Beer, as popular today as ever. Beer, an ever present in changing times. German beer, protected for 500 years, it's a mark of quality and an export success the world over. This documentary looks at the history of beer starting with the Sumerians, who invented it 5.000 years ago, to the Middle Ages and to the new trend of the future: craft beer. Prost!
The Obsidian Mirror is a mysterious artefact crafted from volcanic rock, and it's said to be a device used to communicate with supernatural beings; experts use cutting-edge tech to discover who made this strange relic and why. A golden disc can answer the biggest mystery of all: Are we alone in the universe? The Voynich manuscript is one enormous puzzle. What secrets are hidden in this bizarre 600 year old book that nobody can read?
April 1453. Sultan Mehmed II unleashes an artillery attack on Constantinople unlike any the world has ever known. It's the largest concentration of cannons that the world had seen in one place. The monumental task of keeping the Ottomans out of Constantinople falls on the shoulders of Genoese soldier of fortune Giovanni Giustiniani. He and his men must defend 14 miles of city walls. Mehmed launches his ambitious plans to break through the walls of Constantinople, but Giustiniani's mercenaries manage to forestall the attacks.
Mehmed II sends his elite troops into the teeth of Emperor Constantine's defenses along the city's ancient stone walls. The defenders, led by Italian soldier-of-fortune Giovanni Giustiniani, repel every attack. Mehmed's men dig underground tunnels in an attempt to shatter city walls. The tides turn against the Ottomans when a naval blockade founders.
Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II wages an epic campaign to take the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. Twenty-three armies have tried to take the legendary city and all have failed. Out of the carnage, one ruler will emerge victorious and shapes the course of history for centuries. For one empire to rise, another must fall. The Ottomans, former Anatolian warlords and nomads who've built a burgeoning empire are the biggest threat to the Romans' 1100-year reign. The death of Ottoman Sultan Murad II in 1451 unleashes a chain of events that will soon bring the Ottomans and Romans to the brink of war. After claiming the Ottoman throne, Mehmed II sends an unmistakable signal to Byzantine emperor Constantine XI.
