Darius the Great, Persian King of Kings

It's one of history’s most compelling cold cases. What happened to the Ninth Legion, a crack unit of 5,000 Roman soldiers who vanished from the historical record without a trace?Tristan Hughes is joined by Roman historian Dr Simon Elliott to investigate the fate of the legion tha ...  Show more

Two thousand years ago, centuries before the Vikings, there was another Scandinavia. An Iron Age world.Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Marianne Hem Eriksen to uncover the deep roots of the seafaring North, journeying through a forgotten world of elite halls, Roman encounters, and ...  Show more

The Persian Empire that Darius took control of was already mighty and powerful; his predecessor, Cambyses, had conquered Egypt, further expanding its territory. But it was under Darius it reached its zenith. Stretching all the way from the Mediterranean in the west to India in th ...  Show more

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 ...

Darius III rules Persia and he has already demonstrated his heroism and skill in battle. The Empire itself, despite having been through a period of court intrigue, was stable. Yet, coming through their western border, originally from Macedonia, was a young man bent on conquering ...  Show more

Melvyn Bragg and guests explore the history and reputation of the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great. Cyrus the Second of Persia as he was known then was born in the sixth century BCE in Persis which is now in Iran. He was the founder of the first Persian Empire, the largest empire at ...  Show more