Marcus du Sautoy uncovers the use of a decimal system based on ten fingers of the hand and looks at the contributions of the great Greek mathematicians.
Marcus du Sautoy looks at the rise of mathematics in the east, discovering how it helped build imperial China and finding out about the invention of algebra.
Marcus du Sautoy investigates the ways in which Europe replaced the Middle East as the world's powerhouse of mathematical ideas by the 17th century.
Marcus du Sautoy concludes his look at the history of mathematics by examining the great unsolved problems that confronted mathematicians in the 20th century.