For decades most experts have been convinced that Africa is the cradle of mankind, but researchers have come across more finds in recent years that cast doubt on this well-established theory.

Professor Salima Ikram shows us an extraordinary series of reliefs and inscriptions about Ramses' battles with the 'Sea People' at Ramses III's mortuary temple at Medinet Habu in Egypt.

Around 1200 B.C. / B.C.E.: Bronze Age people are on the move across the Eastern Mediterranean and sacking and burning the great centres of civilisation as they go.

The Nazis built a number of radar stations and systems harnessing the power of frequencies to help them plot their next move; were they also harnessing the power of the Sun itself?

Zahi Hawass is excavating an enclosure called Gisr El-Mudir where sarcophagi containing mysterious mummies and rich painted tombs are discovered; will these treasures lead them to Imhotep?

The Nazis built a number of radar stations and systems harnessing the power of frequencies to help them plot their next move; were they also harnessing the power of the Sun itself?

Auguste Mariette discovered Saqqara's Serapeum and pioneered a more scientific Egyptology. Once a looter, he created Egypt's Antiquities Service and Cairo's first museum to protect its heritage.

We witness the final moments and aftermath of World War II with the establishment of war crime trials - such as the ones in Nuremberg - and move towards peace with the creation of the United Nations.

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.

What is a tank? From the early concepts to the first tank prototype, we examine how the battlefields of WWI set the scene for the mechanised warfare of WWII.

In 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt with soldiers and scholars. As Denon risked his life recording ancient wonders, the Rosetta Stone promised to unlock the mystery of hieroglyphs.

After France's defeat, British and French consuls battled for Egypt's antiquities. Explorer Belzoni joined the race to seize the colossal Young Memnon as their ruthless rivalry intensified.

Belzoni uncovered Egypt's ancient wonders while Champollion raced Thomas Young to decipher the Rosetta Stone. His breakthrough gave a civilisation silent for 1,400 years its voice again.

Champollion travelled up the Nile to test his decipherment of hieroglyphs, bringing forgotten pharaohs back to life. His triumphant expedition came at a devastating cost to his health.

The inter-war years saw the rise of dictators, appeasement and the policies of the Third Reich until the invasion of Poland, and Japan's 1937 invasion of China escalated into a full-scale conflict.

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.

Bettany explores the Sultanate of Oman, a land full of surprises and contrasts that is wedged between the vast sands of the Arabian Desert and the glistening waves of the Indian Ocean.

After Hatshepsut's death, Thutmose III proved himself at Megiddo against Canaanite kings; from Deir el-Bahari to Karnak to the fortress, discover the battle that made him Egypt's most warlike pharaoh.

The Nazis went to great lengths to warp the natural world to their whims as they believed that ruins that could prove the Aryans to be the superior race lay buried in the soil.

We follow the first active excavation of a pharaoh's tomb in the iconic Valley of the Kings since King Tut's tomb a century ago and reveal new secrets about Egypt's famous rulers.

WWII has begun; new tank strategies take the world by storm and completely change the way wars are fought. As war engulfs Europe, each country learns to adapt to mechanised warfare in its own way.

In 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt with soldiers and scholars. As Denon risked his life recording ancient wonders, the Rosetta Stone promised to unlock the mystery of hieroglyphs.