Dan Snow's History Hit

Eleanor Janega Tells Medieval Ghost Stories

78K views · 2d ago · 28:13

Ghost stories have haunted conversations since ancient times, from the Mesopotamians to the Romans to the Vikings. The medieval period was particularly awash with ghost stories - after all it was an era of great plague, piety and corporal punishment. Ghost stories served as useful tools to uphold hierarchies and manipulate the masses - live in accordance with the bible or be visited by a restless spirit... or become one yourself.

Topics: The earliest recorded ghost stories · Why spirits return with unfinished business · Pliny the Younger and ancient burial rites · Medieval purgatory and moral warnings · Vengeful ghosts and battlefield legends · The 15th-century Byland Abbey ghost stories

Mummification: Myth vs Reality!

54K views · 1w ago · 44:56

From the elaborate burial rituals of Ancient Egypt to Victorian mummy unwrapping parties - mummification has fascinated humanity for centuries. But what is mummification really about? Because Hollywood, supernatural folklore and popular culture have muddied our understanding of the real history behind this burial practice.

Topics: Introducing Egyptology expert Dr. Campbell Price · Debunking the myth of body preservation · Were mummies meant to be scary? · The origins of ancient Egyptian burial practices · Transforming the dead into divine beings · How tomb design enabled communication with ancestors

Where Does The Illuminati Conspiracy Come From?

130K views · 2w ago · 45:12

Dan Snow investigates the real history of the Illuminati. Obviously, a secret sect doesn't control global events - despite what the internet says. But the myth of a shadowy cabal of elites grew out of a very real secret order, and one that went extinct within a decade. So what is the true story of the Illuminati? And why has it been blamed for every major crisis since, from the French Revolution to the New World Order?

Topics: The origins of the order in 1776 · Defining Enlightenment in conservative Bavaria · Why secret societies were formed · The symbol of Minerva and classical inspiration · How the Illuminati got its name · Recruitment, books, and secrecy

John Dudley: Most Powerful and Evil Tudor?

133K views · 3w ago · 43:40

Guests: John Dudley, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb

Henry VIII is dead, and England has replaced him with a boy king. But the one really pulling the strings of power behind the young and inexperienced Edward VI is one of Tudor England’s most formidable power players: John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland.

Topics: The death of Henry VIII and power shift · The danger of a child monarch · Religious divide and iconoclasm · The rise of John Dudley · Dudley’s alliance and coup against Somerset · The dangerous game of Tudor court politics

30 Seconds Until The End Of The World: The Cuban Missile Crisis

102K views · 4w ago · 58:34

The nuclear close calls, rogue commanders and split-second decisions that nearly resulted in nuclear armageddon... In this episode, Dan breaks down the edge-of-your-seat crisis that almost triggered Doomsday, and explains how individual heroism and blind luck saved humanity from extinction.

Topics: The reality of the Cold War rivalry · Castro's rise and the Soviet foothold in Cuba · Operation Anadir and missile deployment · The political pressure facing JFK · The U-2 flight that revealed the missiles · JFK forms ExCom and considers options

Marie Antoinette: The Queen in The Guillotine

92K views · 1mo ago · 53:37

Guest: Marie Antoinette

They called her a treasonous nymphomaniac who bankrupted France for diamonds and cake. The revolutionaries didn't just execute Marie Antoinette - they waged a brutal smear campaign to ruin her first. But what if almost everything you’ve been told about 'Madame Déficit' is a lie? From fake royal sex scandals to a black-market diamond heist that brought down a monarchy, this is how a teenage Austrian princess became the most hated woman in Europe.

Topics: Marie Antoinette’s Austrian origin · Childhood in Vienna and her mother's influence · The French and Austrian alliance · Arriving at Versailles as a teenage bride · Gossip and rumours surrounding her marriage · France’s financial crisis and the "let them eat cake" myth

Knights VS The Ottoman Empire: The Epic Battle for Malta

227K views · 1mo ago · 28:33

Guest: Heritage Malta

The fate of the Mediterranean hung in the balance during this bloody battle between the Knights of St John and the armies of Suleyman the Magnificent in the summer of 1565. The Ottoman Empire had carved its way across three continents and now turned its sights to the tiny island of Malta. Tens of thousands of Ottoman troops descended.

Topics: Strategic geographic importance of Malta · Origins of the Knights of St. John · Arriving in Malta and building defences · Military architecture and bastions explained · Grandmaster Jean de Valette and Ottoman leaders · The arrival of the Ottoman fleet

The Uprising: When FURIOUS Medieval Peasants Revolted

282K views · 1mo ago · 45:41

Is the new Uprising movie historically accurate? Find out everything you need to know about the Peasant's Revolt here! In 1381, after plague, famine and war had pushed England to the brink, a final blow sparked an extraordinary uprising. This episode explores the Peasants’ Revolt, not as a chaotic riot, but as a coordinated challenge to royal and religious power in England.

Topics: Special intro from Dan · The brutal reality of 14th century Britain · Plague, famine, and medieval climate breakdown · Economic pressures and the statute of labourers · Richard II, John of Gaunt, and the hated poll tax · Why Essex and Kent became rebellion hotspots

Historian Explains EVERYTHING On The Bayeux Tapestry

201K views · 1mo ago · 43:18

Guest: Matt Lewis

One of history’s greatest invasion stories, stitched into 70 metres of medieval embroidery. In this episode, we unravel 10 top scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry to learn about this dramatic tale of conquest, betrayal and bloodshed, the mystery of who really made it, and what it reveals about the Norman invasion of England.

Topics: What is the Bayeux Tapestry? · Who created the tapestry? · Edward the Confessor and Harold Godwinson · Harold's voyage to Normandy · Harold's oath to Duke William · Halley's Comet and portents of doom

The Bible LIED About The Babylonians

281K views · 1mo ago · 48:22

Babylon has a PR problem, and it's 2,600 years in the making. The Bible remembers it as the ultimate city of sin, the place that crushed Jerusalem and dragged the Jewish people into exile. But if you look beyond this chapter, you find history's first true megacity. An ancient metropolis so influential that even the empires that conquered it couldn't resist becoming Babylonian themselves.

Topics: Geography of ancient Babylon and Mesopotamia · The importance of clay and cuneiform tablets · Rise of Mesopotamian cities and early Babylon · Rise of the Amorites and the Old Babylonian Period · King Hammurabi and the first Babylonian empire · Cuneiform sources and ancient personal letters

Horror Stories From WW1 Fighter Planes

62K views · 2mo ago · 49:26

Guest: Joshua Levine

Above the trenches of WWI, pilots faced flaming wreckages, machine-gun fire and deadly dogfights in brutal battles for the skies. From fragile reconnaissance aircraft to fearsome fighters, aerial warfare evolved at astonishing speed, producing legendary aces like the Red Baron. But behind the fame and the glory were young men confronting terrifying odds.

Topics: Early aviation and crossing the Channel · Samuel Cody and Britain’s first flight · Early military attitudes towards aircraft · Formation of the RFC and RNAS · The journey to France in 1914 · First reconnaissance missions over Europe

Is Something Wrong With YOU For Loving Henry VIII? (Yes.)

140K views · 2mo ago · 48:41

Guest: Kate Williams

Tyrannical, egotistical, paranoid, vengeful... Few names in history conjure up such a deadly list of words. But the wife-murdering Tudor king Henry VIII is certainly one of them. Today, we examine his spectacularly complicated love life, break with Rome, political executions and ruthless pursuit of power to answer the question: can anyone be forgiven for liking Henry VIII?

Topics: Why are we obsessed with King Henry VIII? · A glamorous prince and the golden age · Arthur's death and becoming the spare · The Tudor dynasty and fear of civil war · Ambitions in France and European power · Tragedy of the Prince of Wales

Marco Polo: Inside The Court of the Great Kublai Khan

68K views · 2mo ago · 36:23

Guest: Marco Polo

No throne on Earth came close to rivalling it. Vast and wealthy beyond comprehension, the court of Kublai Khan seemed a world away from medieval Europe. Yet one young Venetian made the staggering 4-year journey, and wrote down everything that he saw. His name was Marco Polo.

Topics: The Republic of Venice and Marco Polo’s origins · Journeying along the Silk Road · Dangers of long-distance medieval travel · Arriving at the court of Kublai Khan · Debating the accuracy of Marco Polo’s travels · Inside the Yuan Dynasty imperial court

Historian Explains The ENTIRE Viking Era In Britain

246K views · 2mo ago · 53:58

Their dragon-prowed longships and war axes brought terror to Britain's shores, unleashing centuries of invasion and conquest. In this episode, historian Dan Snow traces the dramatic story of the Vikings in Britain, from the first brutal raids to the epic battles that gave rise to a united England. Using his Big Pad, Dan maps the invasions and legendary battles that culminated in that momentous year, 1066, when Britain was turned on its head once again.

Topics: The kingdoms of early medieval Britain · The first Viking attacks on Dorset and Lindisfarne · Raids expand across Britain · Viking social hierarchy and religious beliefs · Weapons, armour, and naval technology · Trade networks and theories on Viking expansion

Historian Explains The Fallen Kingdoms Of 'Dark Age' Britain

198K views · 3mo ago · 45:01

The fall of Rome left Britain a fractured, divided hellscape. And as old loyalties collapsed and rival kingdoms fought for survival, new peoples began to cross the North Sea in search of opportunity in the chaos. In this episode, historian Dan Snow explains how the Anglo-Saxons conquered Britain.

Topics: Collapse of Roman Britain · The Hun invasion · Raids on post-Roman Britain · Economic breakdown and urban decay · Gildas and the ruin of Britain · The arrival of Anglo-Saxon mercenaries

Historian Explains The ENTIRE Roman Conquest of Britain

258K views · 3mo ago · 1:14:52

Rome’s hunger for conquest reshaped the ancient world. Driven by the pursuit of glory, the Roman Empire expanded across continents, bringing vast territories under its control. In this episode, historian Dan Snow explains why Rome set its sights on a mysterious island at the edge of its empire - Britain.

Topics: Why did the Romans want Britain? · Julius Caesar's first invasion of Britain (55 BC) · Caesar's second invasion of Britain (54 BC) · Roman Britain, kind of? · Augustus Caesar (12 BC) · King Cunobelinus in Colchester

Historian Explains the ENTIRE ODYSSEY

351K views · 3mo ago · 52:38

This is the REAL history behind Christopher Nolan's new movie 'The Odyssey'! It's a Greek epic that charts the many trials of the Mycenaean King Odysseus on a 10-year journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War. In today's episode, historian Dan Snow breaks down exactly what happens in that story, where it happens and what it all means.

Topics: The origins and history of Homer's epic poem · Who was Odysseus and where did he go? · Klarna · Troy · Thrace · Lotus Eaters

What 'Gladiator' Gets WRONG and RIGHT About Real Gladiators

48K views · 3mo ago · 37:11

Sweat, blood, sex, slaves, celebrities and legends - was a gladiator's real life anything like Russell Crowe's in Gladiator? Step into the roaring arena of ancient Rome, where every sunrise could be a gladiator's last... From brutal training and hard-won fame to the thunderous spectacle that captivated an empire, discover what life was really like for history's greatest prizefighters.

Topics: Where did gladiators come from? · Started as funerals · Hollywood myths about gladiators · The cost of renting or owning a gladiator · Rich emperors renting gladiators · Executing criminals in the arena

Birth of America: Massacre, Chaos, and Conspiracy

30K views · 4mo ago · 57:07

We explore one of history’s most influential documents - The Declaration of Independence. To mark the 250th anniversary of America's creation, we dig into its powerful language, the ideas behind it, and the debates surrounding its foundational claims.

Topics: The backstory: Outcome of the Seven Years' War · Enemies and the rise of imperial taxes · No taxation without representation · Military quartering and the Boston Massacre · The Boston Tea Party of 1773 · A revolution fought with words and ideas

Horror Stories From The WW1 Trenches

195K views · 4mo ago · 39:24

What was life really like in the trenches of the First World War? In this episode, we step into the mud of the Western Front to hear about the horrors that soldiers faced; from artillery bombardments and sniper fire to disease, rats and relentless weather.

Topics: Interview with author Joshua Levine · What did a First World War trench actually look like? · The origin of the trench systems and the race to the sea · Weaponry developments and the firepower revolution · Communication networks and defensive barriers · Why the trench was the ultimate defensive system

Historian Explains the ENTIRE FALL OF ROME

161K views · 4mo ago · 58:07

Guest: Professor Peter Heather

How does an empire spanning three continents and half a millennium fall apart? In the final episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by Professor Peter Heather to unravel Rome's collapse - from the chaos of the third-century crisis to the deposition of the last Western emperor. Why did an empire at its economic peak unravel so quickly? And why did the East survive when the West did not?

Topics: Why the fall of Rome is history's greatest question · Mapping the true scale of the Roman Empire · How transport speeds shaped the ancient world · The great luck of Rome · The crisis of the third century · Refashioning the military and the elite formations

Mary Beard On Ruling The Roman Empire

164K views · 4mo ago · 1:00:41

What did it take to rule an empire that was never meant to have an emperor? In this second episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by classicist Mary Beard to trace how Roman leadership evolved over a thousand years - from the competitive power-sharing of the Republic, to the carefully constructed one-man rule of Augustus. Why did the republican system buckle under its own success? And what set the empire on the path to fragmentation?

Topics: How was the Roman Republic governed? · The power-sharing system to prevent kings · Why did Rome become the greatest empire? · Roman glory of military success · Why Rome lost battles but won wars · A light-touch empire of obedience

The Rise Of The Ancient Roman Empire

100K views · 4mo ago · 40:41

Guest: Dr. Simon Elliott

How did a cluster of Iron Age huts grow into one of history's greatest civilisations? In the first episode of our series on the Roman Empire, we're joined by Dr. Simon Elliott to trace Rome's rise - from its humble origins on the banks of the Tiber to the moment Augustus became the first Emperor. Why did Rome thrive when so many competitors fell? What were the key battles, the turning points, the extraordinary individuals who shaped the story?

Topics: Why do we call it the Roman Empire? · What are the mythological origin stories of Rome? · What does archaeology tell us about early Rome? · What did Italy look like around 500 BC? · How did early Rome come to dominate its neighbours in Latium? · How did the Romans use defeat to adapt and improve their military?

SAS Hijacked A Fascist Train To Liberate A Concentration Camp

121K views · 5mo ago · 48:16

Today, we uncover a forgotten SAS mission straight out of a war thriller: an elite unit jumps the chain of command and hijacks a 'pirate train', turning it into a weapon against fascist Italy. Their goal? To launch a surprise attack deep behind enemy lines on an Italian concentration camp and free its prisoners.

Topics: The founding ethos of the SAS · Modern legacy and Ukraine special forces · Genesis of the SAS in North Africa · The Italian campaign and Bill Sterling's vision · Operation Speedwell and Hugh Pinkney's maverick command · Horus Stokes and an epic escape via the Vatican

Vikings VS Anglo-Saxons

102K views · 5mo ago · 42:18

Dan explains the Battle of Brunanburh, an epic clash that decided the fate of the British Isles. On one side, the forces of King Æthelstan, fighting for his vision for a unified England; on the other, a massive ‘anti-Wessex’ coalition of Vikings, Scots and Celts, determined to stop the English project from taking hold.

Topics: Pre-Viking Britain and Ireland · The arrival of the Vikings · The rise of Viking strongholds · Decades of continuous warfare · Alfred the Great and the idea of England · Building the English kingdom

The Seven Deadly Sins In Medieval Times

33K views · 5mo ago · 40:27

Greed, Lust, Pride, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath! You might be surprised to learn the true history of the Seven Deadly Sins doesn't start in the bible. Rather, they were first thought up by a Greek monk in the 4th century who'd fled to the desert after becoming embroiled in a scandal with a married woman...

Topics: The origins of the seven deadly sins · From eight generic thoughts to seven sins · A system for understanding human psychology · The hierarchy and importance of pride · The church and the Gregorian reform · Mandatory confession and the fourth Lateran council

How Did Japan Go From Defeated Samurai to Superpower?

61K views · 5mo ago · 47:07

In the 19th century, Japan's samurai era ended, and the country transformed from a secluded feudal society into a modern industrial superpower. From sweeping political reforms to rapid industrialisation, this is the story of how Japan reinvented itself in just decades and emerged as a formidable global power.

Topics: The Tokugawa shogunate and Japanese isolation · Early trade relations and the Dutch at Dejima · Military stagnation and the role of the emperor · External pressures and the end of stability · Commodore Perry and the arrival of the black ships · Internal conflict and the fall of the shogunate

How Did "Bloody Mary" Become The First Queen Of England?

158K views · 6mo ago · 49:00

In 1553, Mary Tudor became the first woman to sit on the English throne - a reign of just five years, that history has remembered almost exclusively through the lens of her enemies. But today, we revisit the story of "Bloody Mary" to ask: was she really a ruthless tyrant?

Topics: The "Bloody Mary" Myth vs. Reality · The Early Life of Mary Tudor · Henry VIII and the Great Divorce · The Demotion of the Lady Mary · Reconciling with the King · The Succession Crisis of 1553

Stalin VS Trotsky: The Cunning and Bloody Fight For Power

100K views · 6mo ago · 1:04:25

Guest: Stalin VS Trotsky

An ice axe, a bloody study in Mexico City, and a betrayal years in the making. In this episode, we uncover the true story behind the brutal assassination of Leon Trotsky. At its centre is Ramón Mercader, a Soviet-trained agent who infiltrated Trotsky’s inner circle and killed him. But this was more than a simple murder - it was the result of Stalin’s ruthless drive to eliminate all rivals and consolidate power.

Topics: The Origins of a Bitter Rivalry · Trotsky: The Voice of the Revolution · Exile and the Return of the Bolsheviks · Seizing Power: The 1917 Coup · Commander of the Red Army · The Death of Lenin & Succession Struggle

How Did The Crusades End?

48K views · 6mo ago · 36:24

Guest: Steve Tibble

For the third episode in our mini-series on the Crusades, we dive into the 1291 Siege of Acre - the desperate, violent last stand that ended two centuries of crusading in the Holy Land. We hear how, outnumbered, divided and desperate, the Christian defenders fought to the bitter end against the Mamluk forces of Al-Ashraf Khalil.

Topics: The Ultimate Medieval Siege · Rise of the Mamluk Superpower · Mythology vs. Reality: Ethnicity in the Crusades · The Concentric Walls of Acre · 70 Catapults: The Artillery Super-Weapon · The Science of Medieval Mining