Episodes
39 transmissions
The Prehistoric Plague
The first ever outbreak of 'plague' - Yersinia Pestis, the most feared disease in human history - was long…
The Persian Gulf
Near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital commercial chokepoints, lies an ancient trade route…
The Last Days of Pompeii
In 79 AD, life in Pompeii unfolded beneath the shadow of a tremoring Mount Vesuvius. Streets bustled, businesses…
The First Tools
What if the first technology was just a stone?Tristan Hughes and Dr. Emma Finestone, - Curator and the…
Athens vs Persia: The Legend of Themistocles
A legend of the great Greek city of Athens, Themistocles rose from obscurity to save ancient Greece and…
The Hittites
What made the Hittites one of the great Bronze Age powers, and how did their empire survive on…
Homo Sapiens vs Neanderthals
Tristan Hughes is joined by Ella Al-Shamahi, paleoanthropologist and presenter of the hit BBC series Human, to explore…
The Romans and China
How did Roman silver travel from Egypt to China across monsoon seas, pirate waters, and bustling ports? Tristan…
Judas Iscariot
**Warning: This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence, including suicide**What really happened to Judas Iscariot? From shifting accounts…
Britain's First Dog
Fifteen thousand years ago, as the Ice Age loosened its grip on Northern Europe, humans returned to the…
The Roman Centurion
What did it take to become a Roman centurion? To command, to punish and to lead from the…
The Delian League: Ancient NATO?
What happens when a defensive alliance slowly turns into an empire? Tristan Hughes and Professor Polly Low explore…
Leonidas: King of Sparta, Hero of Thermopylae
In 480 BC, at the narrow pass of Thermopylae, a vastly outnumbered Greek force prepares to face the…
What if the Ides of March Failed?
What if Julius Caesar had survived the Ides of March? This episode explores his last known plans —…
Herodotus: The Father of History
What drove Herodotus to write the first great story of history? Tristan Hughes speaks with Dr. Roel Konijnendijk…
The Phoenicians
Three thousand years ago, Phoenician ships sailed west across the Mediterranean, their holds packed with pottery, wine and…
Bronze Age Star Map: The Nebra Sky Disk
In 1999, a mysterious bronze disc buried for millennia in central Europe transformed how we see the prehistoric…
The Age of Dinosaurs with Henry Gee
Before Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, Earth was rebuilding from catastrophe. Out of the ashes of the Great Dying rose…
Ramesses the Great: Death of a Dynasty
“Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.” Ramesses II reigned as Egypt's unchallenged champion for more than…
Alexander the Great | Lord of Asia
As friendships fracture and old alliances break, Tristan Hughes and Dr Adrian Goldsworthy chronicle the epic downfall of…
The House of Ramesses II: Egypt's Greatest Pharaoh?
The name of Ramesses the Great is etched deeper into Egypt than almost any other ruler. Colossal statues…
The Fall of Persia | Alexander the Great
Tristan Hughes and Dr Adrian Goldsworthy continue the special series on Alexander the Great, delving into the epic…
The Skulls of Jericho
In the depths of ancient Jericho, beneath layers of earth dating back 10,000 years, archaeologists uncovered something extraordinary:…
The Invasion of Persia | Alexander the Great
In spring 334 BC, a young Macedonian king sets out to conquer the Persian Empire.Tristan Hughes and Dr…
How to Write Cuneiform with Dr. Irving Finkel
More than 5,000 years ago, a revolutionary script emerged in the fertile lands of Mesopotamia that would transform…
Alexander the Great | Rise to Power
NEW SERIES! Journey through the early life of Alexander the Great, from his education under Aristotle to his…
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve: parents of humanity, or characters in a Near Eastern myth about wisdom, mortality, and the…
The First Popes
What do we know about the earliest Popes, and how did they shape the early Christian Church amidst…
Xerxes the Great
He is one of the most famous rulers of the ancient world, remembered for leading a vast Persian…
The Origins of Rome's Empire
396 BC. The city of Veii lies in ruins, destroyed by Rome in a brutal act of early…
The First Arabians
What can ancient DNA tell us about the first homo sapiens to arrive in Arabia over 50,000 years…
How to Survive on Hadrian’s Wall
Step into the daily lives of those stationed along Hadrian's Wall, from Roman soldiers to civilians. Tristan Hughes…
Medea: Maligned Sorceress or Heartless Murderer?
She helped Jason win the Golden Fleece, betrayed her own family, and became one of the most feared…
Fall of Sparta
How did Sparta, the most feared military state in ancient Greece, fall from grace in a single generation?In…
Rise of Christianity
How did a persecuted minority religion rise to be embraced and enforced by mighty Roman Emperors?Tristan Hughes is…
The First Life on Earth
Today we’re going back to the beginning – no Romans, Celts, Egyptians or Macedonians in sight. Billions of…
The Ice Age
Think of the Ice Age and tales of ferocious sabre-toothed tigers and giant megafauna likely spring to mind…
The Minoan Labyrinth
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey immerses players in the mythology of Ancient Greece. In particular, they can walk in the…
Emperor Diocletian and the Great Persecution
How did a humble Balkan soldier ascend to the heights of Roman power?Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr.…