The Rise of Napoleon

For the third episode in our mini-series on the Crusades, we dive into the 1291 Siege of Acre - the desperate, violent last stand that ended two centuries of crusading in the Holy Land. We hear how, outnumbered, divided and desperate, the Christian defenders decided to fight to t ...  Show more

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the most powerful figures of the medieval world: twice a queen, a crusader, a rebel and the architect of an empire. Through her marriages to Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, she helped create the vast Angevin Empire and reshape European ...  Show more

Napoleon Bonaparte is a household name; a rare example of someone who is as well remembered by his supporters as by his enemies. His life is rich with dramatic irony. He was a key figure in the creation of the First French Republic, yet became a self-appointed Emperor. Surroun ...

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Napoleon Bonaparte's temporary return to power in France in 1815, following his escape from exile on Elba . He arrived with fewer than a thousand men, yet three weeks later he had displaced Louis XVIII and taken charge of an army as large as any th ...  Show more

Never mind the famous battles, who was the real Napoleon? Where did he come from? What events conspired to turn him from a young Corsican officer to one of history’s greatest figures? How intense was his relationship with his wife Josephine? What part of his body was recreated in ...  Show more

Known as the Scourge of God, Attila the Hun was one of the greatest Barbarian rulers in history. Renowned for his brutality, sacking and pillaging the lands and cities he conquered, Attila became one of the most feared enemies of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires. But how did ...  Show more