519. The World's First City

519. The World's First City

In as early as 5000 BC the vast and spectacular city of Uruk - replete with towering walls, glistening temples and complex irrigation systems - lay sprawled across the face of Southern Mesopotamia. Not only is Uruk the oldest city in the world, but it is arguably one of the most consequential, having facilitated one of the great turning points of human civilisation. Here, in this mysterious metropolis lay the origins of urbanisation, making Uruk the predecessor and antecedent of every modern city today. It was the cradle of formidable trading networks, sophisticated craftsmanship, agricultural prosperity, the earliest examples of writing, and even home to the very first person in human history to be named. Yet, by 700 AD this once great wonder of the ancient world had been abandoned, leaving nothing behind but haunting ruins and two burning questions: firstly, how did this marvel of urbanisation come to exist, and secondly, what led to its ruin? Was it colonisation, climate change, or conquest…? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss Uruk, the first city in the whole of world history and the mother of modern urbanisation, revealing the remarkable tale of its discovery, its mysterious origins, and equally enigmatic decline. _______ Twitter: @TheRestHistory @holland_tom @dcsandbrook Producer: Theo Young-Smith Assistant Producer: Tabby Syrett Executive Producers: Jack Davenport + Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episoder(698)

637.  Revolution in Iran: Rise of the Ayatollah (Part 2)

637. Revolution in Iran: Rise of the Ayatollah (Part 2)

What set off the final uprisings of the Iranian Revolution, against the last Shah of Iran, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi? Would President Jimmy Carter and America back the Shah’s forbidding opponent, the fire...

22 Jan 1h 9min

636. Revolution in Iran: Fall of the Shah  (Part 1)

636. Revolution in Iran: Fall of the Shah (Part 1)

Why did the Iranian Revolution erupt in 1979? What was the nature of the relationship between President Carter and the ostentatious Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi? And, who was the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khom...

19 Jan 1h 17min

635. Joan of Arc: For Fear of the Flames (Part 4)

635. Joan of Arc: For Fear of the Flames (Part 4)

What were the harsh conditions of Joan of Arc’s imprisonment, at the hands of her English captors? How did Joan’s trial unfold, and with what was she charged? And, would Joan confess at the last momen...

15 Jan 1h 2min

634. Joan of Arc: Heroine in Chains (Part 3)

634. Joan of Arc: Heroine in Chains (Part 3)

How was Charles VII, with the help of Joan of Arc, able to fight his way to Reims to be crowned in the ancient seat of French kings? Why was she able to continually defeat the formidable soldiers of E...

12 Jan 1h 3min

633. Joan of Arc: Saviour of France (Part 2)

633. Joan of Arc: Saviour of France (Part 2)

How did a young, uneducated peasant girl dressed in men’s clothing, Joan of Arc, plan to crown the son of the mad and feeble Charles VI, the King of all France, and save them from the English? What ha...

8 Jan 55min

632. Joan of Arc: Warrior Maid (Part 1)

632. Joan of Arc: Warrior Maid (Part 1)

What are the origins of the legendary Joan of Arc, the famous French maid who saved France from the English during the Hundred Years’ War, dressed all the while in men’s clothes? Why is hers one of th...

5 Jan 1h 9min

631. Wagner: LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

631. Wagner: LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

Was Richard Wagner a revolutionary artist who reshaped music forever, or an egotists mired in scandal, whose dangerous ideas were inseparable from the operas he created? How did the legendary worlds e...

1 Jan 1h 13min

630. Tchaikovsky: LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

630. Tchaikovsky: LIVE at the Royal Albert Hall

What are the complex origins of Russia’s most renowned composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky? What inner conflicts and private contradictions lay behind his romantic music, and how did these struggles sh...

29 Des 20251h 19min

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