The Western Zhou, 1046-771 BC
The Zhou Dynasty ruled for longer than any other in Chinese history. Much of the cultural foundation of China was laid down during that age, from Confucius to Sun Tzu. While a powerful state at its in...
28 Des 202340min
The Fall of the Shang Dynasty and the Rise of the Zhou
The Shang Dynasty marks China's entrance to history, but it was very different than the China we know from later periods: Human sacrifice on a massive scale, shaman-kings conducting rituals to the anc...
21 Des 202341min
The Rise of the State in China
Chinese history is defined, more than anything else, by the importance of the state: its origins, its development, and the precise lineage leading back from the present deep into prehistory. But rathe...
14 Des 202339min
The Languages of Eurasia around 500 BC
As an age of bronze gave way to one of iron, and then classical empires, the importance of writing grew all across Eurasia. That means more written sources for us to work with, but it also tells us dr...
7 Des 202340min
Cities, the Etruscans, and Global Urbanism: Interview with Professor Simon Stoddart
Cities are one of the defining features of the Iron Age Mediterranean, as urbanism spread across the sea and beyond to form the backbone of the classical age that would follow. Professor Simon Stoddar...
30 Nov 202355min
Did Justinian Restore the Roman Empire or Ruin It? Professor Peter Sarris on the Emperor Justinian and His Legacy
Justinian is, without a doubt, one of the most impactful historical figures of the past 2,000 years. Professor Peter Sarris, a longtime favorite historian of mine, has written an oustanding new accoun...
23 Nov 202346min
The Scythian World
The Scythians transformed the Eurasian steppe. They built giant burial mounds for their powerful kings, raided and plundered their sedentary neighbors, and laid down the template for every nomadic emp...
16 Nov 202341min
The Iron Age Steppe and the Emergence of the Scythians
For millennia, the Eurasian steppe has been the highway connecting the distant ends of Europe and Asia. But at the beginning of the Iron Age, something important changed. A new people, the Scythians, ...
9 Nov 202340min
