TV Guide PBS America Tuesday

How the discovery of an executed man in Northern Italy revealed the brutal truth behind the Roman practice of crucifixion and shed new light on the most famous crucifixion of all

English Classical scholar Mary Beard explores the physical world of the Roman Empire, finding surprising parallels with our own world. She discovers a vast empire bound together by a common material culture, and a globalised economy of such scale that evidence of its side-effects can still be seen today. As Mary examines a huge commercial and cultural network, she takes in the vital supply of olive oil to Rome, the slave trade, and the silver mines of Spain. Following the famous Roman road network, the presenter also reveals another side to the Roman Empire, where builders and traders eclipse soldiers, and slaves make the most of a hugely connected new world

An insight into Imperial Japan's military motives, culture, startling initial success as an aggressor, and eventual dramatic downfall, beginning as the Empire of Japan rises on the international stage

The presence of American soldiers - nicknamed the 'Sammies', (that is sent by Uncle Sam) - on French soil during the Great War is virtually unknown. Yet, two million arrived in France between 1917 and 1918 to fight on the bloody battlefields alongside French and English troops