OS 25 - The Last Sumerian, Ibbi-Sin
Sumer is in a bad state, with enemies on all sides, and just as they are crying out for good fortune they instead receive Ibbi-Sin, a blustering fool. We will read the letters he wrote as the world co...
25 Mars 202032min
OS 24 - The Rebirth of Sumer
The Sumerian Renaissance, a fruitful period of literary achievement and military conquest. We are going to see the first Sumerian kings in 250 years as they revive their ancient culture and leave thei...
18 Mars 202033min
OS 11 - Instructions Manual
Note that this episode has moved in the ordering to better fit its position in the timeline. This week we look at the wisdom literature of Ancient Sumer with a genre called instructions which are just...
17 Mars 202026min
OS 10 - King Shulgi's Mailbag
Note that this episode has moved in the ordering to better fit its position in the timeline. Today we will look at the actual words of a man 4000 years gone as he sends letters struggling to forge an ...
16 Mars 202032min
OS 23 - The Fall of Akkad
Today the Akkadian empire will collapse, brought low by climate change, foreign invasion, and civil war. A dark age of Gutian domination will descend upon Mesopotamia. This episode will cover the fall...
11 Mars 202033min
OS 22 - Slanderous Legends of Naram-Sin
Today the fall of Akkad begins. We start with how the Mesopotamians themselves remembered the fall of their first great empire, with the Curse of Agade and the Cuthean Legend, and see that they slande...
4 Mars 202028min
OS 21 - Surpassing Sargon with Naram-Sin
Who was the greatest king of the Akkadian Empire? Today I make the case for Naram-Sin, who brought the empire to the high water mark and really solidified everything his grandfather had worked to buil...
26 Feb 202035min
OS 20 - Sargon, the Next Generation
Sargon had two sons and both will sit on the throne. Rimush will do all the work, while Manishtushu will enjoy all the rewards. Both are fairly interesting on their own, but suffer from being the inte...
19 Feb 202032min
