467. The Murder of Franz Ferdinand: The Victi...

Who was Lieutenant Napier, the man set out to rescue the European hostages held by Emperor Tewodros II? How did he plan to attack the emperor’s fortress, Magdala? And, did they manage to successfully escape Abyssinia? Join Dominic and Tom as they conclude the story of one of the ...  Afficher plus

Who was Emperor Tewodros II, the colourful and controversial Emperor of Abyssinia? Why did he brutally imprison a number of British emissaries, and how did Queen Victoria respond? And, how would this spark one of the most ambitious expeditions undertaken by the British Empire…? J ...  Afficher plus

The Archduke Rudolf, heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, retreated to his hunting lodge in Mayerling with his teenage lover in 1889 to enact a gristly suicide pact in an event both stranger and more tragic than it appears at first blush.

Early successes gave way to embarrassing defeats as Franz Joseph I was outsmarted by savvier leaders on the world stage. In 1914, when his successor was assassinated in Serbia, Franz declared war — and within weeks, the first World War had begun. Learn more about your ad choices. ...  Afficher plus

The winds of nationalism are blowing through Ottoman territory in the Balkans. Unrest is rife and the Empire is bankrupt. The young sultan Abdülhamid is at the helm. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Eugene Rogan to discuss whether the Ottoman Empire really was the sick m ...  Afficher plus

Prof Christopher Clark unpicks the complex sequence of events that led to the First World War. In the first programme, he travels to Sarajevo to tell the story of extraordinary chances that led to the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.