Tag: Babylon

Episode 9: Who Are You Again?

On By Trevor CulleyIn History of Persia1 Comment
  • The remains of Palace S. The first Palace constructed at Pasargadae. Credit: Bernard Gagnon
  • A sketch of the Seal of Cyrus I from Anshan, featuring the king mounted with a spear in a combat scene. Credit: Livius.org
  • Left: The winged genius at Pasargadae, Gate R, as it stands today. Right: a sketch depicting how the same relief may have looked while intact. Credit: Pontecelo and John Henry Wright
  • The Tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae. Personally I really like this particular picture because it’s one of the few with people in the shot to give a sense of how large the structure is. Credit: Wright.one

Gallery of art and architecture described in the episode, click on a picture to see it full size. Left to right: Palace S at Pasargadae, the Seal of Cyrus I sketched, side by side Gate R today and restored sketch. Bottom: Tomb of Cyrus the Great. Captions posted as a comment on each image All images from Wikimedia Commons via Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License.

This time we’re taking a break from the narrative for a bit. Now that this show has all of Cyrus’s major conquests under its belt, its probably worth getting a sense of what these Persians were actually like. This episode covers art, architecture, clothing, and the major cultural influences of the early Persian period, under the Teispid kings. Let’s see what the world around Cyrus the Great might have looked like.

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Episode 8: Fill in the Titles

On By Trevor CulleyIn History of PersiaLeave a comment
The Cyrus Cylinder, currently housed at the British Museum, London. Photo credit: Emily Culley, 2017.

Cyrus the Great has finally completed his conquests in our narrative. I break down the Cyrus Cylinder, the official record of what he did next, one section at a time. In this episode, I shamelessly take advantage of current events and link Persian history to both Easter and Game of Thrones. Listen and explorer official Persian propaganda, an expanding royal family, the historic and religious legacy of Cyrus, and all the titles of the Persian King. 
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Cyrus the Great: Life and Lore
Cylinder Translation


Episode 7: The Writing on the Wall

On By Trevor CulleyIn History of PersiaLeave a comment

The Neo-Babylonian Empire at the time of Cyrus’s Conquest with the locations of major battles. The original labels are French, but hopefully similar enough to figure out. Original by Zunkir, Wikimedia Commons via GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2. Alterations by Trevor Culley, 2019.

In Babylon, October of 539 BCE began in the 17th year of the reign of Nabonidus, but it ended in the 1st year of Cyrus. In this episode Cyrus the Great carries out his final campaign against Babylon. Our sources tell us that after a few short battles, the greatest city of the ancient world through open its gates and the Persians won the day. Of course, ancient history is never quite that clean. This time, we explore Cyrus’s greatest conquest, and the troubled, but fascinating, reign of Babylon’s last king.
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Episode 4 – Cyrus II, King of Anshan

On By Trevor CulleyIn History of PersiaLeave a comment
“Cyrus and Astyages” – Oil painting by French artist Jean-Charles-Nicaise Perrin in the 18th century. The scene depicted is Astyages (center) ordering Harpagus (left) to take and kill the infant Cyrus (Harpagus’ arms).

Around 550 BCE, King Cyrus II of Anshan went into revolt against the Median King Astyages. The young Cyrus was aided by a rebellious Median general called Harpagus and conquered the whole Median Empire in one war. Then, Cyrus declared himself King of Persia, and took his first step on the path to becoming “Great.”
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Episode 3: Babylonians and Medes

On By Trevor CulleyIn History of PersiaLeave a comment

Map of the Near East under Babylon and Media. Originals by WillemBK and Szajci, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported. Battle sites, Halys River, new cities, and key by Trevor Culley, 2019

We’re bringing the stories from the last two episodes together now. The Medes and the Babylonians joined forces, beat the Assyrians and the Egyptians, and then divided up the Near East between themselves as they built their own empires. After this, I promise there will be some actual Persians on this History of Persia Podcast. 
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Episode 1: Assyria and Setting the Stage

On By Trevor CulleyIn History of Persia3 Comments

My homemade map of the Near East between the Bronze Age Collapse and the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Pre-Collapse Map on the “Maps” page.

Here we go, episode 1! Now, as much as I want to get to Persian history, we should probably know at least a little bit about the world before the Persians got there, so this is you lightspeed tour of the Near East, from about 1200 BCE to 616 BCE. Maps for everything are available on the website.
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