History of Persia

After 41 years on the throne, Artaxerxes I died in December 424 BCE. Much of his family had passed away over the decades, but he probably didn't expect his only legitimate heir to follow close behind ...

9 Apr 202228min

Any discussion of Achaemenid religion is bound to be fascinating, but that discussion isn't bound to Zoroastrianism. This one's abut all the other gods worshipped in Persia itself. Patreon | Support ...

2 Apr 202236min

At just over 40 years on the throne, Artaxerxes I was the second-longest reigning Achaemenid king. This is an episode for all of the little things and less detailed stories that played out in that tim...

26 Mars 202241min

The story of the Megabyzid family conveniently flows from a solid recap of the story so far straight into the next major event in Achaemenid history: the very first satrap's revolt, complete with Gree...

12 Mars 202227min

The treaty known as the Peace of Callias supposedly ended the second Greco-Persian War with a formal agreement between Athens and Persia. However, its very existence is the topic of intense historical...

26 Feb 202234min

The city of Memphis spent almost five years under siege from 459-454 BCE, as the rebel Pharaoh Inaros tried to take the Egyptian capital and oust the Persian government with the aid of the Athenians. ...

8 Feb 202235min

After Artaxerxes I came to power in 465 BCE, a minor rebellion broke out in western Egypt led by the would-be Pharaoh Inaros II. Inaros quickly came to a stalemate with the local satrap, but in 460 BC...

13 Jan 202233min

In late 465 BCE, Xerxes I - the King of Kings - was murdered in his sleep by his own captain of the guard, Artabanus the Hyrcanian. Artabanus and a group of highly placed conspirators chose their vict...

10 Dec 202144min