206. Babur: Guns, Gardens & Diamonds

Who was the man who liberated Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Spanish rule? How did a privileged upper-class teenage boy become South America’s leading revolutionary of the 19th century? How did tragedy in his youth set Simón Bolívar on the pathway to ...  Show more

What lessons have been learned from Occupation? How did Hezbollah emerge in the wake of the Iranian Revolution and the Israeli invasion of Lebanon? How did Hezbollah evolve from 1982 to 2023? In the final episode in the series on the Arab-Israeli Conflict of 1967-1982, William is ...  Show more

In the third century BC, China was a land fractured by war - a patchwork of rival kingdoms struggling for dominance. Out of this chaos rose a single, extraordinary figure who would reshape the course of history: Chin Shrr Hwong, the First Emperor of China. His achievements were m ...  Show more

Mansa Musa's wealth is a thing of legend. It's impossible to know exactly how much he was worth, but he himself spread rumours that gold grew like a plant within the Mali Empire. When he embarked on a storied pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, he gave away so much gold in Egypt that ...

In March 1739, the Persian warlord Nader Shah laid siege to Delhi. He destroyed and plundered the city. Among his ‘Delhi loot’ was the famous Jeweled or Peacock Throne of the Mughal Empire. It took seven years to make, and seven elephants to cart it away forever - and it's been l ...  Show more

The Mughal empire was one of the most powerful and influential dynasties in South Asian history, blending together a mix of cultural traditions to create a legacy of dazzling architecture, innovative governance, and turbulent politics. Speaking to Emily Briffett, historian Nandin ...  Show more