About this season
Epic History makes videos about the most dramatic and important stories from our past, from the rise and fall of empires to global conflicts and revolutions. Our team have history degrees and decades of experience in documentary production, and regularly collaborate with specialist historians around the world, so you’re in safe hands as we explore some of the most epic moments in history.
Episodes (14)
1. Belisarius: Conquest of Italy (4/6)
Aired 21 January 2022 • 21 min
In the 6th century AD, during the reign of Emperor Justinian, the Roman Empire experienced an extraordinary resurgence, reconquering lands - including Italy, North Africa and Rome itself - that had been lost to the 'barbarians' a century before. Leading these campaigns, a brilliant Roman general named Flavius Belisarius - a skilled tactician, inspirational leader, pragmatic and humane.
2. Days That Shook The World: Russia's Two Revolutions of 1917
Aired 8 March 2022 • 14 min
The video covers the major events of Russia's two revolutions of 1917 - the February Revolution that ended Tsarist rule and the October Revolution that brought the Bolsheviks to power. It explains the causes of Tsar Nicholas II's unpopularity, including the role of Rasputin, Russia's involvement in World War One, and the events in Petrograd that led to the Tsar's abdication. It also discusses the Provisional Government's challenges, Prime Minister Kerensky's struggles, and the Bolshevik coup led by Lenin and Trotsky. The aftermath led to a brutal civil war and the formation of the Soviet Union in 1922.
3. Belisarius: War with the Sassanids (5/6)
Aired 18 March 2022 • 25 min
In the 6th century AD, during the reign of Emperor Justinian, the Roman Empire experienced an extraordinary resurgence, reconquering lands - including Italy, North Africa and Rome itself - that had been lost to the 'barbarians' a century before. Leading these campaigns, a brilliant Roman general named Flavius Belisarius - a skilled tactician, inspirational leader, pragmatic and humane.
4. Suez Crisis (All Parts): Causes, Conflict and Global Repercussions
Aired 19 March 2022 • 27 min
In 1956, an international crisis over control of the Suez Canal put Britain and France into direct conflict with President Nasser of Egypt, a proud Arab nationalist determined to stand up to foreign powers meddling in Egyptian affairs.
5. Belisarius: The Last Battle (6/6)
Aired 29 April 2022 • 29 min
In the 6th century AD, during the reign of Emperor Justinian, the Roman Empire experienced an extraordinary resurgence, reconquering lands - including Italy, North Africa and Rome itself - that had been lost to the 'barbarians' a century before. Leading these campaigns, a brilliant Roman general named Flavius Belisarius - a skilled tactician, inspirational leader, pragmatic and humane.
6. Russia's First Revolutionaries: The Decembrists
Aired 2 June 2022 • 24 min
This is the story of the Decembrists, a group of young Russian aristocrats and army officers, including decorated veterans of the Napoleonic Wars, who returned home after the conflict hoping Russia would embark on a course of modernising reform. Instead, Emperor Alexander turned his back on the liberal ideals of his youth. He opposed all attempts to reform Russia's autocratic government, or end its brutal system of serfdom. The Decembrists, organising themselves into secret societies and publishing their own draft constitutions for a future Russia, decided that the only way forward was by revolution.
7. Revolt Against the Tsar: The Decembrists
Aired 24 June 2022 • 30 min
This is the story of the Decembrist revolt of 1825, in which a group of army officers tried to change the course of Russian history by overturning the country's traditional systems of autocratic government and serfdom. In St.Petersburg, the chaos of the interregnum following Emperor Alexander's death was exploited by the Decembrists, who attempted to launch a military coup. While in Ukraine, the Decembrists' Southern Society planned its own military revolt. This video follows the course of both risings, the aftermath, and how future Russian reformers and revolutionaries viewed the Decembrist revolt.
8. Europe Ablaze: The 1848 Revolutions
Aired 5 August 2022 • 32 min
This is the story of the 1848 European revolutions, one of the most dramatic and significant moments in the history of the continent. Hungry workers and peasants joined forces with liberals and nationalists, and in a series of tumultuous events, toppled the French monarchy, and forced reforms across Italy, Germany, and the Austrian Empire. But the revolutionaries were divided between middle class liberals seeking limited reforms, and radicals and workers who wanted sweeping change. As they argued over political and economic reform, counter-revolutionary forces recovered their confidence, and gathered their strength for a brutal onslaught against Europe's revolutionaries.
9. HMS Victory: Total Guide (1/2)
Aired 26 August 2022 • 26 min
This is Epic History TV's guide to HMS Victory, one of the most famous warships in history, and flagship of Vice Admiral Nelson at his decisive victory over the Franco-Spanish Combined Fleet at Trafalgar in 1805. We look at the crucial role played by Britain's Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Wars, before beginning a deck-by-deck exploration of HMS Victory, a first-rate ship-of-the-line, and the most powerful class of warship afloat. We'll help you to identify and understand the role of masts, yards and rigging, as well as deck layouts, the hold, and her powerful armaments.
10. 3D Guide to Britain's Most Famous Warship (2/2)
Aired 30 September 2022 • 29 min
This is Epic History TV's guide to HMS Victory, one of the most famous warships in history, and flagship of Vice Admiral Nelson at his decisive victory over the Franco-Spanish Combined Fleet at Trafalgar in 1805. In this episode we look at the composition of naval crews, and how they sailed, fought and lived aboard a warship like Victory.
11. World War 1 (All Parts)
Aired 7 October 2022 • 64 min
All 5 parts of Epic History TV's history of World War One in one place (re-edited in 2022). From the Schlieffen Plan to the Versailles Treaty, a global history of the entire conflict.
12. The Last Great Roman General? Belisarius and the Wars of Justinian (All Parts)
Aired 15 October 2022 • 135 min
In the 6th century AD, during the reign of Emperor Justinian, the Roman Empire experienced an extraordinary resurgence, reconquering lands - including Italy, North Africa and Rome itself - that had been lost to the 'barbarians' a century before. Leading these campaigns, a brilliant Roman general named Flavius Belisarius - a skilled tactician, inspirational leader, pragmatic and humane. This is the story of those campaigns, as recorded by Procopius, an eyewitness to many of them, as well as other ancient historians, texts, and archaeological remains.
13. Napoleon in Italy: Battle of Lodi 1796 (1/5)
Aired 2 December 2022 • 26 min
In 1796, at the height of the Revolutionary Wars, Napoleon Bonaparte took command of French forces in northern Italy. He was just 26 years old and had never commanded an army before. Within weeks, he had turned his ragged, demoralised troops into a ferocious fighting force, defeating the Austrians and knocking Piedmont out of the war. With success, Napoleon began to believe it was his destiny to shape the fate of nations. In this series, we follow Napoleon's first glorious campaign step by step.
14. Russia's First Revolutionaries: The Decembrists (All Parts)
Aired 26 December 2022 • 52 min
In 1825, a group of disillusioned army officers launched a coup in the Russian capital, St.Petersburg. Their goal was to overthrow the Tsar, establish a constitutional government and abolish the brutal institution of serfdom. They became known by the month of the revolt - the Decembrists - a moment that nearly changed the course of Russian and world history.