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The Persian Empire
Season 1
According to Herodotus, Cyrus the Great led the Persians to overthrow the Median dynasty and then by 539 BCE to defeat the Neo-Babylonians. Cyrus’s s…
2 years, 11 months ago
Egypt’s New Kingdom Part 2: The Many Strange Faces of Akhenaten and Egypt’s Foreign Policy
During the Second Intermediate Period, Egyptian influence dwindled to only the region around Thebes. Semitic-speaking immigrants from Canaan called t…
2 years, 11 months ago
Egypt’s New Kingdom Part 1: The Hyksos in Egypt and The Pharaohs
Season 1
During the Second Intermediate Period, Egyptian influence dwindled to only the region around Thebes. Semitic-speaking immigrants from Canaan called t…
2 years, 11 months ago
From Old Babylon to the Medes: Part 2
Season 1
After the challenges to Mesopotamian civilization created by the invasions of the Amorites and Elamites, a succession of new empires emerged. In the …
3 years ago
From Old Babylon to the Medes: Part 1
Season 1
After the challenges to Mesopotamian civilization created by the invasions of the Amorites and Elamites, a succession of new empires emerged. In the …
3 years ago
The Indus Valley Civilization
Season 1
The Indus valley culture emerged as an early civilization in the early third millennium BCE. It drew inspiration from contacts with Mesopotamia, but …
3 years ago
Ancient Egypt: Part 2, Writing, Pyramid Building, and A Second Age of Egyptian Greatness
The Old Kingdom was the era of pyramid building. The Middle Kingdom was a time of renewed strength and territorial expansion. “Intermediate” periods …
3 years ago
Ancient Egypt: Part 1, Origins, Religion, and Government
Season 1
Ancient Egypt arose as an early civilization along the Nile River valley in the fourth millennium BCE. A polytheistic society with a great assortment…
3 years ago
Ancient Mesopotamia: Part 2, Later Empires in Mesopotamia
Season 1
The period of independent city-states came to an end with the rise of the world’s first empire, the Akkadian Empire of Sargon of Akkad. While it last…
3 years ago
Ancient Mesopotamia: Part 1, The Rise and Eclipse of Sumer
Season 1
The city of Uruk in the land of Sumer was one of the first true cities in world history. Advances in technology such as the invention of bronze-makin…
3 years ago