History of the World podcast

Another look forward to Volume Four and an insight into some of the episodes which take us through European politics after the fall of the Western Roman Empire through to the creation of medieval kingdoms and their Christianisation which led to the Crusades after the Seljuk Turks took control of Jerusalem and introduced a less tolerant religious attitude.

We take a brief trip to the Horn of Africa and the lands of the Blue Nile which became a significant trade centre as the gateway between the Red Sea and the oceans beyond.

A spoiler for the start of Volume 4 as we look at what to expect from the volume's opening episodes.   As ever, we read out your e-mails and reviews as well as welcoming the latest set of members into the History of the World podcast illuminati.

An informal chat about the emergence and disappearance of the ancient sporting tradition that lasted for centuries called the Olympic Games.

536 - The theory of an unproven volcanic eruption that may have been one of the largest eruptions in history.  The theory is explored through writing, science and thought.

200 - 600 - The Sasanians were firmly in control of their Silk Road branch while Rome and China languished.  This period saw the rise of the Gupta, Maya and Aksumites but was also the age of the mysterious Hunnic tribes of the Eurasian Steppe.

100 BCE - 200 CE - The emergence of the Silk Road saw the rise and fall of four great global empires and the spread of trade encouraged the spread of philosophy and religion across the whole of the Eurasian landmass.

400 - 100 BCE - Classical cultures flourished very quickly during this period.  Empires grew to significant proportions and this time, not just in one area of the world.

700 - 400 BCE - From the time when the Assyrians were the greatest power on the planet, a sudden surge of culture and learning from east to west would bring the world forward from a relative dark age to an age of modern thinking.

250 - 900 - Before the canoe building Mayans that Europeans encountered, Mayan ancestors dominated the Guatemala highlands hidden in the dense rainforest and building great temples and palaces to honour their traditions and rituals.

600 BCE - 750 CE - The greatest multi-pyramid site of the Americas and a very mysterious home to some of the most comfortable regular citizens of the entire ancient world.

500 BCE - 750 CE - Ethnic Zapotecs make up part of the modern Mexican population today, but they were once the dominant civilisation of Mesoamerica.  The Classical Age Zapotec Empire ruled from the stratified city of Monte Albán.

A look back at some of the e-mails and reviews of the week including an interesting listener question relating to negative reactions to the History of the World podcast.

100 BCE - 800 CE - The Nazca and the Moche were the two main cultures to emerge in the remnant of the Chavín.  We will explore the incredible large geoglyphs that were created on the desert landscape and take a closer look at what the temple sites can tell us about the lifestyle of these people.

30 - 230 - The episode required to tie together all of the previous seventy episodes of this volume.  East meets west as Han China negotiates the Kushan Empire and the Parthian Empire to develop a trade relationship with the Roman Empire, with the same intention occurring in the reverse direction.

220 - 581 - The incredibly complex period of Chinese history which was distinguished by the pushing of centralised power to the south and the establishment of competing kingdoms of various ethnicities in the north.  This is the story of how China eventually reunified after the fall of the Han.

208 - This is the legendary story of the Three Kingdoms of China and how the warlords Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan could not overcome one another, meaning that China would have to be split into three separate kingdoms, Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu.

108 BCE - 208 CE - While trade and subjugation brings wealth, corruption and warfare brings expense, and The Han Dynasty's later years tells the story of this precarious balancing act and its consequences.

210 - 108 BCE - Some of the great characters of ancient China lived through this period such as Liu Bang and his consort Empress Lu, the great patriarchal leader of the Xiongnu Empire, Modu Chanyu, and then later on the Emperor Wu with his well traveled envoy Zhang Qian.

900 - 210 BCE - How the outlying Qin state come to rule over the whole of China, and the unique story of the first emperor and how this short lived dynasty has left an immortal legacy for the emperor who wanted to be immortal.

1046 - 256 BCE - The longest of all dynasties in Chinese history but certainly not the strongest.  This episode covers the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period with special reference to Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism.

From the beginning of human nature, the aspect of religion has accompanied us through our evolutionary journey, but what started religion and what factors turned it into what we know today?

2019 - Between the publication of Volume Two and Volume Three, Chris was interviewed by the man behind the successful YouTube channel, the Study of Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Nick Barksdale.  Here is the audio version.

1300 BCE - 900 CE - History has seen repeated tensions between the three Abrahamic religions whose history is intertwined and all come from the same original theory of there being one almighty God.  The different interpretations of God's teachings have divided the monotheistic followers into distinct religions and sects of those religions too.

3300 BCE - 570 CE - How did Hinduism and Buddhism emergence and how did each religion cope with the fragmentation or their followers?  Why do we see so little of Buddhism in India despite the continued protection and preservation of the Bodhi Tree there?