History of Persia

Continuing the story of Orphic religion, we take a break from mythology to talk about theology in one of ancient Greece's more unique mystery cults. Visit  https://HoPfulMedia.com.co  to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're taking a break from the historical narrative to focus on a mythological one: the life and times of Orpheus the Bard, from his many origin stories to the travels of the Argonauts to his eventual journey to the underworld. Visit  https://HoPfulMedia.com.co  to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Op...

Like any good king, Antiochus I Soter had a royal family, and as his reign comes to an end, it's time to talk about them, from his brother in Anatolia to troublesome sons and wide ranging in-laws. He's in his Seleucid Era. Visit  https://HoPfulMedia.com.co  to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Op...

After losing a large piece of the eastern empire to Chandragupta Maurya, the Seleucids didn't just ignore their eastern neighbors. In the later decades of Seleucus' reign, Megasthenes established diplomatic ties between the two eastern kingdoms. In the generations that followed, diplomacy and trade helped to stabilize both the Maurya and the Seleucids. Visit  https://HoPfulMedia.com.co  to...

A grab bag episode to cover Seleukid politics in the last decade or so of Antiochus Soter's reign. We've got temples, cities, and rebellion. What more could you ask for? Visit  https://HoPfulMedia.com.co  to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

No sooner had Antiochus I defeated the new-found Galatians in Anatolia, than war erupted in the south. Magas, brother of Ptolemy II and self-declared King of Cyrene, formed a marriage alliance with Antiochus before fighting a war of succession against his brother, dragging the Seleucid Empire along for the ride. Visit  https://HoPfulMedia.com.co  to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Face...

After sweeping through the Balkans with their kin, three tribes of Gauls in Thrace drew the attention of the embattled Nicomeides of Bithynia as potential allies in his war against a Seleucid-backed opponent. The Gauls crossed the Bosporus and swept through Nicomeides enemies with ease before turning their sites on the war torn regions of Seleucid Anatolia. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to supp...

Intelligent Speech 2025 is coming! The event will feature a gathering of excellent history podcasters THIS SATURDAY . That’s FEBRUARY 8, 2025 at 10:00am US Eastern Time for an all day event featuring presentations, panels, and live Q&A with a ton of history podcasts. If that doesn’t convince you, this episode is last year’s History of Persia Presentation. Get those tickets ASAP!!! Get tickets...

Intelligent Speech 2025 is coming! The event will feature a gathering of excellent history podcasters THIS SATURDAY . That's FEBRUARY 8, 2025 at 10:00am US Eastern Time for an all day event featuring presentations, panels, and live Q&A with a ton of history podcasts. If that doesn't convince you, this episode is last year's History of Persia Presentation. Get those tickets ASAP!!!...

Antiochus I succeeded his father Seleucus in 281 BCE, and he was immediately plunged into a series of revolts, invasion, and crises in every direction. Ptolemy II was seizing land. The reconquest of the northern dynasts was horribly mismanaged, and as a cherry on top, Gauls suddenly invaded Greece. Get tickets to Intelligent Speech February 8, 2025! https://intelligentspeechonline.com/ Visit https...

By the time Seleucus Nicator was murdered, he had reunited much of Alexander the Great's Empire, but the northern and southwestern edges of the imperial map were rapidly filling in with new, smaller kingdoms and confederations. From Chorasmia to the Cimmerian Bosporus, and from Bithynia to the Nabataean Arabs, this episode gives a brief overview of the smaller successors to Alexander and Dariu...

9 Kings of Macedon, 8 A-names, 7 warring states, 6 kingdoms, 5 marriage pacts, 4 dead successors, 3 Ptolemies, 2 wars of succession, and 1 Victor all in one episode. The age of the diadochoi ends with a bang. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle...

According to tradition, the prophet Zoroaster died at 77 years and 40 days old on Khorshed Dae AKA December 26 (depending on who you ask). Let's talk about it. Cardinal Numbers Podcast https://www.popeularhistory.com/episodes/cardinal-numbers Zoroastrian numerology https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-85prx-1475d46 Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Facebo...

Today, we explore the family of King Seleucus I from his grandfather to his sons and daughters, including one of history's first uses of the she's only his step-mom excuse. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today, we step back from the narrative to see what kind of empire Seleucus was actually running here. Ian Mladjov's Maps https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/imladjov/maps Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  BlueSky   |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Wars of the Diadochoi did not end in 301 BCE, but their Fourth War finished with a dramatic turning point in the Battle of Ipsus as Antigonus and Demetrius faced off against Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Pleistarchus. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://r...

After reclaiming Babylon, King Seleucus began consolidating his power over the upper satrapies, but even as he worked to reclaim the Iranian east, the Mauryan Empire began pushing out of India and across the mountains of Gandhara. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-O...

While Macedon was consolidating and collapsing in the west, a new empire was on the rise in the east. Chandragupta Maurya and his teacher, Chanakya, were busy overthrowing the Nanda Dynasty and expanding their new kingdom to become one of the great powers of Indian history. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries:...

Cyrus the Great Day is an unofficial holiday in modern Iran, marking the anniversary of Cyrus the Great's conquest of Babylon and celebrating the origins of the Iranian state. It has also been the center of controversy, revolt, and secular ambitions within the Islamic Republic for most of the last decade. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  Twitter  |  Facebook ...

After the death of Alexander IV, the former friends and generals of Alexander the Great held their breath, waiting almost a year to resume their wars. The Fourth War of the Diadochoi saw them claim their royal titles as the Successors as Cassander, Ptolemy, and Demetrius battled for dominance. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Instagram Adv...

History of Persia dips its toes into the infamous Ancient Greek mystery cults to explore their role in Hellenistic religious life and what exactly makes them so mysterious anyway. Secret rituals, week long parties, and ancient drugs feature in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiries: https...

Shortly before the end of the Third War of the Diadochoi, Seleucus set out with a small army to retake his satrapy in Babylon. After several years of neglect by Antigonus Monophthalmus, Seleucus retook the region easily. Before long he held all of the Upper Satrapies against Antigonus, but by the end of the Babylonian War, events in Macedon sundered the empire of Alexander the Great. Visit https:/...

No sooner did the Second War of the Diadochoi end, than the Third began when Antiognus Monophthalmus attempted to seize control of the whole empire. Ptolemy, Seleucus, Cassander, and Lysander rallied against their former comrade as war spread from Palestine to Greece to Thrace. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Instagram Advertising Inquiri...

Alright. I'm moving house. Covid is ravaging my Secret Wars guest list. It's 104* F and I can't turn off my AC to record History of Persia. So we're trying a new thing tonight. Hope y'all like mythical pirate anarchism because that's what I have on hand. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

While Cassander and Polyphercon fought for the regency of Macedon, Antigonus Monophthalmus and Eumenes of Cardia fought for supremacy in the Upper Satrapies. The initially reluctant Peithon and Seleucus joined Antigonus to defeat the traitor Eumenes, and in the process, turn Antigonus into the most powerful man in the empire. Visit https://HoPfulMedia.com.co to support this show! Support  |  Twitt...