17 - Judges

"Speak, you that ride on white donkeys, you that sit in judgment and walk along the road.
Instead of the shouting of archers among the wells, there they laud the righteous acts of Jehova. The righteous acts of His rule over Israel.
Awake, awake, Deborah! Awake, awake, sing a song!
Arise, Barak, and lead your captives away!"
The Song of Deborah, Judges 5:10-12

What do you mean that's not the right Samson? Do YOU want to tell him that?
source: The Venture Bros.

L'Shana Tovah! That's Happy New Year in Hebrew! Which applies for the upcoming holiday. Of course, the real Jewish New Year is Rosh Hashanah and I'm pretty sure the saying applies there too...or you can just say Happy Rosh Hashanah...ok we're moving on.

The events of this episode revolve around the Books of Joshua and Judges, where the Israelites are getting comfortable in their new land and forcing out the previous inhabitants. Lotta fighting in this one too! If you're in the mood for a little storytime than this will be a good'un for you.

See you next year!

MP3 Download

Music Credit
Michael Levy - Firn Di Mekhutonim Aheym

Resources
Tribal Allotments of Israel. Good map!
Kingdoms around Israel. The map shows a divided Israelite nation, which won't happen until post-Solomon.
Ehud about to strike down Eglon
Deborah woodcut by Gustave Dore...but where's the palm tree?
Samson and Delilah by Guercino (note that she is depicted holding the scissors, when it's the soldiers who do the cutting!)
Medieval woodcut of Samson and Delilah (note again she's holding the scissors - but look at the anachronism! Samson looks like a weenie!)
The Blinding of Samson by Rembrandt

Woo hoo! Recognition!

I knew about it last week, but I just received a nice official email from iTunes today congratulating the podcast on being chosen as one of the best new podcasts of 2012! Initially I thought that this accomplishment would be followed by Spanish galleons laden with plundered gold, but then I read the fine print (you gotta read the fine print.)

On the plus side I get to display this cool new badge on the site! Which I will! Right now!

Now let's talk about when the next episode is coming out. I'm off next week so HOPEFULLY I'll be able to spend lots of time making episode 17, where we'll take a look at the Israelites earliest leaders, the Judges! I'm shooting for next Friday but if I don't make it don't be mad! Well, ok, you can be mad, just don't be Samson mad and tear down the internet in your rage.

Well anyway, just wanted to share this bit of news for anyone who hadn't heard about it yet. (I'm looking at you people who haven't joined the Facebook group yet!!!) All this is made possible because of my awesome listeners! So thanks for sticking with me and spreading the word. Just think, when we're on episode 200 which I'll be broadcasting from Carnegie Hall, we'll all look back on this and be like, I remember when he only had 16 episodes! 

But...that was before Q'uq'umatz ushered in the new baktun and brought with him an infestation of couatls! Get the fly swatters out!

16 - Moses

"For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgement: I, Jehova. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever."
Exodus 12:12-14

Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You might remember me from such movies as David vs. Super Goliath, and
Suddenly Last Supper!

I gotta tell ya, even though this episode is my longest one since Gilgamesh, I left out a LOT of stuff from the different books of Moses' life. That's how crazy his story is. You owe it to yourself to read more about one of history's most fascinating characters. Seriously.

Of course nobody knows if all this is true or not but just like last episode, it's pretty much irrelevant. It's still an amazing story and I hope you enjoy my take on it!

Update 12/22/2012: I'm testing out the SoundCloud widget on the blog! This is a far better way to listen to and share my content with everyone. Plus it just looks soooo much snazzier!

MP3 Direct Link


Music Credits
Michael Levy - V'Shamru (And They Shall Keep The Sabbath)

www.freesfx.co.uk

Resources
Book of Exodus - where much of today's episode comes from
Ten minutes is awfully long for a trailer...but I love that this clip still exists and in such great condition!
Michelangelo's Moses - Note the stubby horns!
Great map of the Exodus route, very detailed (use the top one)

15 - The Ancient Hebrews

"On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites"
Genesis - 15:18-15:21

Family fun time circa 2000 BC

New episode! Huzzah! Are you ready to learn the history of the Ancient Israelites? Although this episode should really be filed more under sorta-history...but I'll explain all that in the show!

Also of course, a big thank you goes out to Michael Levy for allowing his music to be featured! You can find a link to his website, www.ancientlyre.com, on the upper left-hand corner of the page, and the link to today's song below!


MP3 Direct Link


Music Credits
Michael Levy - Noch Havdallah

Resources:

To be added soon!

*I'm aware that I make frequent references to the male characters giving birth to their sons in this episode. Physical limitations aside, I don't think it distracts too much from the story, but it irked me enough to write a sort of apology here for my poor word choice, revealing what I'm going to call my testostebias. Obviously Isaac didn't give birth to Jacob, his wife did...but, you know what I mean. I pledge that in all future episodes I will make sure to keep my biological functions gender correct.

Enough about me, let's talk about me

Oh hey, how's it going? Yeah I'm doing pretty good. Just finished editing the script for episode 15, gonna record tomorrow, probably gonna crack open a bear, kick back a little.

What? Where did that AMAZING AWESOME ARTWORK COME FROM???

Well longtime friend of the blog, the absurdly talented Mady G. was able to create this masterpiece of yours truly, surrounded by the miscellanea of history, fully serious about this grave undertaking on which I have embarked.

If you also think this is amazing you should check out Mady's website at http://www.madyg.com and see more incredible cartoons and illustrations.

Now I gotta relax with a fresh bubble pipe. Check back tomorrow for a new episode!

Exciting music news for TPHOOW!

I hope you've all had a chance to download the two latest episodes, and that you've also enjoyed my little roundup of the Ancient Egyptians. We blazed through almost four thousand years of history in six episodes, and as much as I love my Nile friends, it's time for another exciting chapter in our podcast! For those who finished episode 14 this isn't a surprise, but the show will now be looking at those people who are really the most responsible for the roots of Western Civilization. No, it's not the Greeks, I'm talking about the Hebrew people! Israelites! Those of the Jewish faith! Although when our story begins, (hopefully late next week/early the following week) we won't be talking about Israel, or Canaan, or even the Levant but we'll actually be returning to Sumer! Whoa, you might be saying, what do the Sumerians have to do with the origins of Judaism? Well you'll just have to wait and find out! Also, the new picture up top is of Masada, the fortress of the Zealots, who took their own lives rather than submit to the Romans.

In the meantime I have exciting news for the upcoming episodes! In my search to bring you period authentic music for the episodes, (though not so much for the Egypt ones...shush I like Hollywood style Egypt themes!), I struggled with what to do for our journey with the Hebrews. When you think of Jewish music...what comes to your mind? Because I'll be honest - I think clarinets, violins, accordions, klezmer style, you know, music that makes you want to get up and dance! But this style dates back to Eastern Europe around the 1800's...and I'm looking for something a little more like 1800's BC.

Enter the esteemed, Michael Levy.

I admire people like Mr. Levy because history is much more than just the written and spoken word. It's about all of humanity's accomplishments like cooking, technology, and in this case, music. Mr. Levy is keeping history alive as a master of the lyre, one of the oldest stringed instruments. He doesn't play just any kind of music, he has reconstructed the sounds of the ancients: Mesopotamians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and most important for us, Hebrews. His work has been featured on BBC Radio 4, for the BBC documentary The Dark Ages: An Age of Light, on German Radio WDR3, and now on The Podcast History of Our World - a tremendous honor. The music of the Ancient Israelites will come to us through his lyre and each episode will feel as if you've hopped in a time machine. I'm really excited to feature Mr. Levy's work on the show and hope you will enjoy it! In the meantime please check out his albums! I've selected three for you to look over, but each episode will highlight a specific song from his Ancient Israel series. I'll provide links and information on where to purchase the song or album then.

Mr. Levy's website: http://www.ancientlyre.com/


These albums are but a few of the many available for sale! If you like it please be sure to give him some stars or a review on iTunes! Do it for the history!

Purchase King David's Lyre from iTunes!
Purchase King David's Lyre from Amazon!
Purchase King David's Lyre from Bandcamp!
Purchase King David's Lyre from CDBaby!







Purchase Ancient Vibrations from iTunes!
Purchase Ancient Vibrations from Amazon!
Purchase Ancient Vibrations from Bandcamp!
Purchase Ancient Vibrations from CDBaby!






Purchase Ode to Ancient Rome from iTunes!
Purchase Ode to Ancient Rome from Amazon!
Purchase Ode to Ancient Rome from Bandcamp!
Purchase Ode to Ancient Rome from CDBaby!

14 - The New Kingdom Part 2: This means war

"The Great King, the king of Egypt, son of Re, Ramses beloved of Amen, speaks thus. Speak thus to the queen of the land of Hatti, the great Queen Puduhepa: Behold, I, your brother, am well. My houses, my sons, my armies, my horses, my chariots and everything in my lands, are very well. May you, my sister, be well! May your houses, your sons, your armies, your horses, your chariots, your nobles, and everything in your land be very well! 
Speak thus to my sister: The great King, the king of the land of Hatti, has written to me thus: Let the people come and pour sweet-smelling oil on my daughter's head and let her be taken to the house of the Great King, the king of Egypt, my brother. Behold! My brother has written thus to me. This decision my brother has made known to me is wonderful. The Sun God has approved of him. The Weather God has approved of him. And the gods of Egypt and the gods of Hatti have approved of him for making this excellent decision to unite two great lands forever..."
- From a letter to Queen Puduhepa of the Hittites from Ramesses II of Egypt

source: The Simpsons
I imagine this how Ramesses II used to behave as a child

The New Kingdom wraps up with this episode! This is one for all you military buffs out there, as we take a detailed look into history's oldest recorded battle, the Battle of Kadesh. Get out your armchairs, generals, and prepare for war! 

MP3 Direct Link

Music Credits
Experimental Sample - Middle East

Resources

Nice map of the Hittite Empire

Kadesh today - Notice its geographical importance!
Map of where the Hittite and Egyptian empires meet...Kadesh is right in the middle.
Bedouin spies being interrogated. Neat!

These three images come from Wikipedia and I think they do an excellent job explaining the stages of the battle
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3

Ramesses driving the Hittites into the river.
Hittites helping their drowning brethren out of the river.
Ooo color!
History Channel's Decisive Battles: Kadesh - fun show using the Rome: Total War engine to simulate battles. Watch it to gain a better understanding!
Hattusa today (Google Maps)
Ramesses the Great...today. Look on my works ye mighty...

13 - The New Kingdom Part I: Prophets and Pharaohs

"I have started an undertaking, and for this reason I write to my brother (Akhenaten). My brother should send me much gold, that I need for my work. But the gold that my brother sends me, do not leave it to some official. Let the eyes of my brother inspect it, and let my brother seal it and send it! Because as far as the previous gold is concerned, which my brother did not inspect personally, but which was sealed and sent by an official of my brother, of the 40 mines which I put in the furnace, there was barely anything of value left."
- Letter from King Burnaburiash of Babylon to Akhenaten 

source: SNL
King Tut was a wild and crazy guy HOW COULD I NOT INCLUDE THIS PICTURE

The New Kingdom! The newest of kingdoms! It doesn't get any newer than this!
Episode 13 is the first part of our look into this busy time in Egyptian history. If you want a detail dense episode, here you go!

MP3 Direct Link

Music Credits
John Gilliat - Sands of Egypt
Almanac Newsreels

Resources
The god Amun
Amenhotep I
Amenhotep I: Sarcophagus and Mummy
Relief of Thutmose I
Map of the Egyptian Empire
Family tree of the Thutmosids (yes it's a word!).
Temple of Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut 1
Hatshepsut 2
Thutmose III and Hatshepsut (note how he's on the left, FOLLOWING her)
Hatshepsut as a sphinx...look at her adorable ears!! Awwww
Hatshepsut's image has been chiseled out...
The head of Thutmose III
Thutmose III at Luxor Museum
Map of the nearby empires. Note the contested are of the Mitanni and Egyptians
Fanciful painting of Thutmose III in chariot
Nice aerial view of Megiddo

You're now going to look at the depictions of Akhenaten and wonder...whoa...why does he look like that? Many have wondered the same thing, and naturally they assume he was an alien emissary from Aten, who is really a space god or something. Or he had some horrible malformed disease.

The truth is that he is shown combining masculine and feminine features as a way to tell Egypt, I am father and mother. The creator is not of one gender but encompasses both. It's not unheard of, just look up Hapi for a reference.
He also has one of the coolest faces in history.

Akhenaten 1
Akhenaten 2
Akhenaten 3
Akhenaten 4
Worshiping the Aten
Akhenaten and the Aten
Nefertiti
King Tutankhamun's Mask
Tut's Mummy
Tut and his wife, Anhkesenamun...just gorgeous

Computers can do that?

Guys...did you know that there are OTHER history podcasts out there? I know, I know, you're probably muttering to yourself, "no..no that's impossible, yours is the only podcast I deign fit to listen to Rob!"

I understand and commend you for your loyalty. When the podcastocalypse happens that fidelity shall not be ignored - but it's true that there are many shows out there, whose hosts cover many different topics and do a really good job at it! Sure you could hunt them down individually on itunes and stuff...OR, if you have facebook you could subscribe to this feed:

https://www.facebook.com/lists/4802413375894

If the show has a facebook page, then this feed keeps track of all the updates in a handy dandy concise format. Perfect for being the first to know when something new is happening for your favorite podcasts. Really useful stuff. Check it out!

*** ALSO ***

There's also a history podcasters group on facebook here

https://www.facebook.com/groups/380062628703530/

It's where the podcasters and the podcastee's (just roll with it) can talk about history, and events, and other neat stuff. It looks like its a pretty healthy community too. Cool cool cool!

12 - The Hyksos OR The REAL Egyptian Aliens

The messenger then told him: "It is King Apepi, life, prosperity and health to him, who has sent me to you in order to say, 'Let there be a withdrawal from the canal of hippopotamuses which lies at the east of the City, because they don't let sleep come to me either in the daytime or at night, for the noise of them is in his citizen' ears."
Then the Prince of the Southern City became stupified for so long a while that he became unable to render a reply to the messenger of King Apepi, life prosperity and health to him.
-The Quarrel of Apepi and Seqenenre

The fearsome Hyksos invaders...my god...even the children have pointy sticks!

It's really frustrating when you've been taught one set of facts and then the experts come out and say no, no THESE are the new facts! I don't have time to have my engrained belief system challenged! I'm a busy guy with an EXTREMELY busy schedule! I'm talking about the Hyksos of course, and we'll talk about that a bit in this episode.

Also a tremendous THANK YOU to those who have so generously donated moneys to the show. My new car thanks you. Just kidding! I can now afford to keep putting out weekly episodes without breaking my upload limit. But I'll let everyone in on my new goal...
See, finding royalty free music for the show is tough, because I'm sort of limited to the free stuff. Which has been great so far! I mean, I think it's great at least. But it's a lot of work finding era specific music. But here's where my new idea comes in. Magnatune.com is, like, the most amazing music site on the internet and the best part is they are not evil! What do I mean by that? Welp, say I purchase a lifetime membership to their website, I think it's about 250. What that means is that I have access to all their music, forever, for the podcast. As much as I want. And they've got a LOT of world music, especially stuff that I'm looking into for the short term. I'm not about to start launching a fundraiser just to meet this goal but I am looking into ways to pay for it.

I don't know, what do you think of the idea? Does everyone like the music being played each episode? Drop me a line!

MP3 Direct Link



Music Credits
Gerald Jay - Egyptian Shaman

Resources
Hyksos Map 1
Hyksos Map 2
Hyksos Map 3
Papyrus painting of Egyptian chariot archer (Note: Not in use yet!)
Egyptian chariot
Mummy of Seqenenre Taa the Brave **WARNING** It's pretty gruesome! Don't blame me if you don't like it...
Sarcophagus of Kamose. Ooo spooky!
Kamose Stela
Statue head of Ahmose

Mankind: The Story of All of Us

early man ventures out for some D.I.Y sushi (source: History Channel)

Yesterday the History Channel aired the first two episodes of their six part, twelve hour long series called, Mankind: The Story of All of Us. The goal of the show is to weave a history yarn, bridging the time between the creation of the universe, humanity's evolution and development, and finally end in modern times after the foundation of America. Along the way the viewer will be treated to historically accurate scenes of ancient men and women working, fighting, and eking out an existence, while celebrated historians like Dr. Oz and Brian Williams add their wisdom. I'm kidding about them being historians. For those who don't know, Dr. Oz is a celebrity surgeon/medical good guy and Brian Williams is the newsanchor for NBC - one of the last few honest newsmen.

Look, truthfully I'm a big history dork who loves stuff like this. I love good CG battles and Egyptian chariots and Spartan warriors and all that stuff. I love video clips of world sites and I love it when history shows depict Greek temples fully painted - which they most certainly were. I love the big emotional swell of music and narration that makes you feel so damn proud to be a human being! YEAH. But, the show is not without criticism. And no it's not because they're essentially doing The Cable TV History of Our World...lousy, idea stealing, well funded....

For starters the idea of condensing at least 10,000 years of human achievement into twelve hours is a bit extreme. To put things in perspective, I've recorded about five and a half hours and I've only reached the end of the Middle Kingdom. Mike Duncan's venerable The History of Rome podcast took about 75 hours to cover about 1000 years of JUST Roman history. So how can the History Channel manage to accurately tell our shared history in such a short amount of time? Why not do seasons of the show? Like Season 1 is Prehistory to the end of Antiquity, Season 2 is Rome and China to the Dark Ages and so on. It's not like they don't have the money or the viewers. By doing it this way, they could effectively weave a story by including more of the famous characters through history and really bring out the interesting details. Instead they present a whirlwind tour that moves too fast to actually learn anything of any substance. I'm a big fan of the expression "whatever gets people interested in history" , and this show has the potential to do that, but right now it's still really fluffy history...and it doesn't help that The History Channel has lost much of its educational credibility over the last couple of years by promoting shows like Ancient Aliens (which is silly but I love it) and Pawn Stars (which I totally love). These shows are pure entertainment and any learning that occurs is a side effect.

Also as a purely cosmetic criticism, I hated that the Neolithic actors were essentially beautiful people with sparkling perfect white teeth, smeared with strategically placed mud to make them look dirty. Is it too much to hire some average looking actors? I've never heard of the "farming mother" theory before but I can tell you  this: she most certainly did not look like that. Just a little annoying detail.

Mankind is definitely worth watching - I know I'll be. But keep in your head that it should be treated as an amuse-bouche for our history feast. Light and tasty, it's not meant to fill you up, but rather to interest you in staying for the main course: Filet du Podcast History.

Also if anybody works for the History Channel and is reading this you should totally hire me and I'll never criticize you again. Ok thanks.

11 - The Middle Kingdom OR Ken "Sekhmet" Burns presents the Egyptian Civil War

"O my son, Sesostris, may your legs walk; you are my own heart, and my eyes watch you. You were born in an hour of happiness in the presence of the sun-folk, and they give you praise...The kingship came into being in my presence, and there are none who could achieve my deeds of valor.
-The teachings of Amenemhat

source: Anakaris of Darkstalkers
I have to say, pharaohs would be much cooler if they were 8 foot tall mummy gods.

By the name of Remi the Weeper, whose fishy tears fertilize the land, it's time for another episode! We'll be taking a look at a rough time in Egyptian history, which segues into an even rougher time! Rough stuff.

Also after I was done making the episode I realized that the Egyptian word nomes, which are the provinces of Egypt, is pronounced exactly like gnomes. Haha..ha...bear with me I've got a cold right now and I'm on a lot of medicine. Wheeeeee.

New Header Pic:
Temples at Abu Simbel

MP3 Direct Link



Music Credits
Celestial Aeon Project - Desert Village

Resources
The different nomes of Ancient Egypt (note that some cities are missing and that Alexandria and Cairo, which are presented here, don't exist yet)
Pepi II as a little baby boy king
Mentuhotep II Relief
Mentuhotep II statue
Three statues of Senusret III...notice how gaunt and serious he looks...also notice his big ears. Subtle hint that he hears ALL as king.

Updates! (11/4/2012)

Back online! Oh internet, oh cooling glow emanating from my monitor, I've missed you so. Perhaps Thoth, looking favorably at our quest for knowledge, granted us this reprieve?

Nah, it was the linemen working overtime. Thanks guys!

Well everyone we're coming up on day 5 of no power after Hurricane Sandy battered the northeast US. I'm thankful that the storm left without causing too much damage to my area, and my thoughts go out to those who lost so much. Right now I'm at the mercy of the work crews who have been tirelessly putting up lines and cutting down trees. So the bad news is that I'm not sure when a new episode will be posted.
The GOOD news is that all this downtime has given me no excuse to research and write the scripts for episodes 11 and 12. So whenever I'm finally patched back into the matrix you can be sure that there'll be a double dose of Egyptian goodness. Hang tight podcastorians! Keep those affected by Sandy in your thoughts!

10 - The Old Kingdom OR Pyramid Power Preserves Provisions Perfectly!

Listen all of you! The priest of Hathor will beat twice any one of you who enters this tomb or does harm to it.

The gods will confront him because I am honored by his Lord.

The gods will not allow anything to happen to me.

Anyone who does anything bad to my tomb, then the crocodile, the hippopotamus and the lion will eat him.

-Inscription on the tomb of a man named Petety at the Giza necropolis

source: Ducktales
(This is what happens when you solve a mystery or rewrite history folks.)

Episode 10! I've made it to the double digits! Alright, this time around we take a look at the era of the pyramid builders and blow the lid off how they were built. Also in a shameless display of self promotion, have you checked out the Twitter page yet? You should! Because don't you want to be connected to this podcast on EVERY SINGLE MEDIA FORMAT?

Actually don't answer that. Just keep being awesome and listening to the episodes.

MP3 Direct Link


Music Credits
Little Red King - Rain in the Desert

Resources
Statue of Djoser
Statue of Seated Imhotep
Fantastic site for numerous depictions of Djoser's Step Pyramid
Buried Pyramid of Sekhemkhet
Meidum, or the collapsed pyramid of Huni
Bent Pyramid of Sneferu
Red Pyramid of Sneferu
The Great Pyramid
Essay by Dr. Hawass describing his find of the Great Pyramid workers.
NOVA - "This Old Pyramid" a MUST watch.
Interview with Mythbusters Kari Byron on Pyramid Power...in case you didn't know, pyramids magically preserve food and sharpen razors. Yep.
Civilization IV - Building the Great Pyramid (i LOVE this clip)

140 characters or your money back!

source: www.agent-x.com.au

(EDIT: 160...140...whatever.)

Alright I took the plunge and made a twitter page for the podcast. Because social media demands you use every single resource available! So at this point, aside from a myspace page, I think I'm totally covered. If you've liked the facebook page (thanks again!) you won't miss out on much. I'll probably use the twitter account to update the show's status and post cool things I've found but don't know where to share them. That makes sense, right?

Well if you use twitter I invite you to start following me. https://twitter.com/PodcastHistory is the link, much easier to remember then podcasthistoryofourworldtwitteraccountspectaculargroovytime, which was my original idea. 

Right, back to work on episode 10. 

9 - Egypt OR De'nile ain't just an overused joke!

"Do not stand up against me,

Do not witness against me,

Do not oppose me in tribunal,

Do not incline against me."

- Heart Scarab c.Middle Kingdom found near Nebankh

source: Sam and Max : Surfin' the Highway

(Careful ancient Egyptians! Don't get too close to Max's face!)

We're feeling fine with episode nine! After a two week delay comes our first foray into the exciting and mysterious world of the ancient Egyptians! While the Sumerians were digging mud pits and eking out an existence in a swamp, the Egyptians were kicking back in the paradise of the Nile river. Only problem? Constant attacks from evil mummies, alien gods and wololo priests!



MP3 Direct Link

Music Credits:

http://www.freestockmusic.com
http://www.playonloop.com/

Resources

Google Maps right over Egypt. Take a look!
An EXTENSIVE collection of ancient Egyptian texts and passages...an internet treasure trove.
A comprehensive collection of Badarian artifacts and sites. So cool.
Good little blurb about makeup.
The Osiris Myth. Bet you didn't know about a certain body part being cut off, did you?
Scorpion macehead.
And a closeup of the macehead. Note the scorpion insignia.
The Narmer Palette.
Crisp drawing of the Narmer Palette.
Narmer's catfish insignia!
The Palermo Stone
White Crown of Upper Egypt (Hedjet)
Red Crown of Lower Egypt (Deshret)
The Double Crown (Pschent)
The Nemes Headdress
Various hypothesized rules of Senet
Yes, the creators of Lost could have went with checkers or chess, but nooo we have to be different and use a board game no one's ever heard of! What!? I'm not bitter after all these years!

8 - The Third Dynasty of Ur OR The Richest Man in Babylon

"When the exalted Anu, king of the Anunnaki, and Enlil, lord of heaven and earth, he who determines the destiny of the land, committed the rule of all mankind to Marduk, the chief son of Ea; when they made him great among the gods; when they pronounced the lofty name of Babylon; when they made it famous among the quarters of the world and in its midst established an everlasting kingdom whose foundations were firm as heaven and earth - at that time, Anu and Enlil called me, Hammurabi, the exalted prince, the worshiper of the gods, to cause justice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and the evil, to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, to go forth like the Sun over the black head race, to enlighten the land and to further the welfare of the people."

-Prologue to the Code of Hammurabi

(Aside from his famous laws, Hammurabi was a disco dancing machine.)

Episode 8 is looking great as we explore the early days of Babylon. Look at Hammurabi and Einstein go! Hah! I could watch them all day. Maybe I will...can't look away...

Also, stuff!
- Transcripts have been updated, and I've added a new page for a bibliography.
- Check out the new logo! Because my brother, Matt, thought he could do a better job than my slapdash photoshop work and you know what?? He's right. Damn fine work I say!

And to everyone who has rated the show and/or downloaded it...you have bumped me up into the top 10 history podcasts on iTunes. and that is AWESOME. Please continue to support the show and in return I'll make more episodes and dancing gifs. It's a deal!

MP3 Direct Link

Music Credits
ensemble de Organographia - "Hurrian Hymns 7 & 10"

Supplemental learning!
Map of the 3rd Dynasty of Ur. It's en francais but you still get the picture.
Another neat map showing the territorial influence of Ur III, but you might need to tilt your head for this one!
Map of the empires of Mesopotamia around 1400 BC...a bit later than what's covered in this episode, but it's a good visual aid to what's going on.
Foundation Figure of Ur-Nammu
Fragments of the law code of Ur-Nammu
Map of Babylonian Empire (Hammurabi)
Hammurabi, standing, receiving a gift from Shamash
Hammurabi, sans schnoz
Hammurabi, as he appears on the U.S. House of Representatives
Code of Hammurabi: side view
Code of Hammurabi: full stele
The full code of Hammurabi in Akkadian and English by Robert Francis Harper

New month, new pic!

This month's background picture is of the iconic Pyramids of the Giza Necropolis. And if you look really closely, you can see the extraterrestrial graffiti that says "Glork'narx, son of Flootarn was here"
(image courtesy of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)

7 - Rise of the Akkadians OR Death and Taxes

"I, Eannatum the powerful, called by Ningirsu to the enemy country with anger, that which was in all times I proclaim: The Prince of Umma, each time when his troops eat from the Guedinna, the well beloved lands of Ningirsu, may he(Ningirsu) lay him low."
- The Stele of Vultures

(Even with a busted eye, Sargon still looks like he could destroy you)

Who's ready for some Sumerian political power struggles? YOU ARE! Hot off the audio presses comes another exciting episode about Sumer. I don't have much more to say about it so I won't. 

MP3 Direct Link

Music Credits
ensemble de Organographia - "Hurrian Hymns 7 & 10"


This page lists the cuneiform names of the Lagash kings. Neat!
Statue of Eannatum
Stele of Vultures
Stele of Vultures 2
Mace Head of Mesilim
Cone of Entemena
Silver-copper vase of Entemena
The Manishtushu Obelisk
Akkadian Empire
This map of the Akkadian Empire is probably closer to what was actually controlled.
Family tree of Sargon
Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
The poems of Enheduanna, as well as numerous other Sumerian stories are all here, free of charge!
This author does a really nice and thorough job on the Akkadian emperors. Well worth the read!

Also in the news: records are broken!

We just broke 500 1000 downloads! For only being around a month I'm pretty happy about this! I do a little Gizmo dance.

Thank you all for listening, and keep coming back for more history goodness!

6 - The Epic of Gilgamesh OR Enkisee, Enkidu!

"If I should fall, I will have made a name for myself! 'Gilgamesh!', they will say, 'it was he who fought Humbaba and cut down the cedar tree to win glory!' My name will be secured for every child born in my house..."

- Tablet II, column vi

(fans of the Civilization series know that Gilgamesh has the best beard hands down)

Wow...what an experience this episode has been. I've been working on this one around the time Episode 5 was finishing up and after a few revisions and new ideas it's finally finished. The epic of Gilgamesh a la Podcast History of Our World is ready for your listening pleasure. It's got it all - monsters, blasphemy, sound effects, and in a very special first for the show - a guest star! I am beyond fortunate to have voice work of the wildly talented, sensationally sultry, the incomparable Alexandra! Without her stepping in I don't know what I would've done! Probably read the female characters in a bad falsetto voice. While wearing a wig for extra effect. 

Yeah...huh? What? Nevermind that, the important thing is that you DON'T have to hear me talk like Marge Simpson AND get someone who knows what they're doing. Everybody wins! 

MP3 Direct Link

Music and Sound Effect Credits

http://www.sounddogs.com/

http://www.freesfx.co.uk/

http://www.freesound.org/

http://www.soundjay.com/

http://www.jamendo.com/en/

Experimental Sample - "The Middle East" 

Mauro Borgarello - "Mar Rosso"

Thierry de Massia - "DleYaman"

Cast List / Sumerian Mythology

Gilgamesh

Shamash

Ishtar

Ninsun

Aruru/Ninhursag

Enkidu

Enlil

Humbaba

Anzu Bird

Irkalla

Eriskigal

Anunnaki

Utnapishtim

Siduri

Ninurta

Ennugi

Anu

Adad

You said nothing about reading...

For those of you who are visually inclined, I now am providing transcripts of the show. When you come to the blog you'll see a big ol' tab underneath the title that says transcripts. That will take you to a Google docs folder where you can download each of the episode scripts. If you've ever been confused about weird names and places mentioned and have no way of googling them, well here you go! Enjoy.

Special thanks to podcast historian and friend Erich G. for proposing the idea!

Episode 5 information

For those of you who'd like a little more Sumer in your life...

The Sumerian King List Dynasties (in order):
 Antediluvian Kings, 1st Kish, 1st Uruk, 1st Ur, Awan, 2nd Kish, Hamazi, 2nd Uruk,
2nd Ur, Adab, Mari, 3rd Kish, Akshak, 4th Kish, 3rd Uruk, Akkad, 4th Uruk, Gutian, 5th Uruk, 3rd Ur, Isin
More info

Map of Ubaid cities, and showing how far the Persian Gulf reached inland.
Wiki article on Cuneiform
From clay token to writing!
Good and clear chart on the evolution of cuneiform script.
Happy Sumerian couple?
Classic Sumerian male look.

Really nice documentary from the 90's. It gives a look at the Ma'dan people to show you how reed huts were constructed.

5 - The Cradle of Civilization

"The Flood wiped out all things: and after the Flood had wiped out all things, when kingship descended from heaven, kingship belonged to Kish"

- Sumerian King List

Iraq and roll fellow historians! We've finally entered the realm of written history, something we owe to the ancient Sumerians - those industrious and brilliant people who turned the marshlands of southern Iraq into one of the greatest civilizations ever on Earth.

While we study the Sumerians, the Podcast History of Our World is grateful to Gayle and Phil Neumann of the group, ensemble De Organographia, for graciously allowing me to use part of their recordings for the intro and outro music. The song "Hurrian Hymns 7 & 10" is played on lyre and drum, and represents some of the earliest known music to come out of Mesopotamia. This is as real as it gets folks, and if you like the song, why not check out their other albums too? The group has covered numerous other historical music including Ancient Greece, Egypt and 16th century Italian music.

You can purchase their fantastic albums from North Pacific Music or just do a search on Amazon.
And if you're fortunate enough to live in Oregon check out their live events! Shoot me a line and tell me how the concert was!

(and I'll be posting a list of all sorts of episode goodies later today so check back in!)

MP3 Direct Link

The wait is almost over!

This is normally about that time of the week where a brand new episode full of rich, hickory smoked history goodness would come out. But alas, not yet, as I'm having some audio problems with my equipment. Tried recording today and it came out awful. Rest assured that episode 5 WILL be out shortly, and will answer all your Mesopotamian questions.

As a peace offering I present this historical photograph of George Washington fighting Adolf Hitler.

May it inspire you to crush tyranny and inspire freedom wherever you are.

(source: Kotaku)

Bibliography or Works Cited?

I don't think it really matters what you call it as long as you give credit where credit is due! Here's the much awaited biblio/works cited list for Episodes 1 through 4, the prehistory episodes

Download here!

Podcasts are great and all, but honestly, I've got 30 minutes to explain as much as I can. I'm going to miss a whole bunch of stuff despite my best efforts. So why not pick up a book and learn even more about this stuff?

4 - Neolithic Man

Happy he who far from business, like the primitive race of mortals, cultivates with his own oxen the fields of his fathers, free from all anxieties of gain
-Horace

It's the fourth episode already? Well it's about time! I'm tired of all this monkey business! Heh, monkey business.

MP3 Direct Link

Music Credits
Kevin Macleod - Tafi Maradi
Various SFX - Soundjay.com
Mahalia Jackson - Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho

~~~ SO MANY LINKS ~~~

The spread of Homo Sapiens

The Many Venus Figurines

Venus of Dolni Vestonice

Venus of Hohle Fels

Venus of Willendorf

Venus of Laussel

Venus of Brassempouy

Venus of Monruz

Venus of Lespugue

Venus of Gonnersdorf

Venus of Moravany

Venus of Galgenberg

Venus of Savignano

Venus of Gagarino

Venus of Kostenki

Venus of New Avdeevo

Venus of Malta

Trepanned Skulls

Watch this documentary after you listen to the episode! Bring snacks!

UPDATE 9/21/2012: Incredible evidence of dentistry in Neolithic man! http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/49094441/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.UF0Mc41lR31
Thanks Kevin for pointing this out!

I know I didn't do enough for Gobekli Tepe...so check out this site!
http://spydersden.wordpress.com/2012/08/31/gobekli-tepe-oldest-monumental-architecture-of-planet/
(thanks to reddit user Nodems92 for posting this!)

Podcast History on iTunes!

Just got the email today that the Podcast History of Our World is officially on iTunes! Now instead of downloading individual mp3's, you can just subscribe and kick back!

There's actually three different ways to go about this:

1) Go to this link which will take you to my iTunes page:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/podcast-history-our-world/id558333993 

2) Or go to itunes > advanced > subscribe to a podcast and enter this:

http://podcasthistoryofourworld.libsyn.com/rss

3) Or just search for me! If you type in the whole title I will come up! Promise!

We're heading into the big leagues folks. Thanks for supporting this project of mine and be sure to spread the word!

New month, new background picture, and new science!

Last month's landmark was the Mausoleum of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, or by it's more modern name: The Castel Sant'Angelo.

This month: Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria.

Incidentally for all my listeners who are really enjoying the baffling science of human evolution, CNN is reporting that genetic testing from the finger bone and teeth from a hominid called Denisovan, links humans and neandertals to this species. The Denisova hominin which these bones came from lived in Siberia as late as 41,000 years ago, which, if my calculations are correct, proves I know nothing about anthropology.

Here's the link to the NPR transcript of Talk of the Nation, in which Ira Flatow talks to David Reich, Professor of Genetics at Harvard.

Episode 4 is coming along nicely so expect a release later this week!

-R

Making history on the facebooks!

The Podcast History of Our World is on Facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/ThePodcastHistoryOfOurWorld

To my friends out there who have liked that page already, many thanks! It's support like that which makes me confident that this is really going to take off.

Now to everyone else out there, don't forget to like the page! The more I get, the more I can switch over to www.libsyn.com, start professionally hosting the podcast with a feed and then....iTunes!! Which is the real goal here!

Oh, yeah, history. Yeah that's important too. What did I say? Ah, it doesn't matter.

3- Legacy of Prometheus

It takes two flints to make a fire
- Louisa May Alcott

It's the third episode and things are getting weird in the evolutionary world! Who are these neandertals with their low brows and primitive ideas, and why do so many politicians look like them? (That's a little political humor for you all! The yuks just keep on coming here at TPHOOW!)

When you're done listening to the episode, don't forget to listen to the theories of the eminent professor of anthropology Dr. Karl Pilkington on the genetics between man and chimpanzee. It's a truly fascinating lecture!

And as I've done before, all the picture links and articles will be posted within the day or so. I'll also be posting a bibliography for all the works cited to date so no one tries to sue me. As my legal team, of the moment, consists of a half eaten donut and a briefcase full of shredded newspaper.

Enjoy!
MP3 Direct Link


Music Credits

MacLeod, Kevin - Dubakupado
SFX - Mike Koenig, The Recordist
Travel Music - Guy Whitmore

Episode Links

Neandertal skull from La-Chapelle-Aux-Saints
Range of the Neandertal
Great site for showing how to make pigment from red ochre
Ice Age Twins found completely covered in red ochre...found this after the episode went up
Chunks of raw red ochre
Great chart showing how dog breeds develop

Using fairly IS fair use!

First off, episode three will be up either tomorrow or Thursday which makes me three for three in pumping out weekly episodes! To compensate for chapter two's shortness, this one will be a bit longer and hopefully answer all your questions about neandertal man, and early homo sapiens!

As I build more content in order to prepare for the inevitable iTunes submission, I'm concerned that my vision of not having one theme song, but instead playing cool, relevant and unique music based on the time period of the episode, isn't going to cut it in the court of law.

As stated on the Creative Common's Legal Guide:

Fair Use Under Copyright Law And Its Application To Podcasts.

A “fair use” is copying any protected material (texts, sounds, images, etc.) for a limited and “transformative” purpose, like criticizing, commenting, parodying, news reporting, teaching the copyrighted work. Under the US copyright laws, fair use “is not an infringement of copyright.” Judges typically consider four factors that are set forth in the Copyright Act. These factors are non-exclusive, so judges are permitted to consider other facts in addition to these. However, in the vast majority of cases, courts limit their analysis to these factors (you can read more detail about these factors at http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/9-b.html. 

The Brennan Center's excellent public policy report entitled “Will Fair Use Survive?: Free Expression in the Age of Copyright Control” provides a analysis of how fair use has played out in numerous scenarios over recent years:http://www.fepproject.org/policyreports/WillFairUseSurvive.pdf):

- the purpose and character of your use (this is sometimes called the “transformative factor”);

- the nature of the copyrighted work (e.g., is the work highly creative fiction warranting broader protection, or is it highly factual warranting narrower protection?);

- the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, (as compared both to the underlying work and the work in which the copying is used); and

- the effect of the use upon the potential market (e.g., did the copyrighted work lose market share or potential market share?).

In addition, some commentators refer to a “fifth fair use factor” which hinges on good faith -- whether your conduct might be considered “morally offensive,” Judges and juries are human, and their decisions can be swayed by whether they think you are a "good or bad” actor (see http://bgbg.blogspot.com/2005/10/search-or-seizure.html).

Now I have a response and an argument ready for each one of those talking points, but the fact remains that without express permission or a license, I can't play the music I want during the podcast. Bummer.

~~~ HOWEVER ~~~

That doesn't mean I can't find awesome royalty free music to play! I'm exploring different options to bring you some really neat tunes that will still hold true to the tone of the episode. And if their are any musicians out there who would like to donate their time period appropriate work to the show, well that would be great too!

Oh, and just because I can't play the music, doesn't mean I can't mention what I was going to play in the first place! Ahem. So, in case you're curious, episode three WOULD have begun with this song:

Danny Kaye and the Andrews Sisters - "Civilization"

Thanks for visiting the blog and listening to the podcast! It's only going to get better and better from here!

2 - The Dawn of Man

When life gives you lemons, you make HISTORY.

Episode two is up and filled with more environmental and biological controversies than you could throw a monkey at! We'll be taking a look at the early days of mankind, back when a good day was finding a semi fermented fruit and not getting eaten by a dinofelis. Good times!


MP3 Direct Link


Music Credits

Taylor, Terry S. "Skullmonkeys (The Theme)." From Imaginarium. 2000, MP3 file.

Episode Links

Australopithecus Afarensis
Australopithecus Africanus
Lucy (Afarensis)
Paranthropus Robustus
Homo Habilis
Homo Ergaster
Homo Erectus

UNESCO Dmanisi World Heritage Site
Nature - Human Evolution and Climate Change
Interesting theory by National Geographic on bipedalism...

1 - Let There Be History

The very first episode of my humble podcast!

All stories have a beginning, and ours goes all the way back to the Big Bang. We'll also listen to some creation myths to see how early man explained the world.

Don't forget to email me with your comments, criticisms and suggestions!


MP3 Direct Link

Episode Links

Izanagi and Izanami Searching the Seas: Kobayashi Eitaku

Marduk and pet dragon

Battle of Marduk and Tiamat, Neo-Assyrian Cylinder Seal, 900 - 750 BC

The Big Bang Theory

Music Credits for Chapter 1

Bach, J.S.. "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major, BWV 1047: III. Allegro assai"; Unknown Orchestra

Unknown Composer. "Moon Dancer"; Mark Hicks

Unknown Composer. "Sumerian Music 1", Music of the Ancient Sumerians, Egyptians and Greeks; ensemble De Organographia

Zumi-Kai Original Instrumental Group. "Haru No Kyoku", Koto Music of Japan