The Persian Empire(s)

One of the first mathematical concepts that most of us grasp when we are children is that there is no such thing as the biggest number. No matter what number you pick, you can always add one to it.You might think that such a simple idea wouldn’t have any profound impact in mathem ...  Show more

The Abbasid Caliphate stood as a vibrant center of commerce, technology, and learning from the 8th to the 13th centuries. At the heart of this Islamic dynasty was the House of Wisdom. It was an extraordinary institute that drew scholars from across the known world, which made Bag ...  Show more

The Persian Empire followed in the footsteps of the Assyrians and Babylonians, but it was a much different entity than its predecessors, and its founder - Cyrus the Great - deserves to be mentioned among history's most accomplished conquerors. Professor Matt Waters joins me to ...

The Achaemenid Empire, or better known as the First Persian Empire, was one of the largest empires in History - led by Cyrus the Great it covered 2.1 million square miles. But where did it come from? And what do we know about their society? It was in their DNA to travel and ex ...

The late Bronze Age world of the Near East was an incredibly rich and complex place, full of long-distance trade, the exchange of ideas, bickering kings, and empires rising and falling. Among those empires, one of the most powerful and enigmatic was that of the Hittites, whose ...

The Sasanians are renowned as one of Rome's most feared enemies. Founded in third century Persia by an Iranian noble called Ardashir, their dynasty oversaw the growth of a mighty empire that brought down the Parthians and survived into the early Middle Ages. But how did one fa ...