Episode C4 – The Great Kings

Synopsis: The Great King Tudhaliya’s sons, Arnuwanda and Suppiluliuma, take power in a time of growing famine.  The collapse of Mycenaean Greece intensifies the predations of Aegean and Mediterranean pirates, who threaten Hittite grain shipments and ally with the Libyans to launch an invasion of Egypt.  Among the earliest victims of the seaborne invaders is the storied city of Troy.

“But when the whole host reached the walls of Troy, into the city of Priam, breathing rage of fight, with reckless battle-lust they poured; and all that fortress found they full of war and slaughter, palaces, temples, horribly blazing on all sides; glowed their hearts with joy. In deadly mood then charged they on the foe. Ares and fell Enyo maddened there: blood ran in torrents, drenched was all the earth, as Trojans and their alien helpers died.”  – Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy, Book 13 (translated by A. S. Way)

Map of the Late Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean:

https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/LBA_Hittite_Map.jpg

The Hittite Royal Family:

https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/LBA_Hittite_Family_Tree.jpg

References and Further Reading:

https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Season_1_Refs.pdf

2 thoughts on “Episode C4 – The Great Kings

  1. Hi Scott,

    Was wondering if you were ever going to make a page that outlines the bibliography behind this series that you’ve built.
    Thank you for doing this! Discovering and then rediscovering the ancient near east with you has been absolutely breathtaking, I hope one day there will be a world where we can visit Iraq and see the sites themselves. 🙂

    1. Hi, thanks for the kind words! And yes, I hope we all get to travel to Iraq (and Syria, and Afghanistan) someday! Regarding your question, I’ve generated bibliographies for most previous series, though I’ve gotten a bit lazy about it recently (sorry about that). I can’t recall if I did it for “Thea”, and certainly not yet for “Carchemish.” A major source on the Bronze Age Hittites is Trevor Bryce’s “The Kingdom of the Hittites,” just like a major source for the upcoming episodes will be Trevor Bryce’s “The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms.” I also try to pull from George Roux’s “Ancient Iraq” and Marc Van de Mieroop’s “A History of the Ancient Near East.” Hopefully that will at least give you a start. Take care! – Scott

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