All Episodes
Oldest Stories — 236 episodes
The Lessons of Ahiqar
Sennacherib’s Last Omen
The Bottom of the Mesopotamia Iceberg
Sennacherib Builds a Paradise in Nineveh
Lachish and How an Assyrian Siege Worked
Sennacherib vs Hezekiah in 701 BCE: Isaiah and the Battle of Eltekeh
Babylon Had It Coming
Sennacherib's Inheritance
The Doom of Sargon II
AI and History
The Golden Years of Sargon II
Neo-Assyrian Imperial Administration
The Great Invasion of Urartu
The Composition of the Sargonid Army
The Environment in which the Assyrian Army Emerged
A Tour of Dur-Sharrukin
The Rise and Fall and Rise Again of Dur-Sharrukin
The Ascendency of Sargon II
The Ill-Omened Origins of Sargon II
Shalmaneser the Least
Tiglath-Pileser Defeats Israel
Mesopotamia and the Occult: Discussions on the Ancient World
Mesopotamia and the Occult: The Mortal King in Depth
Mesopotamia and the Occult: Dying and Rising in Depth
Mesopotamia and the Occult: The Passionate Woman in Depth
The Four Failures of Tiglath-Pileser III
Deportation, Castration, and Education - The Foundations of Neo-Assyria
The Full Story of Ea-Nasir's Copper
Establishing Assyrian Dominance
Tiglath-Pileser's Revolution
The Assyrian Deep State
OS 168 - The Golden Age of Urartu
OS 167 - The Northern Wars: Etiuni, Urartu, and Diauehi
OS 166 - The Forges of Urartu
OS 165 - The Kings of Urartu
OS 164 - The Rise of Urartu
OS 163 - The Birth of Urartu
OS 162 - The Rise of Phrygia
OS 161 - A Kingdom of Honey and Blood: The Suhu Rebellion
OS 160 - Graham Hancock and the Philosophy of Archeology
OS 159 - Slaves and Bronze in Iron Age Assyria
OS 158 - The Glorious Magnates of Assyria
OS 157 - Women and Horses, the Constraints of Assyria
OS 156 - The Mythical Semiramis in Ancient History
OS 155 - The Angry Puppet: Shamshi-Adad V
OS 154 - Assyrian Civil War: Magnate Edition
OS 153 - Shalmaneser Delegates Authority
OS 152 - The Smothered Spark of Babylon's Dark Age
OS 151 - The Glowing Embers of Babylon's Dark Age
OS 150 - The Battle of Qarqar
OS 149 - Shalmaneser Upends the Levant
OS 148 - Shalmaneser Takes the Throne
OS 147 - From the River to the Sea
The Early History of Near Eastern Cavalry
OS 146 - How Assyria Operated
OS 145 - The Early Neo-Assyrian Army
OS 144 - Call of Calhu
OS 143 - Assurnasirpal Has Too Much Energy
OS 142 - The Assyrian Empire Takes Shape
OS 141 - The Unintended Aramization of Assyria
OS 140- The Dawning of a New Assyrian Empire
OS 139 - An Iron King for an Iron Age
OS 138 - Erra and Ishum Threaten Destruction
OS 137 - The Oldest Dreams
OS 136 - The Fifty Shades of Marduk
OS 135 - Middle Class Demons of Mesopotamia
OS 134 - Poverty, Pessimism, and Comedy in Ancient Mesopotamia
The Theology Within History
Isaiah 55
The Witness of Lamentations
The Book of Job in a Near Eastern Context
OS 133 - Jerusalem Falls
OS 132 - Judah Ascends
OS 131 - Israel's Brutal Judgement
Oldest Stories is now a Book!
OS 130 - Israel Runs Out of Names
OS 129 - Israelite and Phoenician Prosperity
OS 128 - Israel's Moabite Neighbors
OS 127 - Israel's First Historical King
OS 126 - Israel's Great Confusion
OS 125 - Israel's Divided Kingdoms
OS 124 - Israel's Wisdom and Wealth
OS 123 - Israel's Great High Priest
OS 122 - Israel's King David
OS 121 - Israel's Favorite King
OS 120 - Israel's Habiru King
OS 119 - Israel's Young Shepherd
OS 118 - Israel's First Failed King
OS 117 - Israel's First King
OS 116 - Israel's United Monarchy
OS 115 - The Place of Faith in Biblical History
OS 114 - Israel's Judges and Defeats
OS 113 - Israel's Settlements and Philistine Neighbors
OS 112 - Israel's Conquest and Integration in Canaan
OS 111 - Israel's Wandering and Settlement
OS 110 - Israel and the Hebrews
OS 109 - Israel's Numbers Problem
OS 108 - Israel's Formation and the Historical Exodus
OS 107 - The Bible as History and Skeptical Views
OS 106 - The Fate of Anatolia
OS 105 - Four Legs Good, Two Legs Bad
OS 104 - Arameans Everywhere
OS 103 - The Babylonian Aristotle, Esagil-Kin-Apli
OS 102 - A Bit More Tiglath-Pileser
OS 101 - A Short Assyrian Burst of Activity
OS 100 - The Babylonian Theodicy
OS 99 - The Legend of Nebuchadnezzar
OS 98 - Nabu-Kudurri-Usur
OS 97 - Ashur-Dan and the Isin Dynasty
An Overview of Bronze Age Mesopotamia
Industry 5 - The Bronze of the Age
Industry 4.5 - Last Century's Fashions (pt 2 of 2)
Industry 4 - The Fabric of Civilization (pt 1 of 2)
Shamash, the Sun
Passionate Daughter Ishtar
Industry 3 - Liquid Bread
Industry 2 - The Stuff of Life
Industry 1 - The Earthen World
Listener Questions
Sumer in Genesis
Canaan 9 - Baal and Mot
Canaan 8 - The Feast of Baal
Songs 1 - Ancient Akkadian Love Songs
Canaan 7 - The Baal Cycle
Canaan 6 - Aqhat and Daniel
Canaan 5 - The Legend of Kirta
Canaan 4 - Ugarit's Final Century
Canaan 3 - The City of Ugarit
Canaan 2 - The Amarna Age in Canaan
Canaan 1 - Bronze Age Levant
The Oldest Games
Elamite 4 - Elamite Religion
Elamite 3 - The Grand Regents of Elam
Elamite 2 - Elamite Renaissances
Elamite 1 - Back to the Beginning
OS 96 - Fall of the Hittite Empire
OS 95 - Hattusili Secures His Legacy
OS 94 - Hattusili the Peace Maker
OS 93 - Hattusili's Palace Drama
OS 92 - Nergal and Ereshkigal
OS 91 - A Muddy Mesopotamian Mess
OS 90 - Tukulti-Ninurta's Victories
OS 89 - The Peaceful Decline of Kassite Babylon
OS 88 - The Destruction of Mitanni
OS 87 - Rebirth of an Old City
OS 86 - The Battle of Kadesh
OS 85 - New Cities and New Villains
OS 84 - Mursili's Plague
OS 83 - Vengeance, Mortal and Divine
OS 82 - Suppiluliuma Irritates Egypt
OS 81 - King Tushratta Begs and Runs Away
OS 80 - The Storm Before The Calm
OS 79 - Magic and Medicine in Hattusa
OS 78 - Foreigners and Vassals of Hatti
OS 77 - Idrimi's Adventure and Tudhaliya's Invasion
OS 76 - The Amarna Mailbag
OS 75 - Building Babylonia
OS 74 - A New Dawn for Babylon
OS 73 - Corruption in Nuzi
Bonus 4 - Akitu New Year Special
OS72 - Lawyers of Nuzi
OS 71 - Hurrian Wisdom
OS 70 - Mighty Monsters of Mitanni
OS 69 - Kumarbi Strikes Back
OS 68 - The Song of Kumarbi
OS 67 - Late Bronze Age Warfare
OS 66 - Enter the Arena
OS 65 - Disorder in the Court
OS 64 - Village Economics
OS 63 - Village People
OS 62 - The Man Who Changed The World, Mursili I
OS 61 - The Conqueror's Triumph and Death
OS 60 - Telipinu, the Vanishing God
OS 59 - The Conquering Lion, Hattusili I
OS 58 - Rise of the Hittites
OS 57 - Ancient Anatolia
OS 56 - Obscure Struggles in Assyria
Bonus 3 - Lament for Ur
Bonus 2 - Fanciful Notions of Antiquity
OS 55 - Days of Quiet Prosperity
OS 54 - Soldier of Babylon, Ubarum
OS 53 - Poem of the Righteous Sufferer
OS 52 - Theogony of Dunnu and The Education of Scribes
OS 51 - The New Order
OS 50 - Hammurabi's Code of Laws
OS 49 - Hammurabi's Death and Legacy
OS 48 - Hammurabi's Women and Slaves
Bonus 1 - The Slaying of Illuyanka
OS 47 - Hammurabi's Rebels and Oracles
OS 46 - Hammurabi's Northern Conquests and Agricultural Power
OS 45 - Hammurabi's Medicine and Justice
OS 44 - Hammurabi's Military and Elamite War
OS 43 - Hammurabi's Siegecraft and Diplomacy
OS 42 - Hammurabi's Kingdom and Character
OS 41 - Shamshi-Adad and the Upper Mesopotamian Empire
OS 40 - Barbarian Kingdoms and Biblical Patriarchs
OS 39 - The Merchants and Families of Assyria
OS 38 - Rim-Sin the Pretty Good
OS 37 - Petty Kings
OS 36 - The Founding of Babylon
OS 35 - Middle Bronze Age Warfare
OS 34 - Age of Chaos
OS 33 - A Time of Ritual and Law
OS 32 - Lay of the Land
OS 31 - First Men
OS 30 - The Tablet of Destinies
OS 29 - The Enuma Elish
OS 28 - The Chamorros of Saipan
OS 27 - The Study of Sumer and Ancient Aliens
OS 26 - The Oldest Debates
OS 25 - The Last Sumerian, Ibbi-Sin
OS 24 - The Rebirth of Sumer
OS 11 - Instructions Manual
OS 10 - King Shulgi's Mailbag
OS 23 - The Fall of Akkad
OS 22 - Slanderous Legends of Naram-Sin
OS 21 - Surpassing Sargon with Naram-Sin
OS 20 - Sargon, the Next Generation
OS 19 - Sargon at war
OS 18 - Sargon at Peace
OS 17 - Sargon Rising
OS 16 - Reform and Corruption in Lagash
OS 15 - Kings and Wars in Lagash
OS 14 - Ea, Tales from Creation
OS 13 - The God of Action Heroes Ninurta
OS 12 - Enlil, Lord of Wind
OS 09 - Ishtar and Dumazid
OS 08 - Ishtar Gains Power
OS 07 - Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim, and Immortality
OS 06 - Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven
OS 05 - Gilgamesh Has Adventures
OS 04 - Gilgamesh vs Humbaba
OS 03 - Gilgamesh Tames Enkidu
OS 2.5 - Before the Beginning
OS 02 - Lugalbanda's Adventures
OS 01 - Enmerkar and Aratta