Constantinople was a part of the Roman Empire then became the seat of the Byzantine Empire and then was the imperial city of the Ottoman Empire. Here is the story of the fabled city and its history of power and conflict through the ages.

August 5 1962 South Africa. After several months on the run the Black leader Nelson Mandela is arrested by the South African police and incarcerated on Robben Island a fortress-like jail off Cape Town. He doesn’t know it at that time but it is only the beginning of his penitential ordeal.

A famous scientist wrote the President of the United States and the face of war and our world was changed forever. How and why did humanity develop a weapon capable of almost total destruction?

What if Alexander had not died at the age of 32? What if he had listened to advisors and returned to Macedonia instead of going on his worldwide conquest? How does the legacy of ideals and leadership left from Alexander's time resonate today?

1916 the Great War far away from the trenches in the sand of the Middle East war has a very different face. With a handful of intrepid men Thomas Edward Lawrence leads the revolt of the Arabs alongside Sharif Hussein against the Ottoman Empire.

The dramatic story of the defense of France against Hitler's invading army in order to enable the desperate evacuation of over 300K men of the British Expeditionary Force and Allied troops across the English Channel to safety in 1940.

The decisions of only a handful of individuals determined the course of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. What transpired over a few hours would have an impact on the local community Russia Europe and the globe.

What if the source codes for the internet had remained with the US military rather than being released to the world? How did our lives of unfettered internet access become a reality?

In the 17th century a long period of civil war in France and war across Europe rebellious members of the French Parliament dubbed The Fronde defy the monarchy and this defiance does not end well for them...and changes the history of France.

In late Victorian England women began to organize to gain the right to vote. The fight for women's suffrage lasted well into the early 20th Century.

Picture the last two hundred years without the publication of Darwin's "On The Origin of Species" -- how might the scientific conversation have developed? What were the influences in Victorian England during Darwin's youth and how tenuous was his opportunity for sailing on the Beagle's voyage?

In 814 BC the exiled Phoenician queen Dido founds the city of Carthage on the African Coast. The city develops and takes the lead of a maritime empire based on trade. Carthage dominates the Western Mediterranean. But in the third century BC she finds herself opposed to the Roman Republic.

The untimely death of the Roman Emperor of the Western Empire and the poor decisions of the Roman Emperor of the Eastern Empire change the fortunes of the Roman Army in their battle with the Goths. And this changes the future of Europe.

Timing is everything just look at what happened in 1848. How did the finding of gold in Sutter's Mill make an impact on the development of California and the history of the United States?

The shape of Japan's internal politics and the country's response to external influences for centuries can be traced back to the choices of two warlords and a decisive battle. What was the Edo Period and how did it mold Japanese society?

Elvis Presley paid $4 to record two songs for his mother and the rest as they say is history. But without Elvis would rock and roll have gone the same route? And how have the many iterations of rock and roll developed and changed our taste and culture since the 1950's?

How did one man succeed in relaunching the Olympic spirit and turn the Games into a global event?

The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the defining moments of the mid-twentieth century and of the presidency of John Kennedy. How did the two Cold War powers of the USSR and the USA come to the point of threatening nuclear war?

The battle between the French and English for the French territory of New France hinges on the presence of the British navy. And the Battle on the Plains of Abraham is tipped to Great Britain by the solidly trained soldiers of the British army. This changed the landscape of North America.

What would the Civil Rights movement in the USA have been like if Martin Luther King Jr. had not been motivating change? How does the legacy of the American Civil War still affect the American democracy?

Unable to bring mob boss Al Capone to justice for many of the crimes ascribed to him the US Federal government took a new tack to end the rule of gangsters in the Depression.

A series of battles in France had an impact on modern day Europe and the fates of three countries down to our modern century. What might have happened if Richard the Lionheart had not been wounded? Or Philippe Auguste of France had fled the battlefield?

How did the events of his childhood shape the man who would become Genghis Khan? What impact did the Mongol invasions have on the history of Asia and on the psyche of Europe?

While the Viking raids have come one after another in the Occident for almost a century in November 885 hundreds of Scandinavian boats sailing towards Burgundy present themselves before the walls of Paris and besiege the city.

The choices that Kong Qui known in the West as Confucius made during his career as a civil servant and administrator influenced an entire civilization. What if Kong Qui had been as opportunistic and corrupt as other officials? How might the fate of China and its worldview be changed?