The first episode looks at Nubia, in what is now northern Sudan, a kingdom that dominated a vast area of the eastern Sahara for thousands of years. Its people were described as barbarians and mercenaries, and yet Nubia has left us with some of the most spectacular monuments in the world.

Art historian Gus Casely-Hayford explores the history of the old African kingdom of Ethiopia, which ended when Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by the military in 1974.

Gus Casely-Hayford explores the history of Great Zimbabwe, a symbol of African genius which gives an insight into the empires which once dominated southern Africa.

Gus Casely-Hayford travels to Nigeria and Mali to explore the story behind a series of magnificent 16th-century bronzes made in the ancient kingdom of Benin.

Asante in West Africa was a kingdom that was built on gold and slaves, which ensured its important place in an economy that linked three continents.

In South Africa, Gus Casely-Hayford visits evocative sites in Zulu history and searches for the secrets behind the Zulu's cultural power and military strength.

Gus Casely-Hayford visits Morocco, once the centre of a vast kingdom created by African Berbers that stretched from northern Spain to West Africa.

Gus Casely-Hayford visits Uganda to explore how Bunyoro saw its dominance challenged by the rise of Buganda, a neighbouring kingdom on the shores of Lake Victoria.