38 - Socrates and the War's End

"The hour of departure has arrived, and we go our ways - I to die, and you to live. Which is better, God only knows."
Socrates - The Apology

Carol Simpson (c)2000

We conclude the wars and take a look at Socrates and two of his not quite as nice students!
Special guest introduction from Benjamin Ashwell of the Talking History: Italian Unification podcast! Head on over and check out a fascinating study of a not so often discussed topic!

Gregorio Paniagua - Hymne a la Muse

37 - The Peloponnesian War

"Think, too, of the great part that is played by the unpredictable in war: think of it now, before you are actually committed to war. The longer a war lasts, the more things tend to depend on accidents. Neither you nor we can see into them: we have to abide their outcomes in the dark. And when people are entering upon a war they do things the wrong way round. Action comes first, and it is only when they have already suffered that they begin to think."
- Thucydides, The Peloponnesian War

Got all that? Good!

So the war really started in episode 36. And this is really only the second part. And really it'll continue into the next episode too. Whatever! It's a confusing time for the Greeks!

Gregorio Paniagua - Premier Hymne Delphique a Apollon

36 - The Age of Pericles

"I say that as a city we are the school of Hellas, while I doubt if the world can produce a man who, where he has only himself to depend upon, is equal to so many emergencies, and graced by so happy a versatility, as the Athenian...For Athens alone of her contemporaries is found when tested to be greater than her reputation, and alone gives no occasion to her assailants to blush at the antagonist by whom they have been worsted, or to her subjects to question her title by merit to rule."

-Pericles, funeral oration

I wish there was an artist attached to this image! All I've got is a website:
http://www.slideshare.net/juliahornaday/pericles-and-rise-of-democracy-presentation

My favorite version of Pericles comes from William Messner-Loebs "Epicurus the Sage". Trust me, find a copy and read it.

Greogorio Paniagua -  Anonymi Bellermann

Vox Populi!

Woohoo! Can you believe it? Because I can't! I'm a finalist in the best education category! And I owe it all to you - the listeners who are enjoying my little experiment with world history. I'm honored, flattered, bewildered, peckish, and thrilled! Even if this is as far as it gets I'm still pretty stoked.

But it doesn't HAVE to end here you know...because voting starts today! You can vote once a day for 15 days! All you gotta do is head to http://www.podcastawards.com/ and check out where I am on best education. Now you may find some other shows in there you enjoy...The British History Podcast and The History Chicks are in there too! And if you're partial to them well, don't worry I still love you. As much as I want to win, I really want a history podcast to win more :)

Please vote! You've been awesome so far, why stop now?

(This message brought to you by Episode 36 - currently being worked on and totally not being held hostage until people vote)

35 - Athens Strikes Back!

"Cimon prevailed upon the Athenians, exhorting them not to suffer Hellas to be crippled, nor their city to be robbed of its yoke-fellow"

Plutarch - Life of Cimon

Part of what remains of the Themistoclean Wall
http://www.akropol.net/kerameikos/photos/wall-3.jpg

A transition episode! Those are always interesting! Can't continue the story without it but it's not the most exciting stuff...that'll come in 36!

Gregorio Paniagua - Fragments instrumentaux de Contrapollinopolis

Are you ready for Season 2?

Because that's what I'm calling this new round after our long hiatus. Episode 35 is written, just needs to be edited and recorded. Probably will have it up late Monday or Tuesday afternoon.

The plan is still to do 1-2 episodes a month while I cope with the first year teacher thingamabob. Or if someone wants to sponsor me a la Medici style I'll ramp up the workload :D

Ok! See you soon for our glorious reunion!

-Rob

34 - The Persian Wars: Culmination

"I am sent to thee by Themistocles, son of Neocles, who is the leader of the Athenians, and the wisest and bravest man of all the allies to bear thee this message: Themistocles the Athenian, anxious to render thee a service, has restrained the Greeks who were impatient to pursue thy ships, and to break up the bridges at the Hellespont. Now therefore, return home at thy leisure."
Herodotus, The Histories Book 8

Themistocles. About to become a Hollywood action hero.

The conclusion to the Persian Wars! And when the new 300 movie comes out in March you can be that person in the theater, snorting and huffing at all the historical inaccuracies going on while everyone tells you to shush. That can't just be me, right?

Gregorio Paniagua - Premier Hymne Delphique à Apollon

Recommendations!

I'm hard at work finishing up on episode 34 which is probably going to come out later next week, but while I figure out my time management issues you should check out some other history podcasts! I just made a new page featuring some of my favorites. These are ones I've either listened to or have checked out and can give them a big thumbs up. And if you've got your own recommendations, feel free to add them in the comments too! 

33 - The Persian Wars: Invasion

"Go tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws we lie"
-Simonides of Ceos

100% total historical authenticity.
(Xerxes of '300')

So what's going on with this release schedule? Well I am getting busier that much is true. I am no longer an unemployed teacher (hurray health insurance!!) and that means balancing work and podcasting. Social life is gonna take a backseat I think but honestly what with Rome 2 coming out and Assassin's Creed IV on the way I can't really be bothered anyway. Priorities people!! Alright so basically what this means is that the podcast is NOT ending. I will continue with 2-3 episodes a month. I'll still be updating my bibliography, but providing links to outside stuff each episode is going to end unfortunately. The time I spend hunting down internet goodies can be better used actually writing the episodes, and I'm all about time management right now. I post stuff to the Facebook page fairly routinely and it's a lot faster that way. You don't have to be a member to check it out so come on over!
Actually that's about it I think. Any big ol' updates I'll post on twitter and the f books.

ALSO if you enjoy downloading the program instead of streaming it, check on the soundcloud widget right below the share button. That's gonna be the download button now. Same exact quality, nothing's changed, just easier for me that pulling up links and stuff from the other site. Right! I think that's all for now. Hope you like the new episode!


Music Credits:

Gregorio Paniagua - Premier Hymne Delphique à Apollon

Atrocities: The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History

"When one man dies it's a tragedy. When thousands die it's a statistic."
-Josef Stalin to Winston Churchill

                We live in the most peaceful time ever in human history. Well, so says Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard. This might sound bizarre considering the atrocities taking place in Darfur, Syria and Afghanistan to name a few, but he's technically right - the data shows that people are becoming less violent - and data is what we're interested in. Not emotions, or sensitivities, or theories but numbers and facts. This is a hard concept to accept! Even with all the horrors happening in the world today, not to mention war after war in the 20th century, this is the least violent mankind has ever been? How much more horrible could it have been before the modern age?

                Turns out it's far nastier then you might think!
                Atrocities: The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History, is a testament to man's inhumanity to man on paper - a codified list of the worst moments of our species through time and culture, composed and compiled by atrocitologist, Matthew White. Wait, what's an atrocitologist? That's a scholar of atrocitology of course! (What a ridiculous question to ask!) In this book you'll find the statistics for 100 violent events, corresponding to "the largest man-made death tolls, regardless of who was involved or why they did it." (Sorry plague you don't qualify.) This rationale means any time from history is fair game, although the earliest Mr. White goes back is to the Second Persian War with a relatively meager 300,000 dead. Meager in comparison to one of history's all time nastiest guys, the Turkic conqueror Timur the Lame and the 15,000,000 deaths attributed to him.
               Each of the events are supported with extensive historical research, statistics,  background stories, and humor. I am a tremendous fan of injecting humor into history whenever possible (re: that podcast thing I do), and Mr. White actually made me chuckle out loud a few times. Then I flipped to the front of the book and reminded myself I was learning about bad things from history. He commends the Ming Dynasty for supplying old slapstick movies with a source of breakable vases and introduces Chinggis Khan with - "he couldn't have been this destructive, could he?" This is a difficult move to make in a book dedicated to humanity's evils, but it is pulled off deftly and appropriately.          

The data shows that bad guys have a 60% chance of escaping justice.
Where the heck is Batman when you need him?

But then there is the question of how Mr. White arrives at of his statistics. For much of the ancient history topics, there is considerable academic estimation. After all, Herodotus reports the Persians fielded some near 3 million soldiers. This...isn't even close to accurate. So Mr. White goes through the histories and arrives at a more suitable answer. As for the modern events which offer more data  there is another snag...why would a dictator keep accurate numbers of how many they killed? Take the example of  Josef Stalin. Soviet records seem to indicate some 3 million died in the labor camps, but that's not including those who died of famine, disease, The Great Purge and other nasty, horrible things. Some historians claim Stalin was ultimately responsible for 50 million deaths, others think it was lower - 20 million. Mr. White agrees with that lower estimate of 20 million, citing a 1937 Soviet census that couldn't account for nearly 16.7 million people...curious and shocking. There is data behind the book's final estimate, but also a historian's keen judgment.
                At 688 pages this is no light reading, yet the narration is so conversational, so filled with amusing anecdotes and fascinating trivia that it's easy to lose yourself in the chapters. The study of atrocitology might be grim work, but there is no better scholar for it then Mr. White. He's a numbers guy, but there is an undeniable humanist element to his work. The study of atrocities, ultimately, is a quest to understand why these things happened so they can be prevented from happening again. Those looking for an insightful and honest account of these stories will do no better then to pick up this excellent book.

Atrocities: The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History
Matthew White; W.W. Norton & Company; May 13, 2013; 688pgs. 
Purchase it now from Amazon.com or wherever books are sold.
                

31&32 - Athens

"Such power I gave the people as might do,

abridged not what they had now lavished new,

Those that were great in wealth and high in place

My counsel likewise kept from all disgrace

Before them both I held my shield of might,

and let not either touch the other's right."

The Life of Solon - Plutarch 

Hmm...let's hope he's a better Superman than a Theseus.
(source: Immortals)

Whoa! I've been gone for too long! But I hope this double offering pleases the gods of podcasting. And by that I mean you. You the gods. Athens has a lot to cover and by the end of these episodes we bring our Persian episodes right up to speed. We're right on track again! Huzzah!

And because I've been working on this all day I'll update the blog later....I know I'm being lazy but I promise I'll get back to it! 

Ok I'll stop talking. (typing? whatever)

Music Credits

Gregorio Paniagua - Epitaphe de Seikiloshttps://itunes.apple.com/us/album/ancient-greek-music/id215152409

Updates!

If you've been following the show on Facebook or Twitter you can probably skip everything I'm about to write. But if you haven't you're probably wondering what's going on with the podcast! Have I been abducted by time traveling warriors looking to rewrite history? Did I fall down a bottomless well only to end up in a subterranean world inhabited by magma people? Maybe I blew a brain gasket, unable to cope with the internet fame and glory of being a history podcaster and have moved to Lillehammer, Norway to make gravlax for a living.

Right, well, as much as I'd rather you believe one of those stories, the truth is a bit more muted. You all know that this podcast began as a way for me to cope with unemployment as I searched for a teaching position, right? Well I haven't found anything permanent yet but I have been in the classroom the last month and it's been dominating my time. It's great to be teaching again and I love my students but the podcast has been neglected. Temporarily! But neglected. 

HOWEVER!

If you've been wondering when ep.31, Athens, will be coming out, I can assure you the wait is almost over. This should be the week I get it out, promise! This is also my last week of work, so you can expect a more regular episode schedule soon! Remember when I was able to get one out each week? Ahh the glory days of unemployment. So much time...so little money...well anyway, again thank you SO much for supporting myself and the show through all this. I just wanted to reassure everyone that I'm still here, happy and well, and working hard to bring you new episodes as quick as I can!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to seek out inspiration for the next episode in my local Greek diner. Perhaps a nice gyro and some spanakopita are all the motivation I need!

30 - Sparta

"I would never remember or mention in my work any man for his speed afoot or wrestling skill - not if he was as huge and strong as a Cyclops or could run faster than the North Wind, nor more handsome than Tithonus, or richer than Midas, nor more kingly than Pelops, or had speech more honeyed than Adrastus, not even if he possessed every glory - not unless he had the strength of a warrior in full rush."
-Tyrtaeus, 7th century Spartan Poet

Contrary to what academia has taught us, Spartan warriors frequently made blood pacts with the gods in return for silky smooth skin.
(source: Kratos, God of War)

THIS..IS..episode 30, where we discuss everyone's favorite totalitarian, xenophobic, oppressive culture - the Spartans! THIS..IS..your chance to learn all about the roots of Spartan expansionism, the brutal agoge training system, and how Spartans were all about women's rights while being despicable, horrible slavers...even by slaver standards.

THIS..IS...the last time I'll be doing that for this write-up.

MP3 Download

Music Credits

Gregorio Paniagua - Papyrus Oslo A/B - Epilogos Katastrophe

Resources
Nice chart of the Spartan government system
Plutarch's Lykurgos
Fun web game from the British Museum about surviving the agoge! Could you?
This map of the Peloponnesian League is closer to what the time period of this episode covers
Fantastic site with pictures - all about Artemis Orthia

29 - The Dark Ages of Greece

"The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself"
-Albert Camus

Honestly, the Greek Dark Ages were downright pleasant compared to Monty Python's Europe.
(source: Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

I added a few more resources at the bottom to check out. In the meantime, enjoy the quick jaunt through 400 years of unrecorded history!

MP3 Download

Music Credit

Gregorio Paniagua - Fragments instrumentaux de Contrapollinopolis

Resources
Map of Dark Ages spread
Lefkandi Excavation
Lovely map of the dialects
Neat site all about the ancient Olympics!
The Iliad (for free!)
The Odyssey (also for free!)
A collection of Geometric art I've scoured from the web :)

28 - Mycenaean Greece

"The Trojans throughout the city, huddled in a rout like fawns, were cooling their sweat and drinking and quenching their thirst, as they rested on the fair battlements; while the Achaeans drew near the wall leaning their shields against their shoulders."
Homer, The Iliad Book 22

Odysseus flips out!
(source: Age of Bronze by: Eric Shanower)

I remember when I was younger and I first found out Troy was real and it blew my little naive mind. What else was real out there? Atlantis? Lemuria? Crystal Skulls? I wanted to be an archaeologist so badly, finding treasure and lost civilizations, uncovering the secrets of humanity and having an adventure at the same time!

But no. It's nothing like that at all. In fact the first line in my archaeology textbook said, and I quote:
"You will not become Indiana Jones." Well thanks for ruining my dreams, jerkheads. Eh, it's probably for the best. I hear from my archaeology friends that its mostly digging in dirt on a hot day, and less fighting Nazis and ancient booby traps. Pfff what's the point then?

Where was I going with this? Oh right, thanks Heinrich Schliemann for finding Troy and Mycenae and not sacking the place too much (I'm looking at you Carter).

MP3 Download

Music Credit:

Gregorio Paniagua - "Hymne a Nemesis" from Musique de la Grece antique

Resources:
Fantastic image of Ancient Greece with cities and the heroes they correspond to!
Mycenaean Empire (so to speak)
So much good stuff here it's just easier for me to link right to it!
Nice page for Linear B
British Museum: Linear B Tablets
Sir Arthur Evans collection of Linear B
Fun list of Linear B words transliterated and translated!
Michael Ventris and breaking the code
Another nice account of Ventris, detailing the steps he took
The Tawagalawa Letter
Very cool movie tour of Troy VII from U of Cincinnatti

27 - Prehistory in the Aegean

"While you live, shine,
have no grief at all;
life exists only for a short while,
and time demands its toll."
-The Epitaph of Seikilos

Truthfully it took a LOT of restraint to not mention the Atlantis legend with the Thera explosion. Also that it's not real.
(source: box cover for Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis - what SHOULD have been Indy 4)

Ready to start our journey with the Greeks? Good! But don't get too excited yet, there's very few Greeks in this episode! Why? Because they haven't arrived in Greece yet silly. We're traveling to the earliest days in Hellas, stopping off at Crete for a while before learning a bit about their traditional earliest days. Plus music performed by Michael Levy!

The Epitaph of Seikilos, written to honor this man's wife is the oldest complete song we know of. And just because it's over 2000 years old doesn't make it any less beautiful, because that's what it is. Beautiful. And the translated poem up top? A bit more eloquent then just shouting YOLO all the time doncha think?

MP3 Download

Music Credit
Michael Levy - Epitaph of Seikilos (Ancient Greek Music Arranged for Solo Lyre in the Just Intonation of Antiquity)

Michael is performing LIVE in England at two incredible locations!

Saturday, May, 18th 2013
Roman Baths by Torchlight - 6pm - 9pm
The Roman Baths, Abbey Church Yard Bath Somerset BA1 1LZ Uni + 44(0)1225 477785
Price: £12.75

From the website:
"For the second year, as part of the UK "Museums at Night" festival, I will once more be giving a detailed talk about my lyre music & be performing my recreations of the lost music of ancient Rome in the wonderfully evocative setting of the Roman Baths at Bath Spa


Monday, June, 17th 2013
Life & Death in Pompeii & Herculaneum - 6:15pm - 9pm
The British Museum, Great Russell St, London WC1B 3DG Uni +44 020 7323 8299
Price: £12.50

From the website:
"As part of an evening event based on the exhibition "Life & Death in Pompeii & Herculaneum" I will be performing on my lyre, my evocation of the lost music of ancient Rome, in the Great Court of the British Museum between 6:15 to 9pm..."

If you can, check it out! Go and take pictures and tell me how it went!


Resources
Seikilos Epitaph rubbing with old musical notation
The Facebook page has photo albums of lots of various Minoan and Mycenaean art!
Enigma of the Phaistos Disc
The Tawagalawa Letter
Earlier human evidence on Crete? (by like, 100,000 years)

26 - Darius the Achaemenid

King Darius says: By the grace of Ahura Mazda, I am of such a sort (that) I am a friend of the right - of wrong I am not a friend. It is not my wish that the weak should have harm done him by the strong, nor is it my wish that the strong should have harm done him by the weak. The right, that is my desire. To the man who is a follower of the lie I am no friend. I am not hot-tempered. What things develop in my anger I hold firmly under control by my thinking power. I am firmly ruling over my own impulses.
- Tomb of Darius at Naqsh-e-Rustam

I miss the days when to be a great ruler you also had to have a great beard. This new beardless future is a bleak one!
(source: Darius The Great from Civilization 5)

Don't look at this episode as our last one with the Persians, look at it as a first for the show where we pause in covering one civilization to go back and catch up with another! But before that happens we've got a lot to talk about with Darius, who takes the silver medal for "Most hated Persian king by the Greeks" (gold medal goes to his son of course!)

Incidentally I'm still on the hunt for some podsafe ancient Greek or something similar to that music. I might be biting the bullet soon and paying for a magnatune subscription, which will actually pay off down the road, but it's also nice to feature other artists!

Anyway, I'll figure it all out. Not to worry!

MP3 Download

Music Credits
http://persia.org/audio.html
Artist unknown! It's the one called avayeh2.wav

Resources
Nice essay on Persian army tactics
Eastern extent of Darius' empire
An example of a gold daric
An amazing list of Darius resources, plus other Persian stuff!
Seal of Darius (that lion took an arrow to the face!)

Happy 25 Episodes!

Can you believe it's been 25 episodes since August? I've recorded almost eleven hours worth of podcast history and I have no intention of slowing down. It's been so much fun making the show and finding my voice in it. Maybe one day I'll go back and rerecord some of the earlier episodes, but I might just leave them there as a reminder of what it used to be. We still have fun, right? Just with a lot fewer sound effects...

Ok, so every now and then I check the iTunes comments just to see what people are saying about the show. If you don't like it, well I can't really help you on that! But a concern/criticism I tend to see a lot of, is that the show is fixated on the near east, and yes, if you just look at the playlist so far, this podcast has only covered that area of history. Except you've got to trust in my vision for the show! In the first episode I outlined how I plan on taking things - a linear story of mankind's history. We start at the beginning and work our way to modern times. Along the way we will get to every major chunk of human history and hopefully many detours as well. That's the goal! But consider the difference and limitations between a history book and a history podcast. With a book the author has the freedom to move around from topic to topic and still keep it all very organized. The superb author Susan Wise Bauer does this, and she's fantastic at it! For a purely audio learning experience, however, it can become very disorienting spending one episode in Persia, and the next in Mexico, and the next in Britain...all those names to remember...all those dates...oh god I'm having flashbacks to my history courses now...

My point is that this podcast is supposed to be a history podcast for those who didn't like history, or found it too confusing. That's not to say I'm skimping on the educational content here, but I believe the story is best accomplished by sticking to one subject at a time. I know some of my listeners might be frustrated with the pace or the topic we're covering but I do believe this is the best way to do it.

.......alright, if this will help a bit, and I don't want to reveal much more than this BUT here is the shortened near term plan of the show. Just to show all my doubters out there that there is a plan!

Persia ---> Greece ---> Wars ---> Greece x2 ---> Macedonia ---> India ---> Diadochi ---> and I was thinking of starting Rome at that point but I'm now leaning towards China.

And for the future!

*** Mesoamerica will be covered when the Old World makes contact (better for flow)

*** Subsaharan Africa will be touched on probably closer to the Middle Ages...likewise I'll be covering the Kingdom of Axum and Ethiopian history too!

*** I'm trying to see about including some Korean history!

I hope this helps clear up some things! Thank you to all my supporters and listeners for sharing this podcast with the world! You have all helped make this bigger than I ever expected, and I am so sincerely grateful for your help. If you ever have a question about the show or want to talk history, I can always be reached on my email address. I may not be able to get to you right away but I promise - I will respond!

25 - Prophets and Kings

As the holy one I recognized thee, Ahura Mazda, when Good Thought came to me and asked: "Who art thou? To whom dost thou belong? By what signs wilt thou appoint the days for questioning about thy possessions and thyself?"

I said to him: "To the first question, Zarathustra am I, a true foe to the Liar, to the utmost of my power, but a powerful support would I be to the Righteous, that I may attain the future things of the infinite Dominion, according as I praise and sing thee, o Mazda."

Ushtavaiti Gatha 43:7-8

The picture will make more sense when you listen to the episode...hopefully.
(source: icanhascheezburger.com by way of weruletheinternet.com)

I try not to use vague titles for my episodes because I want you to know exactly what you're in for when you listen to it, but Zarathustra and Cambyses just doesn't sound as cool as Prophets and Kings! Whatever, we'll all get through this somehow. Anyway, yes I know you've been staring at that tank cat for a while now and you're really interested to how it ties into the episode. Well why are you still reading this? Get downloading!

Also I apologize if I sound a bit stuffy in this episode. I'm coming off a head cold that knocked me off my feet this week. It was either delay the episode or be a trooper and do it. So I did! And honestly, it doesn't sound bad. Really. Trust me.


MP3 Download

Music Credits

http://persia.org/audio.html
Artist unknown! It's the sample called mojdeh2.wav

Resources
BBC Video and Robert Winston present: The Story of God (this part's all about Zoroastrianism)
Journeys to the ends of the Earth with David Adams: People of the Flame (I really liked this for the scenery and destinations he visits, but there's actually little on the Zoroastrians! Still, it's beautiful to watch!)
The whole Avesta, in three languages, plus many more Zoroastrian texts. What a fantastic resource!

King Cambyses at the Siege of Pelusium - Paul Marie Lenoir (mrrroowww!)
Have archaeologists found the remains of Cambyses' lost army?
The Inscription of Wedjahorresne (Udjahorresne)

Maps:
Balkh - the ancient city where Zarathustra supposedly died.
Pelusium today!
The Siwa Oasis - water and life is yours...if you can claim it before the desert claims you.

24 - Cyrus the Great

"O man, whoever you are and wherever you come from, for I know you will come, I am Cyrus who won the Persians their empire. Do not therefore begrudge me this bit of earth that covers my bones."
Epitaph of Cyrus from Plutarch's: The Life of Alexander

In this recently uncovered 4th century pixel art, we see a young prince Cyrus battling his grandfather Astyages for control of the kingdom. Gosh, things were so lifelike back then!
(source: Prince of Persia THE ORIGINAL OF COURSE)

We're mooooving right along with our next exciting chapter of podcast history! As we take a look at Cyrus' great life (see what I did there) you'll be sure to notice a theme in his birth - very similar to other kings like Oedipus and Romulus. Not that Cyrus is legendary mind you, but when the details of your birth are a bit of a mystery, you get to spread some pretty cool rumors and get away with it!


MP3 Download

Music Credits
http://persia.org/audio.html
Artist unknown! All I know it's a sample called KCD104.wav but it sounds like it came from a record. I hate using copyright risky music, but I love this sound so much!

Resources:
The four great empires post-Assyria
So you want to learn Old Persian? Harvard's got just what you need!
Myson Amphora - depicting Croesus about to be immolated
Great essay on Lydian coinage with a fantastically clear photo of an early Lydian gold coin.
Ooo neat Cyrus woodcuts!
The Cyrus Cylinder - a nice article from the Iran Chamber Society

~~~ The Cyrus Cylinder is coming to the US for 2013! ~~~

Cyrus' tomb: still standing today!
Engineering an Empire : The Persians (one of the BEST History Channel shows ever)

Queen Tomyris (Tahm-Rayish)
A very popular motif in art! Although I think her status as warlord is lessened a bit when she's made to wear an oversized poofy medieval dress.
Andrea del Castagno
Head of Cyrus Brought to Queen Tomyris - Peter Paul Rubens
The Revenge of Tomyris - Michiel Coxcie ($78,000? A steal!)
Tomyris - Alexander Zick (yeah! on the battlefield!)
Tomyris Medieval Woodcut (Johannes Zainer?) totally anachronistic but love it!

RSS Feed

So, some listeners have asked (some more nicely than others) what happened to the RSS feed link for the podcast. You know, in case you don't want to subscribe through itunes or stitcher or whatever. Welp it used to be on the side back when the blog first started and I honestly don't know what happened to it. So I added a little text box on the right hand side with the address. You still need to copy and paste it to whatever feed thingie you use but it's there now. Also here

http://podcasthistoryofourworld.libsyn.com/rss

Cool? Cool. Episode 24 is still planned for sometime in the next 2 weeks, so stay tuned!

23 - Babylon and the Destruction of Judah

"So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah's young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar."
2 Chronicles 36:17

Genocide, wanton destruction, forced exodus...somehow easier to stomach when it's two chubby babies fighting!
(source: Nebuchadnezzar fights Zedekiah, Zwiefalten Monastery; Germany) 

This is it! Our last episode with the ancient Hebrews! Everything is coming together here, and while great empires are battling it out, tiny Judah is struggling to survive. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's not looking good. Oh shoot, the title is one big spoiler. Nuts! Ok, ok, umm ignore the title and look at this medieval picture of an angel saving Jerusalem from Sennacherib. Yay they win! Nothing bad ever happens again in Jerusalem!
...
sigh.

MP3 Download


Music Credits
Premium Music: Epic Cinematic Orchestral Oriental Arabic Middle East Impressive Cultures Theme Soundtrack

Resources
Sennacherib relief
Good illustration of the famous Assyrian siege engine
The earthen ramp built by the Assyrians at Lachish
BRILLIANT site for primary sources used here.
Another excellent website, with lots of pictures and primary sources!
The ruins of Nineveh (Google Maps)
Ishtar Gate built by Nebuchadnezzar
Cylinder of Nebuchadnezzar
A little New Yorker cartoon to smile about after the episode ;)

22 - Assyria and the Conquest of Israel

"Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria and carried Israel away into Assyria."
2 Kings 17:5-6

In a future where the Assyrian Empire never fell, only one man and his friends can keep the world safe from evil:
Captain Assyria and the Avengers!
(source: Marvel Comics)

If you want a history of the Assyrians in one easy to digest episode, well here you go! I'll be taking you back to the earliest days of the empire, and then doing a mad dash to where we left off last time. Sure I probably missed stuff, but I've only got one episode to do this! If you're really super interested in learning the details of their awesome empire, may I recommend Scott C.'s, The Ancient World podcast? He does a really bang up job getting into the details of everything, whereas I'm just covering the big things here. Oh and tying it into the fall of Israel. That's kinda where we were supposed to be heading anyway. Two for the price of one!

Also a HUGE thank you to Owen Plant for allowing the use of his music in today's episode! It's sort of funny that I chose the one song that sounds nothing like his other stuff, but his normal fare is smooth, Americana folksy songs, and happy, warm Caribbean reggae. Yeah...you're probably wondering how that would work in today's show too. Welp, just trust me that the song I picked, Patchouli Sid, actually fits in perfectly. Seriously. Have I steered you wrong with the music so far? NOPE. Check out Owen's website here: http://www.owenplant.net/ or preview his music on Soundcloud here: https://soundcloud.com/owenplant


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Music Credits
Owen Plant - Patchouli Sid

Resources
Map of the Assyrian  Empire during its two stages of expansion
All that's left of Ashur today (Google Maps)
UNESCO site for Ashur
Axehead of Adad-Nirari I (Louvre)
The Nimrud Prism
If you're interested in Akkadian cuneiform, here's a free Assyrian dictionary from Google!
Good list of many Assyrian inscriptions.
Ashurnasirpal in chariot, on a lion hunt
Drawing of Shalmaneser III receiving Jehu
Detail of the event on the obelisk

Phrygian cap 1
Phrygian cap 2
Phrygian cap 3

Painted wall of Tiglath-Pileser III
MAP: Assyrian Empire under Tiglath-Pileser III
Lamassu from Khorsabad - attributed to Sargon II
Sargon II
MAP: Sargon II's Assyrian Empire (with surrounding regions!)
Inscription of Sargon II - note the refugees with their bags...
Guardian: How Ukranian women saved the Samaritans of Mount Gerizim
Samaritan High Priest: 1905

21 - A Kingdom Divided

"And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the advice given him by the elders. He followed the advice of the young men and said,
'My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke. My father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!'"
1 Kings 12:13-14

I'm sorry! I'll never have a vanilla milkshake with my ham sandwich again! Just not the Boo Box!
source: Hook 

By the way that Bible passage up top loses its wickedness when you realize that 'scorpions' refers to a type of whip similar to a cat o' nine tails. It's got knots throughout the throngs to better flay the skin than just a regular whip. Mmmhmm! FASCINATING. Alright anyway, sooooo just two kings were able to hold the kingdom of Israel and Judah together before the whole thing fell apart. I mean it's easy for us to use hindsight and point out what went wrong but really - what did you think was going to happen when you threatened the lives of half your subjects? Genius.

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Music Credits
Pharaoh's Daughter - Hagar

Resources
Territory of the two kingdoms and neighboring states
The Kurkh Monolith, referencing King Ahab's contribution to the coalition against Shalmaneser III
The Black Obelisk, depicting Jehu in submission to Shalmaneser III
Tel Al Rimah Stele, Adad-Nirari III referencing King Joash

20 - King Solomon

" 'Your servant is in the midst of your chosen people, a great many too numerous to count. Give me a discerning heart to judge your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern your great people?'
The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this and said unto him,
'Since you have asked for wisdom and not for long life or wealth or for the death your enemies I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart such as no one else has had or ever will!'"
1 Kings 3:6-12

It's a freakin King Solomon teddy bear! Look at his adorable scales!  It's like he's judging
whether to hug you or snuggle you!
(source: http://www.sunny-bears.com/inv/hermann+spielwaren/king-solomon-teddy-bear-19514-4.php)

Did you know that Solomon, known as Suleiman in the Quran, had a giant flying carpet, could communicate with animals, and knew how to control the djinn to do his bidding? THAT IS SO COOL. And so I present to you two Solomons. One proposes to chop babies in half to settle small court claims, the other flies around the Middle East essentially accompanied by genies. How many other world leaders can claim to be that awesome?

None. None leaders.

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Music Credits
Michael Levy - Shalom Chavarim

Resources

The many paintings of The Judgment of Solomon
Raphael
Valentin de Boulogne
Rubens (love the anachronistic dress!)
Giorgione (holding court outside? eh, whatever)
Dore

The complete Kebra Nagast - Amazing!!
An incredible depiction of the inner sanctum of Solomon's temple - note they didn't include the purple veil though.
Solomon's temple from the side
3D viewpoint complete with surrounding wall and courtyard
Another viewpoint of the temple
I have to say, I have NO idea what any of this means...but it was so interesting to me that I had to include it.
Evidence of Solomon's wall?
Solomon's Throne

The Queen of Sheba
Surprised to see a white Queen of Sheba? Curious as to why artists throughout the ages would make an Ethiopian queen pretty darn pale? Don't read too much into it, anachronism is fairly rampant in early art. There's no malicious intentions here, just a very narrow world view.
http://www.bonzasheila.com/art/archives/jun09/29.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/70005862
Without knowing these two are Solomon and the Queen, one could be forgiven for assuming they're some English lord and lady. Again, in 1500 Strasbourg, Germany, I don't think they were deliberately imposing racism into their works. These people barely knew the value of soap, let alone the importance of ethnographic sensitivities.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Horse-sheba.jpg
Here we go! From an Ethiopian fresco, the Queen rides off with what is assumed to be St. George behind her. Note the clear Ethiopian/Southwest Arabian features. If you want to know what she probably looked like, here she is in all her stately beauty. Stunning!

TPHOOW and Spreadshirt.com team up to keep you clothed!

MOICHENDISING!

By now, you've probably been listening to the podcast and wondering, "why don't I own any officially licensed merchandise from my favorite history podcast, The Podcast History of Our World?"

I know. I'm sure everyone else has been asking that question too. Well worry no more dear listener! Because the TPHOOW store is live!  http://podcasthistoryofourworld.spreadshirt.com/ is the official shopping site where you can find shirts, hoodies, mugs, and more! Spreadshirt.com is the internet's best shopping experience for individual designers looking for a no-hassle way to reach their audience. I had a few options on where to set up shop, but ultimately this was the best way to do it, and I couldn't be more satisfied. They take care of shipping, returns, and payments, and I take care of the creative side.

If the store proves to be successful, you can be sure that I'll add new styles in the future, but right now I've got two designs for your shopping pleasure. The first, of course, is our beloved logo, touched up and smoothed so that it looks oh so nice on a shirt. Perfect for showing the world your favorite podcast!

The other design, by popular demand, is everyone's favorite Sumerian demigod - Gilgamesh! Good friend of the show Mady G. has once again created artwork that captures the essence of this podcast. Decked out in his majestic crown and mighty beard, Gilgamesh's visage is sure to protect you from any ferocious monster or amorous goddess!

By purchasing from the store you are supporting just one person - me! I don't have ads on the site, I don't use sponsors in the podcast, I don't even rely on donations! I do this solely because I have a deep passion for history and love creating this show. So if you like what I'm doing and are need of a new wardrobe, please consider visiting my store! One more time it's: http://podcasthistoryofourworld.spreadshirt.com/

(And Episode 20 will hopefully be out by the end of this week!)

Ancient civilization Facebook poll!

There's a poll up on the Facebook page about what ancient civilization you're most excited to learn about! Hopefully I included a bunch that I know we'll get to, but there's always the broad "others" category. If there's a group you reeeeally want to learn about, let me know! I'll see if I can work it into the narrative!

Come on over and check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/ThePodcastHistoryOfOurWorld

19 - King David

"David sang, 'The Lord is my rock, my fortress in whom I take refuge. I called to him and I was saved from my enemies. Waves of death engulfed me, rivers of destruction assailed me, the ropes of Sheol entangled me, (and) the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord and from his temple he heard my cry.'"

-2 Samuel 22:1-7

Who needs armor in battle when you've got a fancy new hat!
(source: Donatello's David)

David is the second of the Israelite kings and aside from an overly active libido, he's a LOT more stable than Saul, no offense big guy. Actually all things considered, David seems like a really fun guy to hang out with! Dancing, singing, drinking, he's the original party animal! It's a shame that so much stuff happens to him but such is the price famous historical people pay for being famous.


MP3 Download

Music Credits
Michael Levy - Hava Nagila

Resources
The Kingdom of Israel under David

I've had it up to HEEERE WITH THE LIKES OF YOU PEOPLE!!

Oh! I'm sorry! I thought you were circus midgets...
(source: Ren and Stimpy)

I don't know why my blog has been targeted by spammers or why they thought a history blog would be a good place to lure people into their traps but they have. If you're here, then you're probably an already intelligent person, who would not be tricked into clicking a misspelled link to BUY GIULD WAR2!!1!1!
But nevertheless, the morlocks of the internet have arrived and I've been forced to turn on comment moderation. It's not a really big deal, but I originally left it off to show everyone that you can leave criticism and I won't delete it.

So bottom line, please continue to post whatever thoughts you have.
And spammers?
It's time to pay the price.

18 - Samuel and Saul

"And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold! To obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken, than the fat of rams."
- 1 Samuel 15:22

Hey David, don't freak out...but there's a nasty spider on your back. I think I can get him!
source: Il Guercino Saul and David

You know, I kinda feel bad for Saul. The guy gets a bum rap in the Bible because he doesn't do things through the proper channels and behaves like...well, a king! Of course EVERYONE just loooves David, Mr. I'm so awesome with my Dennis the Menace slingshot, but does anyone ever thank Saul for his accomplishments? No! Guy sees one witch in Endor...yes the town was called Endor, and everyone hates you!
So from me to you Saul, I got your back man

MP3 Download

Music Credits
Michael Levy - Psalm 114 (Ancient Traditional Melody, c.2nd century CE)

Resources
Map of the Philistine Pentapolis
British Journal of Psychiatry: Diagnosing King Saul
David and Saul by Julius Kronberg
Samuel turning away from Saul...see how everyone's a jerk to him?