The Great Wall of China is one of the architectural wonders of the world. Stretching for over 21,000km - as far as London to New York and back, twice - it follows what used to be the border between China and Mongolia. Built over a period of 2,000 years by millions of conscripted workers, it’s been the subject of myths and legends for centuries. But who really built the Great Wall, and how? Is it true that those who died at the Wall were buried within it? What purpose did it serve? And can this incredible structure really be seen from space?

A Noiser production, written by Fiona Veitch-Smith. With thanks to William Lindesay, a geographer, explorer, conservationist, and leading expert on the Great Wall of China.

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The leader brings reforms to his newly unified Mongol nation. The man formerly known as Temüjin will now conquer an empire bigger than any before in recorded history. But what are the innovations that underpin his supremacy? And how will history judge him - as a cruel tyrant, or a great leader?

A Noiser production, written by Dan Smith.

This is part 2 of 2.

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We're in the Mongol lands of Central Asia in the late 1100s. This is a place of nomadic warriors, a region divided between tribes. But one man will emerge to unite them. Armed with the greatest military mind of his age, he will lead the Mongol peoples far beyond their own borders. A terror to his enemies, he will build a reputation unmatched for cruelty and barbarism. So how does a boy from humble origins come to rule an empire twice the size of Ancient Rome's?

A Noiser production, written by Dan Smith.

This is part 1 of 2.

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In 1799, French soldiers in Egypt unearthed what would become one of the world’s most famous artefacts. After a desperate race to decipher its symbols, the Rosetta Stone provided the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs, casting new light on the culture and history of this lost civilisation. But why was the Rosetta Stone made in the first place? How did it end up in the hands of the French occupiers, thousands of years after it was created? And when the battle to decode was over, what secrets did it reveal?

A Noiser production, written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Richard Bruce Parkinson, Professor of Egyptology at the University of Oxford.

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Since the arrival of the Aztecs in central Mexico from the early 1300s, history has been fascinated by them. They’re widely reputed to be a savage people who left behind obsidian knives, skull racks, and disturbing remnants of human sacrifice. But in reality, the Aztecs were far more multifaceted than that. So what else has history gotten wrong about the Aztecs? Why were they so feared and reviled? How did they become so powerful? And what is the full truth about their downfall?

A Noiser production, written by Nicola Rayner. With thanks to Camilla Townsend, author of Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs. 

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While the Roman Republic was still in its infancy, the Greek city-state of Athens rose from the ruins of war with the Persians to become the most beautiful and powerful in the region. During this Golden Age, many Athenian citizens enjoyed unprecedented freedoms in the world’s first democracy. Architects and engineers designed buildings of unparalleled sophistication, while writers, philosophers and scientists created works that still resonate today. And after shining so brightly, Athens’ rapid decline is a lesson in how great civilisations rise and fall.

A Noiser production, written by Kate Harrison. With thanks to Thomas Martin, Professor of Classics at the College of the Holy Cross, and the author of Ancient Greece from Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times.

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In November 1922, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, a young water boy called Hussein Abdul Rasoul makes a remarkable discovery. A set of stone steps lies concealed beneath the desert sand - a staircase leading to a long-lost tomb. The mummified pharaoh within will capture the imagination of generations to come, becoming the very embodiment of Ancient Egypt. What do we know of this boy king and his premature end? And why the extraordinary opulence of his burial chamber?

A Noiser production, written by Luke Kuhns. With thanks to Dr. Chris Naughton, Egyptologist and author of King Tutankhamun Tells All!

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March 15th, 44BC. Despite ill omens, Julius Caesar approaches the Theatre of Pompey. But the men inside have sworn an oath. To save the Republic from the hands of this self-styled ‘perpetual dictator', Caesar must die. But where did the Republic start? How did it transform Rome from a small town into a superpower? And what made its government, so determinedly against autocracy, pass the tipping point into a dictatorship?

A Noiser production, written by Kate Simants. With thanks to Dr. David Gwynn, Professor of Roman History at Royal Holloway University.

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In 1511, a Spanish lifeboat makes land on the Yucatán coast in modern-day Mexico. Thirteen days ago, the crew's caravel was wrecked on a reef. But their adventure is far from over. Now, they are about to become some of the first Europeans to make contact with the Maya. Custodians of an ancient civilisation, at one time tens of millions of Maya people inhabited a swathe of the Americas. But who were they and what did they do? Where did they go once their society collapsed? And how are their modern-day descendants beginning to bring the past back to life?

A Noiser production, written by Dan Smith. With thanks to David Stuart, Professor of Mesoamerican Art and Writing at the University of Texas at Austin. 

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