Ancient Black Ops

Synopsis

From Ancient Greece to the frozen North, rulers have always needed their elite troops – men trained to perfection, skilled with a devastating array of weaponry – men who will track down their leader’s enemies and kill them. All assassination teams faced one big problem: getting close enough to kill. No one in the ancient world had sniper rifles. As a result even the most formidable Japanese Ninjas got captured and tortured. This series brings some of the most dramatic tales of antiquity to life with a mixture of dramatic reconstruction, documentary filming and expert testimony. Each episode details the intricate complexity of the elite troops who performed the assassination missions and how they worked. It shows what they had to do to achieve elite status, how they could dress, and the weapons they got to use when they completed their first mission.

First Air Date: 2014-09-17

Last Air Date: 2014-11-19

Number of Seasons: 1

Number of Episodes: 10

Networks: U&Yesterday

View Technical Specifications on IMDb

Top Cast

Kumud Pant as High Priest
Umit Ulgen as King Saladin
Murtaza Arif as Mamluk 2
Max Bracey as Harald Hardrada
Martin Krøis Holtmann as Himself
Nicholas Marshall as Assassin

Seasons

Season 1 (2014)

No overview available for this season.

Episodes:

Ep. 1: Assassins (2014-09-17)

The true story of the Assassins. Originally a persecuted band of Ismailis, a Shi’ite Muslim sect, they found themselves vastly outnumbered by the Sunnis of medieval Persia. So they developed a special way of fighting back - killing their enemies’ leaders by using stealth, infiltration and their skills with a dagger (image shows an assassin receiving a dagger for his first mission in Persia). They would go on to murder the King of the Crusaders on the eve of his coronation.
Ep. 2: Spartans (2014-09-24)

How the training of the Spartan 300 is bizarrely similar to that of today’s special forces. Here we see the distinctive Spartan helmet (pictured) protects them from spear thrusts and sword strikes. Within this battled hardened group of of warriors was an elite of the elite- the Krypteia – a secret death squad. The story goes that they set out to kill the invading Persian Emperor.
Ep. 3: The Sicarii (2014-10-01)

The specialist hit squads that wreaked havoc against the Roman invaders in Jerusalem. This deadly band of stealthy assassins would eventually be cornered in the mighty hilltop fortress of Masada. What happened next has horrified and fascinated the world ever since. Image shows the ruins at Masada with the Dead Sea in background.
Ep. 4: The Ghost Warrior (2014-10-08)

The Germanic Ghost Warriors were one of the first special forces trained to fight specifically at night. They emerged out of the fiercely independent tribes of Germania, the wild lands to the North of the Roman Empire. When a huge Roman Army came to conquer their territory, the Ghost Warriors helped inflict the worst defeat in Roman history.
Ep. 5: Viking Berserkers (2014-10-15)

The Viking Beserkers were the elite shock-troops of Viking warlords. Fuelled by alcohol, religious fervour and possibly hallucinogenic magic mushrooms, they believed they could adopt the spirits of wild animals. One single Viking Beserker, after working himself up into a frenzy, held up an entire Saxon army with just an axe.
Ep. 6: The Varangian Guard (2014-10-22)

A look at the story of the Varangian Guard, the elite bodyguards of the Byzantine Emperor.
Ep. 7: Aztec Eagle Warriors (2014-10-29)

A look at the story of what happened when 2 planes ended up on a collision course above Brazil.
Ep. 8: Hawaiian Koa Warriors (2014-11-05)

A look at the formidable Hawaiian Koa Warriors trained in the art of Loa, Hawaii's own martial arts.
Ep. 9: Ninja (2014-11-12)

The history of Ninja's, who first were a division of Japan's greatest Shogun.
Ep. 10: The 47 Ronin (2014-11-19)

A look at the group of 47 Ronin - dishonoured Samurais who had lost their status.