Leaving the Hundred Years War, English mercenary Sir John Hawkwood makes a name for himself in 14th-century Italy by serving a variety of sponsors, including Pope Gregory XI in the War of the Eight Saints. This medieval English knight with his army, the White Company, becomes the scourge of Italy, often without striking a single blow. 

The Battle of Leuctra in 371 B.C. pits the ancient Greek superpower of Sparta against Thebes, with the decisive blow enabled by the Sacred Band of Thebes ending Spartan dominance. Formed as a branch of the Theban army, the Sacred Band of Thebes was an elite fighting force consisting of 150 pairs of gay lovers.

The Swiss Guard, founded January 22, 1506, is the elite bodyguard for the Pope. It protected Pope Clement VII on May 6, 1527 during the Sack of Rome by 20,000 German and Spanish mercenaries commanded by the Duc de Bourbon. When the Habsburg Emperor was unable to pay this army, the mercenaries' contract allowed for looting. Bourbn decided to attack Rome, full of riches and almost defenseless. The Swiss Guard consisted of 189 men, lead by their Captain, Kaspar Roist. The unit lost 142 men including Roist while killing 900 mercenaries. The remaining Swiss Guard evacuated Pope Clement VII to Castel Sant' Angelo using the "Passetto", a secret corridor constructed under Pope Alexander VI along the top of a wall between the Vatican and the Castel.

In 1644 China, Ng Mui escapes from Beijing as the Manchus conquer the Ming dynasty capital. Taking refuge in a Shaolin monastery, she learns their Kung Fu and develops a new form of the martial art, Wing Chun.

Backed with overwhelming force, Pagan Vikings wrestle King Alfred for control of 9th century England.

English King Edward I invades Scotland in 1296 and only William Wallace is prepared to stand in his way as he grows from outlaw to army general.

Batavians, an amphibious Roman unit, lead the invasion of ancient Britain in 43 AD in a desperate mission deep in enemy territory that may hand the emperor an unlikely victory.

In Twelfth-Century Japan one samurai humiliates all the others – a woman. As lethal as she was lovely, Tomoe Gozen defeated the finest swordsmen, battled tyranny and innovated on the battlefield.

In 327 BC, Alexander the Great confronts a rebel warlord in an impregnable mountain stronghold called Sogdian Rock. He dispatches 300 hand-picked warriors to scale the sheer rock face, at night, without being detected. It's a brutal test of climbing skill and raw courage. The warlord is Oxyartes of Bactria, whose daughter Roxana later marries Alexander the Great.

The Season 2 premiere focuses on Vlad "The Impaler" Tepes, a ruthless 15th-century Romanian prince, and the legends of brutal mass murder against his enemies and his own people. Tepes was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula."