Heroes and Villains

Season

2007

UK

7.5

The story of some of the most remembered characters who transformed the world. Produced by the BBC, based in true facts, with the support of modern historians. This documentary tells how Napoleon, Spartacus, Richard Lionhearth, Atila, Shogun and Cortes printed their names in the books of history.

Episode List

S1 • E1

Napoleon

The little known story of how Napoleon Bonaparte first emerged from obscurity and entered the national consciousness. A life and death struggle both on and off off the battlefield.

S1 • E2

Attila the Hun

Attila the Hun. A warrior whose name is a byword for ferocity and terror and whose exploits are the stuff of legend. After murdering his brother, Attila leads the Germanic warrior tribes against the Romans.

S1 • E3

Spartacus

In Rome 73 BC, Spartacus and his wife are separated by the slave market. Narrated by fellow gladiator Oenameaus, this follows Spartacus as he trains in Capua, fights in the arena, and leads a slave revolt against the great Roman empire.

S1 • E4

Cortes

In 1521, Hernan Cortes leads his Spanish conquistadors to the shores of Mexico, in search of hidden treasures. To get to these legendary riches, he must overcome the Aztecs, a powerful Indigenous empire with the help of the Tlaxcalans, a tribe who the Aztecs have oppressed and tyrannised for centuries.

S1 • E5

Richard the Lionheart

During the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart leads the fight the Muslim forces under Sultan Saladin Ayubi. Richard's coalition battles to re-take Jerusalem after Saladin captured it from the Crusaders in 1189. The Christian Richard, age 33, faces intrigues back home by his brother Prince John, plus dissension within the Crusader coalition over tactics. The 61-year-old Saladin, a Kurd, must repulse the invaders or be sacked by the Emirs. The two great military leaders' methods differ, with Saladin employing pitched battles and scorched earth tactics, while Richard is a master of sieges.

S1 • E6

Shogun

The tale of Samurai and their leaders Ieyasu Tokugawa and Mitsunari Ishida who were locked into a power struggle after the death of the Taiko, Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Ieyasu's and Mistunari's actions would develop into one of the biggest rivals in world history as Ieyasu increased his power over Japan, Mitsunari would secretly rally an army of rebels in hopes into overthrow Ieyasu, but it would be the Taiko's Nephew, Hideyaki and his forces who would not only escalate a civil war, but during the battle of Sekigahara the biggest samurai battle in Japanese history, would make a decision that would realize Ieyasu's power over Japan and create his Shogunate.