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!

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


MP3 Download

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

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

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