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PODCAST

Oldest Stories

History and myth of the Cradle of Civilization, bronze age Mesopotamia, beginning with the dawn of writing. The show will cover the full history of Mesopotamia, from Gilgamesh to Nabonidas, a span of some 2500 years, with myths of heroes and gods, and tales of daily life peppered throughout. Sumer, Akkad, Old Babylon, Hittites, and Israel have all been covered in depth, current episodes get deep into the Assyrian Empire. New episodes every other Wednesday. Online at oldeststories.net.

history

All Episodes

00:48:28

OS 152 - The Smothered Spark of Babylon's Dark Age

Oldest Stories ·

2024/10/16

Today we see the political aspect of Babylon during its dark age, focusing on the 10th to 9th centuries BCE. Highlights are reigns of kings like Nabu-Mukin-Apli, Nabu-Shuma-Ukin, and Nabu-Apla-Iddina, tracing the political fragmentation, famine, and external threats faced by the city. The episode also highlights Babylon's struggle against Aramean raids, the rise of new dynasties, and the city's complex relationship with Assyria. Key topics include Babylonian kingship, religious traditions, military

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00:38:53

OS 151 - The Glowing Embers of Babylon's Dark Age

Oldest Stories ·

2024/10/02

Today we talk about why, exactly, Babylon was unique and look at how during this dark age they were still creating unique and interesting literary works. This gets pretty wide ranging, from defense to omen texts to political reform to the origins of the Chaldeans. The podcast has gone back to audio-only, the video side of things was taking too much away from the important parts of the show. Advice to a Prince can be read here: https://www.ebl.lmu.de/corpus/L/2/5/SB/-If you like the show, consider

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00:44:23

OS 150 - The Battle of Qarqar

Oldest Stories ·

2024/08/28

The lead-up to and significance of the first great battle of the iron age. Qarqar changed the equation for the Assyrian empire, which has until now been expanding without serious resistance. We will learn about the geopolitical significance of Damascus and Israel, watch the Assyrians struggle and grow as a result, and reach the peak of early Neo-Assyrian military achievement.If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially: Buy

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00:41:44

OS 149 - Shalmaneser Upends the Levant

Oldest Stories ·

2024/08/14

Today we examine the situation in the Levant from the Bronze age Collapse to the entry of the Assyrians, and then follow Shalmaneser's levantine campaigns as they reshape the region through violence and indigenous reactions. We reach the end of Ahumu the Aramean's anti-Assyrian activities, and ponder some of the big questions of the series, like what motivates Shalmaneser and what happens to civillians in a conquered Assyrian territory.If you like the show, consider sharing with your

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00:38:13

OS 148 - Shalmaneser Takes the Throne

Oldest Stories ·

2024/07/31

A big transition of power as Shalmaneser peacefully takes the crown from his psychotic father, then immediately heads north for some war crimes. Big discussion today about how the Assyrian empire really works, what holds it together, and how Shalmaneser heralds a new phase in near eastern history. I even have a new background to mark the new era, for those watching on video.Also, for those not on youtube, I have been doing some more Pharaoh:Total War content, including a historically focused

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00:35:42

OS 147 - From the River to the Sea

Oldest Stories ·

2024/07/17

From the Tigris River to the Mediterranian Sea, Assurnasirpal completes the greatest campaign any Mesopotamian king has managed since the time of Sargon the Great, nearly 1500 years prior. Made possible through logistics, a firm grip on his Mesopotmaian heartland, and his own personal spark of genius, our psycho king turns up the charm to travel further than blade alone could allow, reshaping the near eastern political landscape, and setting in motion events that would alter human history

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00:26:14

The Early History of Near Eastern Cavalry

Oldest Stories ·

2024/07/03

Bonus episode today, a bit of a crossover with the bronze age stuff I am doing on Youtube about the video game Total War Pharaoh. Despite that, I think it will be of general enough interest to go on the podcast feed because the history of cavalry and the evolution and impact of the horse is keenly relevant here in the iron age, ironically more so than in the bronze age that the game is trying to shoehorn it into. This full lore breakdown explains the actual history of cavalry, goes deep into the

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00:36:51

OS 146 - How Assyria Operated

Oldest Stories ·

2024/06/19

Today we look at the psychology and genius of Assurnasirpal and get a good look at both the strengths and weaknesses of the Assyrian terror-based governance strategy. A massive feast will be held, the Babylonians will be resurgent, and a massive uprising will threaten Assyrian invincibility. If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially: Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS Donate here:

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00:40:21

OS 145 - The Early Neo-Assyrian Army

Oldest Stories ·

2024/06/05

Today we pause and look at the early Neo-Assyrian army itself, the arm of the empire that was doing all the conquering. It is an infantry focused force, but we also have some to say about the world's first cavalry forces, as well as the prestigious but declining chariot. Sprinkling in some of what we know about Assyrian military tactics, strategy and psychology, we can see that the success of the army in these early years is not due to any one greatest strength, but instead the overwhelming

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00:45:55

OS 144 - Call of Calhu

Oldest Stories ·

2024/05/22

Calah, Nimrud, Kalhu - the new city of Assurnasirpal which will serve as imperial capital for the next century and a half has many names, but is built on a foundation of blood and plunder. We look at the city today, the grand buildings and mighty feasts held to inaugurate the new city, but our focus is on the death and slavery upon which it, like the empire, it would serve, is built upon. In the process, we see the genius and industry of the tireless psychopath who is rocketing Assyria from a major

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00:38:22

OS 143 - Assurnasirpal Has Too Much Energy

Oldest Stories ·

2024/05/08

Is Assurnasirpal II, king of Assyria, a relentless narcicisstic psychopath? Or is he a profoundly competant, ruthless tyrant? Can he be both, and does it really matter? Today we begin the first set of great conquest narratives of the Assyrian empire, unrivalled in their detail and shock value by any previous Mesopotamian king. We are deep into the Royal Inscriptions today, with a look at his listing of titles, and then a long tour as we see the Assyrian army really at work. There are a lot of place

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00:39:54

OS 142 - The Assyrian Empire Takes Shape

Oldest Stories ·

2024/04/24

King Tukulti-Ninurta II slows down the pace of conquest for a crucial decade. Conquest still happens, and at a breakneck pace, but compared to what we have seen and will see, it is much slower. More importantly, Tukulti-Ninurta spends a lot of his time focused on really establishing what has already been built, constructing more buildings, conducting diplomacy, building out the administration, and that sort of groundwork that will keep the empire stable and strong going forward. Also,

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00:42:09

OS 141 - The Unintended Aramization of Assyria

Oldest Stories ·

2024/04/10

Today we see Adad-Nirari bring huge quantities of Arameans into the Assyrian empire. This will change the linguistic fabric of the entire near east in time, but as we will see, at the time it just seemed like a set of good decisions, or at least imperialistic decisions. We also discuss what it is to be an Assyrian, and why no one was overly concerned about the sort of ethnic conflicts that seem to dominate nowadays. The main feature today is the Temannu war, which spanned perhaps 6 to 8 years and

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00:38:57

OS 140- The Dawning of a New Assyrian Empire

Oldest Stories ·

2024/03/27

The king today is Adad-Nirari II, but we have a lot to discuss in the background as well. The Nairi get their spotlight right before they get destroyed, and we look at the dating system for the Neo-Assyrian period and why it is so reliable, compared to the earlier parts of ancient history. And we also ask what an Empire is and whether or not the Neo-Assyrian Empire counts as one, which it does. Adad-Nirari is a conquering king, and though we know little about the army at this point, we know it is

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00:48:48

OS 139 - An Iron King for an Iron Age

Oldest Stories ·

2024/03/13

Today we talk about iron working, economics and climate change. Then we watch Assur-Dan II flay his enemies alive and hang their skins from the city wall. The doldrums of the Bronze Age Collapse are now officially over and a new age is rising - an age of iron and an age of empire. The most exciting and historically important period of Mesopotamian history begins now. Also, check out the spin off channel by searching Christ and Questions, or going here:

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00:50:57

OS 138 - Erra and Ishum Threaten Destruction

Oldest Stories ·

2024/02/28

Most of our modern end of the world literature is set in the future, but the Babylonians, in the midst of a dark age, set their end of the world literature right in their own times, since for them it may have seemed like the world itself was ending. Erra, also called Nergal, wants to destroy a bunch of stuff because that is his nature. He tries protecting the universe, but gets frustrated with that, so he destroys the universe instead. Interestingly, this story may have become extremely popular in

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00:37:36

OS 137 - The Oldest Dreams

Oldest Stories ·

2024/02/14

Do dreams count as literature, are the dream records we have an accurate depiction of ancient dreams, and does reading a dream account from a man 3000 years dead give us any insight into his state of mind? Today, we read through a bunch of dreams, read about dreams, and just generally ponder some of this stuff.I have books! About Ancient Mesopotamia! And more on the way! Check them out here! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/oldeststories/message

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00:50:00

OS 136 - The Fifty Shades of Marduk

Oldest Stories ·

2024/01/31

The thrilling conclusion of the Enuma Elish is an extended hagiographical top-50 list extolling the virtues of Babylon's patron god. As we are now well into the period where Marduk is unquestionably supreme within Babylon's walls, it is high time that we focused out attention a bit more on just who this Marduk fellow truly is. We look at the context of the naming, the fact that by some counts Marduk has more than 50 names, and then look through the canonical listing itself, including

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00:50:50

OS 135 - Middle Class Demons of Mesopotamia

Oldest Stories ·

2024/01/17

Today we look at Pazuzu, Lamashtu, Samanu, Mushussu, and Lamassu. These are not the great gods of myth, nor are they the personal gods that would have absorbed the majority of the average Mesopotamian's attention and worship. They exist somewhere in the middle, in the realm of magic, of diseases, of charms, and of the middle spirit realms. This means there isn't a good place to talk about them - they don't come up much in the main narratives of history or myth, and when talking about

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00:41:06

OS 134 - Poverty, Pessimism, and Comedy in Ancient...

Oldest Stories ·

2024/01/03

Today we read through the Dialogue of Pessimism and the Poor Man of Nippur. Both are comedies with a bit of edge to them, though in very different formats, showing the richness of ancient literature. Dialogue of Pessimism is basically a two-man standup routine, with a fair amount of philosophical ideas thrown in as part of the comedy. Poor Man of Nippur is a farce mixed with a revenge tale, grounded with a perspective we rarely see in ancient literature, the common man viewing the wealthy and

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229 results

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