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Learn how animals use all sorts of strategies to protect their families and food from marauders. Part 4 of 12.
Berlin, a city that wears its scars, has always welcomed outsiders. But it has also been a battleground invaded by the French, taken over by the Nazis, occupied by the Russians and then divided down the middle by competing ideologies in the Cold War. Part 1 of 2.
Dr Thomas Asbridge presents his revelatory account of the Crusades, the 200-year war between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Land. The story of the Crusades is remembered as a tale of religious fanaticism and unspeakable violence, but fresh research, eyewitness testimony and contemporary evidence from the Christian and Islamic worlds shed new light on how these two great religions waged war in the name of God. This initial episode traces the epic journey of the first crusaders as they marched 3,000 miles from Europe to recapture the city of Jerusalem from Islam, enduring starvation, disease and bloodthirsty battle to reach their sacred goal, and then unleashed an appalling tide of barbaric violence upon their Muslim enemies. Yet far from being the invincible holy warriors of legend, Dr Asbridge reveals that these crusaders actually considered surrender in the midst of their titanic expedition. Part 1 of 3.
Dr Thomas Asbridge offers a piercing examination of the Third Crusade and the two renowned figures who have come to embody Crusader war: Richard the Lionheart, king of England, and the mighty Muslim sultan Saladin, unifier of Islam. Drawing on fascinating eyewitness accounts and contemporary records, Dr Asbridge constructs an insightful and nuanced picture of these men and their fiercely fought struggle for the Holy Land. Almost perfectly matched as adversaries, these two titans of holy war clashed during a year-long campaign that raged across Palestine. Both were willing to commit appalling atrocities in pursuit of victory. Each brought to bear the full force of his military genius, guile and cunning in pursuit of the ultimate prize: Jerusalem. Dr Asbridge reveals how this shattering conflict brought Saladin and Richard to their knees,even as it served to forge their legends. Part 2 of 3.
Dr Thomas Asbridge reveals how the outcome of these epic holy wars was decided not on the hallowed ground of Jerusalem, but in Egypt. As trade blossomed between Christians and Muslims and the Mongol hordes arrived from Asia, a saintly French king, afire with crusading zeal, and the most remarkable Muslim leader of the Middle Ages fought for ultimate victory in the East. Drawing upon eyewitness chronicles and the latest archaeological evidence, Dr Asbridge argues that it was a fearsome slave-warrior from the Russian Steppes - now forgotten in the West - who finally sealed the fate of the crusades. And, most controversially of all, Asbridge challenges the popular misconception that the medieval crusades sparked a clash of civilisations between Islam and the West that continues to this day. Part 3 of 3.
The Minoans, considered by many as the first European civilisation, flourished in the islands of the Aegean in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE, but Minoan civilisation is abruptly ended around 1550 BC as a result of a powerful explosive event. Part 1 of 6.
Sea-faring people - the Rapa Nui flourished on a small island at the easternmost edge of the Polynesian Islands - Easter Island. However a series of deadly events saw the entire social order of the island collapse and their culture, lost to history. Part 2 of 6.
The Aztec Empire was the last great civilisation and dominant power of Mesoamerica in the 15th and 16th centuries. Yet their powerful empire would soon be decimated by their encounters with European colonisers. Part 3 of 6.
See how fractured relationships and traumatic events in Henry VIII's childhood set the path for his turbulent reign. Part 1 of 3.
See how Henry's men plotted military campaigns, forged alliances, and even framed a wife, for his benefit...and theirs. Part 2 of 3.
See how a bad accident and worse decisions took a heavy toll on Henry VIII's health and popularity in his final years. Part 3 of 3.
