This two-part series recounts the story of the rise and fall of the Mongolian Empire. The Mongols were skilful administrators, the first 'global players' who guaranteed the uninterrupted exchange of goods and ideas between the Orient and the West for nearly 200 years. They were also far-sighted, bringing merchants, traders and settlers with extensive agricultural know-how to their lands. Only after the collapse of Mongol influence in the mid-14th century did routes to the Far East become unsafe.