Podcast Episodes

221: Ramesses II Raiders of Syria

The later wars of Ramesses II (Years 8 to 15). Following Kadesh, Ramesses led or despatched further campaigns into Canaan and Syria. These battles are documented on his temple walls, preserving some …

Published on 11 hours ago

220: Ramesses II Dead Sea to Galilee

Moves and counter-moves. In the aftermath of Kadesh, Muwattalli (King of Hatti) seems to consoldiated hold over Syria. Border territories like Amurru fell to Hittite influence. At home, Ramesses spen…

Published on 1 week ago

219: Abu Simbel, Ramesses' Great Temple

Around 1286 BCE, builders started work at Abu Simbel. Sacred to a local form of Horus, this sandstone mountain would become one of the most famous monuments in the Nile Valley. It was called the “Hou…

Published on 3 weeks ago

218: Give Me Back My Donkey! and Other Tales

Daily Life in Ramessid Egypt (Part 1). Starting around 1300 BCE, the (surviving) corpus of written documents from Egypt begins to increase dramatically. It's not clear why, but papyrus and ostraca ar…

Published on 4 weeks ago

217: The Art of Kadesh (Livestream)

Our final part of the Kadesh story is Ramesses' art. Wall carvings, on major temples, present the pharaohs' summary of Kadesh and the conflict. They include many fun details, including enemy combatan…

Published on 1 month ago

Ancient Historical Fiction with Dr. Colleen Darnell

My guest today is Dr. Colleen Darnell, who will speak to us about New Kingdom literature (featuring rulers like Ramesses, Thutmose III, Seqenenra, and more). It’s a fun discussion, ranging from the c…

Published on 1 month, 1 week ago

216b: Kadesh, the ROCK Musical (Preview)

Heavy Metal Hittites. This is a preview of my "rock musical" version of Kadesh. Full version available at patreon.com/c/egyptpodcast.

Song produced by Hermanubis (aka Luke Chaos https://chaosmusick.…

Published on 1 month, 2 weeks ago

216: Kadesh, The Musical!

The war of the words. Following his strategic defeat at Kadesh, Ramesses set about putting his version of the story into wide circulation. Today, art and texts of this conflict survive at the temples…

Published on 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Kadesh: What Was It Good For? with Prof. Peter Brand

Why is the Battle of Kadesh so famous, compared to other ancient conflicts? What can we take away from Ramesses' account in terms of "truth" vs "rhetoric." And what did it all up to, really? Prof. Pe…

Published on 2 months ago

215: Ramesses II Taking Hands, Healing Wounds

Who won? In the aftermath of battle, Ramesses and Muwattalli withdrew from Kadesh. We discuss the short- and long-term fallout and consider the "score card" for the respective armies. Then, we spend …

Published on 2 months, 1 week ago