128 – The End of King Oswiu’s Hegemony

About a year and a half ago I did a series on the Staffordshire hoard. And talking with the experts and viewing the relics was easily one of my favorite moments from the entire experience of putting together the BHP. As you might remember, the hoard was found in Mercia and it is ...  Show more

It began with Cassivellaunus. The first recorded King to have commanded the submission of most, if not all, of the British tribes and who fought valiantly against Caesar and his legions. And although the hegemony under Cassivellaunus didn’t last, it presented a tantalizing new po ...  Show more

1186 - 1197 We sadly saw goodbye to the Norman kings in Sicily and usher in a new era in which the Hohenstaufen, under emperor Henry VI, son of Barbarossa, extend their dominion from the north sea to the centre of the Meditteranean. 

In this episode, we discuss events in the eastern Mediterranean during the reign of the Persian king, Kambyses, with a focus on the achievements and the political maneuverings between the Egyptian kings Amasis II and Psammetichos III, the Kyrenean kings Battos III and Arkesila ...

In this episode, we discuss the ascension of Dareios to the Persian throne; his consolidation of the empire and eastern campaigns into the Indus River valley; Zoroastrianism and the role Ahura-Mazda played in his reign; and his reform program, with a special focus on his creat ...

Known as the 'King of the World' and the last great king of Assyria, Ashurbanipal bestrode the ancient Mesopotamian world as a warrior but also a scholar, ruling the great Assyrian empire at the height of its power.In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by Assyriologist Dr Sel ...  Show more