7.00 p.m. |HINT| Siege of Masada
Masada is an extraordinary place and an epic story. A seemingly
impregnable mountain fortress built by King Herod, it rises from the
Judean desert of Israel close by the Dead Sea. It's said that there,
2,000 years ago, a band of Jewish freedom fighters defied the might
of the Roman legions for three years. How did they hold out against
such odds? How did the Romans conduct a siege in such a hostile
environment? The Romans eventually battered their way into the
fortress. But in a famous act of defiance, all the Jews chose death
over slavery. Overnight 960 men, women, and children committed
suicide rather than submit to their Roman conquerors. Or did they?
Today, using the latest scientific tools and re-examining
archaeological evidence, experts are piecing together a new story of
the Masada siege, one that threatens to overturn a legend.

8.00 p.m. |HISTC| The Byzantines
Brilliance and brutality. Intellect and intrigue. Christianity and
carnage. As much of the world descended into the Dark Ages after the
fall of Rome, one civilization shone brilliantly: the Byzantine
Empire. With ruthless might and supreme ingenuity, the Byzantines
ruled over vast swaths of Europe and Asia for more than a thousand
years. A bridge to antiquity, it was Byzantium that preserved the
classical learning and science that would one day give rise to the
Renaissance.


HINT - History International

HISTC - History Television (Canada)