Another look forward to Volume Four and an insight into some of the episodes which take us through European politics after the fall of the Western Roman Empire through to the creation of medieval kingdoms and their Christianisation which led to the Crusades after the Seljuk Turks took control of Jerusalem and introduced a less tolerant religious attitude.

We take a brief trip to the Horn of Africa and the lands of the Blue Nile which became a significant trade centre as the gateway between the Red Sea and the oceans beyond.

A spoiler for the start of Volume 4 as we look at what to expect from the volume's opening episodes.   As ever, we read out your e-mails and reviews as well as welcoming the latest set of members into the History of the World podcast illuminati.

An informal chat about the emergence and disappearance of the ancient sporting tradition that lasted for centuries called the Olympic Games.

536 - The theory of an unproven volcanic eruption that may have been one of the largest eruptions in history.  The theory is explored through writing, science and thought.

200 - 600 - The Sasanians were firmly in control of their Silk Road branch while Rome and China languished.  This period saw the rise of the Gupta, Maya and Aksumites but was also the age of the mysterious Hunnic tribes of the Eurasian Steppe.

100 BCE - 200 CE - The emergence of the Silk Road saw the rise and fall of four great global empires and the spread of trade encouraged the spread of philosophy and religion across the whole of the Eurasian landmass.

400 - 100 BCE - Classical cultures flourished very quickly during this period.  Empires grew to significant proportions and this time, not just in one area of the world.

700 - 400 BCE - From the time when the Assyrians were the greatest power on the planet, a sudden surge of culture and learning from east to west would bring the world forward from a relative dark age to an age of modern thinking.

250 - 900 - Before the canoe building Mayans that Europeans encountered, Mayan ancestors dominated the Guatemala highlands hidden in the dense rainforest and building great temples and palaces to honour their traditions and rituals.