Bettany Hughes

Bettany Hughes take viewers on armchair travels to explore household-name treasures and new finds from across the world.

This six-part series tells the story of the birth and flourishing of civilisation in the Middle East and its huge influence on the West. From the foundation of science, monotheism, commerce, justice, civil rights and artistic expression - look Eastward. The series contends that history that starts from an ancient Greek perspective distorts the true path of civilisation. For crucial phases in world history, the political, economic and cultural centre was the Middle East.

Historian Bettany Hughes has embarked on an epic, personal journey. Inspired by Homer's The Odyssey, she will sail the unpredictable Mediterranean seas, tracing Odysseus's long journey home. Her mission: to experience what the Greek hero experienced and to uncover truths behind the myths and legends, all while enjoying the delights of ancient Greece today. Follow her 1,700-mile adventure as it takes her to over a dozen islands and 22 historic sites and puts her through two hair-raising storms and even an earthquake.

Exploring life in Pompeii during the final days of the doomed city.

Unearthing the glittering, golden treasures of the pharaohs.

A forensic dig into history's most enduring mysteries. In Voices of the Dead, Professor Bettany Hughes leads a forensic investigation into some of the most enduring mysteries of the ancient world and brings viewers face-to-face with the extraordinary people of the past she unearths along the way.

Ancient Impossible, the new H2 series, picks up where HISTORY’s long running Ancient Discoveries left off. In this next generation of storytelling, Ancient Impossible reveals how many of today’s technological achievements were actually developed centuries ago. Colossal monuments, impossible feats of engineering and technologies so precise they defy reinvention–the ancient world was far more advanced than we ever imagined. We’ll travel through history to reveal a radically different picture of the past, with innovations so far ahead of their time, they’re still in use today. New science uncovers a lost world more like our own than we ever suspected, and reveals how modern technology has its blueprint in the ancient world.

Bettany Hughes follows in the footsteps of 18th century aristocrats going on a Grand Tour as she travels through France and Italy to see how travel, the arts and culture and the finest foods can enrich and inspire our lives.

Join us as we tell the tales of history's most iconic female fighters, from the legendary Amazons of Central Asia to the gladiators of the Roman Empire to the all-female fighting force of West Africa.

Historian Bettany Hughes retraces the lives of three great thinkers whose ideas shaped the modern world - Karl Marx, Frederick Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud.

Recent findings in the Middle East have radically changed our understanding of the birth of mankind and the spread of civilization across the globe. Join us on a 12,000-year journey uncovering how this region became a vital link between continents and lead the world's religious, scientific, and cultural enlightenment. On-location excavations and expert testimonies bring to life this epic journey of discovery from the East to the West.

It is a book that originated thousands of years ago in the Middle East. The subject of intensive scholarship and interpretation, the Bible and its rich narratives have shaped politics, culture, and the human experience through the ages. Seven people from different walks of life offer their perspectives on what history's best selling book says about spiritual life and relationships with others.

Bettany Hughes relives eight pivotal days that defined the Roman Empire and made it the world's first superpower.

Bettany Hughes is on a mission to understand the secret behind the success of the Nabataeans. The glorious tombs of their cities, like Hegra in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, are proof of a rich kingdom.

National Geographic's landmark event series, The Greeks, brings together historians, archaeologists, actors, athletes, scientists and artists to launch a groundbreaking exploration into the ancient Greeks' journey - not just to better understand their past, but to discover how their legacy illuminates our present, and will shape our future. The story of the Greeks is the story of us.

Historian Bettany Hughes travels to India, Greece and China on the trail of three giants of ancient philosophy - Buddha, Socrates and Confucius.

David Suchet, TV's Poirot, has spent more of his life acting out the plots and dramas created by Agatha Christie than anyone else in the world. Suchet is embarking on a journey to learn more about the woman who created Poirot and whose books remain outsold only by Shakespeare and the Bible. Suchet's journey takes him to the places Christie lived, the landscapes that inspired her and to meetings with people who knew the woman behind the fame and those inspired by her extraordinary legacy. He explores the close links between Christie's extraordinary life and her work and discovers what it was about the woman from a small seaside town that allowed her to become the best-selling murder mystery writer in history.

The rise and fall of one of the most extreme civilisations the world has ever witnessed – one founded on discipline, sacrifice and frugality, centred on the collective, whose goal was to create the perfect state and the perfect warrior.

Professor Bettany Hughes takes viewers on a journey of discovery as she investigates 10 of the greatest and most intriguing Egyptian mummies - and the secrets that lie beneath the bandages. Having remained in their tombs for thousands of years, wrapped, embalmed and buried with treasure, each mummy tells the story of the criminals, priests, children and pharaohs of Ancient Egypt.

There are five episodes each detailing 10 homes in Britain that are of historic note for a variety of reasons.