Episode S4 – Children of the Moon

SEASON 2 FINALE Synopsis: Shulgi and his successors face major challenges to Ur III rule, including Amorite attacks, Sumerian rivals, and a newly-emboldened Shimashki. “The god Enlil granted to Shu-Sin a long lifespan, a crown and tiara, a scepter of long days, a royal throne, a ...  Show more

Synopsis: The Proto-Elamite horizon sparked innovation and trade throughout Iran and Central Asia, and its collapse saw the emergence of numerous “secondary states”. Toward the end of the Third Millennium BC, the dominant polity east of the Zagros was the Oxus Civilization. Map o ...  Show more

“The Nabateans are a silent partner in everything that goes on in the high summer of the Ancient period” - Bettany Hughes By the time of Jesus’ birth, a mysterious empire had built its wealth through trading two of the gifts present at the Nativity: frankincense and myrrh. Aroma ...  Show more

In the deserts of Jordan, a city lies hidden for centuries in a valley of rose-red stone...In this episode, we look at one of the most peculiar stories of civilizational survival to come down to us from the ancient world, the story of the Nabataeans. Find out how these once humbl ...  Show more

Situated on the western coast of the Red Sea in antiquity were a series of thriving seaports, bringing in trade from as far as way as Sir Lanka. Key mercantile centres, where goods made in Iberia could theoretically have been sold alongside items crafted thousands of miles to ...

The Abbasid path to power required stealth, deceit, and most of all patience. The Hashemite family managed to unseat the Umayyads through cultivating a secret movement that benefitted from all the social tensions which plagued the umma. They drew on Hashemite support by calling f ...  Show more