S2E2: The Zulu Kingdom | Lost Kingdoms of Africa

S1E4: West Africa | Lost Kingdoms of Africa

Gus Casely-Hayford travels to Nigeria and Mali to explore the story behind a series of magnificent 16th-century bronzes made in t...

Episode 1 | The Silk Road

Sam Willis traces the story of the famous trade route. He explores Venice's Renaissance architecture and art before travelling to the beginning of ...

The Crusades

Dr Thomas Asbridge re-examines the story of the Crusades. He traces the epic journey of the first crusaders as they marched from Europe to recapture the city of...

5: Age of Plunder | Andrew Marr's History of the World

Andrew tells the story of Europe's rise from piracy to private enterprise, starting with Columbus's discovery of America.

Hokusai: Old Man Crazy to Paint

Biography of the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), most famous for his print The Great Wave. It focuses on Hokusai's work, life...

Florence | Italy's Invisible Cities

Using the latest 3D scanning technology, Alexander Armstrong and Dr Michael Scott explore the romantic city of Florence.

1: Pilgrims in Arms | Crusades

Terry Jones explores the history of the Crusades, to discover exactly what happened when the Pope instigated a popular campaign to conquer Jer...

2: Cortes | Heroes and Villains

The Spanish adventurer Hernan Cortes is supposed to have taken the Aztec empire with a few soldiers and 16 horses. Can that be true?

Episode 1 | The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors

Rageh Omaar examines the history of the Ottoman empire. He starts by looking at the unlikely roots of the Ottomans, as nom...

Pilgrimage to Jerusalem | The Crusades

Thomas Asbridge discusses the first crusade to Jerusalem.

S2E1: The Kingdom of Asante | Lost Kingdoms of Africa

Asante in West Africa was a kingdom that was built on gold and slaves, which ensured its important place in an economy ...

The Chronicle of the Crusades | The Crusades

Thomas Asbridge discusses the noblemen that joined the crusades, some of who sought to chronicle the events.

The Night Journey | Jerusalem: The Making of a Holy City

Simon Sebag Montefiore discusses the Prophet Muhammad and his Night Journey to the The Furthest Sanctuary in Jerusal...

Venice | Italy's Invisible Cities

Using the latest 3D scanning technology, Alexander Armstrong and Dr Michael Scott explore the watery wonderland of Venice.

1: Medicine and Religion | History File

Programme begins with looking at Ancient Greece, then the Roman Empire then looking at Muslim and Christian links.

1: The Renaissance Arrives | A Very British Renaissance

Dr James Fox traces the story of how the arrival of a few foreign artists in the 16th century sparked a cultural revo...

2: Clash of the Titans | The Crusades

Dr Thomas Asbridge examines the two figures who have come to embody Crusader war: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin.

2: The Elizabethan Code | A Very British Renaissance

Dr James Fox examines the Elizabethans' love of codes and complexity, and the cultural revolution sparked by an age of e...

3: Victory and Defeat | The Crusades

Dr Thomas Asbridge reveals that the outcome of these holy wars was decided not on the hallowed ground of Jerusalem, but in Egypt.

4: Destruction | Crusades

Terry Jones reports on how Richard the Lionheart set out to battle with Saladin and on rise of Muslim fanaticism as a mirror to Christian ferocity.