Episode 18 – The Three Pillars

In the west, Phoenician mastery of the Mediterranean was challenged by widespread Greek colonization.  Rome’s first kings established the boundaries and institutions of the early state.  In the Near East, Sennacherib was confronted with the return of a Chaldean usurper to the Babylonian throne. Series […]

TAW and Mobile Devices

I know, I know, you were probably hoping I’d developed an app for the show or something (which would be awesome!), but no such luck.  A listener recently raised an issue that I realized might be more widespread, and I just wanted to get the […]

Episode 16 – The Assyrian

“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 structure of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and led the armies of Assur in a virtually-unbroken string of regional conquests. Series References and […]

So Here’s What’s Up

I wasn’t planning to take another extended break so soon, but, well, “man plans, god laughs” and all that.  First off, my wife and I have (surprisingly) just managed to purchase our very first house, and are devoting a fair amount of time to TCB-ing […]

Episode 15 – Holding Action

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 of the Aramean threat, Israel and Judah resumed their perpetual struggle.  Urartu expanded its regional influence at the expense of […]

Episode 13 – Civil War

“My brother Ashur-danin-apli, in the time of Shalmaneser, his father, acted wickedly, bringing about sedition, rebellion, and wicked plotting, caused the land to rise in revolt, prepared for war, brought the people of Assyria, north and south, to his side, and made bold speeches, brought […]

A Few Updates

Hi TAW listeners! You may have noticed that I’ve passed the dozen episode mark and still have a few hundred years and a lot of history to cover before I reach 500 BC. In a nod to reality, I’ve changed the blog subtitle from “(around) […]