Smithsonian Channel The first great empire of the Akkadians, led by Sargon the Great, dominated the Fertile Crescent, replacing the Sumerians and extending its influence as far north as Syria and south as Oman. 2026-05-15 Shed light on the origins of organized warfare and the brutality it left behind. Hunt for the beginnings of organized combat in Germany, find evidence of Roman power in Denmark, and ponder the symbolic role of elite fighters in Iron Age Britain. 2026-05-15 Dive into the mystery of the HMS Terror, an Arctic ship found 150 years after it and its crew vanished without a trace. See if the explosion of the SS Sultana on the Mississippi was an accident or sabotage, then board the ghost ship Mary Celeste. 2026-05-15 The first great empire of the Akkadians, led by Sargon the Great, dominated the Fertile Crescent, replacing the Sumerians and extending its influence as far north as Syria and south as Oman. 2026-05-15 Shed light on the origins of organized warfare and the brutality it left behind. Hunt for the beginnings of organized combat in Germany, find evidence of Roman power in Denmark, and ponder the symbolic role of elite fighters in Iron Age Britain. 2026-05-15 Dive into the mystery of the HMS Terror, an Arctic ship found 150 years after it and its crew vanished without a trace. See if the explosion of the SS Sultana on the Mississippi was an accident or sabotage, then board the ghost ship Mary Celeste. 2026-05-15 The first great empire of the Akkadians, led by Sargon the Great, dominated the Fertile Crescent, replacing the Sumerians and extending its influence as far north as Syria and south as Oman. 2026-05-15 Shed light on the origins of organized warfare and the brutality it left behind. Hunt for the beginnings of organized combat in Germany, find evidence of Roman power in Denmark, and ponder the symbolic role of elite fighters in Iron Age Britain. 2026-05-15 Dive into the mystery of the HMS Terror, an Arctic ship found 150 years after it and its crew vanished without a trace. See if the explosion of the SS Sultana on the Mississippi was an accident or sabotage, then board the ghost ship Mary Celeste. 2026-05-15 The first great empire of the Akkadians, led by Sargon the Great, dominated the Fertile Crescent, replacing the Sumerians and extending its influence as far north as Syria and south as Oman. 2026-05-15 The journey down the attraction-packed Niagara River is filled with adventure and beauty; navigating the fascinating history and engineering of this border river between Canada and the United States, arriving at the world-famous Niagara Falls. 2026-05-15 Strange aquatic mammals populating a river in Columbia; a ship marooned in a sea of sand along Namibia's notorious Skeleton Coast; a Boeing 727 jetliner hidden in a pine forest; an unusual pattern is discovered in the Nevada desert. 2026-05-15 A journey along Ireland's longest river, the Shannon, through an emerald green landscape of rolling hills and sparkling waters; how Vikings, monks and kings have all made their mark. 2026-05-15 Phil Risko's team at Northstar works fast to refloat a trawler that's been blown onto the shore of a national park in New Jersey; the team improvises to get it back to sea before it suffers further damage. 2026-05-15 Strange aquatic mammals populating a river in Columbia; a ship marooned in a sea of sand along Namibia's notorious Skeleton Coast; a Boeing 727 jetliner hidden in a pine forest; an unusual pattern is discovered in the Nevada desert. 2026-05-15 The journey down the attraction-packed Niagara River is filled with adventure and beauty; navigating the fascinating history and engineering of this border river between Canada and the United States, arriving at the world-famous Niagara Falls. 2026-05-15 Follow the meteoric rise of the Macedonian conqueror who seized Egypt and built an empire that stretched from Europe to Asia; find out how founding the city of Alexandria and becoming a pharaoh transformed Alexander's life before his death at age 32. 2026-05-15 Part 2/6. Uncover the secrets of the Old Kingdom ruler who revolutionized architecture alongside his vizier, Imhotep; piece together the mysterious life of the very first king to build a step pyramid in the heart of a grandiose and complex burial site. 2026-05-15 Ramesses II reigns for 66 years and builds monuments and temples. 2026-05-15 Delve into the history of the Fourth Dynasty monarch responsible for one of the great pyramids; examine the tyrannical reputation of this ancient leader and decipher the complex strategies he used to guide such a massive building project. 2026-05-15 Part 5/6. Chart the turbulent reign of a brilliant strategist who allied herself with powerful Roman leaders in the hopes of saving her kingdom; examine the battle against Octavian that ended three millennia of Egyptian history and sealed Cleopatra's fate. 2026-05-15 Part 6/6. Unearth the dramatic final days of the Twentieth Dynasty's great warrior king, Ramses III; view a rare judicial papyrus that recounts the story of an assassination plot hatched in the royal harem; see what the monarch's mummy reveals today. 2026-05-15 Shed light on the origins of organized warfare and the brutality it left behind. Hunt for the beginnings of organized combat in Germany, find evidence of Roman power in Denmark, and ponder the symbolic role of elite fighters in Iron Age Britain. 2026-05-15 Dive into the mystery of the HMS Terror, an Arctic ship found 150 years after it and its crew vanished without a trace. See if the explosion of the SS Sultana on the Mississippi was an accident or sabotage, then board the ghost ship Mary Celeste. 2026-05-15 An American submarine crew gets an order: to hunt Japanese ships that are conducting a secret VIP evacuation in the Philippines in June 1945; examining the stealthy, dangerous tactics they used that would set a US Navy record. 2026-05-16 The massive AC-130 provides unparalleled close air support to U.S. and allied ground troops. 2026-05-16 By the summer of 1944, the United States is gaining the upper hand in the Pacific War with better training, troop numbers and supply lines; it aims for the heart of Japan's inner defense ring, engaging in a naval battle for Saipan in the Marianas. 2026-05-16 An American submarine crew gets an order: to hunt Japanese ships that are conducting a secret VIP evacuation in the Philippines in June 1945; examining the stealthy, dangerous tactics they used that would set a US Navy record. 2026-05-16 The massive AC-130 provides unparalleled close air support to U.S. and allied ground troops. 2026-05-16 By the summer of 1944, the United States is gaining the upper hand in the Pacific War with better training, troop numbers and supply lines; it aims for the heart of Japan's inner defense ring, engaging in a naval battle for Saipan in the Marianas. 2026-05-16 An American submarine crew gets an order: to hunt Japanese ships that are conducting a secret VIP evacuation in the Philippines in June 1945; examining the stealthy, dangerous tactics they used that would set a US Navy record. 2026-05-16 The massive AC-130 provides unparalleled close air support to U.S. and allied ground troops. 2026-05-16 By the summer of 1944, the United States is gaining the upper hand in the Pacific War with better training, troop numbers and supply lines; it aims for the heart of Japan's inner defense ring, engaging in a naval battle for Saipan in the Marianas. 2026-05-16 An American submarine crew gets an order: to hunt Japanese ships that are conducting a secret VIP evacuation in the Philippines in June 1945; examining the stealthy, dangerous tactics they used that would set a US Navy record. 2026-05-16 The search for water is actually the search for life, and that search is taking man to some unusual places, including a moon of Saturn. 2026-05-16 Scientists are now probing to detect gravity waves in space and mapping the gravity patterns of the moon for the first time. 2026-05-16 A journey down one of the wild rivers in the world, the Yukon; the unusual trip starts in an aircraft piloted by a painter and the odyssey ends with a visit to a graveyard of disintegrating rear-wheel steamers. 2026-05-16 Come across a set of disturbingly familiar stone monoliths in Colombia, then explore a lost city in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; puzzle over an ancient ruin in Corinth, Greece, and explore an old structure on a Maltese island. 2026-05-16 The search for water is actually the search for life, and that search is taking man to some unusual places, including a moon of Saturn. 2026-05-16 Scientists are now probing to detect gravity waves in space and mapping the gravity patterns of the moon for the first time. 2026-05-16 At the mouth of the Suez Canal, Lino Arosemena and his crew have a monster repair job of removing and refitting a 20-ton propeller. 2026-05-16 The search for water is actually the search for life, and that search is taking man to some unusual places, including a moon of Saturn. 2026-05-16 Paid programming. 2026-05-16 New discoveries and new science tell the story of how the ancient Mayans built such an incredible society in a tropical rainforest over two thousand years and then vanished. 2026-05-16 Experience the deep distrust and aggression that pushes the world closer to nuclear war; follow a Soviet incursion into the territorial waters of Sweden and Finland and see how northern nations prepare for a battle that is only a button-push away. 2026-05-16 An elite squad of Norwegians destroy a power plant in 1943 that the Nazis may have been using for nuclear weapons research. 2026-05-16 Incredible footage, colorized for the first time, chronicles the final days of the Third Reich and the brutal battle for Berlin, though German defeat looked certain. Nazi soldiers persisted in fighting despite the inevitability of their downfall. 2026-05-16 The Germans begin a retreat on the eve of the polar winter; the Soviet Union begins a major offensive in the north; the Finns push the Germans towards their defensive line. 2026-05-16 An American submarine crew gets an order: to hunt Japanese ships that are conducting a secret VIP evacuation in the Philippines in June 1945; examining the stealthy, dangerous tactics they used that would set a US Navy record. 2026-05-16 An elite squad of Norwegians destroy a power plant in 1943 that the Nazis may have been using for nuclear weapons research. 2026-05-16 The Germans begin a retreat on the eve of the polar winter; the Soviet Union begins a major offensive in the north; the Finns push the Germans towards their defensive line. 2026-05-16 Track German tank commander Georg Gaertner, vanishes from a U.S. POW camp and eludes the FBI for 40 years; learn how two escaped Auschwitz prisoners help save countless lives and how Nazi officer Adolf Eichmann is finally brought to justice. 2026-05-17