Fall of Babylon
The Ancients2 Nov 2025

Fall of Babylon

The year is 539 BC. The greatest city of the ancient world has fallen. Babylon has opened it's gates to a new conqueror: the mighty Persian king Cyrus the Great.


In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined once again by friend of the show Professor Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones to uncover the dramatic fall of Babylon and the ascent of Persia’s Achaemenid empire. From the final decades of Babylonian rule to Cyrus’ blood-stained triumph and the city’s remarkable survival under a new regime, they discover how one of history’s most iconic capitals lost its crown - a seismic chapter in the tumultuous story of the Ancient Near East.


Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast


MORE

The Walls of Babylon

Cyrus the Great


Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan, the producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Avsnitt(597)

The Begram Hoard: Treasures of the Silk Road

The Begram Hoard: Treasures of the Silk Road

In the mid-20th century French archaeologists came across a remarkable collection of ancient items from Eastern China, the Indian subcontinent and the Roman Mediterranean, all in one place. In this se...

27 Juli 202145min

Decoding the Roman Dead

Decoding the Roman Dead

Often known as ‘Britain’s first town’, Colchester is a city rich in ancient history and on 24 July 2021, a new exhibition will open at the Colchester Museum revealing more about some of its earliest R...

25 Juli 202144min

Life in Sparta

Life in Sparta

A legendary city-state in Ancient Greece, we associate Sparta with fierce warriors in battle. But what about the everyday? In this second episode with Professor Stephen Hodkinson, we discuss the eatin...

22 Juli 202124min

The Oldest Known Shark Attack

The Oldest Known Shark Attack

It’s a crossover with Jaws and Open Water that we never expected, but a 3,000 year old corpse has thrown a surprising topic into the mix: shark bites. The body, found in the prehistoric Tsukumo hunter...

20 Juli 202127min

The Romans in Brittany

The Romans in Brittany

It was one of the most powerful empires in history, leaving marks and remnants across the globe, but in this episode we are looking specifically at the impact of the Romans on Brittany. Tristan was jo...

17 Juli 202136min

Scythed Chariots

Scythed Chariots

What could be more terrifying than an army racing towards you? An army on chariots? What if those chariots had blades mounted on either side? In this episode, Tristan speaks to Dr Silvannen Gerrard ab...

15 Juli 202159min

Carthage vs Greeks? The First Sicilian War

Carthage vs Greeks? The First Sicilian War

480 BC is a year widely-celebrated in Greek history. When Leonidas' Spartan core and their Hellenic allies fought a powerful Persian army at Thermopylae, and an outnumbered, Athenian-led navy defeated...

13 Juli 202147min

Julius Caesar’s Invasions of Britain

Julius Caesar’s Invasions of Britain

On the day of the Euro 2020 final, we’re talking England versus Italy…Ancients style (well, sort of). Historian and archaeologist Dr Simon Elliott returns to the podcast to talk us through Julius Caes...

11 Juli 202142min

Populärt inom Historia

motiv
massmordarpodden
p3-historia
historiska-brott
historiepodden-se
olosta-mord
rss-massmordarpodden
historianu-med-urban-lindstedt
rss-seriemordarpodden
rss-brottsligt
konspirationsteorier
podme-bio-4
krigshistoriepodden
nu-blir-det-historia
harrisons-dramatiska-historia
militarhistoriepodden
rss-arkiv-stieg
vetenskapsradion-historia
rss-borgvattnets-hemligheter
oppet-fall