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?

The Spitfire, the Hurricane, the Lancaster and Wellington bombers - aircraft which arguably won the Battle of Britain - had one thing in common: they were powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.

Cleopatra conquers the Egyptian throne by allying with powerful men to regain power; facing Octavian at the Battle of Actium, nothing goes to plan and leads to her downfall and his rise as emperor.

Experts investigating Hitler's DNA uncover psychiatric conditions and find a genetic mutation that disrupts sexual development.

As archaeologists decode the 4500-year-old journal of a pyramid worker, they uncover new clues about how the Great Pyramid was built; can they transport a heavy stone block using manpower alone?

Germany seeks to neutralise British strength from the air in the Battle of Britain; the Luftwaffe has been deterred, but the Blitz begins as the Germans move to support their allies in North Africa.

The Spitfire, the Hurricane, the Lancaster and Wellington bombers - aircraft which arguably won the Battle of Britain - had one thing in common: they were powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine.

Tanks continued to evolve and older tanks found a new life on the Pacific battlefront; with the end of WWII in Europe in sight, anything went in the peak of experimentation of tank design.

In this two-part series, we reveal the devastation inflicted on medieval Europe by the 14th-century outbreak of the plague that remains the deadliest recorded pandemic in history.

In this two-part series, we reveal the devastation inflicted on medieval Europe by the 14th-century outbreak of the plague that remains the deadliest recorded pandemic in history.

Japan, late 16th century. Oda Nobunaga, a bold samurai and warlord, marks his reign with an architectural feat: Azuchi Castle. It went up in flames three years later. What did this castle look like?

In the mountains of Sichuan lies an ancient city that is one of the most important finds in years; treasures discovered point to the existence of a recently uncovered civilisation, the Shu Kingdom.

The war in Europe is transformed when Hitler unleashes Operation Barbarossa on the 22nd of June 1941; the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union has begun.

On the 7th of December, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor; the attack brought America into WWII and changed how battles were fought as the first-ever assault by aircraft-carrier based fighters.

Bettany travels to Bulgaria to explore a 6000-year-old gold treasure hoard and enter a 2300-year-old tomb in the Valley of the Thracian Kings with extraordinary vibrant frescos still intact.

A legendary conqueror, Alexander the Great left his mark on Egypt; this episode explores the mystery surrounding his tomb that symbolises the eternal appeal of his story.

Many legends persisted about the life of Adolf Hitler after the end of World War II; is it true that he was incapable of human emotions, friendships, or romantic relationships?

Ramses II launched the construction of two temples dedicated to the Pharaoh and to his wife Nefertari; how did the Egyptians organise and manage such a project 1,500 kilometres from the Nile delta?

By the end of WWII, the tank had evolved from its trench-crossing beginnings; it had turned into a vision of armoured warfare that carried on through the Cold War and into the present day.

In this two-part series, we reveal the devastation inflicted on medieval Europe by the 14th-century outbreak of the plague that remains the deadliest recorded pandemic in history.