heaviest.

It tips the scales at 4,098,500,000 kilogrammes, but weighs heavier still, on the hearts of the Romanians.

Entire neighbourhoods were wiped out to make way for the gargantuan monument, including a monastery, a hospital, 37 factories and workshops.

40,000 people lost their homes.

And for all the misery and suffering the publicly funded construction caused, it was never actually completed.

As Nicolae and his wife Elena Ceausescu were executed for multiple crimes, including the destruction of public property, undermining the national economy and genocide.

It would be reasonable to assume that once the era of empire building flatlined, monumental architecture would also bite the dust.

But nothing could be further from the truth.

As modern nations began to transition into the new world order, their leaders found the urge to build big, as hard to resist as their forebears.

As Australia loosened its ties with Britain and inched towards federation, the powers that be decided to build a brand new capital city, from scratch.

Thirty-five sites were considered, but ultimately the region of Canberra was chosen by parliament in 1908, essentially because it eschewed the rivalry that existed between the two major cities in the country, Sydney to the north, Melbourne to the south.

Little more than a decade after Australia became a nation, an international competition was held to design the finest capital city in the world, with American architect Walter Burley Gryphon and his wife, Marion Mahony, declared the winners in 1912.

The centrepiece of their design required the construction of a dam and flooding of a valley to create an artificial lake, around which many of the key public buildings would anchor.

A provisional parliament house was built in 1927, which ended up serving the federal government for the better part of 61 years.

With a floor area of a quarter of a million square metres, its replacement is still one of the largest buildings in the southern hemisphere.

And an iconic national landmark.

Symbolically rising out of its setting on Capital Hill, rather than imposing itself on the landscape and, by default, the mindset of the people.

10,000 workers spent seven years constructing and fitting out the gargantuan complex.

With the final price tag coming in at a blistering 1.1 billion Australian dollars, massively exceeding the initial budget, of around 150 million.

Built to last at least 200 years, this 4,500 room monument to diversity and democracy, comfortably accommodates 5,000 politicians and public servants.

The design is based on two, 460-meter-long curved walls, which separate parliament house into four distinct zones.

The house of representatives and its offices on the eastern side.

The senate and its quarters to the west.

An area in the middle which includes ceremonial and public spaces, and the executive government wing to the south.

The grand entry plaza, which represents the desert and traditional custodians of the country, leads visitors into an extravagant marble foyer.

Topped by marquetry coachwood panels, inlaid with designs based on Australian plants, wattles, waratahs and eucalypts that had caught the eye of noted botanist, Sir Joseph Banks, in 1770.

Works of art are integrated into the architecture, a collection that now includes some 7,000 pieces.

25,000 high-quality pieces of furniture were also commissioned for the building, staying true to the ethos that underpins the design and the architects' pragmatic approach.

This is Australia's house for the people, built by the people.

A monument that celebrates the nation's artisans and a richness of culture that spans the entire human history of the nation.

Just as the federation of Australia was taking shape, America was laying its own foundations for a monumental makeover of its capital city Washington DC.

The scope of the work included the reconstruction of numerous public buildings, including the White House and the United States Capitol.

To this day, this pair of structures so effectively asserts America's identity and authority, they've earned themselves the honour of Best in Show in the world's greatest icons of power.

Rarely a night goes by where they do not feature, for better or worse, on news broadcasts throughout the world.

- Face of America.

- [Narrator] Slowly but surely becoming two of the most readily recognisable structures on the planet.

The 132 roomed White House is where the sitting president lives, and over in the West Wing of the building, is the Oval Office, the place where every executive order is signed, and therefore, where history is made.

The West Wing was built in 1902, under President Roosevelt, but the Oval Office wasn't added until 1909.

It was rebuilt in 1930, after a fire destroyed it the year before during Herbert Hoover's presidency.

Since the rebuild, every president has decorated the space a little differently.

Adding busts and portraits of their mentors and political heroes to reflect their goals and how they intend to govern.

One piece of furniture, however, has been in service for 140 years, the famous Resolute Desk.

Prominently featuring in many a photo op over the decades, it was made from the timbers of the British exploration ship, HMS Resolute, and gifted to President Hayes in 1880, by the British Queen, Victoria.

The Capitol Building is where Congress, the House of Representatives and the Senate, have held court for over 200 years, flying the flag to indicate when any or all of the politicians are in session.

Sitting at the eastern end of the National Mall, with a commanding view across the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument, the Capitol Building has set the stage for the inauguration of many a president.

The building has grown with the nation, and now boasts over 600 rooms, spread across five levels.

The great Rotunda in the centre of the building beneath the Capitol dome, is just under 30 metres in diameter, roughly two-thirds the size of the ancient Roman Pantheon it was intended to recall.

In the eye of the Rotunda, George Washington rises to the heavens in glory, flanked on either side by allegorical figures that represent liberty and victory.

Giving the illusion of a sculptured relief, the circular fresco that sits just below the 36 windows in the dome, charts the course of America's history, including its so-called discovery by Columbus, the Revolutionary, Civil and Spanish-American Wars, and the birth of aviation.

Niches around the Rotunda frame a series of eight massive paintings.

Four works that celebrate the exploration and colonisation of America, and four scenes that capture key moments from the American Revolution, which, in securing independence from the British, led to the creation of the United States and the first modern democracy in the world.

To the immediate south of the Rotunda is the semi-circular National Statuary Hall, which was until 1857, the chamber for the House of Representatives.

Shaped like an ancient Greek amphitheatre, its colossal marble columns were quarried from the banks of the Potomac River, but the Corinthian-style capitals they support, were carved in Carrara, Italy.

In 1864, Congress invited each state of America to contribute to a collection of statues representing prominent citizens from their electorates.

There are 100 in all, but for lack of space, only 38 are on display.

The Capitol dome is crowned by the statue of Freedom.

Her crested helmet and sword suggesting the protection the authorities within endeavour to afford their constituents.

She faces east, some say in the direction of Great Britain, as a subtle post-independence taunt, while others believe she's positioned that way so the sun never sets on the face of Freedom.

From the beginning of human civilization, buildings have been intimately linked with power.

Sometimes grand in scale, always oozing confidence, these buildings speak of great ambition, untrammelled vanity, and all too often, great cruelty as well.

These extraordinary icons allow us to glimpse the rise and fall of great empires, the ebb and flow of wealth, and the waxing and waning of ideologies.

If these icons hold any lesson for us, it is that however mighty the powerful may seem, power never lasts forever.