Rise of the Assyrians

“Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair.” Ramesses II reigned as Egypt's unchallenged champion for more than sixty years. But within decades the dynasty of Egypt’s greatest pharaoh had fallen apart. Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Campbell Price to chart how the reign of Ramesse ...  Show more

As friendships fracture and old alliances break, Tristan Hughes and Dr Adrian Goldsworthy chronicle the epic downfall of Alexander the Great. Alexander’s relentless campaigns from Bactria to Babylon push his empire, army and inner circle to breaking point, hear the battles, betra ...  Show more

Rome has attracted aspiring conquerors and leaders for millennia, not just as a great metropolis, but as an idea. It has long been a symbol of military might and universal power, defined by political and religious authority as well as great feats of engineering that would leav ...

Overseeing a rich and diverse kingdom, Ethiopia’s medieval monarchs consolidated their power by claiming descent from the Biblical King Solomon. But why did they pursue long-distance diplomatic contacts with Latin Europe? 

In this episode of Gone Medieval</e ...

For a little over 200 years, the First Persian Empire ruled over a vast expanse across three continents, making it arguably the world’s first great superpower. At its peak, it stretched from its base in Persia - roughly analogous to modern-day Iran, all the way to India in the Ea ...  Show more

The urban cultures of ancient Mesopotamia formed the foundation for so much of our modern world. Nowhere exemplifies this better than the city of Babylon, which was the cultural seedbed for the Greek and Roman civilisations that in turn left such lasting legacies.

On ...