Viasat History

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.

In the shadows of the Villa Oplontis, slave quarters, amphora, and Villa B recall the lives of the enslaved. The bodies of Vesuvius' victims are reminders of Rome's strict social hierarchy.

Albert Speer, Hitler's architect and armaments minister, built the industrial foundations of the Nazi war machine; after the downfall, he crafted a carefully managed myth to escape the gallows.

Catholic conspirators led by Robert Catesby plotted to blow up Parliament and kill King James I; Guy Fawkes was caught guarding the gunpowder, and an anonymous letter foiled the plan.

Julius Caesar was stabbed 23 times by senators; this episode explores murdered royals, including Danish King Erik IV, Pharaoh Ramesses III, and Persian King Darius III, all betrayed by near-allies.

Gladiator Spartacus led 70,000 slaves in rebellion against Rome in 73 B.C.E. / B.C., ending with 6,000 crucifixions; philosopher Hypatia was murdered in 415 C.E. / A.D. during religious conflict.

Duke Louis d'Orléans was ambushed and killed in 1407 by rival John the Fearless, who claimed tyrannicide; Athenian general Alcibiades switched sides repeatedly before Persian assassins killed him.

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.

In the shadows of the Villa Oplontis, slave quarters, amphora, and Villa B recall the lives of the enslaved. The bodies of Vesuvius' victims are reminders of Rome's strict social hierarchy.

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.

In 1609, in the Basque Country, a local dispute turned into accusations of witchcraft. Between the 15th and 17th centuries, up to 60,000 people were condemned. Historians find out what really happened.

This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

World War II fostered the emergence of both iconic and unusual tanks that were each engineered with distinct aims; we explore diverse tank innovations and the overall trajectory of armoured warfare.

Albert Speer, Hitler's architect and armaments minister, built the industrial foundations of the Nazi war machine; after the downfall, he crafted a carefully managed myth to escape the gallows.

Lombard King Alboin forced his wife to drink from her father's skull, leading her to conspire in his murder; German King Philip of Swabia was killed in 1208 by Count Otto VIII over marriage disputes.

War hero Gilles de Rais was tried and executed in 1440 for murdering over 100 children; at the 1440 Black Dinner, the young Douglas brothers were invited to dine with the king, then seized and killed.

The Pazzi family attacked the Medicis during Easter Mass in 1478, killing Giuliano; Byzantine Empress Maria of Antioch was strangled in 1182 after her cousin Andronikos incited massacre.

King William Rufus was struck by an arrow while hunting in 1100; Japan's last Minamoto shōgun Sanetomo was assassinated by his nephew outside a shrine in

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.

We cover the German Amerikabomber and the Boeing B-29 "Superfortress," epitomizing altitude and firepower pursuits

King William Rufus was struck by an arrow while hunting in 1100; Japan's last Minamoto shōgun Sanetomo was assassinated by his nephew outside a shrine in

The Tollund Man is a natural mummy offering a rare face-to-face encounter with the past; who was he, how did he live, and what was he doing here in the peat with a rope around his neck?

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.

At Pompeii, in the biggest dig in a generation, archaeologists excavate a new city block.

Hans Frank, Hitler's personal lawyer turned Governor-General of occupied Poland, oversaw the largest of the Nazi ghettos in occupied Poland; as defeat loomed, he sought redemption through confession.

Lombard King Alboin forced his wife to drink from her father's skull, leading her to conspire in his murder; German King Philip of Swabia was killed in 1208 by Count Otto VIII over marriage disputes.

War hero Gilles de Rais was tried and executed in 1440 for murdering over 100 children; at the 1440 Black Dinner, the young Douglas brothers were invited to dine with the king, then seized and killed.

The Pazzi family attacked the Medicis during Easter Mass in 1478, killing Giuliano; Byzantine Empress Maria of Antioch was strangled in 1182 after her cousin Andronikos incited massacre.

King William Rufus was struck by an arrow while hunting in 1100; Japan's last Minamoto shōgun Sanetomo was assassinated by his nephew outside a shrine in

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.

Hans Frank, Hitler's personal lawyer turned Governor-General of occupied Poland, oversaw the largest of the Nazi ghettos in occupied Poland; as defeat loomed, he sought redemption through confession.

At Pompeii, in the biggest dig in a generation, archaeologists excavate a new city block.

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.

The Tollund Man is a natural mummy offering a rare face-to-face encounter with the past; who was he, how did he live, and what was he doing here in the peat with a rope around his neck?

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.

We cover the German Amerikabomber and the Boeing B-29 "Superfortress," epitomizing altitude and firepower pursuits

Hans Frank, Hitler's personal lawyer turned Governor-General of occupied Poland, oversaw the largest of the Nazi ghettos in occupied Poland; as defeat loomed, he sought redemption through confession.

Scottish King Consort Darnley survived an explosion in 1567 but was then smothered; Cleopatra's sister Arsinoë IV was murdered at the Temple of Artemis by Mark Antony's soldiers, violating sacred law.

Emperor Caracalla was stabbed by conspirators led by Praetorian Prefect Macrinus; King Edward was murdered at Corfe Castle in 978, with suspicion falling on his stepmother Queen Aelfthryth.

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.

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.

World War II was a battle for supremacy at sea more than any other conflict before or since; in this episode, we explore how the secret weapons of naval warfare changed the tides of history.

Scottish King Consort Darnley survived an explosion in 1567 but was then smothered; Cleopatra's sister Arsinoë IV was murdered at the Temple of Artemis by Mark Antony's soldiers, violating sacred law.

Viasat History. The onset of a violent storm in Staffordshire in England announced the discovery of the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever uncovered, but was the storm an omen of things to come?

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?

An excavation in Pompeii unearths new rich finds, and the search is on for survivors.

Martin Bormann, Hitler's shadowy right-hand man, gained immense power from behind the scenes; as the Third Reich collapsed, he vanished leaving behind a decades-long mystery.

Scottish King Consort Darnley survived an explosion in 1567 but was then smothered; Cleopatra's sister Arsinoë IV was murdered at the Temple of Artemis by Mark Antony's soldiers, violating sacred law.

Emperor Caracalla was stabbed by conspirators led by Praetorian Prefect Macrinus; King Edward was murdered at Corfe Castle in 978, with suspicion falling on his stepmother Queen Aelfthryth.

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.

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?

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?

Viasat History. The onset of a violent storm in Staffordshire in England announced the discovery of the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever uncovered, but was the storm an omen of things to come?

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.

World War II was a battle for supremacy at sea more than any other conflict before or since; in this episode, we explore how the secret weapons of naval warfare changed the tides of history.

Martin Bormann, Hitler's shadowy right-hand man, gained immense power from behind the scenes; as the Third Reich collapsed, he vanished leaving behind a decades-long mystery.

In the Bay of Naples, Villa Oplontis - a 2,000-year-old villa - reveals a buried world of luxury. As excavations resume, clues point to the infamous Poppaea Sabina, Nero's second wife.

In the shadows of the Villa Oplontis, slave quarters, amphora, and Villa B recall the lives of the enslaved. The bodies of Vesuvius' victims are reminders of Rome's strict social hierarchy.

The games and entertainment, plus violence as a political instrument, with the Battle of Laugaricio (modern-day Slovakia), portraits of Commodus and Lucilla, and the legendary Colosseum.

War, loyalty, citizenship and the plots of a changing empire with the massacres of Alexandria, portraits of Caracalla and Julia Domna, and the extraordinary Baths of Caracalla.

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?

WWII facilitated the use of technology to wreak destruction from afar; through success and failure, the bomb was and remains a weapon that can tip the balance in favour of those who wield its power.

Emperor Caracalla was stabbed by conspirators led by Praetorian Prefect Macrinus; King Edward was murdered at Corfe Castle in 978, with suspicion falling on his stepmother Queen Aelfthryth.

Viasat History. The onset of a violent storm in Staffordshire in England announced the discovery of the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever uncovered, but was the storm an omen of things to come?

At the outbreak of World War II, the Nazis had the finest airforce in the entire world; James Holland learns how internecine squabbles led the Nazi High Command on the catastrophic road to defeat.

In Pompeii, the biggest dig in a generation reaches its climax with thrilling discoveries.

Hermann Göring, Hitler's designated successor, was one of the regime's most visible leaders; as the war slipped away, so did his influence ending in a final act of defiance at Nuremberg.

In the Bay of Naples, Villa Oplontis - a 2,000-year-old villa - reveals a buried world of luxury. As excavations resume, clues point to the infamous Poppaea Sabina, Nero's second wife.

In the shadows of the Villa Oplontis, slave quarters, amphora, and Villa B recall the lives of the enslaved. The bodies of Vesuvius' victims are reminders of Rome's strict social hierarchy.

The games and entertainment, plus violence as a political instrument, with the Battle of Laugaricio (modern-day Slovakia), portraits of Commodus and Lucilla, and the legendary Colosseum.

War, loyalty, citizenship and the plots of a changing empire with the massacres of Alexandria, portraits of Caracalla and Julia Domna, and the extraordinary Baths of Caracalla.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Nazis had the finest airforce in the entire world; James Holland learns how internecine squabbles led the Nazi High Command on the catastrophic road to defeat.

Experts explore the traditional story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

The tank became the key to victory during WWII; Germany unveils its latest evolution of the German panzer, the Panther, but is it ready for battle, and is it enough to overcome the Soviet T-34?

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.

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.

Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, built an organisation of terror rooted in racial fantasy and Nordic mythology. As Nazi Germany crumbled, his desperate bid for power ended in disgrace.

Reinhard Heydrich, the ruthless figurehead behind the Holocaust's planning, wielded power through deadly efficiency. His assassination was a dramatic blow to the Nazi elite.

Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, oversaw the industrialised murder of over a million people. After the war, his confessions exposed the horrifying mechanics behind the Nazi death camps.

This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

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 Berlin Olympics of 1936 were innovative, introducing television coverage and the torch relay. We show the highlights, but also how Hitler used the Games as propaganda for his brutal regime.

The Pazzi family attacked the Medicis during Easter Mass in 1478, killing Giuliano; Byzantine Empress Maria of Antioch was strangled in 1182 after her cousin Andronikos incited massacre.

King William Rufus was struck by an arrow while hunting in 1100; Japan's last Minamoto shōgun Sanetomo was assassinated by his nephew outside a shrine in

Scottish King Consort Darnley survived an explosion in 1567 but was then smothered; Cleopatra's sister Arsinoë IV was murdered at the Temple of Artemis by Mark Antony's soldiers, violating sacred law.

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?

For years it was claimed that Adolf Hitler was a man without a private life, a socially disturbed character; on his farm in the Berchtesgaden Alps, he was surrounded by a close-knit family circle.

Amateur footage reveals life in Germany and on the frontline as the war turns against them.

Berlin falls and the war in Europe ends. Okinawa falls with terrible losses on both sides as each prepares for the invasion of the first of the major home islands - but a new weapon is unleashed.

This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

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?

Viasat History. The onset of a violent storm in Staffordshire in England announced the discovery of the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever uncovered, but was the storm an omen of things to come?

Viasat History. The onset of a violent storm in Staffordshire in England announced the discovery of the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever uncovered, but was the storm an omen of things to come?

This episode's hunt for cursed treasure begins not with diamonds and gold, but with skin and bone unearthed in the dangerous wilds of Russia's arctic Yamal Peninsula...

In the Bay of Naples, Villa Oplontis - a 2,000-year-old villa - reveals a buried world of luxury. As excavations resume, clues point to the infamous Poppaea Sabina, Nero's second wife.

In the shadows of the Villa Oplontis, slave quarters, amphora, and Villa B recall the lives of the enslaved. The bodies of Vesuvius' victims are reminders of Rome's strict social hierarchy.

At Pompeii, in the biggest dig in a generation, archaeologists excavate a new city block.

An excavation in Pompeii unearths new rich finds, and the search is on for survivors.

In Pompeii, the biggest dig in a generation reaches its climax with thrilling discoveries.

This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

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 Berlin Olympics of 1936 were innovative, introducing television coverage and the torch relay. We show the highlights, but also how Hitler used the Games as propaganda for his brutal regime.

In the Bay of Naples, Villa Oplontis - a 2,000-year-old villa - reveals a buried world of luxury. As excavations resume, clues point to the infamous Poppaea Sabina, Nero's second wife.

In the shadows of the Villa Oplontis, slave quarters, amphora, and Villa B recall the lives of the enslaved. The bodies of Vesuvius' victims are reminders of Rome's strict social hierarchy.

Mary Beard uncovers the hidden world of the emperors of Rome.

The struggle for victory necessitated development of gun technologies; new inventions would emerge on the battlefields and at times surprise soldiers on both sides of the fight.

World War II fostered the emergence of both iconic and unusual tanks that were each engineered with distinct aims; we explore diverse tank innovations and the overall trajectory of armoured warfare.

We cover the German Amerikabomber and the Boeing B-29 "Superfortress," epitomizing altitude and firepower pursuits

World War II was a battle for supremacy at sea more than any other conflict before or since; in this episode, we explore how the secret weapons of naval warfare changed the tides of history.

WWII facilitated the use of technology to wreak destruction from afar; through success and failure, the bomb was and remains a weapon that can tip the balance in favour of those who wield its power.

In Pompeii, the biggest dig in a generation reaches its climax with thrilling discoveries.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Nazis had the finest airforce in the entire world; James Holland learns how internecine squabbles led the Nazi High Command on the catastrophic road to defeat.

Viasat History. The onset of a violent storm in Staffordshire in England announced the discovery of the largest Anglo-Saxon hoard ever uncovered, but was the storm an omen of things to come?

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?

WWII facilitated the use of technology to wreak destruction from afar; through success and failure, the bomb was and remains a weapon that can tip the balance in favour of those who wield its power.

Hermann Göring, Hitler's designated successor, was one of the regime's most visible leaders; as the war slipped away, so did his influence ending in a final act of defiance at Nuremberg.

This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

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?

A series that views the most violent and significant episodes in modern history from a fresh perspective - not as two world wars, but as a continuous narrative of error, ambition, and courage.

Devices like the Enigma and codebreakers like the Bombe were as vital as tanks and guns.

The pockmarked mummy of Pharaoh Ramesses V looks serene, but there's evidence of deliberately inflicted wounds that suggest a sudden violent death... if this was the case, then who was the killer?

This episode's hunt for cursed treasure begins not with diamonds and gold, but with skin and bone unearthed in the dangerous wilds of Russia's arctic Yamal Peninsula...

James Holland uncovers the truth behind Hitler's feared Panzer divisions and explores how the German obsession with over-engineering their armoured vehicles brought about their downfall.

At the biggest dig in a generation, archaeologists strike gold in a lavish Pompeian home.

Karl Dönitz, Hitler's loyal naval commander, led a deadly U-boat war beneath the seas and unexpectedly inherited the crumbling Third Reich as he ruled a defeated nation for ten fleeting days.

This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

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?

James Holland uncovers the truth behind Hitler's feared Panzer divisions and explores how the German obsession with over-engineering their armoured vehicles brought about their downfall.

At the biggest dig in a generation, archaeologists strike gold in a lavish Pompeian home.

This episode's hunt for cursed treasure begins not with diamonds and gold, but with skin and bone unearthed in the dangerous wilds of Russia's arctic Yamal Peninsula...

A series that views the most violent and significant episodes in modern history from a fresh perspective - not as two world wars, but as a continuous narrative of error, ambition, and courage.

Devices like the Enigma and codebreakers like the Bombe were as vital as tanks and guns.

Karl Dönitz, Hitler's loyal naval commander, led a deadly U-boat war beneath the seas and unexpectedly inherited the crumbling Third Reich as he ruled a defeated nation for ten fleeting days.

At Pompeii, in the biggest dig in a generation, archaeologists excavate a new city block.

An excavation in Pompeii unearths new rich finds, and the search is on for survivors.

In Pompeii, the biggest dig in a generation reaches its climax with thrilling discoveries.

At the biggest dig in a generation, archaeologists strike gold in a lavish Pompeian home.

During WWI, men had to endure combat and extreme conditions; civilians dealt with food shortages and raids. The insidiousness of ethnic cleansing raised its head, and a young Adolf Hitler took note.

This episode traces the war in the West and how the geography of Western Europe provided both the Nazis and the Allies with advantages and disadvantages.

The mangled mummy of Pharaoh Seqenenre Taa is a murder mystery that endures to this day; we discover the truth behind his brutal and humiliating death.

A discovery 20,000 years ago in Ice Age Spain ruins its finders' life; we also travel to Turin in Italy, which is home to one of one of the most controversial relics of the Christian church.