89: Lords of the Desert

Preparing for Kadesh. In 1287 BCE (late in his fifth regnal year) King Ramesses II departed Egypt on campaign. His target? The city of Kadesh / Qidsha in southern Syria. The Kadesh campaign is famous,...

1 Aug 202532min

Leading up to the Battle of Kadesh (c.1287 BCE) betwen Ramesses II of Egypt and Muwatalli II of Hatti, we need to understand the background. Why was this city the epicentre of such a major conflict? H...

25 Jul 202549min

We learn how to insult someone in ancient Egyptian, based on the surviving texts... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Jul 202514min

Heart of Darkness at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. Far from the Nile Valley, on Egypt’s northern coastline, Ramessid soldiers and civilians constructed a significant fortress to control the maritime roads. T...

11 Jul 20251h 7min

Explicit content. There's a factoid floating around on the internet. It claims that, to ensure fertility and good harvest, pharaohs would annually masturbate into the River Nile. This claim is total b...

4 Jul 202514min

Hapi was Egypt. The life-giving waters of the annual flood (inundation) were his work; and thanks to these waters, Egypt flourished, its people were fed, the gods received their offerings, and the soc...

27 Jun 202520min

What did ancient Egyptians like to smell? Did they use any narcotics in their day to day lives? And what do mummified bodies smell like? Today, I'm pleased to welcome Dora Goldsmith to the podcast. D...

20 Jun 202540min

We're joining YouTube! After many years of on-off effort, I'm finally putting podcast episodes in video form up on my YouTube channel. Also, a quick update on the narrative as a I prepare the Battle...

17 Jun 20253min