Roberts explores the origins of western civilisation and religion, through the Greeks, the Jews, the Romans, and the Byzantines - and how Christianity emerged across the centuries.

John Roberts explores the rise of philosophical and Christian thought in Europe of the Middle Ages, and how the shift took place from the era of the Roman Empire to a sense of 'Europe' as concept.

The rise of Islam and the West's response to this great debate during the Middle Ages, including the Crusades and the conquest of Spain.

The rise and decline of the Byzantine Empire, and the rise of Russia from Kievan Rus until WWI, and an examination of how the East of Europe separated, culturally and spiritually, from the West.