With optional Hebrew subtitles. Simon Schama explores the history of the Jewish experience from ancient times to the present day. This programme begins the tale 3,000 years ago, with the emergence of a tribal people in a contested land and their extraordinary book, the Hebrew Bible, a chronicle of their stormy relationship with a faceless, formless, jealous God. It was loyalty to this 'God of Words' that defined the distinct identity of the ancient Jews and preserved it despite all that history could throw their way". The story unfolds with a dazzling cast of historical characters: Sigmund Freud dying in exile in London; Victorian evangelicals and explorers following 'in the footsteps' of Moses; Jewish mercenaries living, prospering and intermarrying in the pagan land of Egypt; Messianic Jews dreaming of the Apocalypse; and a Jewish historian, Josephus, who witnessed first-hand the moment when the apocalypse finally came and the Romans destroyed the Jewish High Temple in Jerusalem.

Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II wages an epic campaign to take the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. Twenty-three armies have tried to take the legendary city and all have failed. Out of the carnage, one ruler will emerge victorious and shapes the course of history for centuries. For one empire to rise, another must fall.
The Ottomans, former Anatolian warlords and nomads who've built a burgeoning empire are the biggest threat to the Romans' 1100-year reign. The death of Ottoman Sultan Murad II in 1451 unleashes a chain of events that will soon bring the Ottomans and Romans to the brink of war. After claiming the Ottoman throne, Mehmed II sends an unmistakable signal to Byzantine emperor Constantine XI.

From a 2,400-year-old corpse in remarkable condition to how shrunken heads are made, these 15 ancient secrets will have you completely riveted. The Vesuvius eruption may have been a gradual process. It took a storm to lift the cover on this ancient Roman city. The people of Pompeii often resorted to vigilante justice. How the wealthy of Pompeii protected their valuables? Was this pre-Viking gathering a prelude to a massacre? The valuable commodity behind King Solomon's wealth. This valuable Viking grave is missing something important. Is this where humanity decided to settle down? This mysterious stone structure is older than Stonehenge. This 2,400 year old corpse is in remarkable condition. Here's exactly how shrunken heads are made. DNA analysis reveals troubling news about shrunken heads. This mass grave discovery could alter Roman history. Gladiator teeth reveal signs of infant malnourishment. Evidence suggests Stonehenge was an elite cemetery.

Since Caesar's days, Germanic warriors and Roman legionaries had often met in battle. Rome's power seemed invincible. But then, in the year 9 AD, the Germans mounted a rebellion.

SETTING: 70 million years ago in Europe, near present-day Romania. Pod, a male pyroraptor, is alone in the world after his sisters die in a tidal wave that sweeps him out to sea. After landing on an island populated with dwarf-sized dinosaurs, Pod discovers that he's become the apex predator. But, Pod learns it's lonely at the top.

This stylish mix of documentary and historical epic chronicles the reign of Commodus, the emperor whose rule marked the beginning of Rome's fall. In the first episode, the death of Marcus Aurelius brings a century of Roman triumphs and victories to an end, transferring power to his spoiled, unprepared son Commodus. When his father bequeaths him the world's mightiest empire, he is forced to spill the blood of both friends and enemies alike to keep his crown.