Previous episode S1996E97 - John F. Kennedy Jr.: Child of a Dream
Number S1996E98
Episode runtime 45 minutes
Country United States
Original language English
Genres Documentary, History
External links TheTVDB page
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Last update 10 novembre 2026 - 00:15
on 11 databases

Solomon and Sheba: An Epic Love Story

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Solomon was the son of David and his beloved Bathsheba. He was a 12-year-old prodigy when he ascended to the throne of Israel. Yet for all his storied wisdom, his agnificent talent for palace building, and his 700 wives, Solomon remained a lonely and introspective man for most of his rule. Who was the mysterious and beautiful queen who finally captured the king's heart? Witness Solomon's evolution from his juvenile accession of the throne to his position as the wisest man of the ancient world.

BetaSeries' opinion

Secrets d'histoire Season 20 Finale: Stéphane Bern's Messalina Episode Ends a Season About Reputations on Trial

Twenty seasons in, "Secrets d'histoire" can still surprise its audience. The Season 20 finale aired on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, at 9:10 p.m. on France 3, and Stéphane Bern closed the season with one of the most notorious women of antiquity: Messalina, the third wife of Emperor Claudius. If you watched it, you already know it was more than a parade of Roman scandal. It was a careful re-examination of a woman whose name has been shorthand for depravity for almost two thousand years. If you haven't caught up yet, this debrief shows why the episode, and the whole season, deserves a place in your watchlist.

A finale that puts history's verdict on trial

The question at the centre of the finale was simple: does Messalina deserve the brutal nickname history gave her? Roman writers handed down a woman driven by insatiable desire and a hunger for power. Bern's team took that portrait apart piece by piece. They asked who wrote the story, why they wrote it, and what they gained from it. This is the series at its best. It doesn't simply retell a legend. It looks into how the legend was made. Messalina's world gave the episode plenty of drama: Caligula, Nero, Agrippina and the freedman Narcissus all appear, each with their own agenda in the deadly politics of the Julio-Claudian court. Without spoiling anything for latecomers, the finale's real emotional pull comes from the gap between the caricature and the young woman caught up in a machine much bigger than she was.

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