Category: Episode Post

53: One By Land

On By Trevor CulleyIn Episode PostLeave a comment
The Death of Masistios as imagined by M.A. Barth in 1832

After a year of relative success, the Persian occupation of northern Greece received its second massive defeat. For the first time, the Hellenic League managed to field the full might of a Greek army against the occupation force commanded by Mardonius. They clashed repeatedly in the plains surrounding the small town of Plataea until their maneuvers drew both sides into a decisive and bloody confrontation.
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Interview: Sean Manning

On By Trevor CulleyIn Episode Post, InterviewLeave a comment
Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects by Sean Manning (Franz Steiner Verlag, 2021).

I sat down with Dr. Sean Manning, author of the new book: Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects to discuss the military might of the Persian Empire (and why it’s so hard to find anything written about it). That includes both the academic nuances of which sources deserve primacy, and ever exciting topics of arms, armor, and tactics.

Dr. Manning’s research represents an invaluable resource for anyone trying to engage with the military history of Achaemenid Persia – especially when we try to disentangle it from the Greek Wars.
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Armed Force in the Teispid-Achaemenid Empire: Past Approaches, Future Prospects
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Recommended Articles:
> A “Primitive” Battle in Afghanistan
> Gadal-iama, English Translation

PhD Dissertation via the University of Innsbruck


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The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe by Barry Cunliffe

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52: The Adventure Continues

On By Trevor CulleyIn Episode PostLeave a comment
Cylinder seal depicting a Persian King (probably Darius I or Xerxes) killing a Greek warrior via Wikimedia Commons

At the end of 480 BCE, there was a lull in the conflict between the Greeks and Persians, but not a stop. The Peloponnesians went home. The Athenians raided the Aegean. Xerxes took most of his troops back to Lydia while Mardonius stayed in Greece, and Artabazos lead a Persian army back from Lydia to Thrace. All of them had their own adventures along the way.
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The Shahnameh: The Epic of Persian Kings

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51: Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

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  • Ship movements according the Herodouts and Didodorus via Wikimedia
  • Map of the Saronic Gulf and surrounding cities (Athens in NW | Corinth in NE) via Wikimedia

September 480 BCE marked the high point for the Persian army in Greece. Athens was the smoldering fire at the heart of the Persian army’s camp. The Greek army had retreated all the way to Corinth and their fleet was in limbo with the Athenian refugees on Salamis. After some deliberation, Xerxes sent his navy to clear out the Greek ships only for the land and sea themselves to turn against the Great King.
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Interview: Uzume Wijnsma

On By Trevor CulleyIn Episode Post, InterviewLeave a comment

I sat down with an interview with Uzume Wijnsma, a researcher and PhD candidate at the University of Leiden, whose research has proved invaluable to the podcast on a few occasions. Her research focuses on Babylonian and Egyptian resistance to Achaemenid rule, and she is part of the Persia & Babylonia project at Leiden.
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Persia and Babylonia

Prosobab: Prosopography of Babylonia

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50! Ask Me Anything

On By Trevor CulleyIn Episode Post1 Comment
Glazed brick mosaic from Darius’ Palace at Susa via Wikimedia

Thank you all so much! The AMA Episode was a great success and I look forward to the next 50 episodes of the History of Persia. This episode has everything: the ancient world in color, beard fashion, video games, book reviews, time travel, and of course me trying to piece together something to say about provinces we don’t actually know much about. Links below in order of appearance:
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 Great Courses: The Persian Empire by John W. Lee

Literature and History Podcast

History of Iran Podcast
Khodad Rezakhani @sasanianshah

Top 10ish History Podcasts (in no particular order):

  1. The History of Byzantium – The narrative history of the Eastern Roman/Byzantine Empire beginning c.476 CE.
  2. The Oldest Stories – The history and mythology of the Bronze Age Near East, including Mesopotamia, the Hittites, and Mittani.
  3. The Hellenistic Age Podcast – A combination narrative and cultural history of the Hellenistic World from Alexander to Caesar.
  4. The History of English – The history of the English language, tracing linguistic history from Indo-European to modern English
  5. The Timur Podcast – A biographical history of the great 14th century conqueror Timur, also known as Tamerlane.
  6. History in the Bible – A well researched critical history of the stories told in the Bible and its many variants and accouterments
  7. The Vacation Bible School Podcast – Reading and discussing the Bible in order for an audience of any background.
  8. Behind the Bastards – Robert Evan’s and an array of guests discuss the absolute worst people in history, past and present.
  9. The Pirate History Podcast – A history of the Golden Age of English Piracy beginning with Sir Francis Drake.
  10. History of Aoteroa New Zealand – A history of two of Earth’s most unique island from the beginning of human in habitation.
  11. Words For Granted – A great linguistic history show following the history of individual words in each episode.

History of Modern Iran Podcast

The Heroic Legend of Arslan on Amazon
 on Hulu
on crunchyroll

Creation by Gore Vidal
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The Ancient World Podcast

Audacity audio editor

Holiday Special 2019 – on Achaemenid food and feasting

Apadana Treasury Relief to showcase different beards

Persepolis in Color – Don’t forget to follow Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones!

Books on the Sassanids and Parthians:
The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians, and the Rise of Islam by Peter Crawford
Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire by Touraj Daryaee
Reign of Arrows: The Rise of the Parthian Empire in the Hellenistic Middle East by Nikolaus Leo Overtoom
ReOrienting the Sasanians: East Iran in Late Antiquity by Khodad Rezakhani
Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire: The Sasanian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran by Parvaneh Pourshariati

Interview with Michael Bonner

Patreon Bonus 13: Why is Persia Under-Emphasized
 Original AskHistorians Question

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Purim: Holiday Special 2021

On By Trevor CulleyIn Episode PostLeave a comment
Queen Esther by Edward Long, 1878

It’s that somewhat random time of year again, where I set aside a bit of time to celebrate a holiday that intersects with our narrative. This year that means Purim, the Jewish celebration of the Book of Esther. Esther tells the story of a Jewish woman turned Achaemenid queen in the court of Ahasuerus (maybe Xerxes, maybe an Artaxerxes, probably a bit of both). Esther and her cousin Mordecai have to foil the genocidal plans of the King’s vizier Haman to save their people, and the result is today’s festivities.
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Episode 49: Breaking Through

On By Trevor CulleyIn Episode Post2 Comments
Maps of of the Thermopylae campaign (left) and the entirety of the Greek Wars (right).

Late in the summer of 480 BCE, the Persian invasion force under King Xerxes came to blows with the Greek Allies for the first time. The famous twin battles at Thermopylae and Artemisium played out surrounded by a series of smaller sacks and skirmishes. After three days of fighting, the Greek attempt to block the Persians in narrow passes failed and the Persian army pushed south, conquering Phocis, Boeotia, and ultimately: Attica and Athens. By the end of September 480, Xerxes nominally controlled all of Greece north of the Peloponnese.
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Casting Through Ancient Greece

Episode 48: What is your profession?

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Promotional image from 300 featuring Gerard Butler’s Leonidas moments before he is killed by the Persians.

Before launching into the actual warfare between the Persian Empire and Greek city states, it’s worth examining how the Greeks prepared for war. Athens prepared by building a navy, everyone prepared by planning to deploy their armies, and we’ll explore the whole history of the famous “300” Spartans.
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History of Africa Podcast
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Casting Through Ancient Greece

Spartan History Podcast

Episode 47: Preparing The Way

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  • Building the pontoon bridges on the Hellespont, drawn 1915
  • The Mt. Athos canal simulated on a satellite photo via Wikimedia
  • Lashing the Hellespont, drawn 1909

From 484-481 BCE, Xerxes directed his subjects to prepare for war in Greece. This didn’t just mean assembling soldiers and ships, but also preparing the infrastructure of the western empire to receive one of the largest armies ever assembled. 200,000 soldiers from across the Persian empire converged on the Hellespont in the spring of 480 and began the march to Hellas.
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Catalog of Nations from Herodotus