History of Persia

162: The Great Revolt

Mon, 09 Mar 2026 11:23:34 +0000

The Seleucid narrative is back, and Antiochus III is the new king. Fresh off the death of his father and brother, the young Antiochus found himself pulled in three different directions by his nobles as rebellions, wars, and scheming advisers took their toll on the Empire.

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161: Meet the Neighbors Speed Round

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:13:13 +0000

Prepare for a return to the narrative with a quick round of catch up with the Seleucids' neighbors: Egypt, Macedon, India, and surprisingly, Sparta one last time before the famed warriors of Ancient Greece fade into history.

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Intelligent Speech 2026!!!

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 18:23:20 +0000

Intelligent Speech Online 2026 is almost here, and if I haven't yet sold you on attending the conference on February 28, 2026 (starting at 9am US Eastern Time), you might be interested in my presentation from last year's event.

When he seized the Persian throne in 522 BCE, Darius the Great made a public declaration explaining his coup in the Bisotun Inscription. Details changed with each retelling, but that version of story is the only one that survived in ancient sources. Modern historians are pretty sure that it’s one of the most successful lies ever told.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com – Intelligent Speech Online 2026 Tickets available now!

Watch the video version of this presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uAFcxdySfI

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Holiday Special 2025 (Happy Sadeh!)

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 18:42:15 +0000

Slightly delayed by world events, but planned and written for December 2025, History of Persia marks the Iranian and Zoroastrian holiday of Sadeh, a feast and fire to stave off the dark winter nights and celebrate light and warmth.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com – Intelligent Speech Online 2026 Tickets available now!

The Gist of the Jashan Ceremony - https://www.avesta.org/antia/Gist_of_the_Jashan_R1.pdf

The Atash Niyayesh - https://www.avesta.org/ka/niyayesh.htm#ny5

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160: Philosophy and Medicine

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 23:54:18 +0000

Unfortunately for the study of Seleucid philosophy, the Seleucid kings were not major patrons of the lovers of wisdom as their Hellenistic neighbors were, and the works of the philosophers they did patronize have not survived. However, somewhat more can be said of Seleucid patronage of ancient medicine.

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159: The Lovers of Wisdom

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 05:57:20 +0000

We're taking a break from the narrative for a brief introduction to Ancient Greek Philosophy. From Thales to Epicurus, it's time.

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The Hellenistic Age Podcast - https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps - https://historyofphilosophy.net/

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158: A Flawed Inheritance

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 18:13:25 +0000

After chasing his brother out of Asia, but still beaten by the Parthians, Seleucus II returned to Antioch to face the family drama royals are best known for and to prepare for another round of war. In a speed round family episode, we'll cover the Seleucid extended family, the death of Seleucus Callinichus, and the reign of Seleucus III Ceranaus.

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157: The Seleucid Civil War

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 17:00:01 +0000

During the Third Syrian War, Seleucus II Callinicus discovered treachery. His younger brother, Antiochus Hierax and their royal relatives in Anatolia attempted to usurp the throne. Seleucus was forced to make a hasty peace with Ptolemy III and return to the north to face his brother in open civil war.

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156: Babylon Drift

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 01:10:33 +0000

With Babylonia and the Seleucis of Syria under Ptolemaic occupation, it's entirely possible that the only thing that saved Seleucus II was an Egyptian famine. Free to go on the offensive, Seleucus turned the tide of the Third Syrian War.

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155: The War of the Mothers

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 19:05:36 +0000

Antiochus II Theos was dead and his wives, Laodike and Berenike, were both trying to get their sons on the Seleucid throne. Both sides called on their relatives, the Achaeids and Ptolemies, to plunder and retake the vulnerable Empire.

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154: Meet the Messy Neighbors

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 20:38:36 +0000

We take a break from the Seleucids to discuss their western neighbors: Egypt under Ptolemy II and Macedon under Antigonus II.

The Hellenistic Age Podcast - https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/

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Bonus Teaser: Frank Miller's "Xerxes"

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 17:07:56 +0000

We've covered 300. We've covered Rise of an Empire. We've covered all sorts of Achaemenid historical fiction. So now, we cover Xerxes, with a shockingly positive review of Frank Miller's sequel graphic novel.

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Bonus Teaser: Achaemenid Movies?

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 17:32:36 +0000

Thank you all so much for supporting History of Persia. In this bonus episode, I wanted to try out something a little different than usual. Today, I'm pitching my ideas for movies and series set in the Achaemenid Empire. If you've ever wanted a spaghetti western set in the 5th Century BCE or an animated musical where Cambyses is Prince Charming, I've got some thoughts.

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153: Blood Relations

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 16:59:15 +0000

It's time to wind down Antiochus II Theos and talk about his extended royal family, from his various siblings spread out across the Hellenistic world to the powerful cousins entrenched in Anatolia. Then we'll wrap up with his two wives, Laodike and Berenike, and their three sons, Seleucus, Antiochus, and Antiochus.

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Bonus Teaser: Daniel

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 18:24:12 +0000

The Book of Daniel is a fascinating combination of genuine history, folk tale, historical inaccuracy, and prophecy. Let's talk about it.

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152: There Goes the Neighborhood

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 18:46:37 +0000

During and after the Second Syrian War, Antiochus II was involved in many ongoing events with his smaller neighbors and subordinates. Whether it was intervening in the Cappadocian monarchy, being kept out of Bithynia by threats of a wider war, or granting autonomy to Parthia and Bactria to fight the Parni, the Seleucid Empire was a busy place in the mid-3rd Century BCE.

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151: 2 Syria 2 War

Fri, 25 Jul 2025 18:25:06 +0000

Trevor's WiFi is back, and so is the History of Persia. Although he started in a relatively strong position, the new Seleucid king Antiochus II's reign was immediately derailed by the Second Syrian War. Rebellions, invasions, and alliances ensue.

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150: The Time Lord

Sun, 06 Jul 2025 19:23:42 +0000

To wrap up our series on Orphism and its connections to Hellenistic Iran, it's time to discuss Zurvan, the Zoroastrian yazata of Time, and his growing cult in the Hellenistic Age.

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149: Theogonies

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 04:23:40 +0000

The Ancient Greeks had many ideas about the origins of the universe and humanity over the centuries. The best known is probably Hesiod's Theogony, but the Orphics developed many of their own versions of the story. Today, we explore some of those competing ideas about the dawn of Time.

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148: Orphic Mysteries

Fri, 09 May 2025 03:17:16 +0000

Continuing the story of Orphic religion, we take a break from mythology to talk about theology in one of ancient Greece's more unique mystery cults.

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147: Orpheus

Tue, 15 Apr 2025 02:13:15 +0000

We're taking a break from the historical narrative to focus on a mythological one: the life and times of Orpheus the Bard, from his many origin stories to the travels of the Argonauts to his eventual journey to the underworld.

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146: Dating in the Family

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 02:08:45 +0000

Like any good king, Antiochus I Soter had a royal family, and as his reign comes to an end, it's time to talk about them, from his brother in Anatolia to troublesome sons and wide ranging in-laws. He's in his Seleucid Era.

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145: From Antiochus to Ashoka

Wed, 19 Mar 2025 03:39:11 +0000

After losing a large piece of the eastern empire to Chandragupta Maurya, the Seleucids didn't just ignore their eastern neighbors. In the later decades of Seleucus' reign, Megasthenes established diplomatic ties between the two eastern kingdoms. In the generations that followed, diplomacy and trade helped to stabilize both the Maurya and the Seleucids.

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144: Pergamon et al.

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 04:57:19 +0000

A grab bag episode to cover Seleukid politics in the last decade or so of Antiochus Soter's reign. We've got temples, cities, and rebellion. What more could you ask for?

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143: The First Syrian War

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 23:38:45 +0000

No sooner had Antiochus I defeated the new-found Galatians in Anatolia, than war erupted in the south. Magas, brother of Ptolemy II and self-declared King of Cyrene, formed a marriage alliance with Antiochus before fighting a war of succession against his brother, dragging the Seleucid Empire along for the ride.

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142: Gauls With Gall

Sat, 15 Feb 2025 18:46:46 +0000

After sweeping through the Balkans with their kin, three tribes of Gauls in Thrace drew the attention of the embattled Nicomeides of Bithynia as potential allies in his war against a Seleucid-backed opponent. The Gauls crossed the Bosporus and swept through Nicomeides enemies with ease before turning their sites on the war torn regions of Seleucid Anatolia.

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Intelligent Speech Panels Tomorrow February 8!

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 20:39:51 +0000

Intelligent Speech 2025 is coming! The event will feature a gathering of excellent history podcasters THIS SATURDAY. That’s FEBRUARY 8, 2025 at 10:00am US Eastern Time for an all day event featuring presentations, panels, and live Q&A with a ton of history podcasts. If that doesn’t convince you, this episode is last year’s History of Persia Presentation. Get those tickets ASAP!!!

Get tickets to Intelligent Speech February 8, 2025!

https://intelligentspeechonline.com/

Featuring:

Derek - The Hellenistic Age

https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/

Umberto - So You Think You Can Rule Persia

https://soyouthinkyoucanrulepersia.wordpress.com/

Bry - Pontifacts

https://pontifacts.podbean.com/

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History of Persia Live at Intelligent Speech

Wed, 05 Feb 2025 05:45:44 +0000

Intelligent Speech 2025 is coming! The event will feature a gathering of excellent history podcasters THIS SATURDAY. That's FEBRUARY 8, 2025 at 10:00am US Eastern Time for an all day event featuring presentations, panels, and live Q&A with a ton of history podcasts. If that doesn't convince you, this episode is last year's History of Persia Presentation. Get those tickets ASAP!!!

Get tickets to Intelligent Speech February 8, 2025!

https://intelligentspeechonline.com/

Video Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHp9g9cg5to&ab_channel=IntelligentSpeechOnline

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141: The Age of Antiochus

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 04:18:36 +0000

Antiochus I succeeded his father Seleucus in 281 BCE, and he was immediately plunged into a series of revolts, invasion, and crises in every direction. Ptolemy II was seizing land. The reconquest of the northern dynasts was horribly mismanaged, and as a cherry on top, Gauls suddenly invaded Greece.

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140: Meet the Neighbors Who Resisted

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 06:04:53 +0000

By the time Seleucus Nicator was murdered, he had reunited much of Alexander the Great's Empire, but the northern and southwestern edges of the imperial map were rapidly filling in with new, smaller kingdoms and confederations. From Chorasmia to the Cimmerian Bosporus, and from Bithynia to the Nabataean Arabs, this episode gives a brief overview of the smaller successors to Alexander and Darius.

History of Saqartvelo-Georgia

https://thegrandembassy-shop.fourthwall.com/

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139: Diadochoi

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 19:44:24 +0000

9 Kings of Macedon, 8 A-names, 7 warring states, 6 kingdoms, 5 marriage pacts, 4 dead successors, 3 Ptolemies, 2 wars of succession, and 1 Victor all in one episode. The age of the diadochoi ends with a bang.

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Holiday Special 2024 - Zartosht No Diso

Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:56:02 +0000

According to tradition, the prophet Zoroaster died at 77 years and 40 days old on Khorshed Dae AKA December 26 (depending on who you ask). Let's talk about it.

Cardinal Numbers Podcast https://www.popeularhistory.com/episodes/cardinal-numbers

Zoroastrian numerology https://www.podbean.com/ep/pb-85prx-1475d46

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138: A Tale of True Loves

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 04:10:58 +0000

Today, we explore the family of King Seleucus I from his grandfather to his sons and daughters, including one of history's first uses of the she's only his step-mom excuse.

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137: Who are you again?... Again

Tue, 10 Dec 2024 23:11:44 +0000

Today, we step back from the narrative to see what kind of empire Seleucus was actually running here.

Ian Mladjov's Maps https://sites.google.com/a/umich.edu/imladjov/maps

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136: Ipsus

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 23:48:08 +0000

The Wars of the Diadochoi did not end in 301 BCE, but their Fourth War finished with a dramatic turning point in the Battle of Ipsus as Antigonus and Demetrius faced off against Seleucus, Lysimachus, and Pleistarchus.

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135: Rise of the Elephant King

Sat, 23 Nov 2024 22:19:10 +0000

After reclaiming Babylon, King Seleucus began consolidating his power over the upper satrapies, but even as he worked to reclaim the Iranian east, the Mauryan Empire began pushing out of India and across the mountains of Gandhara.

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134: Samrat - Meet the Neighbors

Sat, 16 Nov 2024 17:28:03 +0000

While Macedon was consolidating and collapsing in the west, a new empire was on the rise in the east. Chandragupta Maurya and his teacher, Chanakya, were busy overthrowing the Nanda Dynasty and expanding their new kingdom to become one of the great powers of Indian history.

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2024 Holiday Special: Cyrus the Great Day

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 03:09:41 +0000

Cyrus the Great Day is an unofficial holiday in modern Iran, marking the anniversary of Cyrus the Great's conquest of Babylon and celebrating the origins of the Iranian state. It has also been the center of controversy, revolt, and secular ambitions within the Islamic Republic for most of the last decade.

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133: Meet the Diadochoi

Sat, 26 Oct 2024 02:48:11 +0000

After the death of Alexander IV, the former friends and generals of Alexander the Great held their breath, waiting almost a year to resume their wars. The Fourth War of the Diadochoi saw them claim their royal titles as the Successors as Cassander, Ptolemy, and Demetrius battled for dominance.

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132: Mystery Cults

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 02:34:54 +0000

History of Persia dips its toes into the infamous Ancient Greek mystery cults to explore their role in Hellenistic religious life and what exactly makes them so mysterious anyway. Secret rituals, week long parties, and ancient drugs feature in the Eleusinian Mysteries.

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131: Breaking Babylon

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 03:44:57 +0000

Shortly before the end of the Third War of the Diadochoi, Seleucus set out with a small army to retake his satrapy in Babylon. After several years of neglect by Antigonus Monophthalmus, Seleucus retook the region easily. Before long he held all of the Upper Satrapies against Antigonus, but by the end of the Babylonian War, events in Macedon sundered the empire of Alexander the Great.

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130: The War for Empire

Sat, 28 Sep 2024 20:05:36 +0000

No sooner did the Second War of the Diadochoi end, than the Third began when Antiognus Monophthalmus attempted to seize control of the whole empire. Ptolemy, Seleucus, Cassander, and Lysander rallied against their former comrade as war spread from Palestine to Greece to Thrace.

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Bye Week 1: Libertalia

Wed, 28 Aug 2024 03:13:52 +0000

Alright. I'm moving house. Covid is ravaging my Secret Wars guest list. It's 104* F and I can't turn off my AC to record History of Persia. So we're trying a new thing tonight. Hope y'all like mythical pirate anarchism because that's what I have on hand.

129: Chaos in the Upper Satrapies

Mon, 19 Aug 2024 04:25:44 +0000

While Cassander and Polyphercon fought for the regency of Macedon, Antigonus Monophthalmus and Eumenes of Cardia fought for supremacy in the Upper Satrapies. The initially reluctant Peithon and Seleucus joined Antigonus to defeat the traitor Eumenes, and in the process, turn Antigonus into the most powerful man in the empire.

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128: Chaos on the Western Front

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 03:17:23 +0000

With the sudden death of Antipater, the Empire of Alexander the Great is thrown into chaos once again as the late regent's son, Cassander forges and alliance to seize the reigns of power. Antigonus is hunting Eumenes. Polyphercon struggles in Greece. Ptolemy and Egypt are just quietly expanding, and titanic figures of ancient history are washed away.

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127: War of the Regents

Wed, 31 Jul 2024 01:58:23 +0000

Within just two years of Alexander the Great's death, the conqueror's empire shattered into civil war as Perdiccas threatened the most powerful nobles in the empire to solidify his own power as regent. Together with Eumenes, Alkestas, and a host of loyalists generals, the Perdiccid faction faced down Antipater, Antigonus, Craterus, and Ptolemy. It was the First War of the Diadochi, the First War of the Successors.

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126! A Brave New World

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 23:08:26 +0000

History of Persia is back as we enter the Hellenistic Age. From a veterans' revolt in Bactria to the Lamian War in Greece, Perdiccas became the new regent of Alexander the Great's Empire in a chaotic time of shifting allegiances.

The Hellenistic Age Podcast https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/

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What is Hellenism w/ Derek from The Hellenistic Age Podcast

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 23:34:51 +0000

I sat down for a chat with Derek from the Hellenistic Age Podcast (@HellenisticPod) so he could explain the basics of Hellenism and this new era that emerged in the aftermath of Alexander the Great's conquests.

The Hellenistic Age Podcast https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/

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Must Listen Announcement!!!! (and the History of Gold minisode)

Thu, 27 Jun 2024 02:53:21 +0000

Very important announcements and updates about History of Persia and America: Secret Wars. Please visit our new fundraising page at HoPfulMedia.com.co !

Patrons look for a special update just for you posting imminently!

New subscribers use code ALEXANDER to get 1 month free when you sign up before July 31, 2024

New annual subscribers use code GIZISTAG to get the first 2 months free before July 31, 2024

Visit us on YouTube at YouTube.com/@hopfulmedia!

Episode 2 Remastered

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 03:20:17 +0000

Last time, we got up to speed on what was going on in the Near East in the centuries before the Persians showed up. What we didn't cover, was who exactly are these "Persians," and what were they doing while their future empire was being taken over by the Assyrians. This time, we figure that out as we follow some steppe nomads called the Proto-Indo-Europeans on their 3000-ish year journey to becoming the Persians.

Episode 1 Remastered!

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 01:51:58 +0000

Remastered - Here we go, episode 1! Now, as much as I want to get to Persian history, we should probably know at least a little bit about the world before the Persians got there, so this is you lightspeed tour of the Near East, from about 1200 BCE to 616 BCE. Maps for everything are available on the website.

[Ex] Creation by Gore Vidal - Swords Sorcery & Socialism Crossover Part 2

Wed, 29 May 2024 04:27:22 +0000

Trevor and Aurora from Swords, Sorcery, and Socialism found the perfect crossover episode with Creation by Gore Vidal: a historical fiction novel set in the 5th Century BCE that follows a fictional descendant of Zoroaster on his worldwide journey to understand the mysteries of the universe.

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[Ex] Creation by Gore Vidal - Swords Sorcery & Socialism Crossover Part 1

Tue, 21 May 2024 01:18:45 +0000

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What if Cyrus III? Choose Your Own Alt History Live

Sun, 12 May 2024 03:16:48 +0000

This is audio from the live event with Sariel and Umberto from So You Think You Can Rule Persia last year. I wrote a wildly over complicated Choose Your Own Adventure script about alternate histories if Cyrus the Younger defeated Artaxerxes II.

So You Think You Can Rule Persia

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125.2 Ask Me Anything Again... Again

Fri, 03 May 2024 05:22:09 +0000

You, the listeners of this very podcast, are phenomenal, thoughtful, inquisitive people. So I have done my very best to answer your many, many questions about the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Alexander the Great, and myself.

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History of the Celts

r/AskHistorians post about supply lines

Patreon RSS feed instructions

Persian Music by ItShowTimeMusic

The Complete Fragments of Ctesias of Cnidus by Andrew Nichols

Ctesias' History of Persia: Tales of the Orient by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and James Robson

125.1: Ask Me Anything Again

Wed, 01 May 2024 02:33:24 +0000

Patreon | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

r/AskHistorians post about supply lines

Patreon RSS feed instructions

Persian Music by ItShowTimeMusic

The Complete Fragments of Ctesias of Cnidus by Andrew Nichols

Ctesias' History of Persia: Tales of the Orient by Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and James Robson

124: All Hail the New Gods

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 17:00:06 +0000

A new Hellenistic Age is dawning in the History of Persia, and with it come new Hellenistic gods and beliefs. Everyone is at least vaguely familiar with Greek mythology, but before we go any further, we should all be on the same page.

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ASW 04: Triesta, a hot start to the Cold War II

Wed, 03 Apr 2024 02:23:02 +0000

Trevor is joined by Roberto Toro and Brendan Foster (@foster_writing) of The History of Saqartvelo Georgia (@History_Georgia) and Tsar Power (@TsarPowerPod) podcasts to discuss the post war occupation of Trieste and how tensions with Yugoslavia almost started World War III less than a year after World War II.

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Goldstein - Trieste, October 1945 to January 1947

Jenning - Flashpoint Trieste: The First Battle of the Cold War

Allock - Border and Territorial Disputes

Rogers Churchill and Slany - Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Eastern Europe...

Winston Churchill - "Iron Curtain" Speech

Dinardo - Glimpse of an Old World Order? Reconsidering the Trieste Crisis of 1945

Morrison - Eastern Europe and the West

NYT - Attack on U.S. Airplane; Patterson says shooting down of Americans was 'Wicked' and...

NYT - Text of 2 U.s. Notes Answer Yugoslavia; His Plane Downed

The Sydney Morning Herald Friday 23 August 1946

ASW 03: Trieste, a hot start to the Cold War I

Tue, 26 Mar 2024 02:17:24 +0000

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Goldstein - Trieste, October 1945 to January 1947

Jenning - Flashpoint Trieste: The First Battle of the Cold War

Allock - Border and Territorial Disputes

Rogers Churchill and Slany - Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, Eastern Europe...

Winston Churchill - "Iron Curtain" Speech

Dinardo - Glimpse of an Old World Order? Reconsidering the Trieste Crisis of 1945

Morrison - Eastern Europe and the West

NYT - Attack on U.S. Airplane; Patterson says shooting down of Americans was 'Wicked' and...

NYT - Text of 2 U.s. Notes Answer Yugoslavia; His Plane Downed

The Sydney Morning Herald Friday 23 August 1946

123: Fever Pitch

Wed, 20 Mar 2024 01:45:06 +0000

Nowruz Mubarak! To celebrate the year 1394/2413/3762, I killed The Accursed Alexander of Rome, and covered the aftermath.

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ASW: America's Very First War II

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 02:51:05 +0000

For part 2, Trevor is joined by Asha (@Herbo_Anarchist) of the “Swords, Sorcery, and Socialism” podcast (@SwordsNSocPod) to explain Secret Wars and discuss the first ever war fought by the United States’ armed forces after gaining independence: a border dispute between Georgia and the Muskogee (Creek) Confederacy from 1785-1790.

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Saunt – A New Order of Things: Property, Power, and the Transformation of the Creek Indians, 1733-1816

Scurry – The Oconee War Parts 1-3

Smith – History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861

Chappell – Georgia History Stories

Coulter – Elijah Clarke’s Foreign Intrigues and the “Trans-Oconee Republic”

Haynes – Patrolling the Border: Theft and Violence on the Creek-Georgia Frontier, 1770-1796

Kokomoor – Let Us Try to Make Each Other Happy, and Not Wretched”: the Creek-Georgian Frontier

Kokomoor – Creeks, Federalists, and the Idea of Coexistence in the Early Republic

Scurry – A Considerable Tract of Country

122: Alexander in Love

Sun, 10 Mar 2024 03:10:14 +0000

Alexander the Great had many relationships, both romantic and familial. From mother and father, Olympias and Philip, to a vast array of step-mothers and siblings to at least four romantic and sexual partners, the Macedonian royal family was as vast as it was confusing and controversial.

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ASW: America's Very First War I

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 23:00:00 +0000

For the very first episode of America: Secret Wars, Trevor is joined by Asha (@HerboAnarchist) of the “Swords, Sorcery, and Socialism” podcast to explain Secret Wars and discuss the first ever war fought by the United States’ armed forces after gaining independence: a border dispute between Georgia and the Muskogee (Creek) Confederacy from 1785-1790.

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Saunt – A New Order of Things: Property, Power, and the Transformation of the Creek Indians, 1733-1816

Scurry – The Oconee War Parts 1-3

Smith – History of the Georgia Militia, 1783-1861

Chappell – Georgia History Stories

Coulter – Elijah Clarke’s Foreign Intrigues and the “Trans-Oconee Republic”

Haynes – Patrolling the Border: Theft and Violence on the Creek-Georgia Frontier, 1770-1796

Kokomoor – Let Us Try to Make Each Other Happy, and Not Wretched”: the Creek-Georgian Frontier

Kokomoor – Creeks, Federalists, and the Idea of Coexistence in the Early Republic

Scurry – A Considerable Tract of Country

A Great, Big, Announcement (and the coins of Alexander the Great)

Sun, 03 Mar 2024 04:07:25 +0000

A massive announcement episode to explain my new podcast: America - Secret Wars, some news about the History of Persia, and Alexander the Great's coinage.

Listen to America: Secret Wars

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121: The Conquests to Come

Sun, 18 Feb 2024 04:29:40 +0000

In 323 BCE, Alexander the Great was preparing for future campaigns. Some sources say that Alexander wanted to defeat Carthage. Others say Alexander planned to attack Rome, but the most likely candidate was actually Alexander's planned Arabian campaign.

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120: King the Conqueror

Sun, 11 Feb 2024 02:18:46 +0000

In 324 BCE, Alexander the Great took his first real break from war since he became king. At Susa, he orchestrated the mass marriage of his highest officers with Iranian noblewomen and honored the war heroes of his recent campaigns. Alexander faced another mutiny at Opis before heading to Ecbatana, where his closest companion, Hephaestion, died suddenly of an unknown illness, throwing the king into a deep depression.

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119: Pirates of the Arabian

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 04:04:29 +0000

While Alexander the Great crossed Gedrosia, Nearchus sailed from the Indus to explore the Arabian Sea and chart the coast of the Macedonian Empire. They faced obstacles, became pirates, and fought seas monsters before even reaching the Persian Gulf.

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118: Dead Men's Rest

Tue, 30 Jan 2024 22:50:02 +0000

After the Battle of the Hydaspes, Alexander the Great began moving south through the Indus River Valley, battling the Mallians before nearly dying during the siege of their capital city. When he recovered, the Macedonians began to move west for their homeward journey, leaving only Nearchus' fleet and a few small garrisons behind.

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117: At World's End

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 05:49:52 +0000

After subduing Bactria, Alexander the Great invaded India. The crossing through the Hindu Kush was heavily contested by various mountain peoples. The Macedonians conquered each opponent before facing of with King Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes River.

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116: In Stranger Lands

Fri, 29 Dec 2023 16:31:52 +0000

We return to Alexander the Great in Bactria and Sogdiana, fresh off his final defeat of the Achaemenids but suddenly faced with rebellion, treason, and... love?

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115: Meet the Neighbors #1

Sat, 23 Dec 2023 03:22:28 +0000

In a new recurring episode format, it's time to meet the neighbors, specifically the Nanda Dynasty of India. Of course, India's been here the whole time, but before Alexander the Great campaigns there in person, I should explain a bit about what was going on across the Indus River.

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114: The Age of Heroes

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:26:02 +0000

After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the history of the Achaemenids slipped into legend, myth, and obscurity. By the 6th Century CE, the likes of Cyrus the Great, Darius the Great, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes had been all but forgotten in Iran. Instead, the Sassanid Persian Empire remembered the stories of great heroes from the Avesta, occupying the equivalent of the Achaemenids' place in history.

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113: Alexander - King of the Monsters

Sat, 18 Nov 2023 16:29:06 +0000

In the centuries following Alexander the Great's conquest of the Persian Empire, Iranian cultural memory changed and shifted, often in strange and unexpected ways. Alexandros Megas ton Makedon was remembered as Gizistag Iskandar-i Rhomiyag - the Accursed Alexander of Rome.

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Join me at Intelligent Speech 2023

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 03:36:34 +0000

Join me at the Intelligent Speech Conference this Saturday, November 4 at 10am est. Here's last year's presentation before you come hear me talk about Communes, Cults, and Caliphs.

Get your tickets at https://intelligentspeechonline.com

Use promo code PERSIA

112: King Darius Escapes

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 16:10:25 +0000

In the final weeks of 331 BCE, Alexander the Great took Babylon, Susa, and Persepolis almost entirely unopposed. By May 330, he had claimed Ecbatana as well and sent Darius III fleeing toward Bactria, but discontent was growing in both armies, and ultimately Artaxerxes V, rather than Darius, would lead Achaemenid Persia's final stand.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com

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111: The Man Who Could Walk Through Empires

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 21:04:02 +0000

After Darius III's defeat at Gaugamela, Alexander the Great tore through the Persian capitals, taking Babylon and Susa without a fight, and only stalling on his way to Persepolis during the Battle of the Persian Gates. The Macedonians reveled, Persepolis burned, and King Darius fled, ceding Ecbatana to the conqueror.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com

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110: Hercules in New War-k

Sun, 15 Oct 2023 16:13:57 +0000

Alexander the Great and Darius III square off in the Battle of Gaugamela, the Macedonians' first strike to take a Persian capital in Babylonia.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com

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109 From Outer Egypt

Tue, 10 Oct 2023 02:46:43 +0000

Following his victory at Tyre, Alexander proceeded to take Egypt without much of a fight, but while he was there, the Macedonian Monarch did some minor administrative work like establishing the city of Alexandria and getting himself proclaimed Son of Zeus-Ammon. Meanwhile, Darius III was bracing for his next grand battle with the invaders.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com

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Bonus Teaser: Persia in the Renaissance

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 21:03:19 +0000

Find the full episode at Patreon.com/HistoryOfPersia

108: Dr. Alexander's Levant of Horrors

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 16:56:00 +0000

After the Battle of Issus, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian invasion force began working their way down the western coast of the Persian Empire while Parmenion raced through inland Syria. City after city surrendered without a fight until the Siege of Tyre, one of the most difficult battles in Alexander's career.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com

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107: Hetairoi Monster

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 02:56:29 +0000

While Darius III gathered his forces in the east, Alexander was busy with the Siege of Halicarnassus, one of the most brutal encounters in Alexander the Great's career. Then Darius arrived, and east and west faced off in the Battle of Issus.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com

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106: It Came From Beyond the Seas

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 02:44:01 +0000

In 334 BCE, Alexander the Great crossed into Asia to begin his invasion of the Persian Empire. Reluctant to intervene, Darius III left matters to his Satraps, dooming them in the Battle of the Granicus. So it begins.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com

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105: The Life and Death of Philip II

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 20:46:33 +0000

It's time to turn back the clock - just a bit - and see what King Philip II of Macedon was doing over in eastern Europe while the Persians were busy with Egypt, rebels, and succession crises in the mid-4th Century BCE.

IntelligentSpeechOnline.com

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Bonus Teaser: 1001 Iranian Nights

Wed, 09 Aug 2023 18:29:11 +0000

Patron Exclusive Bonus Episode on the storytelling of Ctesias

Patreon.com/HistoryOfPersia

104: The Darius Restoration

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 19:56:31 +0000

Darius III was handpicked by Bagoas the Elder to succeed Artaxerxes IV, but Bagoas realized his mistake too late. Darius was no puppet king. He seized the reigns and set to work stabilizing the Persian Empire, bringing them back from the brink of annihilation.

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103: Breaking the Binary

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 17:56:15 +0000

Eunuchs and priestesses feature prominently in tales of lust, schemes, and curses to the fascination of the Classical sources. In the last major culture episode for the Achaemenids, it's time to talk about those who fell outside of the Empire's sex and gender norms.

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102: The Coup Without a King

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 20:38:05 +0000

After conquering Egypt, Artaxerxes III got to work ruling his empire. New buildings rose on the Persepolis terrace. Overly ambitious Macedonians had to be managed. A host of young princes needed to be trained, but wait... does this wine taste off to you, Bagoas?

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101: Calendar Madness

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 21:26:49 +0000

I discuss the religious calendars of Zoroastrianism, past and present, along with the Sirozah prayers for each day of the month.

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100: The Greatest Achaemenid

Sun, 04 Jun 2023 21:38:56 +0000

EPISODE 100! To celebrate, I'm ranking the top 10 Achaemenid kings. You won't believe number 2!

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99: Slaves of the King

Thu, 11 May 2023 01:18:28 +0000

The Achaemenid Empire has a strange and complex history with enslavement. Today we separate fact and fiction both ancient and modern to discuss forced labor under Achaemenid rule.

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98: Wars for the West

Thu, 04 May 2023 02:17:35 +0000

Even after disarming the western satraps, Artaxerxes III had his hands full in the west. It was time to retake Egypt, but that was easier said than done.

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97: Bactria - Ruling the Later Empire

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 03:41:37 +0000

The Khaleeli Collection of Aramaic Documents from Achaemenid Bactria are an incredible and unique collection of Achaemenid records first revealed in 2012. They provide an otherwise impossible glimpse to Achaemenid rule in the northeastern provinces.

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Bonus 33 Preview

Wed, 12 Apr 2023 01:47:24 +0000

The epic tale of the greatest wife guy of antiquity.

96: Ochus II

Thu, 30 Mar 2023 03:24:28 +0000

The final years of Artaxerxes II were filled with turmoil and sadness, but when his son Ochus rose to power as Artaxerxes III, the Persian Empire entered a new age. The new Artaxerxes set out to repair and remake the empire as his own.

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95: The Holy Trinity

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 22:21:32 +0000

As we approach the end of Artaxerxes II, it's time to talk about his gods. All of a sudden, Anahita and Mithra began appearing alongside Ahura Mazda in royal inscriptions, but it turns out it may not have been so sudden after all.

2022 Holiday Special: Mithra and Mehregan

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94: Nehemiah

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 21:39:09 +0000

We continue the Biblical stories of Artaxerxes' reign with the arrival of Nehemiah, the new governor of Judea who's here to put Jerusalem back together again.

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93: Ezra

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 20:34:52 +0000

Now we go back in time to the seventh year of Artaxerxes, and we'll explore the history Ezra the Scribe as he compiled an official Jewish Torah on the Great King's orders.

Patreon Bonus 26: The Good Book

Patreon Bonus 27: Names and Dates

Moment.co/HistoryOfPersia – Live Event Tickets Now!

So You Think You Can Rule Persia

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92: Family Ties

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 21:50:13 +0000

It's time to take a step back and see what the royal family was up to in the decades following Cunaxa. Artaxerxes II married his daughters, meaning its time to discuss the controversial subject of Xwedodah. Then, it's on to a bloody conflict in the shadows as the royal princes battle for their succession rights.

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So You Think You Can Rule Persia

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Bonus 32 Preview

Thu, 16 Feb 2023 23:29:25 +0000

The Cambyses Romance

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So You Think You Can Rule Persia

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91: The Great Satraps' Revolt

Mon, 13 Feb 2023 09:29:23 +0000

After years of quietly building up their strength, Ariobarzanes and Datames rebellion was out in the open, but unbeknownst to them, not all of their supposed allies were ready to abandon the Empire. Meanwhile, Greece and Egypt were both on the verge of war once again.

Moment.co/HistoryOfPersia - Live Event Tickets Now!

So You Think You Can Rule Persia

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90: The Conflagration

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 01:04:02 +0000

As his generals struggled against Egypt, Artaxerxes dealt with their failures harshly - so harshly that his newest commander in the west rejected the Empire altogether. Fearing for his life whether he invaded Egypt or not, Datames quietly raised the rebel and tried to take all of Anatolia with him.

89: Wars for the West

Sat, 28 Jan 2023 16:44:27 +0000

With Greece and Cyprus once again at peace, it was time for the Persian Empire to pursue its war against Egypt once again. A new pharaoh takes the throne. Iphikrates attempts to reinvent the Greek soldier. Datames is on the rise. Artaxerxes is ascendant, and the King's Peace is left in the hand of his new Greek vassals.

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88: Peace At Last

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 23:18:51 +0000

In 386 BCE, The Greco-Persian Wars finally came to an end when Artaxerxes II settled the Corinthian War by forcing the Greeks to accept The Kings Peace. For Persia, that was just the tip of the iceberg. With Greece settled, the western Satraps turned their attention to Cyprus, bringing King Evagoras of Salamis to heal in preperation for the long awaited invasion of Egypt.

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87: The Third Invasion

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 17:25:44 +0000

In 393 BCE, a Persian army landed in Greece and captured territory, marking the most successful invasion of Greek territory in a century. From there, the Aegean erupted into a quagmire of competing allegiances and revolts.

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Announcement: New Year's News (and Persepolis Payments)

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 23:36:35 +0000

An unexpected announcement episode to explain some of the changes that come with a new hosting platform, and how Persepolis' workforce may or may not have been paid in silver coinage.

History of Persia on YouTube

Swords, Sorcery, and Socialism

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Bonus 32 Teaser

Mon, 26 Dec 2022 20:43:11 +0000

Xenophon's Cyropedia is a political treatise pretending to be a historical fiction novel pretending to be a biography of Cyrus the Great.

86: Old Enemies, New Friends

Mon, 28 Nov 2022 06:25:15 +0000

The Spartan Invasion of Anatolia continues. The incompetent Thibron was replaced first by Derkylidas, then by the Spartan King Agesilaus himself. Agesilaus' successes led to the final downfall of Tissaphernes, only to be completely undone with the arrival of Persia's newest ally: Athens.

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85: The Spartan War

Sat, 05 Nov 2022 15:18:06 +0000

We continue following the 10,000 mercenaries, straight into the Spartan Invasion of the Persian Empire. What? You thought the Greeks stopped caring just because Cyrus dead?

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84: The 10,000 (aka Armenia III)

Sat, 22 Oct 2022 22:16:02 +0000

The long awaited march of the 10,000 Greek mercenaries from Cyrus the Younger's forces back toward Greece has begun.

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Bonus 30 Preview

Thu, 20 Oct 2022 00:30:17 +0000

A preview of Bonus episode 30, a review of Persians: Age of the Great Kings on Patreon.com/HistoryOfPersia

HoPful Media Announcement (and Greek Coins)

Tue, 18 Oct 2022 22:17:02 +0000

Introducing HoPful Media, an overarching brand name that doesn't mean much now but might in the future. Plus a minisode about Greek coinage circulating in the Achaemenid Empire.

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2022 Mehregan Holiday Special!

Sat, 01 Oct 2022 06:18:51 +0000

Jashn-e Mehregan mubarak everyone! This year's roving holiday special is all about the traditional Feast of Mithra and the yazata it honors. Grab some sharbat, maybe a bowl of pistachios, and settle in for festivities ancient and modern with a healthy side of all of Mithra's awesome and badass jobs in the cosmos.

Vulgar History - Listen Now!

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83: Routine Maintenance

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 01:46:42 +0000

We follow the Spartan general, Clearchus, as he was taken into captivity in Babylon before following the royal court off to the building projects and border disputes of Artaxerxes II's empire.

The Alexander Standard -Listen Now!

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Solidarity with the Iranian People

Sat, 24 Sep 2022 14:49:56 +0000

In the last 8 days, at time of posting, the country of Iran has been rocked by a nationwide uprising in response to the brutal murder of Zhina (Mahsa) Amini, a 22 year old Kurdish woman from the city of Saqqez who was living in Tehran. She was beaten into a coma by the Gasht-e Ershad, the Iranian morality police, and died in custody shortly after on September 16, 2022. Her crime? Being in public without a Hijab.

This is my small contribution to that. As a platform innately connected to Iran and its history, I want to express the History of Persia Podcast’s unequivocal support for all those resisting oppression and theocracy in Iran. Beyond simply lending my voice to the international chorus cheering them on, I also hope that I can at least provide some exposure for the regime’s violence and the resistance against it by directing my listeners and social media followers toward sources of information.

My ongoing Twitter thread

The Federation of Anarchism Era

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Outro music: "Bella Ciao" translated in Farsi by Daniela Sepehri

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The Revolutions Podcast anarchism episodes:

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82: Debrief of the Brothers

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 22:40:47 +0000

After the battle of Cunaxa, both sides were left to deal with the fallout. In Babylon, Artaxerxes II and his supporters celebrated victory and punished treason. In the detritus of the battlefield, Cyrus the Younger's supporters were left to pick up the pieces and start their long walk home.

Tsar Power Podcast - Listen Now!

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81: Cunaxa

Sun, 11 Sep 2022 00:49:36 +0000

After 6 months on the road, Cyrus the Younger and Artaxerxes II face off to decide who will be King of Kings, deciding the course of Achaemenid History forever after.

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80: On the March

Fri, 02 Sep 2022 21:59:58 +0000

In 401 BCE, Cyrus the Younger set out with an army of supporters and mercenaries to defeat his brother, Artaxerxes II, and claim the Persian throne for himself. But first they had to get there.

Grand Dukes of the West

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79: Cyrus III

Sat, 27 Aug 2022 02:08:39 +0000

Cyrus the Younger returned to Sardis as Karanos in 404 BCE, still nursing dreams of becoming king. Over the next three years he quietly built up an army of mercenaries and prepared his subjects for war, gathering them under false pretenses to march against his brother, King Artaxerxes II.

So You Think You Can Rule Persia? - Listen Now!

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78: Robe and Dagger

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 20:57:26 +0000

In 404 BCE, Darius II died. The king's death sparked fierce but quiet competition for the throne between the supporters of Cyrus the Younger and Darius's chosen heir, Arsakes. Arsakes did become King Artaxerxes II, but not without having to settle this conflict.

Warlords of History Podcast

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77: The Yashts

Sat, 06 Aug 2022 22:40:51 +0000

A collection of early Zoroastrian prayers to the various Yazatas, the Yashts are some of the only surviving sources that provide a detailed window into the more polytheistic aspects of ancient Iran. As a bonus, they partially stem from myths and legends as told in the Achaemenid period.

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Summer 22 Update + History of Saqartvelo Georgia Episode

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 18:44:23 +0000

A bit of an update on why I said I was back on track and then immediately jumped off the track. History of Saqartvelo Georgia Episode: https://historyofsaqartvelo.com/alt-home/episodes/episodes-ep-21/

Review - King of the World by Matt Waters

Thu, 23 Jun 2022 22:02:46 +0000

King of the World: The Life of Cyrus the Great by Matt Waters is a new biography of the first Persian King of Kings from Oxford University Press. I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced PDF copy to review. In short, it's an excellent introduction to both the life of Cyrus and Achaemenid Studies as a field. Almost all shortcomings are more the product of the subject rather than the biographer. For more, give it a listen.

Order King of the World from Amazon

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76: The Greater Persepolis Area

Thu, 09 Jun 2022 21:24:05 +0000

The Achaemenid capital city at Persepolis wasn't really much of a city in the traditional sense, but that doesn't mean it was just a palace. A Persepolis Metropolitan Area stretched at least 5km out in every direction, and there have been some exciting finds there as well. We'll also look at the area surrounding the other Persian palace cities.

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Merch Announcement! (and Satrap Coins)

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 18:09:27 +0000

Breaking News! The History of Persia Podcast now has merch, swag, gear, and other physical items to show off how much you like ancient Persia and this podcast.

Plus, there's one last group of coins from the Achaemenid Empire that I want to talk about.

Merch On Sale Now! Go to HistoryOfPersia.LaunchCart.store

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75: The Education of Cyrus

Fri, 27 May 2022 02:35:16 +0000

Cyrus the Younger obviously graduated early, but what exactly did he learn in ancient Persian school? Hunting, fitness, soldiery, science, and religion amongst many other things in a complex noble educational system.

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74: The Temple of Yahweh

Fri, 20 May 2022 22:59:03 +0000

No, the other one. In Egypt. The best source of information on events Egypt under Darius II comes from the letters of the Jewish diaspora community in southern Egypt and their temple on the island of Elephantine. They also tell the story of a dramatic confrontation between the Jews and their Egyptian neighbors that ended in forced reconciliation.

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73: The Karanos

Fri, 13 May 2022 05:28:35 +0000

In 408 BCE, Darius II decided the Ionian War called for more drastic, teenage measures. He sent the 16 year old Prince Cyrus to rule western Anatolia as Karanos, a supreme military authority. Cyrus did everything in his power to enable his new Spartan allies' victory against Athens.

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72: The Ionian War

Fri, 06 May 2022 01:26:02 +0000

Despite their defeat in Sicily, the tales of Athenian demise in 413 BCE were greatly exaggerated. In 411, Athens and Sparta began to clash again and protracted tug-of-war in the Aegean even as Athens itself was seized by political upheavals.

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71: New Friends, Old Enemies

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 22:01:53 +0000

Darius II's reign in Anatolia saw the Persian reconquest of Ionia and the Greek cities of west Asia. This was only accomplished with the aid of a surprising ally: Sparta and the Peloponnesian League.

Persepolis Reimagined by Getty.edu

Bonus Episode: Athens Under Artaxerxes on Patreon

Bonus Episode: Athenian War Under Artaxerxes on Patreon

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70: Darius Do Over, AKA Armenia II

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 20:27:32 +0000

The reign of Darius II was chaotic. It is impossible to cover everything, everywhere, all at once. So today, we're covering the interior of the empire as it was racked by civil war and rebellion for the better part of 20 years.

Bonus Episode: Armenia I

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69! Musical Thrones

Sat, 09 Apr 2022 16:00:00 +0000

After 41 years on the throne, Artaxerxes I died in December 424 BCE. Much of his family had passed away over the decades, but he probably didn't expect his only legitimate heir to follow close behind him. Nevertheless, two bastard sons saw this as their time to shine.

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68: The Other Gods That Are

Sat, 02 Apr 2022 20:33:55 +0000

Any discussion of Achaemenid religion is bound to be fascinating, but that discussion isn't bound to Zoroastrianism. This one's abut all the other gods worshipped in Persia itself.

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67: The Empire of Artaxerxes

Sat, 26 Mar 2022 20:40:22 +0000

At just over 40 years on the throne, Artaxerxes I was the second-longest reigning Achaemenid king. This is an episode for all of the little things and less detailed stories that played out in that time. From a new status quo in the west to dramatic building projects in the east, Artaxerxes was a busy guy.

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66: The Syrian Civil War

Sat, 12 Mar 2022 04:44:10 +0000

The story of the Megabyzid family conveniently flows from a solid recap of the story so far straight into the next major event in Achaemenid history: the very first satrap's revolt, complete with Greek mercenaries and royal family drama.

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65: The Peace of Callias

Sat, 26 Feb 2022 22:37:00 +0000

The treaty known as the Peace of Callias supposedly ended the second Greco-Persian War with a formal agreement between Athens and Persia. However, its very existence is the topic of intense historical debate. Despite this, hostilities did cease in 449 BCE, so something must have happened, right?

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64: Fight to the End

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 04:19:16 +0000

The city of Memphis spent almost five years under siege from 459-454 BCE, as the rebel Pharaoh Inaros tried to take the Egyptian capital and oust the Persian government with the aid of the Athenians. When Persian reinforcements arrived, the rebellion was swept aside with apparent ease. Inaros was captured and Athens was sent reeling, only to make one final attempt on Persian territory in Cyprus.

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63: The Little Pharaoh That Could(n't)

Thu, 13 Jan 2022 19:53:51 +0000

After Artaxerxes I came to power in 465 BCE, a minor rebellion broke out in western Egypt led by the would-be Pharaoh Inaros II. Inaros quickly came to a stalemate with the local satrap, but in 460 BCE the Egyptian rebel reached out to Athens for aid. The Athenians came in force, broke the stalemate, killed the satrap (and Artaxerxes' uncle), and joined Inaros as he marched on Memphis.

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62: Death In Quick Succession

Fri, 10 Dec 2021 18:39:42 +0000

In late 465 BCE, Xerxes I - the King of Kings - was murdered in his sleep by his own captain of the guard, Artabanus the Hyrcanian. Artabanus and a group of highly placed conspirators chose their victim's third son, Artaxerxes to be their puppet on the throne and moved to secure their coup. Unbeknownst to them, Artaxerxes was not easily manipulated. When the conspirators turned on one another, the Achaemenid Empire plunged headfirst into the age of Artaxerxes with a new round of civil wars.

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Elamite Teaser

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 11:00:00 +0000

It completely slipped my mind that the next episode would be due out on Thanksgiving Day. I've got family sleeping in my office this week so that's not happening, but I didn't want to leave you completely hanging. Fortunately, there might be some pre-Persian history that catches your interest over on The Oldest Stories.

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61: Blood on the Eurymedon

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 22:11:44 +0000

Most of the decade following the first offensive Greek campaigns against Xerxes' forces are lost to us. There are hints at great battles and rapid Athenian expansion, but almost nothing is certain until the Battle of the Eurymedon. In the mid-460s BCE, the Persian fleet had recovered enough to stage a renewed offensive, but the Athenian general Kimon had advanced warning. He commanded a fleet from Athens' Delian League and made a preemptive strike in southern Anatolia, where he destroyed the fleet and routed the Persian army. This battle at the mouth of the Eurymedon River once again changed the direction of Persia's war with Athens, effectively kicking Persian military power out of the Aegean for decades to come.

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60: Given Against The Demons

Mon, 25 Oct 2021 22:25:15 +0000

The Vendidad is a strange and unique document. It's one part mythology, one part law code, and one part ritual manual. A collection of phrases and verses from a partly remembered oral tradition were composed at point A, strung together at point B, and written down at point C, all seemingly centuries apart. Dogs are great. Tortoises are not. Otters are the best. Flies are the worst. Strap in, and Do. Not. Hurt. The Water Dogs.

Head to HistoryOfPersiaPodcast.com for some pictures of my sacred "house dog."

300: Rise of An Empire Review Part 1

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59: Holy War

Sat, 18 Sep 2021 15:11:52 +0000

Early in Xerxes' reign, an infamous and dramatic story of religious conflict was inscribed at Persepolis. When Xerxes became king he put down a rebellion, but in the process encountered a community dedicated to a god or gods he considered false and immoral. As consequence he destroyed their sanctuary and worshiped Ahura Mazda in their place.

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58: Persia's First Family

Sat, 04 Sep 2021 22:30:01 +0000

As the reign of another king draw's toward a close, it's time to look at the royal family. Xerxes' household was like a microcosm of early Achaemenid history. His mother, Atossa, drew a direct connection back to Cyrus, his uncles, cousins, and siblings were woven into the political scene of his reign. Herodotus' catalog of Persian commander's is also a catalog of the Great King's family, and many of them held positions of power as Satraps across the empire. The royal family is also an opportunity to look forward, and introduce the next generation of kings, satraps, generals, and rebels.

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57: Xerxes at Home

Sat, 14 Aug 2021 02:58:55 +0000

It's time to return to the imperial heartland and tour the "city" that Xerxes' built. The foundations may have been laid by Darius, but Xerxes was the one who turned Persepolis from a construction project into a shining palace complex in the Iranian plateau.

Join me on The Oldest Stories podcast starting September 8, 2021!

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56: Domestic Affairs

Sun, 25 Jul 2021 06:45:54 +0000

As the war with the Greeks drags on into obscurity, it is time to investigate what was happening inside the empire under Xerxes. In the far west, most territories slipped from Persian control completely. The Mediterranean coastal region was reconfigured and given a new leadership class to carry on the war against Athens. In the royal court, Xerxes dealt with infamous court drama and intrigue, while in Babylon the daily minutia of government wore on and dealt with economic crises.

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55: Still Loud on the Western Front

Sat, 10 Jul 2021 18:59:17 +0000

After the Persian defeat at Mycale, the stories of the Greco-Persian war get less dramatic, but the war itself did not come to an end. Late 479 BCE saw the beginning of Greek offensives in Persian territory, which continued long after the Spartans pulled out of the war in 478. The third year of war between Xerxes and Athens saw the foundation of the Delian League, which could continue to lead Greek attacks on Persian cities for years to come.

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54: Two By "Sea"

Tue, 15 Jun 2021 00:57:50 +0000

Supposedly on the same day as the Battle of Plataea, another battle was unfolding at the foot of Mount Mycale (modern Mount Dilek). The Greek fleet agreed to aid Samian rebels against Persia and sailed all the way to mainland Anatolia to fight the Persian fleet. Still recovering from Salamis, the Persians opted to turn the confrontation into a land battle, but the new general, Tigranes, and his men were overwhelmed and even more of the fleet was destroyed by Greek hands.

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53: One By Land

Mon, 24 May 2021 21:50:55 +0000

After a year of relative success, the Persian occupation of northern Greece received its second massive defeat. For the first time, the Hellenic League managed to field the full might of a Greek army against the occupation force commanded by Mardonius. They clashed repeatedly in the plains surrounding the small town of Plataea until their maneuvers drew both sides into a decisive and bloody confrontation.

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Interview: Sean Manning

Mon, 10 May 2021 18:55:35 +0000

I sat down with Dr. Sean Manning, author of the new book: Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects to discuss the military might of the Persian Empire (and why it's so hard to find anything written about it). That includes both the academic nuances of which sources deserve primacy, and ever exciting topics of arms, armor, and tactics.

Dr. Manning's research represents an invaluable resource for anyone trying to engage with the military history of Achaemenid Persia - especially when we try to disentangle it from the Greek Wars.

Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects

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52: The Adventure Continues

Sat, 24 Apr 2021 21:24:25 +0000

At the end of 480 BCE, there was a lull in the conflict between the Greeks and Persians, but not a stop. The Peloponnesians went home. The Athenians raided the Aegean. Xerxes took most of his troops back to Lydia while Mardonius stayed in Greece, and Artabazos lead a Persian army back from Lydia to Thrace. All of them had their own adventures along the way.

300 Review

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51: Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 03:01:46 +0000

September 480 BCE marked the high point for the Persian army in Greece. Athens was the smoldering campfire at the heart of the Persian army's camp. The Greek army had retreated all the way to Corinth and their fleet was in limbo with the Athenian refugees on Salamis. After some deliberation, Xerxes sent his navy to clear out the Greek ships only for the land and sea themselves to turn against the Great King.

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Interview: Uzume Wijnsma

Sun, 21 Mar 2021 03:19:32 +0000

I sat down with an interview with Uzume Wijnsma, a researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Leiden, whose research has proved invaluable to the podcast on a few occasions. Her research focuses on Egyptian and Babylonian resistance to Achaemenid rule, and she is part of the Persia & Babylonia project at Leiden.

Persia and Babylonia

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50! Ask Me Anything

Sun, 07 Mar 2021 00:20:26 +0000

Thank you all so much! The AMA Episode was a great success and I look forward to the next 50 episodes of the History of Persia. This episode has everything: the ancient world in color, beard fashion, video games, book reviews, time travel, and of course me trying to piece together something to say about provinces we don't actually know much about. Links below in order of appearance:

Great Courses: The Persian Empire

Literature and History Podcast

History of Iran Podcast

Khodad Rezakhani @sasanianshah

Top Podcasts:

The Heroic Legend of Arslan

Creation by Gore Vidal

Audio Book

The Ancient World Podcast

Audacity audio editor

Holiday Special 2019

Apadana Treasury Relief

Persepolis in Color

The War of the Three Gods by Peter Crawford

Sasanian Persia by Touraj Daryaee

Reign of Arrows: The Rise of the Parthian Empire by Nikolaus Overtoom

ReOrienting the Sasanians by Khodad Rezakhani

Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire by Parvaneh Pourshariati

Interview with Michael Bonner

Bonus 13: Why is Persia Under-Emphasized

Original AskHistorians Question

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Purim: Holiday Special 2021

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 20:13:00 +0000

It's that somewhat random time of year again, where I set aside a bit of time to celebrate a holiday that intersects with our narrative. This year that means Purim, the Jewish celebration of the Book of Esther. Esther tells the story of a Jewish woman turned Achaemenid queen in the court of Ahasuerus (maybe Xerxes, maybe an Artaxerxes, probably a bit of both). Esther and her cousin Mordecai have to foil the genocidal plans of the King's vizier Haman to save their people, and the result is today's festivities.

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49: Breaking Through

Wed, 17 Feb 2021 05:54:48 +0000

Late in the summer of 480 BCE, the Persian invasion force under King Xerxes came to blows with the Greek Allies for the first time. The famous twin battles at Thermopylae and Artemisium played out surrounded by a series of smaller sacks and skirmishes. After three days of fighting, the Greek attempt to block the Persians in narrow passes failed and the Persian army pushed south, conquering Phocis, Boeotia, and ultimately: Attica and Athens. By the end of September 480, Xerxes nominally controlled all of Greece north of the Peloponnese.

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Casting Through Ancient Greece

48: What is your profession?

Tue, 02 Feb 2021 23:26:30 +0000

Before launching into the actual warfare between the Persian Empire and Greek city states, it's worth examining how the Greeks prepared for war. Athens prepared by building a navy, everyone prepared by planning to deploy their armies, and we'll explore the whole history of the famous "300" Spartans.

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Announcement 2: Darics

Sat, 26 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000

Season's Greetings, Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Shab-e Yalda Mubarak, or a pleasant solstice festival of your choice. This is not a holiday episode, but a fundraising announcement to tell you about some new features that will appear on the podcast, HistoryOfPersiaPodcast.com, and Patreon going into 2021. Just like last time, I hate to just ask for money, so I've included a mini-episode about Persian coinage.

47: Preparing the Way

Sun, 20 Dec 2020 05:45:21 +0000

From 484-481 BCE, Xerxes directed his subjects to prepare for war in Greece. This didn't just mean assembling soldiers and ships, but also preparing the infrastructure of the western empire to receive one of the largest armies ever assembled. 200,000 soldiers from across the Persian empire converged on the Hellespont in the spring of 480 and began the march to Hellas.

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Catalog of Nations from Herodotus

46: The Persian Emperor

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 06:46:25 +0000

In 486 BCE, Darius the Great died while Egypt was in revolt. Over the following years, Xerxes put his empire back in order. First in Egypt, then twice in Babylon, the new king defeated rebel kings. The traditional nobility of the two most ancient and prestigious satrapies in the empire were punished, and Xerxes asserted himself as the King of Kings.

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45: Xerxes Porphyrogennetos

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 21:32:09 +0000

In 486 BCE, Darius the Great died and passed the Persian Empire on to his son, Xerxes. With plans to invade Greece in development, and Egypt in open revolt, the Achaemenid house had to pause and deal with the succession. Darius became the first king entombed at Naqsh e Rostam while Xerxes competed with his elder half-brother for power.

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44: Also Sprach Zarathustra

Sat, 24 Oct 2020 06:42:56 +0000

This is the second part of the two-part discussion on the life and times of Zoroaster. This time, I discuss the Zoroastrian conception of reality and how it is portrayed in the Gathas as well as the legacy of Zarathustra in Zoroastrianism, Iran, and Europe.

Zoroastrianism: An Introduction by Jenny Rose

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43: Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 20:57:40 +0000

By audience demand, we're headed back in time. Before wrapping up the reign of Darius, it's time to look back to the bronze age and talk about Zarathustra Spitama, the prophet more often known in the west as Zoroaster. This is the first of a two part series on the life and teachings of Zoroaster, as presented in the Gathas - 5 hymns to Ahura Mazda believed to be composed by Zoroaster himself.

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42: Darius the Shopkeeper

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 17:33:55 +0000

Darius the Great is one of Persia's most infamous kings for many reasons. An illegitimate heir who reunified the empire. The king of the first war with Greece. Conqueror of territory at the far reaches of Persian control. He was many things. He was also a reformer and an administrator who oversaw the implementation of new systems of taxation, record keeping, and political organization. Those reforms formed the basis of Persian governance for centuries to come, and may be his longest lasting legacy.

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41: The Greatest

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 02:48:10 +0000

To round out our series on Darius' royal family, it's only fair to talk about the men of the family. After all, like it or not, the narrative will follow them going forward. Grandpa Arsames, the fascinating Hystaspes, and all of Darius' brothers, sons, and cousins get their own time in the spotlight. Then, it's time to prepare for the competition to become the Greatest.

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40: Heiresses of the Empire

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 16:21:15 +0000

There were many Duksis (royal women) in Darius' household, and there would be many more in future generations of the Achaemenid family, but three women in particular standout above the rest. Most famously we know of Atossa, daughter of Cyrus and mother of Xerxes, from our Greek sources. Thanks to the documents of the Persepolis Fortification Archive we also know about the remarkable wealth and influence of Artystone and Irdabama as Persian women in the early 5th century BCE.

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39: Rise of Achaemeneis

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 17:56:32 +0000

Our sources for Achaemenid history are clearly biased towards the stories of men in the ancient world, but we actually know a lot about Achaemenid women. To fully understand the whole royal family, it's time to get a better understanding of the role Royal Women - the Duksish - played in Persian society.

38: The Last Battle

Sat, 18 Jul 2020 14:50:14 +0000

Nearly a decade after Aristagoras first went into revolt, and longer since the Athenians had reneged on their offerings of earth and water, the Persian Army came to take Darius' revenge on Athens. For the first time, a Persian army landed on the Greek mainland. They made their camp on an unremarkable open plain that would soon be seared into Greek history forever: Marathon.

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37: Greece Awakens

Fri, 03 Jul 2020 16:06:11 +0000

Even once the Ionian cities themselves were defeated, the consequences of their Revolt were ongoing. In 492 BCE, a new general, Mardonius, took to the field to settle matters in the Balkans. Two years later, the Persians turned their sites on Athens and Eretria in retribution for the aid they sent to the Ionians. In 490, Artaphernes and Datis launched the first Persian invasion of mainland Greece.

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36: Return of the Tyrannoi

Mon, 22 Jun 2020 14:46:45 +0000

Even with Miletus defeated, the other rebel cities in shambles, Cyprus under control, and their armies victorious, the Persians had not heard the last of Ionian resistance. While the Greek rebels were fighting against the Persian Empire, the deposed tyrant Histiaeus was making plans to try and carve out a new niche for himself in Persian territory.

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35: The Empire Strikes Back

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 18:15:41 +0000

It is a dark time for the Ionian Revolt. Although Sardis has been destroyed, Persian troops have driven the Rebel forces from Aeolis and pursued them across Anatolia.

Facing the renewed Persian Fleet, a group of Greek cities led by Dionysius of Phocaea has established a new plan on the nearby island of Lade.

The Persian satrap Artaphernes, ready to end this rebellion, has dispatched the army and the navy to retake Miletus....

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34: A New Fleet

Fri, 22 May 2020 00:13:20 +0000

While three Persian land armies were spreading out over western Anatolia to contain and defeat the Ionian Greek rebels and their allies, a fourth army was headed to the island of Cyprus. The Cypriot King of Salamis, Onesilos had usurped his brother's throne and incited his neighbors to rebellion. In our first "Battle of Salamis" the Persians retake the strange and strategic island.

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Interview: Dr. Michael Bonner

Mon, 11 May 2020 17:55:32 +0000

This time I have something a little different. In place of a regular narrative episode this week, I have my recent interview with Dr. Michael Bonner, author of the new book: The Last Empire of Iran. This jumps far ahead of our current point in the narrative story, all the way to the Sassanid Persian Empire of the 4th-8th centuries CE.

Dr. Bonner and I discussed the origins, sources, conflicts, and fall of Iran's last pre-Islamic dynasty.

The Last Empire of Iran by Michael Bonner

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33: Revenge of the Persians

Fri, 24 Apr 2020 04:23:38 +0000

After the shocking attack on Sardis, many more Greek cities joined the Ionian Revolt, despite Persian victory at Ephesus. In 497 BCE, three land campaigns were launched by three Persian generals: Daurises, Hymaies, and Otanes. After a series of lightning victories in early 497, the campaigns began set in to prolonged fighting. Two of the Persian generals were dead by 496, but the Ionians were still losing. Fresh revolts in the Troad and Caria were dealt serious defeats, and Aristagoras of Miletus, once the ringleader of the Ionians, fled into exile.

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32: Begun, the Greek Wars Have

Fri, 10 Apr 2020 18:00:06 +0000

To prepare ourselves for their role in the coming wars between Persian the Greek city states, I'm explaining the history and politics of Archaic Athens, from their first adoption of oligarchy rather than monarchy, down through the adoption of democracy, the Peisistratid tyrants, and the final restoration of democracy by Cleisthenes. At the end of that long process, the Athenians and their Eretrian allies joined forces with the Ionian Greek cities of Anatolia in their revolt against the Persian Empire. In 498 BCE, the Greek army set out from Ephesus in a lightning raid to attack, and ultimately destroy, the Lydian capital at Sardis.

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Casting Through Ancient Greece

Ancient Persia: A Concise History of the Achaemenid Empire by Matt Waters

31: The Naxos Incident

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 02:09:31 +0000

At the end of the 6th century BCE, a group of exiled aristocrats from the island of Naxos inadvertently set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to such famous battles as Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis. They asked the Milesian Tyrant, Aristagoras, to help them retake their home island after being kicked out. Aristagoras went to the Satrap of Lydia, who in turn asked Darius the Great. When Darius gave the go ahead, a Persian fleet invaded, and subsequently retreated from Naxos. Out of money and out of options Aristagoras and the rest of the Ionian Greeks in western Anatolia began hatching a plan to launch an Ionian Revolt against the Persian Empire.

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Achaemenid Nowruz! 2020 Holiday Special

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 20:39:10 +0000

To celebrate the Persian New Year's festival of Nowruz, check out the 2nd Sort-of Annual Holiday Special, exploring the New Year's celebrations of the Achaemenid Empire. Called Navasarda at that time, many of the traditions associated with the modern holiday were still developing during the Achaemenid period. The origins and original purpose of the holiday season are hazy and changed and developed as Iranian society evolved over centuries.

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30: Persia City

Sat, 07 Mar 2020 00:27:18 +0000

This time it's just one episode for a different kind of tour. Explore the early phases of construction at Susa and Persepolis under Darius the Great. The grand Apadana audience halls with their splendid columns. The lavishly decorated palaces built to house Darius throughout the year. The famous works of art and architecture that define the middle Achaemenid period are featured in this episode.

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Inscribed Door Handle

Avesta.org Old Persian translations

29: The Grand Tour, Part 4

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 04:09:39 +0000

It's the final stage of the tour! Our trip through the Persian Empire wraps up with three central provinces of the empire, located in western Iran. This time it's Susiana, Media, and Parsa itself. We'll traverse everything from rundown ancient kingdoms, hostile mountain tribes, royal capitals, and one of the wonders of the ancient world. For some of them, we won't even have to leave the same city. These are the provinces that ruled and defined the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

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28: The Grand Tour, Part 3

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 02:24:21 +0000

The tour of the Persian Empire continues. This time I'm going through the empire within the empire to dissect Assyria and Babylonia. Within these two satrapies, there were many important administrative districts and geographic divisions including Judea, Palestine, Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Akkad in addition to Assyria and Babylon themselves. With hindsight's 20/20 this was obviously one the most important parts of the empire, and we'll go through it in detail.

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Oldest Stories

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Happy Birthday

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 18:57:33 +0000

Today is the one year anniversary of launching the History of Persia podcast. Thank you all so much for your support and interest this past year!

27: The Grand Tour, Part 2

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 06:07:04 +0000

The tour of the Persian Empire continues, this time covering the western Satrapies. I'm exploring the details and histories of the Persian provinces starting with Armenia and moving counter clockwise, through Anatolia and Europe, over the Mediterranean, North Africa, Arabia, and Assyria. Based on the maps of Ian Mladjov.

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Casting Through Ancient Greece

The History of Egypt podcast

26: The Grand Tour, Part 1

Fri, 17 Jan 2020 16:23:58 +0000

With the Persian Empire at its greatest ever extent, it's time to start a tour of the empire. We're travelling east, out of Parsa, and following the excellent maps of Ian Mladjov counter-clockwise through the eastern provinces. From Karmana to India, to the steppe to Parthia and everywhere in between, to examine the little bit of information we have about the Persian east.

Holiday Special 2019

Wed, 25 Dec 2019 02:10:48 +0000

Happy Holidays Everyone! In place of a regular episode this week, we have the first annual History of Persia Holiday Special. Regardless of what holidays you're celebrating, or not, I have a surprise topic to cover by audience request this week. Please enjoy!

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Interesting topic? Check out Anthrochef's History of Food.

25: Behistun

Fri, 13 Dec 2019 05:09:51 +0000

It's finally time to talk about the famous Behistun Inscription, commissioned by Darius to commemorate his victories over "Gaumata" and the rebel kings he faced from 522 - 518 BCE. It is part propaganda, part epic, part origin story, and part religious creed, declaring Darius' position over his hard-won empire. I go through the inscription step by step and give some of the history of the site beyond Darius.

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Behistun Text

24: Darius the Great

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 08:44:13 +0000

With most of the Persian Empire firmly under his control in 519 BCE, Darius the Great set off to earn that title by conquering surrounding territories and spreading Achaemenid territory to its greatest ever extent. He pushed the boundaries of the known world and established an empire that stretched that spanned nearly 4,000 miles from North Africa to the Indus River Valley.

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23: The Lyin' Kings

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 15:11:56 +0000

Picking right back up in the late summer of 521 BCE, I'm talking about the rest of the rebellions against Darius. That's the last three campaigns against the Liar Kings from the Behistun Inscription, the strangely absent rebellion in Egypt, and the other rebels that were excluded from the famous monument before concluding with personal betrayal for the new King of Kings.

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22: Putting Out Fires

Wed, 30 Oct 2019 16:49:08 +0000

No sooner was Bardiya dead, than the newly minted King Darius had to turn his attention on rebellious subjects. One satrapy after the next went into revolt at the end of 522 BCE, and Darius spent most of his first year on the throne directing his armies from place to place to try and hold the empire together. This time, I'm talking about Darius, the calendar, and the rebellious liar kings who sundered the Persian Empire.

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21: The Faith of the Magi

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 07:34:56 +0000

After all that business with Gaumata that Magos, I figured we had time to keep talking about magi. This episode explores the religious developments and beliefs in Persia during the Achaemenid period. I'm focusing on Zoroastrianism, but also discussing how naming a religion like that for the ancient Persians is harder than it might seem.

20: The Forgotten King

Wed, 02 Oct 2019 09:04:38 +0000

522 BCE was a crazy year for the Persian Empire. That was the year that Bardiya - or maybe Gaumata - seized power. He overturned his brother and ruled the empire to try and save it. He halted rebellion and made peace with the nobility. However, nobody can usurp the throne or be a reformer without making a few enemies, and Darius became a lethal enemy to Bardiya.

19: Three Kings and The Magi

Tue, 17 Sep 2019 08:01:38 +0000

In 522 BCE, the Persian Empire sat on the edge of Chaos. Between March and September of that year, 3 men sat on the Persian throne, and according to the official royal history one of those kings was actually impersonated by a couple of magi. This episode is the first to really question who the Magi were. This episode also discusses the many theories of what really happened that year.

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Aspects of History and Epic in Ancient Iran: From Gaumāta to Wahnām

18: The Tyrant and The Kings

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 06:00:15 +0000

The story of Polykrates, the Tyrant of Samos, intersects repeatedly with the history of the Persian empire during his life. From his rise to power in the vacuum left when Miletus was conquered, to his alliance with Egypt against the Persians, and finally to his death on the orders of a Satrap. His story feeds directly into the history around Oroites, the Satrap of Sparda (the kingdom formerly known as Lydia). Oroites tried to seize some power for himself in events that prepare our narrative for the chaotic years following Cambyses' death.

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Announcement 01: Croeseids

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 18:45:41 +0000

Hello everyone! I've got some announcements, updates, and news about the show for you, and as a little bonus for listening to my fundraising spiel, there's a mini-episode on the history of the world's first coinage at the end. Thank you everybody!

17: The Mad King

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 04:27:14 +0000

The story of Cambyses isn't just the conquest of Egypt, but also the dark side of it. According to Herodotus Cambyses was a mad king, driven to paranoia and acts of terrible violence while he was Egypt. The Greek Historian, as well as the Behistun Inscription, tell how Cambyses II murdered his family members and drove his own empire into open revolt. This episode describes the Persian tragedy of the King of King's fall into madness.

16: Pharaoh Cambyses

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 05:01:26 +0000

In 525 BCE, the Persian army crossed into Egypt, in what seems to have been the culmination of years of antagonism between the the new empire and the last great kingdom of the Near East. To accomplish his task, the new King of Kings, Cambyses, mustered all his resources. He assembled a huge land army, constructed Persia's first navy, and formed alliances from the Greek islands in the Aegean to tribal kings in Arabia. Over the following three years, he established and consolidated Persian rule over the kingdom of the two lands, bringing one of the oldest civilizations in the world under Persian domination.

Archaeologists May Have Found 2,500-year-old Persian Military Base in Northern Israel

The History of Egypt Podcast

15: The Army That Conquered The World

Tue, 23 Jul 2019 05:08:36 +0000

In preparation for Cambyses' invasion of Egypt, we're covering the early Persian armies. These are the armies that helped Cyrus the Great conquer the known world. They started as troops levied from Persia and Media, but grew to incorporate every facet of the empire and built on the history of Near Eastern warfare to form a disciplined and organized system.

14: Princes, Princesses, Kings, and Queens

Tue, 09 Jul 2019 04:00:00 +0000

The narrative lurches forward again with a discussion of the new cast, so to speak. Meet Cambyses, Atossa, Bardiya, Artystone, and Roxane, the children of Cyrus the Great, and the new royal family of the Persian Empire. This time I'm breaking down marriage customs, inheritance rights, and political training. Or to put that another way: incest, dividing the empire, and the next round of political power plays. Cyrus the Great is gone, and his empire would never be quite the same again.

13: Kingship 101

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 05:02:24 +0000

What did it mean to be an early king of Persia? They were divine, but not quite. Warriors and economists. The king of Persia, but also Babylon, Egypt, and many other lands. Legitimacy came in many forms, and this episode explores them.

Episode 12: Iranian Religion

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 04:00:00 +0000

It's time to introduce religion into the mix, starting with the origins and background of ancient Iranian traditions in general, and then narrowing in on the most famous and significant: Zoroastrianism. This episode explores the traditions and gods of the Indo-European steppe peoples as they migrated and became the Iranians, Persians and Medes included. I'll also discuss the reforms and doctrines of the ancient prophet Zoroaster who established a religion centered around a single supreme god, Ahura Mazda.

11: King of Kings

Tue, 28 May 2019 04:24:05 +0000

Returning to the narrative, it's time to see what Cyrus got up to in the final decade of his rule, after conquering Babylon. He traveled around his empire, between a collection of important capital cities, founded cities, and constructed monuments. He also conquered. This episode pushes the narrative eastward into the provinces of Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia and explores some of the events that happened there. Then it's time to finish the story of Cyrus the Great, with one last campaign on the northeastern frontier.

10: Governing An Empire

Tue, 14 May 2019 03:53:09 +0000

What exactly is a Satrap? Is there such a thing as a Satrapy? How did all of these people manage to talk to one another? All this, and more as the History of Persia celebrates double-digits with a break down of how the Persian Empire was actually organized and managed during the Teispid Period.

09: Who Are You Again?

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 04:32:38 +0000

This time we're taking a break from the narrative for a bit. Now that this show has all of Cyrus's major conquests under its belt, its probably worth getting a sense of what these Persians were actually like. This episode covers art, architecture, clothing, and the major cultural influences of the early Persian period, under the Teispid kings. Let's see what the world around Cyrus the Great might have looked like.

08: Fill in the Titles

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 04:07:17 +0000

Cyrus the Great has finally completed his conquests in our narrative. I break down the Cyrus Cylinder, the official record of what he did next, one section at a time. In this episode, I shamelessly take advantage of current events and link Persian history to both Easter and Game of Thrones. Listen and explorer official Persian propaganda, an expanding royal family, the historic and religious legacy of Cyrus, and all the titles of the Persian King.

07: The Writing on the Wall

Tue, 09 Apr 2019 02:41:20 +0000

In Babylon, October of 539 BCE began in the 17th year of the reign of Nabonidus, but it ended in the 1st year of Cyrus. In this episode Cyrus the Great carries out his final campaign against Babylon. Our sources tell us that after a few short battles, the greatest city of the ancient world through open its gates and the Persians won the day. Of course, ancient history is never quite that clean. This time, we explore Cyrus's greatest conquest, and the troubled, but fascinating, reign of Babylon's last king.

06: Introducing Ionia

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 06:08:22 +0000

Cyrus's generals take the reins for a bit and the Persian conquerors face their most grueling task yet: subduing the Ionian Greek city states. Persia's first interaction with the Greek speaking world was a drawn out, and possibly brutal conquest of the western coasts of Anatolia, but when they were done the empire was larger, more secure, and ready to keep pushing its boundaries south into the wealthy territory of Babylon.

05: Crossing the Halys

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 03:29:12 +0000

Just as Cyrus the Great, now officially the King of Persia, was consolidating his hold over the recently conquered Median Empire, a new war started. This time, the Persians were facing Lydia, the fabulously wealthy Anatolian kingdom ruled by King Croesus. This war really had it all. Deceptive strategies, surprising alliances, strange tactics, and wildly confused ancient sources to tell the story, but in the end it was just one achievement for Cyrus.

04: Cyrus II, King of Anshan

Tue, 26 Feb 2019 01:05:08 +0000

Around 550 BCE, King Cyrus II of Anshan went into revolt against the Median King Astyages. The young Cyrus was aided by a rebellious Median general called Harpagus and conquered the whole Median Empire in one war. Then, Cyrus declared himself King of Persia, and took his first step on the path to becoming "Great."

03: Babylonians and Medes

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 04:18:05 +0000

We're bringing the stories from the last two episodes together now. The Medes and the Babylonians joined forces, beat the Assyrians and the Egyptians, and then divided up the Near East between themselves as they built their own empires. After this, I promise there will be some actual Persians on this History of Persia Podcast.

02: Indo-Iranians

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 04:13:33 +0000

01: Assyria and Setting the Stage

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 04:09:19 +0000

Here we go, episode 1! Now, as much as I want to get to Persian history, we should probably know at least a little bit about the world before the Persians got there, so this is you lightspeed tour of the Near East, from about 1200 BCE to 616 BCE. Maps for everything are available on the website.

000: Introduction

Tue, 12 Feb 2019 04:04:51 +0000

Welcome Everyone! This is the introductory episode to the show, just so you can get an idea for the premise for the show, who I am as a host, and a couple of disclaimers before diving into the narrative of Persian history.