1. Building the Dream

In the opening film of this series on the Byzantine empire, John Romer traces the origins and growth of Byzantium, which under the aegis of Emperor Constantine developed from a small Greek town into a vast empire. The newly named Constantinople soon became a match for Rome. Romer also shows how it rapidly became known as a religious centre and as a cradle of great art and architecture.

2. Heaven on Earth

John Romer continues his exploration of the Byzantium empire by looking at the creation of Christian art, with the face of Christ and the Virgin Mary first being portrayed. From the Scala Sancta, the oldest chapel of the popes in Rome where an icon is said to be the true face of Jesus to the border fortresses of Roman Syria, never before filmed.

4. Forever and Ever

In the last programme in the series, John Romer tells how the Byzantium empire finally crumbled. Already weakened by the ravages of rogue Crusaders it succumbed to the invasion of the Ottoman empire of Turkey and the Christian centre of the world became the Islamic city of Istanbul. The scattered refugees took their art and culture worldwide, including Florence, Rome and even Romania to give the world a lasting artistic and cultural legacy that is the link between ancient Rome and Greece and the modern world.