How do empires rise? Why do they fall? And how have they shaped the world around us today? William Dalrymple and Anita Anand... more
The extraordinary lives of three Scotsmen - John Henderson, Richard Oswald, and David Livingstone - encapsulate the polarities of the... more
In the wake of Culloden, much of Scotland was on its knees. Crippled by defeat and the subsequent backlash of... more
Few battles in history have been remembered as powerfully, nor been as mythologised, as Culloden on the 16th of April... more
In 1688 the Stuart King James II was ousted from the throne by his daughter Mary and her husband William... more
With the accession of James I and VI in 1603, Scotland was assimilated into the composite monarchy of the United... more
When charting the rise of Scotland’s global influence, few events have been as tragically remarkable as the Darien Scheme of... more
In the 9th century AD, two years after the Holy Roman Empire was established in Western Christendom, another world-shaking empire... more
While in the West the legends of King Arthur were being born, a Buddhist tantric magician of immense magical powers... more
India’s transformation of the ancient world is indisputable, and tangible evidence of this can be found in the magnificent Hindu... more
Having garnered absolute power through bloody means, Empress Wu Zetian begins seeing apparitions, haunted by her violent schemes. With her... more
The inculcation of Buddhism from India as the state religion in China was enabled by the violent rise of China’s... more
It was actually India, not China, that was the greatest trading partner of the Roman Empire. During this era, it’s... more
For a millennium and a half, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilisation, creating around it a vast... more
With Richard Nixon now in the White House and not wanting to have his presidency consumed by Vietnam like his... more
With the death of JFK, Lyndon B. Johnson took over the Presidency and immediately had to wrestle with America’s relationship... more
Vietnam, or Indochina as it was known, had been under French colonial rule since the nineteenth century. This was until... more
Following the fall of Batista, the Cuban revolution took a more radical turn. Castro was not a communist to begin... more
It’s 1959 and the swaggering Cuban revolutionary, Fidel Castro, has just overthrown the unpopular American backed dictator, Fulgencio Batista. Che... more
The Korean War was a brutal affair. It is estimated that 3,000,000 people were killed in the conflict that absolutely... more
Whilst we know the Korean Peninsula is split into two quite separate countries, North Korea and South Korea, that has... more
By 1943, the price of rice was beyond unaffordable for most in Bengal, and people were dying in the streets.... more
In 1942, in the midst of the Second World War, the British administration feared that Japanese forces would take India... more
By the end of the Spanish-US war, the Philippines was on the menu. Two battles played out simultaneously on the... more
In 1898, whilst his boss was on a break at the osteopath, Teddy Roosevelt basically started a war. A master... more
On 7th July 1898, President McKinley formally annexed Hawaii, making it a colonial territory of the USA. It was not... more
Not everyone agrees that the USA should be classed as an empire. But in the late 1800s, after white settlers... more
Arizona Territory, April 30, 1871. The canyon known as Aravaipa lies still in the predawn darkness, the only sounds to... more
A whole genre of movies is based on a relatively short period of nineteenth-century American history. But what is the... more
In 1850, 13-year-old Olive Oatman and her family set off on the perilous journey by foot from Missouri to Arizona.... more
Fort Laramie was once a stockade where European fur traders and Native Americans lived together peacefully. But by the 1850s... more
Despite having fought alongside them, President Andrew Jackson hated Native Nations. In the early 1800s, he sought to deceive Cherokee... more
North America was never virgin territory. For thousands of years it has been home to established nations of Indigenous people... more
The British have surrendered, they’ll be leaving soon. Now the Americans have a new and arguably harder task than before.... more
The Declaration of Independence establishes the ideals on which this break away nation founds itself on. But it’s full of... more
The infamous Boston Tea Party sees colonists dressed as Native Americans dump British tea in the surrounding waters. Calls of... more
From sugar to paper, a series of taxes in the 1760s spark outrage amongst American colonists that snowball into a... more
We're all about the Benjamins. Franklin is unquestionably the most well-rounded of the Founding Fathers. Not only did he help... more
Often given less attention than the other Founding Fathers, John Adams is no less significant. Not only did he go... more
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot... more
Thomas Jefferson is one of the most complex figures in the whole American Revolution. A child of the enlightenment, it... more
Everybody knows Washington as the strapping, powerful general and then president who helped to overthrow the British and forge America,... more
Deerfield, February 1704. The small, puritan town of roughly 300 inhabitants in western Massachusetts has been riven with tension ever... more
One of the most famous names in American history, Pocahontas had an extraordinary life. She was the daughter of Powhatan,... more
The Empire that dare not speak its name. America was born through an explicit rejection of empire as it forced... more
In 1877 Queen Victoria took on the title Empress of India, a nation which she undoubtedly had close to her... more
Across 1851, over 6,000,000 people went to London to see the Great Exhibition. Designed to showcase the very best of... more
It is one of the great love affairs of history. Upon meeting again shortly after her 18th birthday, Victoria and... more
Born on the 24th May 1819, Alexandrina Victoria was fifth in line to the throne at a time in which... more
For centuries Spain had been an outlier in Europe due to its religious diversity; Christians, Jews, and Muslims all existed... more
To some she is Europe’s first great queen, to others she is one of history’s great villains, but there is... more
With Jahangir sliding into more of an opium and alcohol fuelled slumber with each passing day, Nur Jahan took the... more
Nur Jahan was born on a roadside as her well-to-do parents fled from Safavid Persia for the tolerant court of... more
Börte came from a powerful nomadic tribe and in many ways her marriage to Genghis Khan set him up to... more
Sold as a slave to the great Abbasid Caliph, al-Khayzuran quickly rose to the very top of the pyramid. Through... more
The Empress Theodora is often unfairly remembered for the salacious stories that have been told about her when she was... more
Placed by her mother into a brothel when she was just a child, Theodora was born into the most brutal... more
Born in poverty at a time when the Roman Empire was in danger of cracking up and disintegrating, Helena was... more
With Julius Caesar dead, Cleopatra turned to another of Rome’s dominant figures. She became entwined with Mark Antony, the ruler... more
Born in the romantic splendour of Ptolemaic Egypt, not far from the Library of Alexandria, Cleopatra was destined for greatness.... more
In late autumn, 629 AD, Xuanzang set out for the great university of Nalanda from Chang’an. Across the desert, over... more
Buddhism reached China in the 1st century AD, yet it remained a minor, foreign religion for the next 100 years.... more
In the 1st century AD, the nomadic Kushans settled in what is now Afghanistan and established settlements and trade. From... more
Ruling in the 3rd century BC, Ashoka was one of India’s greatest ever rulers. Under his rule, the Mauryan Empire... more
India was the forgotten heart of the ancient world. For a millennium and a half, from about 250 BC to... more
From the beginning of the Raj, British tastes began to turn away from Indian cuisine towards a European palate. The... more
When the East India Company first arrived on the shores of India, the food they ate in their first factories... more
Since November 2023, the Houthis have been attacking international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. They set off from the... more
In September 1980, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces invaded neighbouring Iran and so began the longest conventional war in modern history.... more
In June 1982, Israeli tanks rolled over the Lebanese border. Soon after, Iran sent 1,500 Revolutionary Guards into Lebanon to... more
1979 was the year that set the Islamic world on the path to today. In Iran, the revolution established the... more
The Shah cracks down on dissent, to the point even his great ally Jimmy Carter begins to cool on the... more
With the Last Shah’s reforms - known as the White Revolution - starting to take effect, Iran looked to be... more
Reza Pahlavi rules but he is still bedevilled by the interference of the great powers. Britain has its claws in... more
Throughout the 19th century, Iran was a pawn of the great colonial powers. It failed to industrialise, its economy stagnated,... more
Nader Shah was not born to rule. He was poor, the son of a shepherd in a semi-nomadic tribe, and... more
Isfahan, half of the world. It had been a city for years, but at the end of the 16th century... more
How did the great divide within Islam, the split between Sunni and Shia, develop? We trace how the great 16th... more
After conquering much of Eurasia, Timur showed no interest in building institutions and so after his death, like the Mongol... more
Timur, known to many as Tamburlaine the Great from the iconic Marlowe play. Despite having a limp and struggling to... more
After the Arab conquest, Persia was turned upside down. Patronage went to Islam as opposed to Zoroastrianism. The official language... more
As the timber creaked under the pressure of the Antarctic ice, Shackleton knew his voyage aboard the Endurance was doomed.... more
Antarctica, the great land of ice. It was first spotted in the early years of the 19th century but it... more
With Alexander Dalrymple sidelined, Captain James Cook and Joseph Banks are ready to set off on an expedition to track... more
In the 1760’s a clever, young, ambitious Scotsman named Alexander Dalrymple began advocating a theory as to the existence of... more
In the 15th century, Admiral Zheng He, on the orders of the Emperor of China, embarked upon a series of extraordinary... more
With the Sassanian Empire defeated and the Byzantine Empire exhausted, there is a power vacuum in the centre of the... more
Eurasia is divided into two great superpowers. Khusrow II rules the Sassanian Empire. Maurice, the last of the Justinian dynasty,... more
Three great religions have come out of Persia and all of them have influenced world history. First there was Zoroastrianism,... more
Darius has already been defeated by Alexander. His wife has been kidnapped and has now died in childbirth. The omens... more
Darius III rules Persia and he has already demonstrated his heroism and skill in battle. The Empire itself, despite having... more
Leonidas and the 300 have been defeated at Thermopylae, leaving the way to Athens open. With the Persians advancing, many... more
August 480BC; the might of the Persian army, roughly 100,000 soldiers, face down a few thousand Greeks, led by Leonidas... more
Ionia has revolted and so Darius turns his gaze away from India and towards Greece. He crushes the rebellion, quelling... more
The Persian Empire that Darius took control of was already mighty and powerful; his predecessor, Cambyses, had conquered Egypt, further... more
Born the son of a khan, a tribal chieftain, Cyrus would go on to be a titanic figure of world... more
Persia was the first great superpower. The empire built by Cyrus, Darius, Xerxes and the rest of the Achaemenids stretched... more
Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022, but how did we get to this point? After the brutality of... more
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you the Empire Club. Do you want bonus episodes? Do you want discounts on the... more
The history of Russia and Ukraine has been irrevocably entwined for centuries. When the Bolsheviks took over and Civil War... more
Dawn breaks on 16th July 1918. For Nicholas, Alexandra, and the rest of the Romanov family this is just another... more
Born in Siberia to a peasant family, Rasputin was an incredibly charismatic, physically striking, and politically savvy figure. He was... more
The Tsar has abdicated and the provisional government rules Russia, but Petrograd is overflowing with revolutionaries who want more radical... more
Russian politics is fast destabilising. Strikes, assassinations, and famines have made Russia increasingly turbulent at the turn of the century.... more
Fearing Russian designs on the region, the eyes of the British turn towards Tibet. Francis Younghusband, the Victorian adventurer and... more
1905 was one of the most pivotal moments in history. Japan, the supposedly weaker Asian power, overwhelmingly defeated the mighty... more
Tolstoy was one of the greatest writers of all time. His books have constructed how we think about Russian imperial... more
As the other European empires were consolidating their holdings in Asia, Russia took 1.5million square miles of territory. Moving south... more
In the 18th century Vitus Bering went from Russia's east coast and landed in America. Over the next 150 years,... more
The Lady with the Lamp, the great nurse who forever changed public health for the better: Florence Nightingale lives large... more
The Crimean War continues to drag on. The allies' siege of Sevastopol is grinding to a stalemate. The Russians seek... more
A slow grind of sieges and massacres. Long distance bombardments and gruelling inch-by-inch trench warfare. Battles for Sevastopol, Odessa, and... more
After the calamitous retreat from Kabul left thousands of British dead, the East India Company wants revenge. They will call... more
As the British occupation of Kabul collapses, the troops flee. What follows is one of the darkest events in British... more
It is 1839 and Britain has declared its intention: to invade Afghanistan and return Shah Shuja to the throne. Despite... more
The rivalry between Russia and Britain continues to grow as both of their attentions begin to centre more and more... more
It will all begin on the banks of the River Niemen. Tsar Alexander forms a pact with Napoleon; the Russian... more
With her reign in peril in three separate arenas, Catherine begins to turn her attention to a young soldier, Grigory... more
Not a drop of Russian blood. A woman in a world ruled by men. A loveless marriage to a man... more
A giant of Russian history, and a giant of a man. Peter the Great, standing at 6'8, established Russia as... more
Subjected, downtrodden, brutalised. The principality of Muscovy had long suffered at the hands of the Mongols. But as their overlords... more
With her reign in peril in three separate arenas, Catherine begins to turn her attention to a young soldier, Grigory Potemkin. What... more