This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

For 2,000 years, whoever controlled the Mediterranean controlled the resources of the known world. In WWII, this area was in control of the British Empire, and Mussolini wanted it back.

The Eastern Front saw Hitler's most brutal WWII campaigns, but it is also where the Soviets, with mastery of the ground on which they lived, beat him all the way back to Berlin.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, it won a battle and inherited a geographic problem. How to hold and defend a vast island empire scattered across the largest ocean on earth?

War, loyalty, citizenship and the plots of a changing empire with the massacres of Alexandria, portraits of Caracalla and Julia Domna, and the extraordinary Baths of Caracalla.

As Hitler engulfed Europe, old castles across the continent fell under Nazi control; once symbols of nobility and culture, these fortresses were transformed to serve the ambitions of the Third Reich.

Items stolen by tourists from the doomed Roman city of Pompeii have created misery and misfortune; meanwhile, a trove of precious artworks considered destroyed or lost forever is discovered in Germany.

Hitler's invasion of the Rhineland was a gamble that paid off as his push west remained unchecked; while the leaders of Europe attempt 'peace', Kristallnacht signalled the horrors yet to come to many.

When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, it won a battle and inherited a geographic problem. How to hold and defend a vast island empire scattered across the largest ocean on earth?

Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl created propaganda that helped mythologise Hitler and seduce a nation into extremism. After the fall of the Third Reich, she spent a lifetime denying responsibility.

We track the life of Ivan the Terrible as we investigate if he set the tone for future rulers of Russia; was he a merciless murderer or no more than expected in a time when violence was the norm?

Known through the ages as 'Bad' King John, was the Plantagenet ruler of England and France the buffoon depicted in tales of Robin Hood or a sadistic killer fuelled by his insecurity?

In 486 BCE, Xerxes launched an invasion to crush Athens. In response, Themistocles pushed for a radical defence: a navy powered by the working class and unity among rival Greek states.

In 480 BCE, Xerxes' army invaded Greece as Themistocles led the Greek fleet at Artemisium. Leonidas and 300 Spartans held Thermopylae, but Xerxes' Immortals outflanked them.

After a snub in Munich, the Soviets make a pact with the Germans; with the invasion of Poland, the pretence of peace is gone as France and the UK declare war on Germany.

What is a tank? From the early concepts to the first tank prototype, we examine how the battlefields of WWI set the scene for the mechanised warfare of WWII.

Could a shock discovery of a tooth hidden inside a jewellery box lead archaeologists to the lost mummy of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, who is widely considered to be ancient Egypt's greatest queen?

As Whitechapel reels from three brutal murders, Fred Best and colleagues at the Star spin a lone killer theory to sell papers.

In 1942, the Allies were losing the air war; a mysterious technology was helping the Luftwaffe with the Blitz. Desperate for answers, British intelligence set its sights on an installation in France.

Ancient history knows few rulers like Constantine the Great. This first episode follows archaeologists on the stages of his life from Naissus to Rome.

Geli Raubal and Eva Braun, two women brought into Hitler's private life. One met a tragic end during his rise to power, the other followed him to a deadly finale.

We track the life of Ivan the Terrible as we investigate if he set the tone for future rulers of Russia; was he a merciless murderer or no more than expected in a time when violence was the norm?