The Ancient World
Episodes
Episode B34 – Keepers of the Fire
26 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: King Artabanus of Parthia gathers his forces to seek revenge on Rome. Usurpation and war gain the Sasanids control over the southern ter...
Episode B33 – Semiramis
06 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Caracalla cuts a murderous path through Rome, and provokes a dangerous war with Parthia. After his murder, Julia Domna is forced to cont...
Episode B32 – The Fourth Caesar
22 Jul 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Severus’ close friendship with Plautianus estranges him from his family. In his final years, a rebellion in Britannia provides one las...
Episode B31 – Perish in Blood
30 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Severus confronts Albinus at Lugdunum, then launches a war against the Parthians. At the pinnacle of his power, the oracle of Zeus Belos...
Episode B30 – Mater Castrorum
15 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Severus defeats Niger and wages a limited Eastern campaign. While Julia Domna is hailed as Mother of the Camps, Caracalla’s elevation ...
Episode B29 – 193
01 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: After Pertinax and his successor are killed in the same year, Severus’s claim to the Empire is contested by two rivals. “Pertinax w...
Episode B28 – Bestiarius
19 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Julia Domna marries Septimius Severus and gives birth to Caracalla and Geta. Left behind in Rome with her young children, Julia watches as...
Episode B27 – Lucifugus
05 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Julia Domna was daughter of the Emesene High Priest, destined to marry a king. Then she met Septimius Severus. “Our history now descen...
Episode B26 – Emanes
20 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The revolt of Avidius Cassius. “There is only one thing I fear, fellow-soldiers…and that is that (Avidius Cassius) may either kill him...
Episode B25 – Discindo
06 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The overthrow of King Gaius Julius Sohaemus of Armenia leads to war between Parthia and Rome. “For Vologases had begun war by assailing ...
Episode B24 – The Yona Kings
19 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The Macedonian kingdoms of Central Asia endured for centuries before being absorbed into the Kushan Empire. Hadrian’s actions in Judea...
Episode B23 – Parthicus
07 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: At the far point of his campaign, Trajan’s Eastern conquests begin to slip from his fingers. “Thence he came to the (Persian Gulf) its...
Episode B22 – Optimus
23 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Silas guides Emesa in its transition to a pilgrimage site. The death of King Tiridates I of Armenia brings Rome and Parthia into conflic...
Episode B21 – Betrayal
10 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Gaius Julius Sohaemus is compelled to help the Romans conquer Commagene. “Petus…fell upon Commagene before Antiochus and his people ha...
Episode B20 – The God of Dusk
25 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The destruction of Jerusalem. Shalim (semetic): Caananite god of dusk and the evening star, paired with Shahar, god of dawn and the morn...
Episode B19 – The Prefect
11 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Tiberius Julius Alexander throws Egypt’s backing behind Vespasian’s bid for the throne. “Accordingly, in order to overthrow John (of...
Episode B18 – The Josephus Problem
28 Aug 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Joseph ben Matityahu fought the Romans as a Jewish General before becoming a trusted advisor to the Flavians. The Josephus Problem (mat...
Episode B17 – The Valley
26 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Nero crowns Tiridates King of Armenia. A succession of brutal and corrupt procurators set Judea on the path to revolt. “Go forth unto ...
Episode B16 – Burn
12 Jun 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The birth of Drusilla and Sohaemus’ son Gaius Julius Alexio. The Empire confronts the revolt of Boudica, renewed warfare in Armenia, a...
Episode B15 – God of the Mountain
29 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Drusilla marries the Emesene Priest-King Gaius Julius Sohaemus. Rome and Parthia go to war over Armenia. “Our ancestors worshipped t...
Episode B14 – The Just
15 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The divorce of Felix and Drusilla. James and Paul struggle for the soul of early Christianity. “And then it was that the sicarii, as...
Episode B13 – Zealot
03 May 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The early life of Drusilla of Mauretania, and her marriage to Marcus Antonius Felix, Roman Procurator of Judea “This Judas, having got...
Episode B12 – Antonii
28 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The death of Tiberius, elevation of Caligula, and final years of King Ptolemy I. “Ptolemy, whom (Caligula) invited from his kingdom, and...
Episode B11 – Caedis
14 Mar 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The end of Tacfarinas, and the bloody co-rule of Tiberius and Sejanus. “Then, as the campaign had demonstrated Ptolemy’s good-will, ...
Episode B10 – Insurgo
28 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The ongoing rebellion of Tacfarinas, and the death of Juba. “For Tacfarinas, in spite of many repulses, having first recruited his force...
Episode B9 – Germanicus
14 Feb 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Germanicus travels to Syria to assume his Eastern Imperium. “‘The prime duty of friends is not to follow their dead with passive lamen...
Episode B8 – Scelus
31 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The death of Octavian, elevation of Tiberius, and early military careers of Germanicus and Ptolemy. “Even during the years when he lived...
Episode B7 – Tropaion
17 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The death of Gaius Caesar, and Juba’s return to Mauretania. Tropaion (Greek): A battlefield monument, erected at the “turning poin...
Episode B6 – Eurus
03 Jan 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Juba accompanies Gaius Caesar on his Eastern expedition. “Tigranes…marched forth with an army of such huge proportions that he actuall...
Episode B5 – Eclipsis
20 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The birth of Juba and Selene’s children, Ptolemy and Drusilla, and the death of Cleopatra Selene. “The moon herself grew dark, rising at...
Episode B4 – Limitem Mundi
06 Dec 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Juba and Selene begin their rule of Mauretania. “Cato said…they must make no prayer for him; prayer belonged to the conquered, and the c...
Episode B3 – Ephebus
24 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: Juba accompanies Octavian during the conquest of Egypt. “Thus was Egypt enslaved.” – Cassius Dio, Rome, Book LI Octavian Family Tree: ...
Episode B2 – Rex Socius Amicusque
07 Nov 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The early years of Juba II, fostered in the family of Octavian and Octavia. “(Scipio) increased the honor by observing, that among the R...
Episode B1 – Triumph
24 Oct 2014
Contributed by Lukas
Synopsis: The early years of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. “And herein particularly did he give offense to the Romans, si...
Episode R10 – The Bull and the Aten
06 Sep 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“I am a faithful servant of the king, and I have not rebelled and I have not sinned, and I do not withhold my tribute, and I do not refuse the reque...
Episode R9 – The Flood
09 Aug 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“Surpassing all kings, powerful and tall beyond all others, violent, splendid, a wild bull of a man, unvanquished leader, hero in the front lines, b...
Episode R8 – The Thousand Year Gap
26 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“Whilst fully recognizing his enterprise, devotion, and energy in carrying out these excavations, I cannot but express the regret that Dr. Schlieman...
Episode R7 – The Man Who Sold Troy
12 Jul 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“Who will persuade me, when I reclined upon a mighty tomb, that it did not contain a hero? – its very magnitude proved this. Men do not labour o...
Episode R6 – The Heroic Age
28 Jun 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“I should weary the reader, were I to describe, step by step, the progress of the work, and the discoveries gradually made in various part of the gr...
Episode R5 – Behistun Hat-Trick
24 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“The Major constantly and indefatigably employed himself, from daylight to dark, revising, restoring and adding to his former materials. This was ...
Episode R4 – Dwelling of the Lions
17 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“What can all this mean? Who built this structure? In what century did he live? To what nation did he belong? Are these walls telling me the...
Episode R3 – The Place of God
03 May 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“My antiquarian studies go on quietly and smoothly, and despite the taunt which you may remember once expressing, of the presumption of an ignoramus...
Episode R2 – Arabia Felix
19 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“His Majesty…has dispatched a few days ago by the vessel Greenland a group of scholars, who will travel by way of the Mediterranean to Constantino...
Episode R1 – The Broken Stone
04 Apr 2014
Contributed by Lukas
“To speak the name of the dead is to make them live again.” – Ancient Egyptian saying Rediscovered two millennia after its creation, the Rosetta...
Episode 36 – And Then What Happened?
19 Oct 2013
Contributed by Lukas
A little time-travel, a quick world tour, and plenty of thanks all around! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Episode 35 – On The Verge
28 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“Rome was not a monarchy, but a free City, and they had made up their minds to open their gates even to an enemy sooner than to a king. It was the...
Episode 34 – Democracy and Republic, Part 2
15 Sep 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“The Athenians, when ruled by tyrants, were no better in war than their neighbors, but freed from tyrants they were far superior. This shows that ...
Episode 33 – Democracy and Republic, Part 1
10 Aug 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“He added the Athenian people, who had formally not been in the center of things, to his own party, changed the names of the tribes and increased th...
Episode 32 – Things Fixed, Things Moving
19 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“Black is your path, Agni, changeless, with glittering waves! When like a bull you rush eager to the trees. With teeth of flame, wind-driven, thro...
Episode 31 – Land of Imposters
05 Jul 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“After I became king, I fought nineteen battles in a single year and, by the grace of Ahura Mazda, I overthrew nine kings and I made them captive…...
Episode 30 – The Lost Army
21 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“So Darius son of Hystaspes was made king, and the whole of Asia, which Cyrus first and Cambyses after him had conquered, was subject to him…and e...
Episode 29 – A More Perfect Empire
08 Jun 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“Remember this lesson well: Whenever you can, act as a liberator. Freedom, dignity, and wealth—these three together constitute the great happi...
Episode 28 – When the Mede Came
24 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“In winter, as you lie on a soft couch by the fire, Full of good food, munching on nuts and drinking sweet wine, Then you must ask questions such as...
Episode 27 – Count No Man Happy
11 May 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“But in every matter it behooves us to mark well the end: for oftentimes God gives men a gleam of happiness, and then plunges them into ruin.” –...
Episode 26 – The Last Kings of Babylon
18 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“So it was that the Persians, who had once been the slaves of the Medes, became their masters.“ – Heroditus Nebuchadnezzar II turned Babylon in...
Episode 25 – The Voyage of Solon
06 Apr 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“Ahmose became a lover of the Hellenes; and besides other proofs of friendship which he gave to several among them, he also granted the city of Nauc...
Episode 24 – A Wolf Among Hounds
21 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“I freed those here who suffered unseemly enslavement and feared the tempers of their masters. I did this by harnessing force and justice together...
Episode 23 – Captives of Babylon
09 Mar 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment on him. Then the king...
Episode 22 – The Fifth Generation
27 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“But when earth had covered this generation also, Zeus the son of Cronos made yet another, the fourth, upon the fruitful earth, which was nobler and...
Episode 21 – For the Sake of Distant Days
06 Feb 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? Whence shall I seek comforters for thee?” – Nahum 3:7 Ashurbanipal spent the end of his reign est...
Episode 20 – The House of Succession
21 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
In the mid-seventh century BC, Nubia and Assyria struggled for control over Egypt before the kingdom regained independence under the pharaoh Psamtik I...
Episode 19 – The Destruction of Sennacherib
07 Jan 2013
Contributed by Lukas
“The city and its houses, from its foundations to its walls, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. The wall and outer wall, temple-tower ...
Episode 18 – The Three Pillars
22 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
In the west, Phoenician mastery of the Mediterranean was challenged by widespread Greek colonization. Rome’s first kings established the boundarie...
Episode 17 – The Fall of Israel
03 Dec 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“Then the King of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it for three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, t...
Episode 16 – The Assyrian
20 Nov 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“And Pul, the King of Assyria, came against the land.” – II Kings, 15:19 In 745 BC, Tiglath-pileser III reformed the administrative and military...
Episode 15 – Holding Action
15 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
During the first half of the eighth century BC, Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria all struggled against the forces of entropy and decline. In the absence...
Episode 14 – In the Midst of the Seas
01 Oct 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“I received the tribute of the kings of the seacoast – namely, the lands of the peoples of Tyre, Sidon, Byblos, Mahallatu, Maizu, Kaizu, Amurru an...
Episode 13 – Civil War
16 Sep 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“My brother Ashur-danin-apli, in the time of Shalmaneser, his father, acted wickedly, bringing about sedition, rebellion, and wicked plotting, cause...
Episode 12 – Legacies of East and West
04 Sep 2012
Contributed by Lukas
The Olmec of Mesoamerica and the Chavin of Peru laid strong cultural foundations that would influence regional civilizations down through the first Eu...
Episode 11 – The Rise of Assyria
21 Aug 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“I slew 14,000 of their warriors with the sword. Like Adad, I rained destruction on them. I scattered their corpses far and wide, and covered the fa...
Episode 10 – Picking Up The Pieces
30 Jul 2012
Contributed by Lukas
At the dawn of the first millennium BC, the collapse of the great Near Eastern powers allowed the cultures of Canaan to flourish. While the Phoenici...
Episode 9 – The Other 99 Percent
12 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“Regarding what you wrote me before: ‘Enemy ships were observed at sea!’ If it is true that ships were observed, reinforce yourself. Where...
Episode 8 – Look Upon My Works
05 Jun 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“…And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings, Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside re...
Episode 7 – Between Lions and Men
29 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“As there are no pacts of faith between lions and men, nor do wolves and lambs have spirit in kind,…nor for us two will there be oaths;… Recolle...
Episode 6 – The New Kingdoms
19 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
After expelling the Hyksos, the rulers of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty led their New Kingdom in an unprecedented drive for territorial expansion. In Syria...
Episode 5 – Blind-sided
07 May 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“I was asleep upon my bed, having become weary…like a snake of the necropolis. As I came to, I awoke to fighting, and found that it was an attack ...
Episode 4 – The Pyramid Builders
30 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“From the heights of these pyramids, forty centuries look down on us.” – Napoleon Bonaparte The power of Egypt’s Old Kingdom rulers was ref...
Episode 3 – “Wherever I Went, Let Him Go!”
24 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“Now any king who wants to call himself my equal, wherever I went, let him go!” – Sargon the Great In 2,334 BC, Sargon of Akkad forged the wo...
Episode 2 – Circles and Labyrinths
16 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
Contemporary with early Sumer and Egypt, the Norte Chico thrived along the Peruvian coast, while the Neolithic Britons built their mysterious stone ci...
Episode 1 – “Climb the Stone Staircase”
05 Apr 2012
Contributed by Lukas
“Climb the stone staircase, more ancient than the mind can imagine” – The Epic of Gilgamesh The Sumerians of Mesopotamia, the Elamites of the Pe...