Starting with our origins in Africa 70,000 years ago, we trace the story of our nomadic ancestors as they spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers and townspeople.

We tell the story of the first empires which laid the foundations for the modern world. From the Assyrians' brutal King Sennacherib to the vast empire of Alexander the Great, conquerors rampaged across the Middle East and vicious wars were fought all the way from China to the Mediterranean.

This episode examines the spiritual revolutions that shook the world between 300 BC and 700 AD.

This episode examines the Middle Ages, looking at how the Vikings explored and pillaged from Northern Europe to North America.

This episode reveals the explosion of global capitalism that began with Christopher Columbus stumbling across America while searching for China. The search for Gold and spread of Christianity caused Europeans to colonise the New World, discovering many new lands, such as that of the Incas in Peru

In the 17th and 18th centuries, people across the world rose up in the name of freedom and equality against the power of the church and monarchy.