24: Decline & Fall of the Old Kingdom (Part 1)
Why did the Old Kingdom disappear? Was it an overnight "collapse," or something more long term? In this episode, and the next, we explore the question in overview. This chapter focusses on the histori...
3 Mar 201431min
Episode 23: Children of Pepy
A Long, Long Reign. King Pepy ruled more than sixty years, by some estimates. In his later years, this long reign was becoming an issue. The aging monarch was losing influence, and his children were d...
30 Des 201325min
Episode 22: Pepy Lives
Ruling the World. King Pepy ruled long and his authority reached far and wide. To understand Egyptian society in this period, we must meet the important families (nobility) who served Pepy, and see ho...
4 Nov 201319min
21: The Excited Child
The Child King. Around 2285 BCE, a new ruler came to power. King Pepy II was a little boy, just six years old. His reign would be one of the longest, and most impactful, in the Old Kingdom... Date c....
21 Okt 201319min
Old Kingdom Technology with Dr. Martin Odler
Interview recorded 2024. How does copper cut stone? Martin Odler specialises in ancient Egyptian technology. Specifically, the manufacture and use of metal in tools and industry. In this interview, Dr...
14 Okt 201348min
20: Expeditions and Explorers
The Great Explorer. Around 2300 BCE, King Pepy I died. His successor was a man named Mer-en-Re ("Beloved of Re"). In this period, the explorer Weni the Elder continued his travels, now going far south...
7 Okt 201321min
19: The Beloved of Re, Pepy
Pepy and Weni the Elder (Part 1). Around 2355 BCE, King Pepy I came to power. The new king had trouble establishing his authority, and he had to deal with the effects of his predecessor Teti's murder....
23 Sep 201330min
18: The Guards Themselves
Assassins! Around 2355 BCE, King Teti died. Legend tells us that the king was murdered by members of his own family. If this is true, it is the first time in Egyptian history that we hear about royal ...
9 Sep 201327min
