160: Succession Crisis(?)

Loss and rejuvenation. Ramesses third decade in power was a time of death. The King's Great Wife Nefertari passed around year 25. Almost simultaneously, his mother Tuya, his second wife Iset-Nofret, and his eldest son Amun-her-khopeshef all passed to the west. We meet these figur ...  Show more

What is the true name of god? Once upon a time, Ra ruled the earth directly. But the great goddess Iset/Isis desired to know his private name, the one hidden from all outsiders. A name that, if known, would grant the knower magical power over the sun god. To gain the knowledge sh ...  Show more

One hundred years ago, in 1922, Egyptologist Howard Carter made one of the most spectacular discoveries in the history of archaeology, when he unearthed the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. In the first episode in our new series on the life, death and legacy of ...  Show more

After conquering much of Eurasia, Timur showed no interest in building institutions and so after his death, like the Mongol Empire before it, the Timurid Empire soon fragmented and collapsed. However, some of Timur’s grandchildren took over parts of the Empire and ushered in eras ...  Show more

Born in the romantic splendour of Ptolemaic Egypt, not far from the Library of Alexandria, Cleopatra was destined for greatness. She ascended to the throne at 18 and very quickly asserted her authority across Egypt as her extraordinary mind and legendary charisma captivated all. ...  Show more

Sold as a slave to the great Abbasid Caliph, al-Khayzuran quickly rose to the very top of the pyramid. Through marriage and motherhood, she became wife of the caliph and then Queen Mother and in both instances she wielded extraordinary power. In the court at Baghdad - the very he ...  Show more