The March to War • 2017 • episode "S01E01" • The Great War in Numbers

46:04

The Aztecs have built a mighty empire that dominates Central America. But it will be destroyed because of a domino effect. 7,000 miles away in modern-day Turkey, the great trading centre of Constantinople is overrun by an Islamic army. Europeans race to find a new route to the spice-rich East. Instead, Christopher Columbus lands in America – and discovers gold. Within 30 years the Aztecs will be conquered.

7/12 • Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

49:26

Drama-documentary about the Samurai general Tokugawa Ieyasu, a towering figure of Japanese history. He overthrew the governing dynasty of Japan and became the Shogun - the supreme military leader - of Japan. Ieyasu's rise to power climaxes in the biggest Samurai battle in history, the Battle of Sekigahara with 160,000 soldiers fighting for the future of Japan. On the way, there is a story of love for a reckless son, a politician in drag, a night time Ninja attack, suicide and betrayal. Brutal civil wars characterize Japan in the 16th century, it is the time of the samurai. The country is torn apart, powerful clans fight for supremacy. The greatest samurai general of all time is Tokugawa Ieyasu, better known as 'The Shogun'. In the greatest battle in samurai history, he risked everything in history's most daring military decision. His achievements resemble those of Caesar and Napoleon.

S1E2 • Warriors: Great Men of History • 2007 • History

59:29

Simon uncovers the city's ancient Greek roots, maps its transformation into the imperial capital of a Christian Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great and reveals how ecclesiastical clashes forced Eastern and Western Churches apart.

Part 1 • Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities • 2013 • History

47:04

D-Day suffers a last minute postponement when the weather over the Channel deteriorates. For Allied Supreme Commander General Eisenhower these are moments of extreme anxiety. Many of his men will be experiencing combat for the first time, and there is much that could go wrong. When meteorologists promise Eisenhower a brief window of improved weather, he takes the gamble and orders the invasion to proceed. Airborne divisions lead the way, parachuting into the darkness over Normandy. Shortly after dawn landing craft approach the coast. At Omaha Beach the Germans are waiting for them. The carnage that follows is described here with vivid personal testimony from both sides.

S1E2 • D-Day: The Soldiers Story • 2012 • History

45:09

After finding strands of human hair buried in Greenland's permafrost, scientists are attempting the impossible: to be the first to reconstruct the identity of a Stone Age human being through nothing but his ancient locks. From scraps of DNA an ancient face appears. Further discoveries in the genetic code threaten to overturn long-held beliefs of how humans populated the earth. How much does your hair say about you? Scratch that. How much will your hair say about you, in say, 4,000 years? After finding tufts of human hair buried in Greenlands permafrost, scientists will assemble a remarkable human blueprint that details the life of one early human down to the color of his eyes, the shape of his teeth...even his receding hairline. But as the research team, lead by evolutionary biologist Eske Willerslev, break into this genetic code, they find far more than they bargained for, and the discovery threatens to turn our long held concept of how humans populated the earth on its head. In the ultimate cold case, National Geographic will obtain exclusive access to the international team of genetic scientists, archaeologists and paleo- artists who are breathing life into a man dead for 4,000 years, learning everything about him and even the way he and his people lived... through his hair.

Explorer • 2010 • History

44:27

Deciphering the meaning of strange symbols in Egyptian art gives insight into ancient knowledge of sacred cosmology. A new way of interpreting hieroglyphics is presented, indicating that the ancients had sophisticated understanding of physics, biology and celestial mechanics. The team goes on an expedition into the open desert in search of a remote site of extreme antiquity called nabta playa. Here, Neolithic stone circles were found marking the motion of the same stars as were tracked in pharonic civilization. The possible connection is discussed.

S1E3 • The Pyramid Code • 2010 • History