The Last of the Valois 1584- 1594 • 2018 • episode "S2E6" • The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe

176:36

[3 episodes] How the invention of writing gave humanity a history. From hieroglyphs to emojis, an exploration of the way in which the technology of writing has shaped the world we live in.

2020 • History

43:24

In September 1944, Allied forces undertook Operation Market Garden, a joint air and ground mission with the aim of ending the Second World War by Christmas. Though the initiative liberated much of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation and established a foothold from which the Allies could make later offensives into Germany, it was considered a costly failure with lasting consequences.

S1E5 • World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

44:01

A look at the decisive final months of the Second World War, from the American attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the race to reach Berlin.

S1E6 • World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

59:09

Historian Bettany Hughes investigates the ideas of ancient philosophers, starting with the Indian nobleman Siddhartha Gautama, more popularly known as Buddha. Thought to have been lived and tought between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, the sage and holy man inspired a diverse belief system that influences the lives of millions of people to this day. She travels to India, where Buddha experienced the challenging ideas and extreme methods of wandering `truth seekers', after he had abandoned his family and homeland in the Himalayas to embark on his philosophical quest to find a solution to human suffering.

Part 1 • Genius of the Ancient World • 2015 • History

49:29

Drama-documentary telling how Napoleon Bonaparte rose from being a penniless French soldier to create an empire, beginning at the siege of Toulon in 1793 where France's leaders first recognised his tactical genius, immense bravery and boundless ambition as he defeated the English. France, late 18th century: In the turmoil of the French Revolution, a Corsican refugee, Napoleon Bonaparte, comes to France. He embarks on a military career and increasingly gains the trust of older commanders. With the successful conquest of Toulon in December 1793, Napoleon laid the foundation for his career, which would eventually make him an important European general. Shot in authentic locations using a script based on documents from the time, including Napoleon's own letters, the film has been written with the advice of modern historians.

S1E1 • Warriors: Great Men of History • 2007 • History

58:53

Dr Helen Castor explores the life - and death - of Joan of Arc. Joan was an extraordinary figure - a female warrior in an age that believed women couldn't fight, let alone lead an army. But Joan was driven by faith, and today more than ever we are acutely aware of the power of faith to drive actions for good or ill. Since her death, Joan has become an icon for almost everyone - the left and the right, Catholics and Protestants, traditionalists and feminists. But where in all of this is the real Joan - the experiences of a teenage peasant girl who achieved the seemingly impossible? Through an astonishing manuscript, we can hear Joan's own words at her trial, and as Helen unpicks Joan's story and places her back in the world that she inhabited, the real human Joan emerges.

2015 • History