117. Nader Shah: The Sword of Persia
25 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Nader Shah was not born to rule. He was poor, the son of a shepherd in a semi-nomadic tribe, and had...
116. Isfahan: The City of Dreams
23 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Isfahan, half of the world. It had been a city for years, but at the end of the 16th century Shah Ab...
115. The Great Conversion: How Iran became Shia
18 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How did the great divide within Islam, the split between Sunni and Shia, develop? We trace how the g...
114. The Persian Renaissance
16 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After conquering much of Eurasia, Timur showed no interest in building institutions and so after his...
113. Timur: Scourge of God
11 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Timur, known to many as Tamburlaine the Great from the iconic Marlowe play. Despite having a limp an...
112. Ferdowsi: How One Poet Saved Persian Civilisation
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
After the Arab conquest, Persia was turned upside down. Patronage went to Islam as opposed to Zoroas...
111. Shackleton: The Hero of Antarctica
04 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As the timber creaked under the pressure of the Antarctic ice, Shackleton knew his voyage aboard the...
110. Antarctica: The Continent that wouldn’t be Conquered
02 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Antarctica, the great land of ice. It was first spotted in the early years of the 19th century but i...
109. The Endeavour: Into the Unknown
28 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With Alexander Dalrymple sidelined, Captain James Cook and Joseph Banks are ready to set off on an e...
108. The Endeavour & the Great Southern Continent
26 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1760’s a clever, young, ambitious Scotsman named Alexander Dalrymple began advocating a the...
107. China's Greatest Admiral: The Story of Zheng He
19 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the 15th century, Admiral Zheng He, on the orders of the Emperor of China, embarked upon a series...
106. The Rise of Islam
14 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With the Sassanian Empire defeated and the Byzantine Empire exhausted, there is a power vacuum in th...
105. The Last Great War of Antiquity
12 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eurasia is divided into two great superpowers. Khusrow II rules the Sassanian Empire. Maurice, the l...
104. How Persian Religion Changed the World
07 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Three great religions have come out of Persia and all of them have influenced world history. First t...
103. Alexander the Great: Defeating Darius
05 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Darius has already been defeated by Alexander. His wife has been kidnapped and has now died in child...
102. Alexander the Great: The Conquest of Persia
30 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Darius III rules Persia and he has already demonstrated his heroism and skill in battle. The Empire ...
101. Salamis: Athens’ Revenge
28 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Leonidas and the 300 have been defeated at Thermopylae, leaving the way to Athens open. With the Per...
100. Thermopylae: Xerxes, Leonidas, and the 300
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
August 480BC; the might of the Persian army, roughly 100,000 soldiers, face down a few thousand Gree...
99. Marathon and the Rise of Greece
21 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ionia has revolted and so Darius turns his gaze away from India and towards Greece. He crushes the r...
98. Darius the Great: Ruling from India to the Mediterranean
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Persian Empire that Darius took control of was already mighty and powerful; his predecessor, Cam...
97. Cyrus the Great: Building the First Superpower
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Born the son of a khan, a tribal chieftain, Cyrus would go on to be a titanic figure of world histor...
96. Empires of Iran
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Persia was the first great superpower. The empire built by Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes and the rest of the...
95. The History of Putin's War
07 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022, but how did we get to this point? After the br...
Welcome to the Empire Club
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the Empire Club. Do you want bonus episodes? Do you want discounts...
94. The Bloody History of Russia & Ukraine
02 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The history of Russia and Ukraine has been irrevocably entwined for centuries. When the Bolsheviks t...
93. Murdering the Romanovs: The End of a Dynasty
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dawn breaks on 16th July 1918. For Nicholas, Alexandra, and the rest of the Romanov family this is j...
92. Killing Rasputin
26 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Born in Siberia to a peasant family, Rasputin was an incredibly charismatic, physically striking, an...
91. Lenin and The Rise of the Bolsheviks
24 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Tsar has abdicated and the provisional government rules Russia, but Petrograd is overflowing wit...
90. The Russian Revolution: Overthrowing the Tsar
19 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Russian politics is fast destabilising. Strikes, assassinations, and famines have made Russia increa...
89. The Final Act of the Great Game
17 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fearing Russian designs on the region, the eyes of the British turn towards Tibet. Francis Younghusb...
88. The Russo-Japanese War: Asia Strikes Back
12 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
1905 was one of the most pivotal moments in history. Japan, the supposedly weaker Asian power, overw...
87. Tolstoy: War and the Russian Empire
10 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tolstoy was one of the greatest writers of all time. His books have constructed how we think about R...
86. Crushing the Khans: Russia Seizes the Centre of the World
05 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the other European empires were consolidating their holdings in Asia, Russia took 1.5million squa...
85. The Russian Conquest of America
03 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the 18th century Vitus Bering went from Russia's east coast and landed in America. Over the next ...
84. A Tale of Two Nurses: Seacole & Nightingale
28 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Lady with the Lamp, the great nurse who forever changed public health for the better: Florence N...
83. The Charge of the Light Brigade
26 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Crimean War continues to drag on. The allies' siege of Sevastopol is grinding to a stalemate. Th...
82. Crimea: The War on Repeat
21 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A slow grind of sieges and massacres. Long distance bombardments and gruelling inch-by-inch trench w...
81. The Graveyard of Empires
19 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After the calamitous retreat from Kabul left thousands of British dead, the East India Company wants...
80. 1842: The Retreat from Kabul
14 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the British occupation of Kabul collapses, the troops flee. What follows is one of the darkest ev...
79. Invading Afghanistan: The Return of a King
12 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It is 1839 and Britain has declared its intention: to invade Afghanistan and return Shah Shuja to th...
78. The Battle of the Spies
07 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The rivalry between Russia and Britain continues to grow as both of their attentions begin to centre...
77. The Great Game Begins
05 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It will all begin on the banks of the River Niemen. Tsar Alexander forms a pact with Napoleon; the R...
76. The Empress & The General
31 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With her reign in peril in three separate arenas, Catherine begins to turn her attention to a young ...
75. Catherine the Great: The Golden Age
29 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Not a drop of Russian blood. A woman in a world ruled by men. A loveless marriage to a man who lacke...
74. Peter the Great: The First Emperor
24 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A giant of Russian history, and a giant of a man. Peter the Great, standing at 6'8, established Russ...
73. Ivan the Terrible and the Founding of Russia
22 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Subjected, downtrodden, brutalised. The principality of Muscovy had long suffered at the hands of th...
72. The Russian Empire and the Great Game
15 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The story of the Russian Empire spans centuries and continents. It is one of tsars and revolutionari...
71. Nazis, reparations, and laws 'just for the English to see'
10 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Did the Nazis use slave labour? Should Britain pay reparations? What is the origin of the Portuguese...
70. The Haitian Revolution, Dutch royals, and what happened to the Caribs?
08 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What happened to the Caribs, the indigenous people of the Caribbean? Why did indentured labour becom...
69. A Reckoning with Slavery
01 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Slavery may have been abolished in 1838, but its legacy lives on in Britain today. A lot of the nati...
68. The Long Death of Slavery
25 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Emancipations are never clean, they don't happen overnight. Instead, they are long, drawn-out, messy...
67. Slavery's Demise
20 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The slave trade has been abolished, but the number of slaves within the British Empire remains colos...
66. Wilberforce and the Fight for Freedom
18 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The abolition movement is growing in Britain, at its helm are two men. William Wilberforce leads the...
65. When the Enslaved Took on Napoleon
13 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Napoleon is emperor of France. Having consolidated his rule at home, he starts to look abroad and to...
64. The Black Spartacus
11 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
'A courageous chief only is wanted. Where is he, that great man whom nature owes to her vexed, oppre...
63. Creating Sierra Leone: The Land of the Free
06 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
These former slaves have fought valiantly for the British and have been promised a new life. With th...
62. When Slaves Fought for the British Empire
04 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Boston Tea Party has occurred. War has broken out on the American continent. The British need to...
61. The Black Abolitionist
29 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Olaudah Equiano: slave, free man, captive, abolitionist, public figure, entrepreneur, successful aut...
60. Britain's Most Famous Slave
27 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Olaudah Equiano is Britain's most famous slave. In many ways he lived the life which many slaves did...
59. Francis Barber: Abolition, the Navy, and the Enlightenment
21 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Francis Barber is established in Dr Johnson's household. He is his servant, but he is more than that...
58. Dr Johnson's Black Heir
20 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr Johnson is one of the most famous Brits to ever exist. A raucous, genius of a giant, he is rememb...
57. Tacky's Revolt: An Atlantic Slave War
15 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The stage is set. It's 1760 and the enslaved people of Jamaica are ready to rise up. It will begin w...
56. Tacky's Revolt: Causes of the Rebellion
13 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What was life like for enslaved people on the plantations? How did white people treat their slaves? ...
55. The Fall of the Royal African Company
08 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Royal African Company has a monopoly on the trading of slaves, given directly by the Stuarts. Bu...
54. Royal African Company: Slavery Inc
06 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Royal African Company was at the heart of England's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade...
53. Barbary Corsairs: Raiding the British isles
30 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Slave raids on the south coast of Britain. Islamic executioners from Exeter. North African pirates i...
52. The Slave who Ruled
23 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Born in Ethiopia, 1548, Malik Ambar was taken from his people at the age of 12 and sold into slavery...
51. Vikings: Slavs to Slaves
16 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Indian beads found on a Viking in Britain, how did this come to be? The story includes the origin of...
50. Rome: A Slave Society
09 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Was Rome a slave society? Did Caesar really take a million Gauls captive? And what is the real story...
49. The Dawn of Everything
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Is slavery hardwired into society? Is hierarchy inevitable? Who built the pyramids? Listen as Willia...
48. The History of Slavery
02 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One series ends, another dawns. With the Ottomans now behind us, we move on to the history of slaver...
47. Rebels Against the Raj
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Annie Besant. BG Horniman. Satyanada Stokes. Madeleine Slade. What do they call have in common? They...
46. The Mau Mau, the court case, and the hidden documents
25 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Mau Mau emergency began in 1952. Over the next eight years, the British abused thousands of Keny...
45. Successors to the Romans, progressive harems, and living Ottomans
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Did the Ottomans see themselves as the successors to the Roman Empire? Was the Ottoman harem more pr...
44. The Legacy of the Ottomans, Queen of the Desert, and giant turbans
18 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How did Ataturk view the Ottomans? What is the status of the Ottoman Empire today? Who was Gertrude ...
43. The Birth of Saudi Arabia
11 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A Saud. A Bin Laden. A Philby. They all, along with the discovery of oil and a BBC demon, come toget...
42. The Fiery End of the Ottoman Empire
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Greeks are retreating to Smyrna in the face of Ataturk’s victory. The city, once one of the je...
41. The Rise of Ataturk
04 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The First World War is over. There is unrest across Anatolia, exacerbated by the Greek invasion comi...
40. Origins of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
28 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Balfour Declaration was published on the 9th November 1917. It stated the intent of the British ...
39. Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt
21 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Often understood through Peter O’Toole’s iconic display, who really was Lawrence of Arabia? His ...
38. Sykes-Picot: Carving up the Middle-East
14 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
3 characters. 2 nations. 1 disastrous deal. The Sykes-Picot agreement is often blamed as the cause f...
37. The Armenian Genocide: Death Marches
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The secret orders have been given. The Armenian community is to be destroyed. Ordered to march acros...
36. The Armenian Genocide: Road to the Deportations
07 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Armenian community has ancient, deep roots in Anatolia. But from the late 19th century onwards, ...
35. Gallipoli: Death at the Cliff Edge
28 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Great War has begun. The British want to open supply lines through the Black Sea to support thei...
34. The Sick Man of Europe
21 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The winds of nationalism are blowing through Ottoman territory in the Balkans. Unrest is rife and th...
33. Lady Mary: Our Woman in Constantinople
14 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
She was a pioneering scientist, proto-feminist, and letter writer extraordinaire. Lady Mary Wortley ...
32. The Greatest Ottoman Adventurer
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Evliya Çelebi travelled for 41 years. He documented his adventures, which included interactions wit...
31. Conquering the Night: The History of Coffee
31 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Coffee is everywhere today, but where does it come from? Was it originally a sex drug? What is the c...
30. Sultanas to Slaves: Voices from the Harem
24 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What was life like for women in the Ottoman Empire? Was the Sultanate of Women the golden era? What ...
29. The Tudors and the Turks
17 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Slave raids in Cornwall. Englishmen spying for the venetians. The East India Trading Companies’ ol...
28. The Battle of Lepanto
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dawn breaks on the 7th October 1571 over the Gulf of Patras. On this day, the Holy League will face ...
27. The Siege of Cyprus
10 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Selim II leads the Ottomans. Marco Brigadin the Venetians. They will clash over the island of Cyprus...
26. Suspicion and Sorrow in Suleiman's Court
03 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Murdered love interests, intellectual curiosity, incredible barbarity, and body doubles all make an ...
25. Suleiman the Magnificent
27 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who is Selim the Grim? How does a slave come to be one of the most powerful members of Suleiman’s ...
24. The Fall of Constantinople
20 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The biggest gun in history. A giant underwater chain. A previously unconquerable fortress. Inspirati...
23. The First of the Ottomans
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did the Ottomans seize the Balkans? Who is their first leader? How did the fourth crusade pave t...
22. Byzantium and the Rise of the Turks
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The lights are dimmed. A hush has fallen. The curtain is rising. Season two of Empire is here. ...
21. The Ottoman Empire
13 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How did an Empire that stretched over thousands of miles and over half a millennium impact the world...
20. Nationhood, the Indian constitution, and the railways
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Join William and Anita for the second part of this week’s special question time bonanza where they...
19. Federal India, indentured labour, and naked yogis
29 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week, Anita and William are doing two episodes in which they answer all of your questions about...