67. Ancient Arms Race

Julius Caesar makes the greatest gamble of his life and crosses the Rubicon to march on his political enemies. The civil war has begun. The unprepared Pompey and the Optimates are thunderstruck by Caesar's swift advance. Most Romans fear Caesar will behave like Sulla or Marius ...

Julius Caesar pursues Pompey to the port city of Brundisium. There, the two face off in the first great engineering contest of the civil war as Caesar attempts to blockade the port and Pompey works to slow Caesar’s progress until his fleet can arrive. There is also a special s ...

Pharaoh Thutmose III’s legendary military career kicked off on 16th April, 1457 BC with the Battle of Megiddo, the first recorded battle in history. Facing a rebellion from the Canaanite city-states, who thought they could take advantage of his inexperience, Thutmose assembled a ...  Show more

Ramesses, Muwattalli, and the Trojans(?). In June of 1287 BCE, the Great Kings of Hatti and Egypt were on the verge of a major confrontation. Ramesses, marching across Sinai and into Canaan, made careful preparations for his assault on Kadesh. Alas, even the best-planned campaign ...  Show more

Take a trip back in time to Ancient Rome, to discover the bizarre and barbaric world of the gladiators. But who were these mysterious warriors? And how much truth lies behind the legends? Take your seat in the Roman Colosseum, the games are about to begin. This is a Short Histor ...  Show more

In the year 732, one of the most important battles in world history took place between the cities of Tours and Portier in France. On one side was an unstoppable juggernaut that had amassed one of the largest empires in world history in less than a century. On the other side was a ...  Show more