History with Cy

In the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Salamis (480 BC), both the Greek city-states and the Persian Empire are left facing a critical question: what comes next? In this episode, we explore the tense and uncertain months that followed one of the most decisive naval battles in ancient history. While the Athenians celebrate their victory, they must also confront the reality that the war is far f...

In 480 BC, following the fall of Thermopylae, the Greek fleet withdrew from Artemisium and regrouped at Salamis. At the same time, Xerxes advanced through Boeotia virtually unopposed, while Athens prepared for evacuation under the so-called Decree of Themistocles. Ancient sources speak of a Persian attempt to plunder Delphi, but modern scholarship generally regards this as later propaganda intende...

It is the year 480 BC and the massive army and navy of the Great King of Persiam, Xerxes, is on the move.  The Great King himself is personally leading the campaign and eager to witness his armed forces' triumph as they advance through northern and central Greece. Two battles, fought on land and sea, will test the resolve of a fragile but determined anti-Persian Greek alliance hastily formed...

In this episode, we’ll explore the critical decade between the Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC and Xerxes’ invasion of Greece in 480 BC—a period that shaped the course of the Greco-Persian Wars. Following their defeat at Marathon, the Persians, under King Darius I, began preparing for a renewed campaign, but internal challenges, including rebellions and Darius’ death in 486 BC, d...

In the last episode of this series, we covered the rise of the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great and its expansion into Anatolia and the eastern Aegean, including the predominantly Greek-speaking region of Ionia.  Though much of Ionia prospered under their new overlords, in 499 BC, the Ionians revolted with their help of their allies, including the city-states of Athens and Eritrea. ...

The great conflict that we know today as the Greco-Persian Wars between a few independent city-states of ancient Greece and mighty Achaemenid Persian Empire is, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating and consequential in all of history.  More than just battles for territory and glory - they were clashes of culture, ideology, and power between East and West. The war saw legendary figures such a...

This is the episode that several of you have requested – a one stop shop on the history of ancient Canaan and its people, the Canaanites.  In this program we’ll look at the history of this region and how it developed from the Bronze Age, Canaan’s relationship with Egypt and other parts of the world, and various Canaanite kingdoms such Moab, Edom, Ammon, Israel and Judah, as well as the Phoenician...

In this video we'll take a look at the pivotal period of Greek history known as the Archaic Period. It's this time frame that gave rise to the polis, hoplite warfare, increased colonization around the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, oligarchies, tyrannies and lot of other really interesting aspects of life in the Greek-speaking world from 750-500 BC.  Contents: 00:00 Introduc...

The Greek Dark Age, spanning roughly from 1100 to 750 BC, marks a mysterious chapter in the history of ancient Greece. Characterized by a sharp decrease in population, the abandonment of the once might Mycenaean palatial centers, disruption of trade networks, the loss of literacy and a steep decline in artistic endeavors, this time period was generally one of economic hardship and political fragme...

In this program we'll take a look at the illustrious life of the great Persian King of Kings, Darius I, also known as Darius the Great.  Regarded by many as the most powerful ruler of the Achaemenid Dynasty of ancient Iran, Darius I is also amongst its most controversial.  We'll dive deeper into the life of great king, the contentious debate about his rise to power, and ultimately examin...

This is the episode that many of your have been waiting for - a comprehensive, in-depth look at the Akkadian Empire from just before it was created to its mysterious end.  Founded by Sargon of Akkad and expanded by his descendants Rimush, Manishtushu and Naram-Sin, the Akkadian Empire was the first hegemonic state and superpower of the early Bronze Age.  This program will examine Akkad's begi...

In this video we'll journey back to the late Bronze Age and explore Mycenaean Civilization in Greece and the wider Aegean world.  We'll also delve into the historical events that may have led to armed conflicts between Mycenaeans and Hittites and that may have ultimately served as the basis for Homer's great epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey.  Contents: 00:00 Contents and Introductio...

This program explores the history of the ancient city of Babylon and the land once known as Babylonia.  We'll uncover the story of this great city over the course of fifteen centuries and learn about its impact and why it was so beloved as well as hated by so many in the ancient world.   We'll also meet an interesting and rather eclectic cast of kings including Hammurabi, Zimri-Lim, Rim-...

In this third installment of the Peloponnesian War podcast, we take a look at life after Pericles and the years 428 and 427 BC.  Leaders of Mytilene's oligarchy have decided that now is the time to leave the Athenian-led alliance.  The conflict in Plataea also finally comes to an end while another bloody civil conflict between factions in Corcyra gets out of hand and shocks the Greek world. ...

War begins!  In this episode, we take a look at the start of the great war and the Athenian statesman Pericles' strategy to keep Athens and it's empire safe from the attacks of the Spartan general Archidamos and the Peloponnesian forces.  Find out in this episode of the Peloponnesian War Podcast.  Support the show

This is the first episode of the podcast series on the Peloponnesian War.  How did it start?  What does Thucydides, the war's great historian, tell us about the reasons and motivations of Athens, Sparta, Corinth and the different parties involved? Could the conflict have been prevented?  We'll take a look at these questions and more as we go through the story of the greatest internal con...

Herodotus, arguably the ancient world's greatest historian...or storyteller.  Perhaps a bit of both.  In this episode, we take a look at his life, where he traveled and see what may have been the source for one of his more fantastical stories, namely the gold-digging ants of India. Follow History with Cy: YouTube Channel Instagram Facebook Twitter Website  Support the show

In the second of this two part series on the Achaemenid Persian Empire, we continue with Darius the Great's son, Xerxes and some of the main events of the Greco-Persian wars, and then follow the lives of his successors up to Darius III and the fall of the Achaemenid Empire with its conquest by Alexander of Macedonia, a.k.a. Alexander the Great.      Contents: 00:00 Intro and Recap 01:33 Xerxe...

In this first of a two-part series, we'll take a concise look at the history of one of the greatest empires in all of antiquity - the Achaemenid Persian Empire.  Founded by Cyrus II and expanded by his successors Cambyses II and Darius I, the Achaemenid dynasty would not just go on to rule most of the known world at the time, but also transmit the ideas and innovations of its many subject peo...

Some of you wanted to know a bit more about the Amorites and they're arrival into Mesopotamia, so I thought I'd do a quick podcast on it. This program will take a look at early references to Amorites in Sumerian, Elbaite and Akkadian documents. <!--more--> Contents: 00:00 Introduction 01:30 Who were the Amorites? 05:20 Earliest mention of Amorites in Sumerian texts 06:26 Amorites i...

The history of ancient Sumer and the Sumerians, from the first notable farming communities to occupy their land to their magnificent cities, innovations, great kingdoms and empires. If you want to get a good grasp of who the Sumerians were, this is the program for you! Follow History with Cy: YouTube Channel Instagram Facebook Twitter Website  Support the show

In this podcast, we take a look at the fabled king, Croesus of Lydia, at least from the point of view of Greek writers such as Herodotus and Xenophon.  Croesus was a king who during his day (r. 560-546 BC) was deemed to have been the wealthiest sovereign in the world. However, he lost it all to the Persian king Cyrus the Great while finally learning the lesson that the great Athenian sage, Solon,...

The Achaemenid king, Cambyses II of Persia, was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great.  Though Cyrus is lauded by friend and foe alike as the ideal ruler, his son Cambyses in many written sources has been portrayed as just the opposite - a cruel, intolerant and unjust tyrant.  But are these accusations true or simply the result of anti-Persian propaganda that was spread by some of their dissati...

With this video we start a series of programs and podcasts all dealing with ancient Persia and the beginnings of the Achaemenid Persian Empire of Cyrus II, better known to the world as Cyrus the Great.  We'll first take a quick look at the history of the region around the time when the first Iranian tribes entered the region, followed by the Medes and how they laid the groundwork for the rise...

In this podcast we cover the last centuries of what was once an independent and powerful Elam.  During what's known as the Neo-Elamite period (1100-550 BC), Elam went on a steady decline until it's near destruction at the hands of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.  This is the story of the last kings of Elam and the final end of their conflict with the peoples and empires of neighboring Babylonia...