The little known story of how Napoleon Bonaparte first emerged from obscurity and entered the national consciousness. A life and death struggle both on and off off the battlefield.
Exploring the myth of the crude Attila. Part genius, part psychopath, Attila is unlike the other Huns. A calculating, ruthless gambler, his one goal is conquest - and he's set his sights on Roman cities to test out his brilliant new siege tactics.
In 73 BC a deserter from the Roman Army was sold into the slave market. A few months later he led his fellow slaves and gladiators in a bid for freedom that turned into the greatest rebellion the Roman Empire ever faced. With extraordinary vision and bravery, he led his renegades to victory against the ‘invincible’ Roman legions, brought the Empire to the brink of revolution and won immortal fame as an icon of oppressed people around the world. His name was Spartacus. Defeated in a final clash on the headwaters of the Siler River, six thousand of his men were captured and crucified on the Apian Way, but the body of Spartacus was never discovered. He lives on in legend as one of the great warriors of all time – and an inspiration for freedom-fighters throughout history.
A warrior in the mould of Ulysses, Cortés was cunning, imaginative and breathtakingly audacious. The flaws in his personality were complementary: deceit, hypocrisy … and a conscience that strove to square the love of God with the love of gold. He led his men – numbering just 500 – in one of the most amazing marches in history through the jungles and across the mountains of Mexico to confront and destroy one of the greatest, and bloodiest, civilisations of the New World. It would ultimately be years before Cortés defeated the Aztecs. And only with the help of a terrible disease, smallpox, which decimated the population. But he will always be remembered as the man who laid siege to an empire with 500 men and achieved immortality as one of the great conquistadors.
Richard the Lionheart is one of history’s greatest warrior kings. Renowned for his bravery and driven by his quest for glory, he fought an epic crusade against Saladin for control of the Holy Lands in the 12th Century. In 1192 the situation appeared desperate for the Christians. On the point of defeat, Richard staked his reputation on one final battle at the strategic port of Jaffa. Exhausted, riddled with disease and on the verge of mutiny, Richard’s men were in no fit state to face the armies of Saladin. But inspired by Richard’s immense bravery and astute tactics, they won a glorious victory. Saladin agreed to a truce leaving the crusader forces to retain a large strip of coastline from modern-day Egypt to Lebanon and to permit Christian pilgrims into Jerusalem. The crusader state would endure for a further hundred years; Richard’s reputation as a warrior king would last forever.
Drama-documentary about the Samurai general Tokugawa Ieyasu, a towering figure of Japanese history. He overthrew the governing dynasty of Japan and became the ShÅgun - the supreme military leader - of Japan. Ieyasu's rise to power climaxes in the biggest Samurai battle in history, with 160,000 soldiers fighting for the future of Japan. On the way, there is a story of love for a reckless son, a politician in drag, a night time Ninja attack, suicide and betrayal.
