The Podcast History Of Our World

Darius gets a bum rap because he's the first Persian king to invade Greece, but they started it! Honestly! Well...mostly. Whatever. Also after this episode we'll be temporarily saying goodbye to the Persians before we head off to Greece, but don't worry! We'll be coming back!

Oh, Herodotus. I love you man, but you're like the tabloid reporter of the ancient world. Didn't you ever check your sources? What, did you just go with the first guy you heard a story from? Ah well, it still makes for a good story! We'll take a look at Zarathustra and Cambyses in this here episode, and yes before you comment, I am fighting a head cold. Many mugs of tea and Ricola cough drops were sacrificed to make this.

So many people throughout history get to have "The Great" as a moniker, but do they deserve it? Heck no! But Cyrus, here is the exception! From the curious mythology of his birth, to the massive empire he carved out in thirty years, to essentially penning the first human rights charter, who in the ancient world can compare to the luminosity of Cyrus the Achaemenid? Pfft! Go ahead! I challenge you to do so!

This is it! Our last episode with the ancient Hebrews! Will Egypt protect the Hebrews? Will Judah deftly wade through the treacherous diplomatic minefield? Look, I don't want to spoil anything here but, oh wait, the title is a spoiler. Whoops! Well, let's just hope nothing bad ever happens to Jerusalem again.  

For one tiny strip of land, the power players of the ancient Near East seem REALLY hellbent on controlling it! Judah's stuck right smack dab in the middle of it all, and if they are to survive at all, it might even come down to alliances with former hated foes...

We close the book on the Northern Kingdom of Israel in this episode...which leaves their southern cousins in an awkward position! 

In which I condense about 2000 years of Assyrian history into about 15 minutes. Expect lots of kings trying to one-up another for the title of "Most Creatively Brutal". Featuring music by the awesome Owen Plant! www.owenplant.net

It's the beginning of the end for the Ancient Hebrews folks! Once the split between the two kingdoms happened it all went downhill from there. Also in this episode we spend a little time talking about a woman who can't get a break nearly 2000 years later.

Did you know that Solomon, known as Suleiman in the Quran, had a giant flying carpet, could communicate with animals, and controlled genies, a.k.a djinn? Just go with it...  

In many ways King David is a lot like Dennis the Menace. They both use a slingshot to take down their enemies, don't get along with neighbors, and are always causing trouble! Haha, yep, well that was a terrible analogy. Still, we're inching closer and closer to historical accuracy now!

People tend to ignore the fact that Saul was the first king of the Israelites! Oh sure he never had a sculpture of himself sans pants in the middle of Florence, but he still deserves to be mentioned!

Joshua and the Judges! No, it's not the name of my new band, it's the theme of this episode! We'll be exploring the Israelites early days in Canaan and taking a look at four of their most fascinating leaders. Get ready for storytime!

There's the Moses you know, and the Moses from all the various stories and traditions about him. Let me tell you, that version is far more interesting!

L'Chaim! Our first episode exploring the history of the Ancient Hebrews/Israelites. With special guest musician Michael Levy! Check out his historically accurate music at www.ancientlyre.com!

The grand conclusion to our Egyptian tour is all about the most famous battle of the ancient world and the impetuousness of youth!

Is it possible to introduce monotheism into a staunchly polytheistic society? Well yeah...but claiming to be the only one who understands the god in question while also being the pharaoh isn't gonna make it easy.

There's so much that happens during the New Kingdom that I had to split up the episodes. So this one is technically the old New Kingdom episode, and the others are the new New Kingdom.

There's only one time Egypt was invaded by aliens...and this is it! 

The first Egyptian civil war! Or is it Civil War? Well whichever it is, lots of folks wanna be king! And while they might not agree on much, they all have a real hate-hate thing going on with Nubia!

Do you know about pyramid power? Because if you don't...it's probably for the best. REAL pyramid power is convincing thousands of your subjects that toiling in the hot Egyptian sun building a giant triangle is a good idea!