OS 157 - Women and Horses, the Constraints of Assyria
Today we blame the decline of Assyria on horses, and look at Adad-Nirari's desperation to get more of them. Also we see more of the historical Shammu-Ramat, the source of the Semiramis myth. There is ...
25 Des 202436min
OS 156 - The Mythical Semiramis in Ancient History
The tale of Semiramis is one of those myths that everyone used to know, and many people used to take quite seriously. It is a tale from the Greek era which purports to tell the whole story of the grea...
11 Des 202453min
OS 155 - The Angry Puppet: Shamshi-Adad V
The angry and impotent king Shamshi-Adad would accomplish quite little during his reign of the Neo-Assyrian empire, but he would manage to completely annihilate the resurgent Babylonians and set them ...
27 Nov 202442min
OS 154 - Assyrian Civil War: Magnate Edition
The final years of Shalmaneser III's reign over the Neo-Assyrian Empire, was a pivotal period marked by civil war, political intrigue, and shifting power dynamics. As Shalmaneser aged and relied more ...
13 Nov 202440min
OS 153 - Shalmaneser Delegates Authority
The latter half of Shalmaneser's reign is less celebrated, but no less important. We see major campaigns against Urartu, Que, and Parsua, but more importantly we see some of those campaigns led by an ...
30 Okt 202442min
OS 152 - The Smothered Spark of Babylon's Dark Age
Today we see the political aspect of Babylon during its dark age, focusing on the 10th to 9th centuries BCE. Highlights are reigns of kings like Nabu-Mukin-Apli, Nabu-Shuma-Ukin, and Nabu-Apla-Iddina,...
16 Okt 202448min
OS 151 - The Glowing Embers of Babylon's Dark Age
Today we talk about why, exactly, Babylon was unique and look at how during this dark age they were still creating unique and interesting literary works. This gets pretty wide ranging, from defense to...
2 Okt 202438min
OS 150 - The Battle of Qarqar
The lead-up to and significance of the first great battle of the iron age. Qarqar changed the equation for the Assyrian empire, which has until now been expanding without serious resistance. We will l...
28 Aug 202444min
