The new dynasty. When Paramessu became Ramesses I, his ascent marked a "break" in many ways. For historians studying this period, the evidence presents these pharaohs as a curious blend of traditional motifs and conscious reinvention. How did Ramesses, and his son Sety I, establish a new royal household; and guarantee their legitimacy, as newcomers to the th ... Show More
Jun 8
235: Ramesses the Great God
In 1226 BCE, his sixty-seventh year of rule, the long life of Ramesses II finally ended. We explore his final decades, the difficult life revealed by his mummy, his ascent to status of "living god," and the aftermath of his reign. Music: Luke Chaos. Support the History of Egypt a ... Show More
30m 38s
May 25
234: Destroying Amarna / Splitting Heirs
Sometime in Ramesses II's reign, royal artisans dismantled the city of Akhet-Aten (Amarna). Carefully, methodically, they removed the talatat blocks and carted them away to the nearby town Hemenu (Hermopolis) for reuse in a temple. This demolition of the Horizon of Aten remains a ... Show More
28m 20s
May 18
233: Friendship in Dark Times (The Bronze Age Collapse Begins?)
Ramesses and Hattusili (Part 2). After the marriage to a Hittite princess in Year 34, Ramesses II had much to offer his northern family. A visit from the King of Hatti's son, seeking food supplies, may relate to repeated hunger crises in Syria and Hatti. Pharaoh's support brought ... Show More
34m 51s
Sep 2023
Peter Adamson, "Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna): a Very Short Introduction" (Oxford UP, 2023)
Peter Adamson's book Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna): a Very Short Introduction (Oxford UP, 2023) provides an introduction to the most important philosopher of the Islamic world, Ibn Sīnā, often known in English by his Latinized name Avicenna. After introducing the man and his works, with an ... Show More
51m 46s
Jun 2023
Professor Peter Hennessy, historian
Professor Peter Hennessy is one of the UK’s leading contemporary historians. He has written acclaimed and important books about politics, the civil service, the intelligence agencies and the British constitution on which he is an expert. Peter was born in London in 1947 and read ... Show More
36m 58s
Nov 2019
Kathleen Sheppard, "The Life of Margaret Alice Murray: A Woman’s Work in Archaeology" (Lexington, 2017)
After Napoleon occupied Egypt, Europeans became obsessed with the ancient cultures of the Nile. In Britain, the center of Egyptology research was University College London (UCL). At the heart of the UCL program was the Egyptologist, Margaret Alice Murray. During this golden age o ... Show More
33m 47s
Aug 2020
The Fall of the Roman Empire
In 476, the last of the Roman emperors in the West was deposed; in 1776, historian Edward Gibbon wrote “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire”, and Rome’s fate became a major point of comparison for all empires. In Gibbon's view, instead of inquiring why the Rom ... Show More
39m 40s
Apr 2021
Ancient Egypt in Context: Interview with Professor David Wengrow
<p>Professor David Wengrow is one of the world's leading experts on Egypt before the pharaohs. He's also one of the most creative and wide-ranging archaeologists working right now, and he has fascinating insights into the primordial emergence of inequality, hierarchies, states, a ... Show More
54m 50s