Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great is the most charismatic conqueror in history. Tom and Dominic, in the first of a two part special, trace the course of his dazzling career from Macedonia to his mysterious journey…

In the second part of our Alexander the Great special, we head to the limits of the known world, burning down palaces, storming mountain-top fortresses and battling elephants as we go. Might Alexander…

“God is too late, you have begun, now I will finish it.” Swash-buckling hero or sacrilegious tyrant? Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore Napoleon’s campaign in Egypt, his dream of becoming the n…

Who was the most influential leader of the 20th century? What would have happened if the South had won the American Civil War? Would you rather be under siege from the Mongols, the Romans, or the Assy…

One of the greatest institutions of the ancient world, the Library of Alexandria was the embodiment of ultimate learning, and a “repository of everything”. Built within the same complex as the tomb of…

“Carthago delenda est.” Carthage must be destroyed: this was the rallying cry of Cato the Elder, the senator endlessly pushing for war against Rome’s sworn enemy, Carthage. But what are the origins o…

What did Marcus Aurelius, Jesus, and Ragnar Lothbrok all have in common? Apart from their notorious and symbolic deaths, all three men boasted luscious beards. Throughout history, beards have posed qu…

No one was like him, terrible were his crimes… Where was Alexander the Great born, and who were his parents? What drove him to go beyond the Aegean empire he had already carved out for himself, and…

What is the main difference between Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great? When did Julius Caesar become one of the major players of the Roman Republic? What was the true nature of Caesar’s relationsh…