Video documentaries about history of the world
Bettany travels to China on the trail of Confucius, a great sage of Chinese history whose ideas have fundamentally shaped the country of his birth for around 2,500 years.
Genius of the Ancient World: Confucius ep.3 Read More »
Bettany Hughes’ series profiling the most celebrated thinkers of the Ancient world continues as she turns her attention to Socrates.
Genius of the Ancient World: Socrates ep.2 Read More »
Presenter Bettany Hughes explores the day in 32BC when Octavian, Julius Caesar’s adopted son, stole the secret will of Mark Antony, his most dangerous political rival.
Eight Days that Made Rome: Rome’s First Emperor Read More »
Presenter Bettany Hughes explores the day in 49BC when, defying the Senate, Julius Caesar and his army crossed the river Rubicon, plunging the Republic into civil war.
Eight Days that Made Rome: Crossing the Rubicon Read More »
In 1996 in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Italian mineralogist Vincenzo de Michele spotted an unusual yellow-green gem in the middle of one of Tutankhamun’s necklaces.
Tutankhamun’s Fireball Read More »
Bettany Hughes’s three-part series profiles three very different thinkers – Buddha, Socrates, and Confucius – and assesses the major contribution they have made to different philosophical and religious traditions.  Content-wise, the programs are extremely good: Hughes interviews several experts in Buddhism, classical philosophy, and Confucianism; and visits several of the ancient sites associated with all three of
Genius of the Ancient World: Buddha ep.1 Read More »
The Spartacus Revolt: In 73 BC, Spartacus broke out of gladiator school and started the most terrifying slave revolt in Rome’s history. Visiting Pompeii, southern Italy and the British Museum, Bettany explores the importance and appalling reality of slavery in ancient Rome and how the revolt played a major role in shaping Rome’s political future. She also reveals that not
Eight Days that Made Rome: The Spartacus Revolt Read More »
East to West ep.7 explores the growing European fascination with ‘The Orient’ throughout the 19th century, as a place of culture and a trading partner
East to West – The Ottomans and the West ep.7 Read More »
At the time of Elizabeth I, the greatest power in the world was not England or France , it was the Ottoman Empire – a multicultural empire.
East to West – The Rise of the Ottomans ep.6 Read More »
Eight Days That Made Rome is a docu-drama that leaves behind the conventional chronologies of Rome’s thousand-year history and brings razor-sharp focus to eight days that created, tested and defined its greatness.
Eight Days that Made Rome: Hannibal’s Last Stand Read More »
This spectacular episode explores the extraordinary powers and civilizations that have emerged from central Asia.
East to West – The Asian Crucible ep.5 Read More »
This year is the 29th anniversary of the C14 dating of the Shroud of Turin that identified the most famous relic in Christendom as a fake. But since then, despite many attempts, no one has been able to determine who the forger was or how it might have been done.