Synopsis: The fracturing and diminishment of Egyptian power in the early Iron Age is captured in “The Report of Wenamun.” I found (King Zakar-baal of Byblos) seated in his upper chamber with his back against a window, and the waves of the great sea of […]
Tag: Thebes
Episode C9 – Horse to Horse, Army to Army
Synopsis: In the mid-11th century BC, the Hittite kingdoms of northern Syria are joined by others– in the Philistine pentapolis, the Amuq plain and the region of Classical Cilicia – with ties to the former Mycenaean Greeks. The Phoenician cities of the Levantine coast begin […]
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 […]
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 11 – The Rise of Assyria
“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 face of the desolate plain with their wide-spreading armies. With my weapons I made their blood to flow down […]
Episode 9 – The Other 99 Percent
“Regarding what you wrote me before: ‘Enemy ships were observed at sea!’ If it is true that ships were observed, reinforce yourself. Where are your troops and chariots? Are they not with you? If not, who will deliver you from the enemy? Surround your cities […]
Episode 8 – Look Upon My Works
“…And on the pedestal these words appear: ‘My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings, Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’ Nothing beside remains. Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.” – Shelley, […]
Episode 6 – The New Kingdoms
After expelling the Hyksos, the rulers of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty led their New Kingdom in an unprecedented drive for territorial expansion. In Syria and the Levant, they were forced to contend with powerful new states forged by the Hurrians and the Hittites. Episode Images: https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/06_Images.pdf […]
Episode 5 – Blind-sided
“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 of the bodyguard. If I had quickly taken weapons in my hand, I would have made […]