Ancient Assassins - Episode Guide

The 47 Ronin, the Samurai followers of feudal lord Asano Naganori, mount the perfect covert operation in early 18th-century Japan.

The Ghost Warriors, a fanatical corps of proud and independent fighters, trained to fight at night. These elite special forces of ancient Germany would appear out of the dark, sowing fear and panic among their enemies like the Romans.

Viking long ships roll up to Lindisfarne in 793 and launch a brutal attack on the Island's monastery that forever impacts England's history.

Hawaiian Koa warriors were the special forces of their time. As battlefield champions and royal bodyguard, they were grand masters of a martial art called Lua. More than mindless warriors, the Koa were on a lifelong quest for Mana: a spiritual energy that symbolized power, influence and authority.

The Ninja, or Shiobi warrior, developed a unique set of tactics that typical armies could not execute.

"World's First Terrorists": In 11th Century Persia, the country we know as Iran, Hasan i Sabbah, the leader of the Ismailis (Shia), creates the Assassins to fight in the age old conflict between Shiite and Sunni Muslims.

The Spartans are bred for war, trained from youth to withstand pain and survive the harshest conditions. Their greatest warriors form an elite special forces unit, the Spartan 300, which aims to defeat the Persians.

The elite units of the Byzantine Army, the Varangian Guard, served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine Emperors, and originated primarily from Scandinavia and England. Along with the prowess in combat they wielded highly effective weapons.

Eagle Warriors, trained to capture and not kill, serve as the elite troops of the Aztec Empire, which dominated Central America from the 14th to 16th centuries.

During the Roman occupation of the Holy Land in the first century, the Sicarii serve as hitmen, working toward the liberation of Judea and the unification of the country.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.