For centuries the city of Timbuktu was famed as a golden metropolis situated on the southern fringes of the Sahara; tales of its immense wealth and its reputation as a key centre of learning obsessed travellers and adventurers for many hundreds of years. Timbuktu certainly has one of the most illustrious histories in Africa; yet its recent history is much more turbulent and in 2012 the city suffered heavily after it was captured by Tuareg separatist Islamist forces. Recently Dan visited the once-gleaming Timbuktu with the International Committee of the Red Cross to learn more about its history and its vast collection of manuscripts - the most important set of documents in the history of sub-Saharan Africa...
Dr Janina Ramirez is Course Director for History of Art at the Department of Continuing Education, Oxford. An interdisciplinary art historian, known for her documentary work on BBC4, including most recently, ‘Illuminations: The Private Lives of Medieval Kings’ and ‘Britain’s Most Fragile Treasure...
The Battle of Brunanburh was one of the bloodiest and biggest battles of early medieval history. Fought 1100 years ago, Athelstan - the king of the English - opposed a coalition of Irish, Scots, Northumbrians and Vikings and won a decisive victory. The enemy shield wall was penetrated. Their troo...
A story of bloodshed, tribal rivalries and a warrior class obsessed with and defined by the battlefield has emerged from the discovery of a burial site at Bamburgh Castle. Dan talks to both Paul and Edoardo about the latest archaeological work tell us about the history of Bamburgh, of the people ...
