25a: Nile Divided - The First Intermediate Pe...

Prof. Peter Brand joins us for one final conversation about Ramesses II: Egypt's "Ultimate Pharaoh." If you haven't read it, I highly recommend Peter's book Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh (2023). It covers everything I discussed, and much more, in exceptional detail. Learn ...  Show more

How does Ramesses II stack up to his predecessors? Why did ancient writers connect him with the Trojan War? In this episode we explore tales of Ramesses, told in antiquity, and consider his legacy in the modern world. Music: Keith Zizza and Luke Chaos. Bibliography Brand, P. (201 ...  Show more

August 24, 394. On the walls of a fading Egyptian temple, a priest carves what will become the last known hieroglyph in history. At the same moment, in Alexandria, a fiery archbishop named Theophilus is rising to power. He mocks the ancient Egyptian gods, desecrates their temples ...  Show more

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 November 1922, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, a young water boy called Hussein Abdul Rasoul makes a remarkable discovery. A set of stone steps lies concealed beneath the desert sand - a staircase leading to a long-lost tomb. The mummified pharaoh within will capture the imagi ...  Show more

In the aftermath of the Sixth Syrian War, the tripartite division of authority between Ptolemy VI , Cleopatra II, and Ptolemy VIII was a tenuous one at best, having to deal with rebellions of ambitious courtiers and disgruntled subjects. On top of this, the two brothers schemed f ...  Show more