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What were the consequences of Peter the Great’s mighty victory over Sweden at the Battle of Poltova in 1707? How great was the impact of his reign upon Russia overall, and was he responsible for turni...

· 1 hr 7 min 18 sec

Why was the greatest and most climactic battle of the Great Northern War, the Battle of Poltova, one of the most important in all European history? What drove Charles XII of Sweden to invade Russia in...

· 1 hr 3 min 36 sec

After establishing the city of St Petersburg, what was Peter the Great’s next step in his titanic struggle against Charles XII of Sweden, for mastery of northern and eastern Europe? What drastic, brut...

· 1 hr 9 min 5 sec

How did the Great Northern War, which saw Sweden pitted against Peter the Great’s Russia and her allies, and would transform Europe forever, begin? Who was Charles XII, Sweden’s King, and a worthy ant...

· 1 hr 8 min 7 sec

What abominable mischief and hedonism did the seventeen year old Peter the Great revel in during his strange and remarkable travels through Europe, before truly stepping into the role of Tsar of all t...

· 1 hr 4 min 19 sec

Why was the early life of Peter the Great - Tsar and autocrat of all the Russias, who endures to this day as an iconic symbol of Russian might - drenched in blood and violence? What amalgamation of co...

· 1 hr 5 min 32 sec

In the vibrant but vicious golden age of Imperial Japan, how did women use writing as a way to secure their status, and express their deepest desires? Who was Sei Shōnagon, the witty courtier whose ac...

· 1 hr 8 min 47 sec

At the height of Imperial Japan, during a golden age of court intrigue, obsessive hierarchy, and fabulous sophistication, who was the legendary lothario and emperor’s son, Genji? What can the Tale of...

· 56 min 14 sec

"We're not worried about petty morals."What happened to the Rolling Stones in 1967 to see them on the brink of imprisonment and mass censure, while at the height of their success, with fame, fortune,...

· 1 hr 10 min 55 sec

What are the origins of Britain’s original bad boys, The Rolling Stones? Where did they all come from and how did they meet? What was it about the 1960s, with its air of sexual liberation, newly elect...

· 1 hr 10 min 8 sec

What happened in the aftermath of the Battle of Hastings? What horrors did William the Conqueror have to inflict upon his Anglo Saxon subjects in order to consolidate his new realm? And, what role did...

· 1 hr 5 min 47 sec

Following King Harold Godwinson’s climactic victory at the Battle of Stanford Bridge, and the death of Harald Hardrada, what did he do when news reached him that William of Normandy’s army had landed...

· 59 min 1 sec

In the tumultuous climax of 1066, why was Harold’s very own brother Tostig the first of the mighty foes he had to face? How did Harald Hardrada then launch his invasion of England, and how much resist...

· 1 hr 10 min 27 sec

Why is 1066 the most important year in English history? Who were the three main candidates vying for the English throne on the eve of Edward the Confessor’s death? And how did the coronation of one of...

· 1 hr 2 min 9 sec

Harald Hardrada; exiled prince of Norway and mercenary, has landed in the greatest city on Earth: Constantinople. There he joins one of the most prestigious military organisations in the world, the Va...

· 1 hr 6 min 25 sec

“I swear I will not flee from this fight. I will triumph, or I will die!”In the 1066 game of thrones for the crown of England, the most extraordinary of the three contenders is arguably Harald Hardrad...

· 1 hr 3 min 28 sec

In the triumvirate of 1066, William of Normandy, Harald Hardrada, and Harold Godwinson, the latter has above all endured as one of the great heroes of English history. But how did he become the short-...

· 1 hr 1 min 33 sec

Born into a world of treachery, violence and death, William of Normandy defied all expectations, forging a legacy that lasts to this day. Born out of wedlock and dismissed as an upstart, he was origin...

· 59 min 42 sec

Following the bloody St Brice’s Day Massacre, of the 13th of November 1002, which saw King Æthelred brutally exterminating the Danes from England, the Vikings were hungry for revenge. None more so tha...

· 1 hr 5 min 36 sec