logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
20m 59s

Ramesses II: the greatest pharaoh?

History Extra
About this episode
Ramesses II was a genius in the art of self-promotion. Epic palaces, jaw dropping temples and sycophantic scribes all projected his brilliance. But, asks author Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson in today’s long read, do the achievements of ancient Egypt's king of kings truly justify the hype? HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you the best articles from BBC History M ... Show More
Up next
Today
How the SAS reinvented itself after WW2
Britain’s War Office thanked the SAS for its remarkable efforts in WW2 by abolishing it – yet soon realised the error of its ways. This Long Read written by Gavin Mortimer tells the story of how the elite unit reinvented itself to confront the challenges of the postwar world. Tod ... Show More
19m 8s
Feb 23
How the Vikings menaced the Mediterranean
Killing, burning, pillaging, enslaving. Even when heading to sunnier climes, Viking raiders deployed the same tactics that they had used along the shores of northern and western Europe, as this Long Read written by Thomas Williams reveals. Today's feature originally appeared in t ... Show More
24m 20s
Feb 16
Victorian murders most female
Women accused of violent murders have often faced assumptions about their motives and disbelief that the ‘gentle sex’ could commit such bloody crimes. This Long Read written by Rosalind Crone investigates four such cases from the 19th century. HistoryExtra Long Reads brings you t ... Show More
20m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Ramesses the Great
<p>One of the greatest Pharaohs from Ancient Egypt, Ramesses II is renowned for commissioning some of the most iconic architecture and art from ancient Egypt. But not only was he a great builder and commissioner, he's responsible for the first recorded peace treaty in history, th ... Show More
50m 7s
Dec 2023
A Guide to Ancient Egypt
<p>Egypt was a vast kingdom of the ancient world. Its rulers were considered gods and wielded tremendous power and wealth. Egyptian scholars, astrologists and thinkers pioneered in their fields. Lasting for millennia, the kingdom's influence on culture, economics and politics was ... Show More
41m 32s
Aug 2022
Tutankhamun | 1. Unearthing the boy king’s lost tomb
One hundred years ago, in 1922, Egyptologist Howard Carter made one of the most spectacular discoveries in the history of archaeology, when he unearthed the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. In the first episode in our new series on the life, death and legacy of ... Show More
45m 30s
Feb 2024
The Silver Pharaohs
<p>The Silver Pharaohs refers to a lesser-known set of ancient Egyptian rulers of the 21st Dynasty, named for the abundant silver discovered in their tombs.</p><br><p>First excavated in 1939 by Prof Pierre Montet, the tombs were filled with fantastic solid silver death masks and ... Show More
40m 12s
Sep 2021
Tutankhamun
In November 1922, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, a young water boy called Hussein Abdul Rasoul makes a remarkable discovery. A set of stone steps lies concealed beneath the desert sand - a staircase leading to a long-lost tomb. The mummified pharaoh within will capture the imagi ... Show More
52m 35s
Mar 2014
Decline & Fall of the Old Kingdom (Part 1)
Why did the Old Kingdom disappear? Was it an overnight "collapse," or something more long term? In this episode, and the next, we explore the question in overview. This chapter focusses on the historical sources including King Lists, Classical authors like Herodotos and Manetho, ... Show More
31m 12s
Jan 2024
The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
<p>People have always looked to the wonders of the ancient world for awe and inspiration. In the Ancient era, people embarked on dangerous pilgrimages to visit storied sites like the Pyramids of Giza, or the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. While only one of them remains, they still ex ... Show More
31m 52s
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