Reza Zarghamee, “Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World” (Mage Pub, 2013)

Reza Zarghamee, “Discovering Cyrus: The Persi...

Up next

Zainab Saleh, "Political Undesirables: Citizenship, Denaturalization, and Reclamation in Iraq" (Stanford UP, 2025)

Political Undesirables: Citizenship, Denaturalization, and Reclamation in Iraq (Stanford UP, 2025) considers the legal making and unmaking of citizenship in Iraq, focusing on the mass denaturalization and deportation of Iraqi Jews in 1950–51 and Iraqis of Iranian origin in the ...  Show more

Sean Mathews, "The New Byzantines: The Rise of Greece and Return of the Near East" (Hurst, 2025)

Where does Greece belong? Many look at the ancient Greek ruins of Athens, and see the cradle of Western civilization. But much of Greece’s history actually looks eastward to the rest of the Mediterranean: to Turkey, Egypt, Israel and Palestine. In his book The New Byzantines: The ...  Show more

Recommended Episodes

97. Cyrus the Great: Building the First Superpower
Empire: World History

Born the son of a khan, a tribal chieftain, Cyrus would go on to be a titanic figure of world history. He took Persia from being a minor regional power to the first superpower the world has ever seen. Conquering all of modern day Iran, then Turkey, and finally defeating the power ...  Show more

Cyrus the Great
The Ancients

The ancient Persian ruler who founded the Achaemenid Empire, known for his benevolent governance and conquests - Cyrus the Great was a giant of history. History remembers him as someone who conquered numerous lands, established a legendary empire, respected local customs, and ...

  Show more

Rise of the Persians
The Ancients

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 ...

  Show more

The First Persian Empire
Short History Of...

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