164 – Shadow Governments in Britain

Last week we talked about the impact that the Church was having on internal politics within the Anglo Saxon kingdoms, and that is something we will continue to talk about today. However, before we begin, let’s talk about something strange that’s happening on the continent. Suppor ...  Show more

We start today with a death. On the 28th of January, 814, Charlemagne died and the throne passed to Louis the Pious. The death of Charlemagne was a big deal for early medieval europe, not just because it meant that we wouldn’t have anymore passive aggressive comments about the qu ...  Show more

This episode, we start at the mid-point of the Western Zhou period, and follow it all the way down to its conclusion with the shattering of Royal authority, the sacking of the capital, and the vengeance of the White Wolf Clans on the Zhou. By the end of the episode, though a Zhou ...  Show more

In the last episode we met 7 living former monarchs who chose to retire, hand their thrones to their children and enjoy their golden years. But not all living former monarchs chose to get off the throne, some were pushed off. In the 20th century, 28 national-level monarchies acro ...  Show more

King You of Zhou lays headless, the capital a smouldering ruin, and royal authority utterly destroyed. Regional lords exploit the chaos at hand to expand their own domains - and at times declare their own kingdoms - while the new, toothless Eastern Zhou kings struggle to stabiliz ...  Show more

Synopsis:  Hattusili III’s diplomacy with the pharaoh Ramesses II culminates in the world’s first peace treaty.  After his death, his son Tudhaliya IV drives out the Ahhiyawans, then defends northern Syria against Assyrian aggression. “The Kings who are my equals in rank are t ...  Show more