Castuner

Oldest Stories

James Bleckley

History and myth of the Cradle of Civilization, bronze age Mesopotamia, beginning with the dawn of writing. The show will cover the full history of Mesopotamia, from Gilgamesh to Nabonidas, a span of some 2500 years, with myths of heroes and gods, and tales of daily life peppered throughout. Sumer, Akkad, Old Babylon, Hittites, and Israel have all been covered in depth, current episodes get deep into the Assyrian Empire. New episodes every other Wednesday. Online at oldeststories.net.

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Episodes

242 episodes

  1. Esarhaddon Purges the Court 48:08
  2. Taharqa the Peaceful and Esarhaddon the Holy 28:31
  3. The Pedubastis Cycle 41:01
  4. Assyrian Omen Science 51:06
  5. The Cimmerian Horse Lords 36:17
  6. Esarhaddon and the Empire That Ran Itself 43:23
  7. The Lessons of Ahiqar 44:37
  8. Sennacherib’s Last Omen 38:03
  9. The Bottom of the Mesopotamia Iceberg 51:43
  10. Sennacherib Builds a Paradise in Nineveh 39:06
  11. Lachish and How an Assyrian Siege Worked 51:35
  12. Sennacherib vs Hezekiah in 701 BCE: Isaiah and the Battle of Eltekeh 44:55
  13. Babylon Had It Coming 1:03:22
  14. Sennacherib's Inheritance 37:56
  15. The Doom of Sargon II 34:19
  16. AI and History 21:14
  17. The Golden Years of Sargon II 30:47
  18. Neo-Assyrian Imperial Administration 46:40
  19. The Great Invasion of Urartu 41:51
  20. The Composition of the Sargonid Army 50:39
  21. The Environment in which the Assyrian Army Emerged 41:37
  22. A Tour of Dur-Sharrukin 41:34
  23. The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Dur-Sharrukin 46:18
  24. The Ascendency of Sargon II 48:53
  25. The Ill-Omened Origins of Sargon II 45:25
  26. Shalmaneser the Least 35:42
  27. Tiglath-Pileser Defeats Israel 33:30
  28. Mesopotamia and the Occult: Discussions on the Ancient World 1:04:58
  29. Mesopotamia and the Occult: The Mortal King in Depth 1:57:59
  30. Mesopotamia and the Occult: Dying and Rising in Depth 1:41:40
  31. Mesopotamia and the Occult: The Passionate Woman in Depth 1:39:14
  32. The Four Failures of Tiglath-Pileser III 40:00
  33. Deportation, Castration, and Education - The Foundations of Neo-Assyria 58:34
  34. The Full Story of Ea-Nasir's Copper 52:01
  35. Establishing Assyrian Dominance 48:31
  36. Tiglath-Pileser's Revolution 45:38
  37. The Assyrian Deep State 36:09
  38. OS 168 - The Golden Age of Urartu 37:53
  39. OS 167 - The Northern Wars: Etiuni, Urartu, and Diauehi 34:36
  40. OS 166 - The Forges of Urartu 36:42
  41. OS 165 - The Kings of Urartu 37:50
  42. OS 164 - The Rise of Urartu 37:12
  43. OS 163 - The Birth of Urartu 33:48
  44. OS 162 - The Rise of Phrygia 36:16
  45. OS 161 - A Kingdom of Honey and Blood: The Suhu Rebellion 49:02
  46. OS 160 - Graham Hancock and the Philosophy of Archeology 52:41
  47. OS 159 - Slaves and Bronze in Iron Age Assyria 47:50
  48. OS 158 - The Glorious Magnates of Assyria 34:49
  49. OS 157 - Women and Horses, the Constraints of Assyria 36:17
  50. OS 156 - The Mythical Semiramis in Ancient History 53:31