Yes, there are more important things in the Syro-Ephraimite war than Israel's defeat, but the whole three year campaign is hugely important in world history, even if the things we consider to have been important were really just sort of side shows to the main action. We follow the full campaign in detail as Tiglath-Pileser confirms his final near eastern conquest.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories daily on Tiktok and Youtube Shorts.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast and James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories podcast sat down to discuss Mesopotamian myth from an occult perspective. But they ended up sitting for hours and hours over multiple days and got off track more than once. Because I find a bunch of it interesting, I cut the most interesting clips together for you today, so hear you can hear Nathaniel's take on the oldest archeological findings, King Arthur, Josephus, and more!
The Grail Sciences Podcast covers the deeper meaning of the Holy Grail and a variety of occult topics. Nathaniel is deeply read in a variety of world traditions, and expertly weaves it all together over at grailsciences.com/
The Oldest Stories Podcast covers the history, myth, and culture of ancient Mesopotamia, from the invention of writing until the fall of Nabonidas. James has been filling out the story of the oldest civilization for over 6 years at oldeststories.net
Gilgamesh is the oldest and greatest hero of recorded human legend. The epic as a whole questions what it means to be human, warns of the dangers of spurning a beautiful woman, and meditates deeply on the meaning of immortality. All that plus a good adventure story at the same time! James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories Podcast sits down with Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast to discuss this ancient tale from both an historical and an occult perspective.
The Grail Sciences Podcast covers the deeper meaning of the Holy Grail and a variety of occult topics. Nathaniel is deeply read in a variety of world traditions, and expertly weaves it all together over at grailsciences.com/
The Oldest Stories Podcast covers the history, myth, and culture of ancient Mesopotamia, from the invention of writing until the fall of Nabonidas. James has been filling out the story of the oldest civilization for over 6 years at oldeststories.net
Dumuzid, the oldest known exemplar of the dying and rising king, is also in many ways the most exceptional. Lover of Inanna, he was apparently quite done with her passionate antics and celebrated when she died, only to be dragged into the underworld for his impiety. But what does it really mean and why has the image endured? James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories Podcast sits down with Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast to discuss this ancient tale from both an historical and an occult perspective.
The Grail Sciences Podcast covers the deeper meaning of the Holy Grail and a variety of occult topics. Nathaniel is deeply read in a variety of world traditions, and expertly weaves it all together over at grailsciences.com/
The Oldest Stories Podcast covers the history, myth, and culture of ancient Mesopotamia, from the invention of writing until the fall of Nabonidas. James has been filling out the story of the oldest civilization for over 6 years at oldeststories.net
Inanna, queen of heaven, who descended into the underworld. It is among the oldest stories of the mythology of the world, but also one of the most significant. James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories Podcast sits down with Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast to discuss this ancient tale from both an historical and an occult perspective.
The Grail Sciences Podcast covers the deeper meaning of the Holy Grail and a variety of occult topics. Nathaniel is deeply read in a variety of world traditions, and expertly weaves it all together over at grailsciences.com/
The Oldest Stories Podcast covers the history, myth, and culture of ancient Mesopotamia, from the invention of writing until the fall of Nabonidas. James has been filling out the story of the oldest civilization for over 6 years at oldeststories.net
In this episode of Oldest Stories, we explore the later reign of Tiglath-Pileser III, one of the most transformative kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. By the late 8th century BCE, Assyria’s power seemed unstoppable, yet beneath the victories lay structural weaknesses.
We examine four key failures that reveal how the empire actually worked:
The eastern provincial revolts of 737 BCE, exposing the limits of Assyria’s new provincial system.
The failed Assyrian siege of Tushpa, capital of Urartu, and what it taught about siege warfare and logistics.
The Babylonian crisis of the 730s, where Chaldeans, Arameans, and internal rebellions undermined Assyria’s southern policy.
The succession struggle following Tiglath-Pileser’s death, setting the stage for Shalmaneser V and the rise of Sargon II.
Along the way we look at Assyrian reforms, deportation policies, eunuch officials, Assyrian-Babylonian relations, and Urartian resistance. We also discuss how propaganda, letters, and oracles shaped royal decisions, and why even the greatest reforming king of Assyria faced real limits to his power.
If you are interested in Ancient Mesopotamia, Assyrian history, Babylon, Urartu, Neo-Assyrian military reforms, biblical history, or the geopolitics of the ancient Near East, this episode will give you an in-depth, historically grounded perspective.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories daily on Tiktok and Youtube Shorts.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
What do mass deportation, smashed testicles, and elite boarding schools have in common? In this episode, we take a hard look at the shockingly effective—and horrifyingly brutal—bureaucratic machine that powered the Neo-Assyrian Empire.
With the rise of Tiglath-Pileser III in the 8th century BCE, Assyria transformed into one of the most ruthlessly efficient states the ancient world had ever seen. At the center of it all? Castrated boys turned bureaucrats—eunuchs molded through violence, trained in literacy, logistics, and loyalty, and unleashed across the empire as obedient tools of imperial administration.
We dig deep into the Musharkisu, Assyrian deportation policy, and the Sha Reshutu, the near-invisible palace institution that raised and trained eunuchs. Along the way, we confront the politics of mass resettlement, the logic of destroying elite bloodlines, and the strange fate of disabled foreign boys who became indispensable civil servants.
This isn’t a story of ancient gender theory or Orientalist decadence. It’s the story of state-sponsored brutality, administrative genius, and how the Assyrian Empire created a class of men without legacies—only loyalties.
🔸 Topics covered:
Neo-Assyrian Empire, Tiglath-Pileser III, Assyrian eunuchs (Sa Reshi), Mass deportations & slave economy, Ancient bureaucracy & elite education, Sha Reshutu training institution, Musharkisu officials, Assyrian statecraft & propaganda, Assyrian gender categories, Rise of imperial loyalty pipelines, Historical parallels to modern governance
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories daily on Tiktok and Youtube Shorts.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
You have seen the memes, and maybe you are even familiar with them, but today we look at who was the famous Ea-Nasir, why people would buy from him, and what scams he was probably running. We ask how often Mesopotamians complained about things, and we learn a bit along the way.
In this episode, we go far beyond the famous complaint tablet to uncover the full economic and historical context of Ea-Nasir's career:
His rise from wage-earner to property owner - His role in the first global trade network - The truth about the complaints and copper quality scandals - What his archive reveals about Mesopotamian law, shipping, and merchant guilds - And what it means that archaeologists found a box of receipts in his house.
Along the way, we explore the bronze age economy, the origins of writing, and the hidden sophistication of Old Babylonian international commerce. We even follow the trail of copper all the way from Bahrain to Babylon—and maybe all the way to your favorite meme.
Keywords: Ea-Nasir, Mesopotamia, copper merchant, ancient fraud, cuneiform complaint, Old Babylonian trade, Ur city history, bronze age economy, Akkadian history, ancient shipping, Alik Tilmun, Leonard Woolley, Hammurabi era, ancient scams, history meme explained, Babylonian documents
Whether you’re a meme fan, a history buff, or just curious how a 4,000-year-old complaint became internet legend, this is your definitive guide to the oldest business scandal on record.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories daily on Tiktok and Youtube Shorts.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
In 743 BCE, Tiglath-Pileser III—known in the Bible as Pul—led the Assyrian Empire into its most powerful and centralized form. This episode of Oldest Stories chronicles the dramatic military and political resurgence of Neo-Assyria as it faced two major threats: the rising Urartian kingdom of Biainilli to the north and the rebellious patchwork of Neo-Hittite and Aramean states in Syria. With detailed narrative drawn from Assyrian royal inscriptions and biblical texts, we explore Tiglath-Pileser’s sweeping campaigns across Kummuhu, Arpad, Ulluba, and the Levant, showcasing how the king combined strategic force marches, sophisticated provincial integration, and unprecedented use of eunuch governors to stabilize and expand imperial rule. From the siege of Arpad to the subjugation of Tyre, Israel, and Simirra, the episode reveals how Assyria subdued the ancient Near East through a fusion of administrative innovation and battlefield supremacy. This pivotal moment in Iron Age history marks the beginning of Assyria’s true imperial age—one defined by aggressive diplomacy, relentless warfare, and the creation of a durable bureaucratic state. For listeners seeking historical insight into ancient warfare, Assyrian governance, biblical archaeology, and the real-world geopolitics behind Old Testament narratives, this is an essential deep dive into one of the greatest military campaigns of the 8th century BCE.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories daily on Tiktok and Youtube Shorts.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
This episode is the essential starting point for understanding the Neo-Assyrian Empire. In 745 BCE, a relatively obscure man named Tukulti-Apil-Esharra—better known by his biblical name Tiglath-Pileser III—seized the Assyrian throne in what would become one of the most transformative moments in ancient Near Eastern history. This episode explores how Tiglath-Pileser's revolutionary reforms reshaped the military, administration, and ideology of the Assyrian state, laying the foundation for the largest and most durable empire the world had yet seen.
We delve into the political collapse that preceded his rise, the obscure origins and contested legitimacy of Tiglath-Pileser himself, and the sudden consolidation of power that enabled him to bring Assyria back from the brink of fragmentation. We then examine his first campaigns in Babylonia, where Assyrian intervention brought order to the chaos left by years of Chaldean misrule, and consider the complex relationship between Assyria and Babylon—one rooted in reverence, rivalry, and shared civilization.
This episode also introduces the deep structural changes Tiglath-Pileser initiated: the expansion of a professional standing army, the shift from vassalage to direct imperial administration, and the rising use of Aramaic alongside Akkadian. We explore the rise of eunuch officials, the growing importance of taxation within the core territory of Mat Assur, and how these policies would strengthen the empire in the short term while sowing the seeds of long-term resentment.
From palace coups to temple politics, from highland conquests in the Zagros Mountains to the quiet rise of Nabonassar in Babylon, this episode places 745 BCE at the center of a vast historical transformation. It is a turning point not only in Assyrian history, but in the history of the entire ancient Near East, with consequences that would echo into the rise of the Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks. For students of ancient history, biblical history, Assyriology, and the origins of empire, this episode provides a detailed and foundational account of the birth of the Neo-Assyrian world order.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories Daily on Tiktok and Youtube Shorts.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
This is where to start for the Neo-Assyrian Empire’s epic tale. In this foundational episode, we return to the heartland of Assyria at its lowest point—between the conquests of Shalmaneser III and the revolutionary rise of Tiglath-Pileser III. It is a time of political decay, military paralysis, and divine silence. We explore the full sweep of Assyrian history from its founding in the third millennium BCE through the Middle Assyrian period, and into the long Adaside dynasty that shaped Mesopotamia for over eight centuries. Focusing on the reigns of Shalmaneser IV, Assur-Dan III, and Assur-Nirari V, this episode examines how royal weakness gave way to magnate rule, how figures like Shamshi-Ilu and Bel-Harran-Beli-Usur governed like kings, and how cosmic disorder—eclipses, plagues, and revolt—shook the religious foundations of the empire. With key themes of political fragmentation, institutional decline, and prophetic resonance, this episode sets the stage for the military and administrative reforms that would forge the Neo-Assyrian Empire into the most powerful state the ancient Near East had ever seen. Ideal for new listeners and essential context for longtime fans, this is the beginning of Assyria’s final and most legendary age.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
In this episode of Oldest Stories, we return to the Armenian Highlands in 786 BCE to witness the death of King Menua of Urartu (Biainilli) and the rise of his son Argishti I—a transition that begins the golden age of the Urartian kingdom. Explore the geopolitics, warfare, urbanization, and social engineering of one of the most impressive and least understood Iron Age empires.
We trace Argishti I’s ruthless expansion across Anatolia and the Caucasus, highlighting his staggering military campaigns—including the mass deportation of over 50,000 captives from the Diauehi—and the founding of major cities like Argishtikhinili and Erebuni (modern Yerevan). His reign marks a peak of Urartian power, economic integration, and cultural homogenization, supported by a complex bureaucracy and a militarized frontier strategy aimed at rival Assyria.
The episode also dives into Argishti’s successor, Sarduri II, and the approaching storm of Tiglath-Pileser III's Assyrian military revolution. We examine the collapse of Urartu’s frontier buffer, the mysterious succession crisis involving multiple kings named Rusa, and the kingdom’s eventual unraveling under Cimmerian pressure and internal fragmentation. From glorious conquest to slow collapse, we recount the full arc of Urartian dominance, with attention to archaeological gaps, historiographic debates, and ancient sources.
Whether you're interested in Iron Age imperialism, ancient warfare, Near Eastern archaeology, or the origins of Armenian civilization, this episode offers deep insight into one of history’s great highland kingdoms.
#Urartu #Argishti #AncientArmenia #IronAge #OldestStoriesPodcast #Assyria #TiglathPileser #AncientHistory #Biainilli #Diauehi #Etiuni #Cimmerians #HistoryPodcast #NearEast #Yerevan #Archaeology #AncientWarfare #Khaldi #NeoHittites #Mesopotamia #KingsAndConquests #AncientEmpires
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
Buy the Oldest Stories books!: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS :In this episode of Oldest Stories, we explore the complex military and political history of Urartu during its northern campaigns in the early 8th century BCE. As King Menua consolidates power and expands Biainilli influence into the Armenian Highlands, he clashes with the highland polities of Etiuni and Diauehi—two distinct yet influential groups whose stories illuminate the ethnic, linguistic, and political diversity of the Iron Age Caucasus.
We examine the engineering feats of Urartian infrastructure, the fortress networks of Etiuni, and the semi-nomadic coalition of the Kartvelian-speaking Diauehi. Through archaeological evidence, Urartian inscriptions, and historical reconstruction, this episode situates the military campaigns in the broader context of ancient Near Eastern state formation, nomadic-sedentary dynamics, and the forgotten peoples of the highlands. Key themes include mountain warfare, tribal confederations, language diversity, and imperial border policy in Iron Age Anatolia and the South Caucasus.
Topics include: Urartu, Biainilli, Menua, Argishti I, Etiuni, Diauehi, Armenian Highlands, Lake Sevan, Kartvelians, Iron Age warfare, highland polities, Cimmerians, Assyrian frontier strategy, fortress archaeology, and ancient tribal coalitions in Eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
Sorry for the late post - Spotify had this scheduled, but didn't post it on the correct day.
Today we look at the daily life and industry of the Armenian highland kingdom of Urartu through the eyes of three Hurrians, a miner, a smelter, and an iron worker. This is a historical fiction, but it is based on what we can know about the industries and daily life of that era.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
Today we witness the transformation of Urartu—called Biainilli in its own time—from a fledgling mountain kingdom into a formidable Iron Age empire that would challenge Assyria itself. Following Sarduri’s founding of Tushpa, his successors Ishpuini and Menua laid the military, economic, and administrative foundations of a true state.
We explore the first co-regency in Urartian history, Ishpuini’s early conquests and fortress-building campaigns, and Menua’s monumental engineering projects—especially the Menua Canal, a 50-mile aqueduct that functioned until the 20th century. From strategic agriculture and logistics to fortress towns and tribal diplomacy, this episode uncovers how Urartu expanded rapidly despite difficult terrain and limited farmland.
Today we are looking at: The rise of Ishpuini and the god Khaldi, Expansion to Lake Urmia and the Caucasus, Co-rule with Menua and innovations in governance, The engineering marvel of the Menua Canal, Tribal Centers and highland integration strategy, Comparisons with Assyrian military and economy. It will be great.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
In this episode, we explore one of the most dramatic and mysterious transformations in ancient Near Eastern history: the sudden rise of the Kingdom of Urartu—known to its own people as Biainilli—under the leadership of Sarduri I, son of Lutipri. From roughly 835 BCE, Sarduri doesn't merely shift a capital; he constructs an entire state system seemingly from the ground up on the eastern shore of Lake Van.
We examine the enigmatic origins of the Bia people, Sarduri’s audacious construction of the fortress city of Tushpa, the revolutionary engineering and water management systems he introduced, and the profound Assyrian influence embedded in his kingship. Drawing from sparse but powerful inscriptions, including one carved into Tushpa’s very walls, we uncover a kingdom that appears almost overnight—built with massive cyclopean stones, complex administrative systems, and a new vision of political unity.
Also discussed is the religious unification initiated by his successor, Ishpuini, and the powerful adoption of the warrior god Khaldi from the holy city of Ardini, a site now lost to history.
Urartu’s rise isn’t just the birth of a kingdom—it’s a case study in statecraft, innovation, and resilience at the edge of empire.
Keywords: Urartu, Sarduri I, Tushpa, Lake Van, Biainilli, Ishpuini, Khaldi, Musasir, Assyrian Empire, ancient Near East, Iron Age, Armenian Highlands, archaeology, ancient engineering, lost cities, Oldest Stories podcast
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
Explore the fascinating rise of Urartu, an ancient kingdom forged in the crucible of war and environmental hardship. In just two decades during the mid-9th century BCE, this mountainous backwater transformed into a powerful and advanced state, boasting fortress cities, aqueducts, and cutting-edge metallurgy. How did the disparate Hurrian tribes of the Armenian Highlands unite under King Sarduri I, defying Assyrian aggression to build one of the ancient world's most enigmatic civilizations?
We’ll trace Urartu’s origins, from its mysterious Nairi predecessors and the brutal campaigns of Shalmaneser III, to the explosive pressures that forged an empire. Discover how Urartu defied Mesopotamian norms, resisted literacy for centuries, and developed a unique, highly organized state capable of astonishing feats of engineering.
Why is Urartu often overlooked in discussions of ancient history? And why do modern political movements still invoke its legacy? Join us as we uncover the forgotten marvels of Urartu—a kingdom so advanced that some have speculated about ancient aliens or time travelers.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
In the wake of the Bronze Age Collapse, a new power emerged in central Anatolia—the Phrygians. This episode examines their origins, tracing their migration from the Balkans and their settlement in the lands west of the former Hittite heartland. Drawing from archaeology and historical sources, we explore how the Phrygians established themselves as skilled wool workers, metalworkers, and cavalrymen, ultimately rising to prominence under the legendary King Midas.
Despite their influence, the Phrygians remain an understudied civilization, often viewed through the perspectives of their more well-documented neighbors—Assyrians, Greeks, and Neo-Hittites. We investigate the cultural and economic structures that defined Phrygia, the debates surrounding their script and language, their religious devotion to Kybele, and their role as a possible bridge between the eastern and western Mediterranean worlds. Finally, we trace their decline, from the height of their power to their downfall at the hands of the Cimmerians in 696 BCE.
Key topics include Phrygian origins, Balkan migrations, Iron Age Anatolia, the Neo-Hittite states, early cavalry warfare, the Phrygian alphabet, Tumuli burial practices, Kybele worship, and the role of Phrygia in regional trade networks.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
Suhu is a only modestly important region, and the independant kingdom that lived on the Middle Euphrates from perhaps 775 BCE to 744 BCE is barely more than an historical footnote. And yet, because they wrote their stories on stone stele, we can talk about the two kings Shamash-Resha-Usur and Ninurta-Kudurri-Usur. They loved their tiny nation and lived for its prosperity, building orchards, canals, and cities, even introducting honeybees into the region for the betterment of their citizenry. How nice it must have been to have a king that loved his land. We also discuss the mysterious condemnatio of Nergal-Eresh, the Assyrian governor who lost this province to the migratory indigenous armies.
I am also doing daily history facts again, at least until I run out of time again. You can find Oldest Stories on Reels, Tiktok, X, and Youtube.
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
Graham Hancock is a complicated man. On one hand, he is exposing a lot of people to some of the most cutting edge archeological investigations and open questions in history, and doing it in a way that is engaging, entertaining, and gets non-experts excited about the field. On the other hand, his methodology is fundamentally unsound, to the point that even if he is right in his thesis of an ancient lost civilization with unexpectedly high technologies, his methods are insufficient to prove himself. So today we are not going to necessarily debunk any of his claims, I don't think that is very worthwhile, but instead we are going to talk about the Philosophy of Archeology and the historical method. We will use some of his examples, like the Piri Reis map and Gobekli Tepe, to help flesh out what he should be doing that he often is neglecting to do.
Also, I did largely forget about the whole academic consensus aspect of this as I was writing, because honestly I am pretty disconnected from academia and have the perspective that someone can engage with a field pretty solidly with a good internet connection, but here is the link to Dr. David Falk, a fellow who himself passes in and out of respectability based on the circles you travel in, talking about the challenge of breaking into a fairly ossified field. And honestly, I do get the sense that archeology is rather more rigid in its scientific consensus than many other fields of study, so its not like Mr. Hancock doesn't have a point here. https://youtu.be/yE6Blwt-QIE?si=4tA952zPewVsghti
If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially:
Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS
Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/
or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley
or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join
Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content about Egyptian culture and myths.
