The Ancient World

Synopsis:  King Muwatalli II relocates the Hittite capital to the new royal city of Tarhuntassa near the Mediterranean coast, then faces off against the young pharaoh Ramesses II in the Battle of Qadesh.  After Muwatalli’s death, his son and brother – Urhi-Teshub and Hattusili – contend for the Hittite throne. “For seven years I submitted to the king.  But at a divine command and with human urging...

Hi everyone!  As you likely know, I really enjoyed making the original “Ancient World” podcast series – especially the parts covering the Bronze Age Near East and eastern Mediterranean.  I’ve always hoped for the opportunity to update and expand those episodes with the latest and greatest information and also introduce new topics that I never had the chance to cover.  And I think I’ve finally foun...

Synopsis:  In the late 14th century BC, the Hittite Great King Suppiluliuma wrested Syria from the grip of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni.  Two of his sons would succeed him to the throne, while two others founded new dynasties in the cities of Aleppo and Carchemish. “The Euphrates is my frontier.  In my rear, I established Mount Lebanon as my frontier.  And all of the cities of the land of Carche...

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Synopsis:  In the 4th century AD, the Ethiopian kingdom of Axum converted to Christianity even as the neighboring Himyarites of Yemen converted to Judaism.  Centuries later, Axum’s invasion of Yemen to stop the persecution of Christians triggered a conflict with Persia. Map of the kingdoms of Axum and Himyar: https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/AxumHimyar.jpg Learn more about your ad choices. Vi...

Synopsis:  The Sabaeans and Himyarites leveraged their control over south Arabian aromatics into a lucrative trade that spanned the ancient world.  The region’s remoteness, wealth and active diplomacy afforded some protection from the powerful empires who frequently dominated the north.  Map of the Arabian Peninsula:https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Yemen.jpg Learn more about your ad choices....

Synopsis:  A century after Queen Zenobia, another Syrian Arab warrior queen rises to challenge the power or Rome – and succeeds.  The story of Queen Mavia of the Tanukh. “Mavia, queen of the Saracens, had begun to convulse the villages and towns on the border of Palestine and Arabia with a violent war, and to ravage the neighboring provinces.” – Rufinas Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

Synopsis:  The death of King Philip I marks the official end of the Seleucid line.  Invited by the Antiochenes to rule them, King Tigranes II of Armenia proceeds to conquer all of Syria – including Cleopatra Selene’s stronghold of Ptolemais-Akko.  But Tigranes’ refusal to abandon his ally, King Mithridates VI of Pontus, leads to his empire’s destruction. “Tigranes…marched forth with an army of suc...

Synopsis: With Rome encroaching from the north and south, the sons of Grypus battle Parthians, usurpers and local powers to keep their hold on Syria. “As he lingered on the banks of the Euphrates, (Sulla) received a visit from Orobazus, a Parthian, who came as an ambassador from King Arsaces, although up to this time the two nations had held no intercourse with one another.  This also is thought t...

Synopsis: While the Ptolemies intrigue in Coele Syria, Antiochus VIII Grypus and his half-brother Antiochus IX Cyzicenus struggle for seventeen years to win control of the north.  After the rivals die in quick succession, the kingdom comes under control of Seleucus VI and Demetrius III, the allied sons of Grypus. “Then Grypus proceeded to besiege Antioch, the city where Cyzicenus’ wife Cleopatra (...

Synopsis: Cleopatra Thea convinces her son Antiochus VIII Grypus to return to Syria and share the throne.  But once Zabinas is defeated and the kingdom secure, Grypus decides to avenge his brother’s murder. “Ptolemy (Physcon)…proceeded to devote his entire strength to the destruction of Alexander (Zabinas’) kingdom, which the latter had acquired by Ptolemy’s resources solely because of his hatred...

Synopsis: Demetrius II returns to Syria, but his unpopularity – and support for the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra II – results in a usurper named Alexander Zabinas taking most of his kingdom.  Fleeing a military defeat, Demetrius is denied entry to Ptolemais-Akko by Cleopatra Thea, an act that leads to his death.  The elevation of their son Seleucus V results in a darker tragedy. “Released from confine...

Synopsis: A Syrian man from Apamea, enslaved on the island of Sicily, renames himself King Antiochus and launches the first large-scale slave rebellion against the Roman Republic.   “The Sicilians, through the enjoyment of a long peace, grew very rich, and brought up an abundance of slaves; who being driven in droves like so many herds of cattle from the different places where they were bred and b...

Synopsis: After Mithridates is struck down by an illness, his son Phraates II defends Parthian gains against the army of Antiochus VII.  Forced to retreat to Hyrcania, Phraates sets events in motion that result in the deaths of both kings. “On Antiochus (VII)’s approach, many eastern princes came to meet him, surrendering their persons and their thrones, with curses of the arrogance of the Parthia...

Synopsis: Ongoing strife in Anatolia and Egypt allows Antiochus VII to campaign east against the Parthians.  His early successes inspire hopes of a resurgent Seleucid Empire, hopes shattered by his unexpected death. “In Asia, Attalos III as soon as he came to the throne began to manage affairs in a way quite different from all the former kings; for they, by their clemency and kindness to their sub...

“In this battle, Antiochus’ horse was wounded and killed, and the king himself was struck through the mouth and lost some of his teeth.  On the whole, he acquired on that occasion the greatest reputation for valor.  Because of this battle, Euthydemus was caught off guard and retreated with his forces into the Bactrian city of Zariaspa.” – Polybius, The Histories, 10.49  Synopsis: After the death o...

“I am engaged in a land of a leonine and brave people, where every foot of the ground is like a wall of steel confronting my soldiers.  You have brought only one Alexander into the world, but every mother in this land has brought an Alexander into the world.” – Alexander the Great, in a letter written to his mother Olympias from Bactria Synopsis: Five years of campaigning brought Alexander the Gre...

Synopsis: Cleopatra Thea marries Demetrius II’s brother, Antiochus VII, becoming the simultaneous queen of two Seleucid kings. While Antiochus crushes Tryphon’s revolt and recovers former Seleucid territories, Demetrius is defeated by Mithridates and imprisoned in distant Hyrcania.   “But as Antiochus, the brother of Demetrius (II) who was called Soter, was not admitted by any of the cities on acc...

Synopsis: The Seleucid rebel Diodotus Tryphon uses Thea and Alexander Balas’ young son, Antiochus VI, to capture most of Syria.  Though paralyzed at home, Demetrius II embarks on a bold plan to challenge the conquests of Mithridates. “Now there was a certain commander…whose name was Diodotus, who was also called Tryphon, who took notice of the ill-will the soldiers bore toward Demetrius, and went...

Synopsis: The rediscovery of Ai Khanoum testified to the wealth and power of the Bactrian Kingdom.  Mithridates’ conquest of Babylonia is countered by an unlikely coalition. “The cities of Bactria were Bactra, which they also call Zariaspa and through which flows a river of the same name that empties into the Oxus, plus the city of Darapsa, and others more. Among these was a city called Eucratidei...

Synopsis: On the eastern frontiers of the Seleucid Empire, Parthia, Bactria and the Indo-Greeks struggle for regional supremacy.  The stalemate in Syria and murder of Eucratides advance the fortunes of Mithridates. “At about the same time that Mithridates was beginning his rule in Parthia, Eucratides was beginning his in Bactria, both of them great men.  But the fortunes of the Parthians prevailed...

Synopsis: With Syria beset by regional enemies, three kings face off at the Battle of the Oenoparos River.  The lone survivor, King Demetrius II, inaugurates his reign with the violent destruction of Antioch. “And the king of Egypt gathered together a great host, like the sand that lieth upon the sea shore, and many ships, and went about through deceit to get Alexander’s kingdom, and join it to hi...

Synopsis: Demetrius struggles to preserve his throne but ends up falling in battle.  Alexander Balas begins his reign by marrying Ptolemy’s daughter, Cleopatra Thea.  While the sons of Demetrius remain a threat, the couple are also forced to confront the growing menace of Parthia. “Then gathered king Alexander great forces, and camped over against Demetrius.  And after the two kings had joined bat...

Synopsis: Demetrius seizes the Syrian throne and stems immediate threats from Media and Judaea.  But deposed officials and regional rulers conspire to engineer his downfall. “When it became known that the Romans were ill disposed towards Demetrius, not only the other kings but even some of the satraps subject to him regarded his kingship with scant respect.  Of these satraps the most outstanding w...

Synopsis: Lysias attempts to exercise control through the young King Antiochus V, but a deadly incident with a Roman delegation gives hope to the captive Demetrius.  Ptolemy Physcon challenges his brother Ptolemy VI for control of Egypt and Cyprus. “They then went on board, and the pilot weighed anchor and started just as the day was breaking, having absolutely no idea of the real state of the cas...