Hosted by James Bleckley · 🇺🇸 US · EN · 231 episodes
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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.
James Bleckley hosts Oldest Stories, a history show with 231 episodes published.
Sennacherib is remembered as one of the most powerful kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but his greatest legacy may not have been conquest. It was Nineveh: a rebuilt imperial capital of canals, gardens, temples, walls, l
Its the siege of Lachish, but also a much more wide ranging explanation of Assyrian siegecraft more generally. Including how it was recognizably modern and, in many ways, responsible for modernity.
In 701 BCE, Assyrian king Sennacherib launched his western campaign against Judah, bringing him into direct conflict with King Hezekiah and the political counsel of the prophet Isaiah. The decisive field battle of that y
Babylon had survived five destructions before Sennacherib tried to erase it for good. Why did Assyria's most bookish king — a man who loved Babylonian scholarship — finally flood the city and smash its temples in 689 BCE
Sennacherib is remembered in the Bible as a villain, the Assyrian king who invaded Judah and stood against Jerusalem. But that reputation, like his father Sargon’s as a world conqueror, may be misleading. Beneath the ima
This episode examines the final major campaign of Sargon II of Assyria (reigned 722–705 BCE) and the long conflict with the Chaldean ruler Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan) for control of Babylonia. Early in Sargo
How does one "do" history, and can an AI do it? The answers:1. You don't "do" history, you feel it.2. AI can do the actions of history, but it can't feel it.Bonus rant: I never liked the idea that the point of history is
Oldest Stories Album available here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/oldeststoriesmusic/oldest-stories-vol-1 but also possibly on your favorite music distributor service also. Check it out! This episode examines the mi
This episode explores how the Neo-Assyrian Empire actually functioned at the administrative level under Sargon II, focusing on imperial bureaucracy, logistics, and governance. Using surviving Assyrian letters and court r
In this episode of Oldest Stories, we cover Sargon II of Assyria and his most famous campaign: the Great Invasion of Urartu (714 BCE), centered on the extraordinary Assyrian text known as Sargon’s Letter to Ashur. This e
In this episode, we break down the composition of the Neo-Assyrian Army under the Sargonid dynasty (Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, and their successors) and explain why Assyria’s battlefield dominance in the 8th–7th cen
In this episode of Oldest Stories, we step back from the famous conquests of the Neo-Assyrian Empire to ask a more fundamental question: what did ancient warfare actually look like on the ground, and how did the Assyrian
Today we attempt an immersive historical reconstruction of Dur-Sharrukin, the short-lived but astonishing capital built by Sargon II of Assyria in the late eighth century BCE. Set primarily in 706 BCE, this episode takes
Apologies for my voice and the lack of graphics. Been sick again and barely got this out today. Episode 179 examines the founding, construction, abandonment, and rediscovery of Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad), the short-lived
Sargon II of Assyria faces a crisis of legitimacy after a humiliating defeat, but transforms potential disaster into triumph through military genius and calculated brutality. This episode chronicles his desperate 720 BCE
Listen all the way to the end for a special musical feature about Sargon II. This episode explores one of the most pivotal and least understood turning points in Neo-Assyrian history, examining the rise of a king whose o
In 727 BCE, the death of Tiglath-Pileser III—one of Assyria’s greatest reformers and conquerors—brought to the throne his son Ululayu, known to history by his regnal name Shalmaneser V. This episode of Oldest Stories exa
Yes, there are more important things in the Syro-Ephraimite war than Israel's defeat, but the whole three year campaign is hugely important in world history, even if the things we consider to have been important were rea
Nathaniel Heutmaker of the Grail Sciences Podcast and James Bleckley of the Oldest Stories podcast sat down to discuss Mesopotamian myth from an occult perspective. But they ended up sitting for hours and hours over mult
Gilgamesh is the oldest and greatest hero of recorded human legend. The epic as a whole questions what it means to be human, warns of the dangers of spurning a beautiful woman, and meditates deeply on the meaning of immo
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Oldest Stories is hosted by James Bleckley. The show is categorised under history and has published 231 episodes.
Oldest Stories has published 231 episodes.
Oldest Stories regularly covers history. It sits in the history category.
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