The Ancient World

Episode A15 - Band of Brothers

Synopsis: Yamnaya migrations east and west carried their language and culture to the mountains of Siberia and plains of Hungary. Over the following centuries, their Corde

Episode A14 - Fame Imperishable

Synopsis: The fall of Old Europe and dissolution of the Cucuteni-Tripolye Culture left horse-riding steppe-herders the unchallenged paradigm on the Pontic-Caspian steppe.

Episode A13 - The Steppe and The Sewn

SEASON 3 PREMIERE Synopsis: Despite the generally inhospitable environment, many ancient hunter-gatherers made the Northern Steppe their home. During the 6th and 5th mil

Episode A12 - The Flood

SEASON 2 FINALE Synopsis: Shulgi and his successors face major challenges to Ur III rule, including Amorite attacks, Sumerian rivals, and a newly-emboldened Shimashki.

Episode A11 - Behind the Mountains

Synopsis: The Proto-Elamite horizon sparked innovation and trade throughout Iran and Central Asia, and its collapse saw the emergence of numerous “secondary states”. Towa

Episode A10 - The Sword of Sumer

Synopsis: Ur-Namma unifies Sumer and ejects the Elamites. His son, King Shulgi, designs a new empire and begins a push for Zagros domination. “The trustworthy shepherd,

Episode A9 - Seventy Kings

Synopsis: With the fall of the Old Kingdom, power devolves to the various nomes. The Herakleopolitan House of Khety extends control over most of Egypt before eventually b

Episode A8 - Who Was King

[NOTE: This new version features improved audio] Synopsis: The impacts of the Aridification Event lead to Akkadian collapse. Gudea of Lagash asserts independence and she

Episode A7 - The Abode of Clouds

Synopsis: The science behind the 4.2 kiloyear BPE Aridification Event. “The great farming tracts brought forth no grain, The irrigated farming tracts brought forth no f

Episode A6 - The Reign of Ishtar

Synopsis: The Akkadian Empire reaches its zenith under the rule of Naram-Sin. “Its king, the shepherd, Naram-Sin, Shone forth like sunrise on the holy throne of Agade,

Episode A5 - The Cupbearer

Synopsis: Sargon of Akkad forges the world’s first Empire. “After Enlil’s baleful glare Had slain Kish like the Bull of Heaven, Had slaughtered house and land of Uruk

Episode A4 - The Pinnacle

Synopsis: This episode covers the rise and fall of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. “The Second Dynasty consists of nine kings of This. The first was Boethos, for 38 years. In

Bonus Feed-Swap with The History of Egypt Podcast

Hi everyone! My friend Dominic at THoE and I are doing a feed-swap this week. It's a great chance to introduce you to his new set of episodes on the pharaoh Ramesses II.

Episode A3 - Kings of Kish

Synopsis: This episode covers the Early Dynastic Period in Sumer and northern Syria. “Eannatum gave the great battle net of Enlil to the leader of Umma and made him swea

Episode A2 - The First Royal House

Synopsis: This episode covers the early civilizations of Egypt and the Caucasus region, including the Kura-Araxes and Maikop. “In succession to the Spirits of the Dead a

Episode A1 - The Four Quarters

Synopsis: The launch of “The Ancient World – Ages”, a new series covering the Early Bronze Age Collapse (c. 2200 BC) and the remaking of Southwest Eurasia. We start thing

Episode S8 - Decumbo

Synopsis: Part 2 of a two-part Spotlight series on the rise and fall of the Roman Emperor Galerius: refugee, herdsman, soldier, Caesar, Augustus, Tetrarch, conqueror, sch

Episode S7 - Ascendo

Synopsis: Part 1 of a two-part Spotlight series on the rise and fall of the Roman Emperor Galerius: refugee, herdsman, soldier, Caesar, Augustus, Tetrarch, conqueror, sch

Episode C30 - The Death of Kings

Synopsis: Faced with a series of disloyal vassals, Sargon conquers the remaining Neo-Hittite kingdoms and absorbs them into his empire. The Cimmerian invasion of Anatolia

Episode C29 - City of the Raven

Synopsis: Rusa of Urartu wins early victories against Assyrian armies, but his intrigues in the Zagros kingdom of Mannea earn him Sargon’s wrath. After a crushing defeat