Most consider the Israelite Exodus out of Egypt an act of Divine intervention. Whether inspired by God or not, the Exodus is not merely a migration of slaves, but a military maneuver by a group of combat-hardened mercenaries. An enraged Pharaoh releases his army to hunt the Israelites down after they sack an Egyptian town as they make their exit. But Moses's sharp military mind and intimate knowledge of the terrain prove more than the massive, heavily armed Egyptian army can handle. While the Israelites perform a complicated night water crossing, Moses lures the Egyptians to a watery grave in the Sea of Reeds.

In this bloody first battle of the conquest of the Promised Land, Joshua's special operations forces secretly infiltrate and destroy Jericho from the inside out. The walls of Jericho are believed to be impenetrable. But Joshua's spies find a defector in Jericho named Rahab. As Joshua's army parades around the walled city for six days, the Israelites sneak special ops forces into Rahab's house. Once they amass forty soldiers inside, Joshua and his army outside the city blow their horns and attack. The forty troops inside catch the city completely unaware, and the city falls. Only Rahab is spared from the massive bloodletting that is the taking of Jericho.

It's 1000 BC, and the Israelites are battling the Philistines. After wresting control of the throne of Israel in a bloody civil war, David moves quickly to destroy those who challenge his right to the throne, and then turns his sword on his political enemies. Finally, David sets his sites on a new target--the beautiful Bathsheba, but she is already married. For someone like David this is a minor impediment. He sends her husband to his death in battle, a battle that eventually propels Israel into becoming an empire.

One of Egypt's greatest pharaohs, Ramses II, confronts the biggest menace to his reign at the Battle of Kadesh (circa 1300 BC). The Hittite King Muwatallish gathers his allies against Ramses' army, positioning his forces in an ambush.

Marathon, Greece, September 490 BC. King Darius leads his Persian army in an attack on Greece. When the Persian fleet, carrying massive infantry and cavalry, arrived on Greek soil at Marathon Bay, the Greeks were outnumbered 4:1.

Using cutting-edge computer gaming technology, we recreate conflicts that shaped the ancient world and witness great battles like never before. Hosted on location by Matthew Settle (Band of Brothers), we return to Thermopylae in 480 BC.

Return to the scene of one of Alexander the Great's most decisive battles, where he wrested control of the Persian Empire from Darius III. Using cutting-edge computer gaming technology, we recreate the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC.

In 197 BC, the classic military conflict between the Ancient World's two dominant military systems took place in a chain of hills called Cynoscephalae (Greek for "Dogs' Heads") in Thessaly, Greece.

Spartacus is one of the Ancient World's most famous figures. A Thracian soldier, Spartacus was captured by Romans and sold as a slave for training as a gladiator. With 70 other gladiators, he escaped and hid on Mount Vesuvius.

Although he may have been the richest man in Rome, Crassus was the political poor relation in the First Triumvirate. He needed military laurels to raise him up to the level of Pompey and Caesar, and he chose to try to get them in Parthia.

Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC, gaining submission of the six eastern Celtic tribes. As the Roman Empire's farthest flung province, its merchants enjoyed a healthy trade with Roman Gaul, and for about 100 years, the tribes were mainly left alone. But in 60 AD, a warrior queen named Boudicca rose in revolt. When her husband died, Boudicca became Queen of the Iceni. Roman administrators tried to control the Iceni by appropriating their land and disarming the tribe. After the Romans flogged Boudicca and raped her two daughters, she raised a mighty army believed to number over 100,000 and took the fight to the Romans.

The Roman Empire is crumbling. The once-mighty power has now been split in two, and the barbarians are at the gates. Literally. The ravages of the Hunnic hordes behind them mean the Visigoths are forced to beg Rome to let them cross the Danube.

Chalons, 451 AD. What made this battle so compelling? Attila the Hun, the terrifying menace who had his eyes set on what was left of the Western Roman Empire.