The History Channel

Not long ago South Africa stood poised on the edge of anarchy. The flames of violence threatened to engulf a nation that had already fought long and hard against the brutal burden of Apartheid. Massacres and assassinations unleashed a storm of angry recriminations that thundered over the land and echoed in the empty negotiating halls where peace talks had stalled. But, just over a year later, the country was celebrating its first, fully democratic election that culminated in the joyful inauguration of President Nelson Mandela. They achieved the unimaginable: a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world. This is the remarkable story of South Africa's transition to democracy, a singular achievement that astounded and inspired the world. Includes personal anecdotes from world leaders, local and global celebrities who tell of their small, but valuable contributions to the liberation of South Africa and her people.

This 2-hour special, narrated by Deon Cole, gives a fresh perspective of the black movement in America, from Emancipation to the Civil Rights era. The special uses first-hand accounts, rare audio recordings, never-before-seen archival footage, and home movies to chronicle African American life as lived by regular people, in their own words, through 150 years of social upheaval.

History tells us that the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity in the 4th century. But did Christianity conquer Rome or did pagan Rome conquer Christianity? Archaeology in Rome and Istanbul, along with previously ignored episodes in Constantine's life, reveals that the Emperor had the instincts of a marketing genius. Strategically combining many deities, Constantine "sold" Christ as an amalgamation of sun gods. By force of arms, the new religion suppressed the original Jesus movement and the hundreds of Christian alternatives that had sprouted around it. Constantine's Christianity is still the world's most successful brand.

It was the point at which Europe left the medieval world and entered the modern one resulting in the greatest forced movement of population in Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire. Spurring the development of both modern nationalism and modern democracy The Protestant Reformation shattered the authority of the traditional Church. Without it there would have been no scientific Revolution and no Enlightenment. See how the seeds of dissent put forth by a single individual blossomed into a spiritual, intellectual and Cultural Revolution that forever changed the shape of religion.

Take another look at ancient texts that were edited out of the Bible. Are they the missing links to Christ's true teachings, or heretical attempts to rewrite history? Explore the kabalistic stories of angels and demons disavowed by orthodox leaders, and the apocalyptic visions and the sexual imagery that were barred from the Old Testament. Why was Peter's account of a "Lord of The Rings"-style battle of wits and magic repressed by Rome? With discoveries being made all across the world--in caves, ruined temples, ancient libraries and monasteries--these tantalizing fragments continue to be found and debated. Are they heresy or hidden truth?

Mankind is a building species. Inspired by the divine, we create monuments to its power (Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid). New challenges create new sciences, and when the Romans mixed volcanic ash with water they created a new super-material: concrete. Today, we shape the surface of the earth to facilitate our needs.

No prizes for second place! In this episode we learn how being the fastest enabled empires to be born and capitalism to thrive.

It's full steam ahead when we drop in at Jay Leno's garage as Jay fires up two of his classic steam cars and takes viewers for a couple of rides. Jay also shows off his 11-ton steam engine built in 1860, back when pigs had to be slaughtered to keep it lubricated. In northern Nevada, fire up a coal burning boiler and get a 100-year-old steam locomotive chugging across the rugged landscape. In New Orleans, board an authentic paddlewheel steamboat. Trek to the Southern California desert where geothermal steam rushes up from the ground and drives electricity producing turbines, powering over 300,000 homes. In New York City, find out why manmade steam surges into some of the world's most famous skyscrapers. Steam clean some very dirty machines, and do a little laundry, too. And ride a steam-driven carousel and play with some strange, steam-powered robots that are part of a movement called--what else--"steampunk."

This is the secret story of'the War to End All Wars and what happened when the first weapons of mass destruction reached the battlefield. We uncover the forgotten story of the secret deals, government mistakes, political intolerance, and America's role in the war. We mine formerly guarded vaults and archives worldwide, reviewing once top-secret footage and declassified materials to search for the facts behind the thrilling stories with which we've become familiar.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Informational programming.

Mao was the 20th Century's answer to Napoleon: a brilliant tactician, a political and economic theorist, and a statesman who ruled a billion people for three decades. In death, he has become divine, worshiped as a god in a godless country. Considering who and what he ruled, Mao, with his Little Red Book, might just be the single most powerful human being who ever lived. We mine formerly guarded vaults and archives to reveal untold stories in a relentless search for the truth behind the legend.

The Hittites are the forgotten superpower of the Bible. Hattusha, the capital was the heart of their empire. They were a highly advanced military powerhouse who struck fear into the hearts of all their enemies, yet the Hittites disappeared as quickly as they emerged--the greatest vanishing act in history. Follow a team of historical detectives as they use evidence from recent excavations, scientific studies and historical documents to piece together clues to determine what the ancient Hittite empire looked like. Computer graphics allow viewers to fly over, enter the streets, walk through the halls and peer into this lost world.

A team of field investigators using the latest research, expert analysis, and cutting-edge graphic technology take us back to the aftermath of Jesus's crucifixion when barely a hundred of his followers survived. Yet within a few decades, Christianity had spread around the Mediterranean and across the Roman Empire. The man responsible once persecuted Christians but underwent a conversion and gave his life to spreading the gospel. We revisit places that were first to hear St. Paul's message and were altered forever. From his birthplace, the port of Tarsus where a mixture of Roman and Jewish culture helped form him, we follow the systems of trade and transport that helped him travel 20,000 miles. And in Cappadocia in the Turkish desert, we find evidence of how the new religion reached a mysterious community of cave-dwellers. These persecuted Christian communities sought refuge by literally heading underground. Our investigators enter the vast subterranean cities they built.

He lived in ancient Israel, he was called the "Good Shepherd", he was killed by the Romans and he rose in three days. But he's not Jesus! Cutting-edge archaeology reveals that the apocalyptic template for a dying and rising Messiah may have originated with a man called Simon of Perea. Did the idea of resurrection begin with Jesus? Did it originate with Simon? Was Jesus a follower, not an innovator? Shockingly, an ancient stone tablet that has emerged from the Jordanian antiquities market seems to suggest that there was a dying and rising Messiah before Jesus.

There is a quaint perception that Jesus spent his entire ministry--prior to going to Jerusalem where he was crucified--in northern Israel, walking along the shores of a tiny fresh water lake called the "Sea of Galilee". But is this historical reality or theological fantasy? It is explicitly stated in the Gospels that Jesus undertook an adventurous sea journey complete with a tempest, exorcisms and landfall in a place called "the land of the Gadarenes." Where is this place? Why did Jesus go there? And why has this story been covered up for over two millennia? Archaeological and historical sleuthing reveals a previously unknown journey across the Mediterranean to a mysterious location where we come face to face with people who still claim to be descendants of Jesus of Nazareth.