The Worst Episodes of Dates That Made History

#1 Worst Episode
Click to reveal
6.2/10(11 votes)
#1 - October 17 1961 - The Paris Massacre
S2:E1010/18/2020
On October 17, 1961, at the call of the FLN, 20 to 30,000 Algerians from France peacefully marched through Paris. 12,000 people were arrested. The round-up, organized by the police prefect Maurice Papon, was followed by very brutal abuses and numerous disappearances.
Director:Juliette Garcias
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Juliette Garcias
Writer:Unknown
6.2/10(9 votes)
#2 - October 1860 - The Sacking of the Summer Palace in Beijing
S2:E1210/25/2020
The capture and looting of Emperor Qing Xianfeng's two summer palaces in Beijing (Peking) was the culmination of the Second Opium War; pitting the colonial powers of France and the United Kingdom against China. Yet it was also a double-edged sword.
Director:Juliette Garcias
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Juliette Garcias
Writer:Unknown
6.5/10(12 votes)
#3 - -18000 - The Lascaux Cave
S2:E59/13/2020
Despite its worldwide fame, Lascaux is no longer considered to be the “Palace of Versailles” or the “Sistine Chapel” of prehistory, and is no longer considered to be the place of invention or creation of art. What if Lascaux was actually from a “Middle Ages” of prehistoric and human art?
Director:Jean-Christophe Ribot
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Jean-Christophe Ribot
Writer:Unknown
6.9/10(12 votes)
#4 - 1000 - The Millennium
S2:E1411/8/2020
What happened in the year 1000? Nothing: this date does not correspond to any major event. The passage from the first to the second millennium was not really an event for those who lived through it. The infamous “Terrors of the Year 1000” were largely an invention of 19th century Romantic historiography.
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
6.7/10(6 votes)
#5 - 212 - Constitutio Antoniniana
S3:E210/12/2025
In 212 AD, the imperial law known as the Edict of Caracalla extended Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire. It is a fundamental law of the late Roman Empire, establishing the core principles of identity and citizenship. What does this event reveal about 3rd-century Rome? With Audrey Bertrand.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
6.7/10(6 votes)
#6 - June 1, 1310 - Marguerite Porete dies at the stake
S3:E1111/9/2025
The mystic Marguerite Porete was burned at the stake in Paris in 1310. She had written a book that the Church considered heretical. Against the backdrop of the trials of heretics and political opponents under Philip the Fair, the question arises: Was Marguerite Porete's gruesome death a harbinger of the later witch hunts?
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown

TRENDING NOW

The 20 BEST Episodes of Dates That Made History

READ

6.8/10(6 votes)
#7 - June 30, 1936 - Haile Selassie's Speech before the League of Nations
S3:E59/28/2025
When Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia denounced the Italian invasion of his country before the League of Nations General Assembly on June 30, 1936, he called upon nations to uphold their obligations under international law. However, the silence of the major powers turned the Ethiopian crisis into a scene of political capitulation.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
6.8/10(6 votes)
#8 - September 24, 1877 - The Battle of Shiroyama
S3:E1411/2/2025
On September 24, 1877, the Imperial Japanese Army defeated the last samurai who had revolted against the forced modernization desired by Emperor Meiji. The portrayal of the battle and its protagonists is often reduced to an opposition between an archaic Japan and Western modernity. However, the story is much more complex.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.0/10(10 votes)
#9 - The Revolutions of 1848
S2:E1110/25/2020
The expression “Spring of Nations” inspired the more recent “Arab Spring” of 2011. Also known as the Springtime of the Peoples, the period was characterized by a cascade of national claims. However, these movements had difficulties in coordinating, for the simple reason that these movements first of all stemmed from a desire to draw definite borders, rather than to open them.
Director:Pascal Goblot
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Pascal Goblot
Writer:Unknown
7.0/10(7 votes)
#10 - The Flood
S3:E912/7/2025
The flood is the most widely shared origin myth in human history. It marks a turning point in human history and divides time in two. Archaeological discoveries, such as those of George Smith in the 19th century, have revealed accounts older than the Bible. A brief exercise in comparative mythology.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.0/10(6 votes)
#11 - International Workers' Day
S3:E19/7/2025
May 1st, far more than just "Labor Day," has its roots in workers' struggles that began in Paris in 1889. Its symbols, such as the red triangle, representing the equal distribution of time in a day, or the hawthorn, with its more tragic connotations, are emblems of a dream of emancipation but also of disillusionment. Even today, its message resonates in the streets around the world.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.0/10(6 votes)
#12 - 1521 - The Conquest of Tenochtitlán
S3:E49/21/2025
On August 13, 1521, Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, fell to Hernán Cortés after a months-long siege. With its conquest, the Spanish conquistador not only conquered one of the world's largest cities, but also the spiritual center of a highly developed civilization. The conquest is not only part of Mexican history, but also of Europe's colonial conscience.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.0/10(6 votes)
#13 - 221 BC - Founding of the Chinese Empire
S3:E1510/26/2025
In 221 BC, the king of Qin, a small state on the western edge of China, defeated the Warring States period and unified the Chinese Empire. Tradition has made this first emperor the founder of a political system that presents itself as immutable. But when did this date come into being? Since when has 221 BC been considered the year zero of imperial China?
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(22 votes)
#14 - 323 BC: Death of Alexander the Great
S1:E33/24/2018
Alexander’s death marks the loss of the greatest conquerors in History, the only man who managed to extend the Empire to Eurasia, the Mediterranean and India. Different versions of The Romance of Alexander were found in the Persian, Arabian and Latin regions of the world, but also in Mali.
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(11 votes)
#15 - -399 - The Trial of Socrates
S2:E810/4/2020
Why was Socrates condemned by the city of Athens? Was the figure of the master thinker, who could subvert the youth, really a danger to a Greek democracy that was more idealized than it was understood?
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(9 votes)
#16 - 1324 - Mansa Musa's Pilgrimage to Mecca
S2:E1611/22/2020
The Arab chronicles of the fourteenth century bristle with a rumor: from the farthest lands to the west of the known world, across the Sahara desert, a black emperor and his court crossed the lands of Islam on a pilgrimage to Mecca, staying in what was at the time the capital of the Islamic world, Cairo.
Director:Lucie Cariès
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Lucie Cariès
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(7 votes)
#17 - April 21 1526 - Babur Takes Over India at Panipat
S2:E1811/29/2020
On April 21, 1526, the little king of Kabul Babur boldly took northern India from the Sultan of Delhi, Ibrahim Lodi. With his victory, the time of the second Islamization begins, which will spread to the shores of Indonesia.
Director:Juliette Garcias
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Juliette Garcias
Writer:Unknown
7.2/10(6 votes)
#18 - 1720 - Europe's First Financial Crisis
S3:E611/16/2025
The collapse of the financial system designed by the Scotsman John Law to pay off Louis XIV's enormous debts is considered the first major stock market crash in European history. But what makes this moment so significant? Is it the failure of the paper money bank – or the deeper insight it provides into the power and debt regime of the French monarchy?
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(6 votes)
#19 - 1648 - The Peace of Westphalia
S3:E1010/19/2025
On October 24, 1648, the treaties ending the Thirty Years' War were signed in Münster. The Peace of Westphalia established the principles of state sovereignty and religious freedom and is considered the foundation of a new international order. How do wars end? Are we experiencing a crisis of the Westphalian system today?
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(6 votes)
#20 - 800 - The Coronation of Charlemagne
S3:E1310/5/2025
In the year 800, on Christmas Day, Charlemagne was crowned emperor in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Pope Leo III – an act that, in history books, marks the rebirth of the Western Roman Empire. But behind this solemn moment lies a complex interplay of power, religion, and political symbolism.
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Unknown
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(10 votes)
#21 - -52 - The Siege of Alesia
S2:E28/30/2020
The defeat of Alesia, in 52 BC, marked the end of the well-known “Gallic War”, immortalized by its winner, Julius Caesar. Year zero of our French national history, Alesia became the founding act of an improbable Gallic unit, personalized in the guise of an impossible hero, Vercingetorix.
Director:Thomas Sipp
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Thomas Sipp
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(13 votes)
#22 - August 25 1270 - King Louis IX Dies in Carthage
S2:E910/11/2020
On 25 August 1270 Louis IX died on the hill above Carthage. He was the only king in the history of France to die outside of national borders; even worse, on non-Christian soil. This day was a milestone in the career of a saint in the making. Even though the canonization of Saint Louis did not take place until 27 years later, in 1297.
Director:Benoît Laborde
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Benoît Laborde
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(13 votes)
#23 - July 4 1776 - The American Declaration of Independence
S2:E1311/1/2020
The American revolution is sometimes watered down to the point where it can become an almost silent revolution.
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(14 votes)
#24 - April 21 -753 - The Foundation of Rome
S2:E18/30/2020
April 21, 753 BC: The Roman world was certain of its foundation date for more than 1000 years. The mythical tale, Ab Urbe Condita, formalized by Titus Livius, was based on the struggle of its founding twins: sons to a god, Mars, and a virgin, Rhea Silvia. Archaeological research and historical critics are now convinced of two things: the city is older and the myth is more recent.
Director:Lucie Cariès
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Lucie Cariès
Writer:Unknown
7.3/10(20 votes)
#25 - 11 February 1990: Liberation of Nelson Mandela
S1:E63/31/2018
“I stand here before you not as a prophet, but as a humble servant of you, the people” : those are the first words pronounced by Nelson Mandela after his release from prison, after 27 years of incarceration. The event struck a chord worldwide, reminding us that South Africa, historically, was not only the first country to be colonised but also the last country to be decolonised.
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown
Be the first to start the conversation for this episode
Director:Denis van Waerebeke
Writer:Unknown