After conquering much of Eurasia, Timur showed no interest in building institutions and so after his death, like the Mongol Empire before it, the Timurid Empire soon fragmented and collapsed. However, some of Timur’s grandchildren took over parts of the Empire and ushered in eras of cultural advancement that matched that of the renaissance in Italy. Under th ... Show More
Feb 3
330. The Iranian Revolution: 1979 vs. 2026 (Ep 1)
In recent weeks, protestors have swarmed the streets in Iran in defiance of the regime, and it feels as if the country is on the precipice of a transformative change. Yet these scenes feel familiar. In the 1970s, mass protests led to a religious revolution which replaced a monarc ... Show More
33m 11s
Jul 2016
Reza Zarghamee, “Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conqueror Astride the Ancient World” (Mage Pub, 2013)
From his modest beginnings in southern Iran, the Persian king Cyrus II went on to conquer three of the dominant kingdoms of the ancient Near East those of the Medians, the Lydians, and the Babylonians and establish the first world empire. In Discovering Cyrus: The Persian Conquer ... Show More
1h 1m
Aug 2023
Attila the Hun: Terror of Rome
<p>Returning to one of the most infamous names in history, what happened to Attila the Hun after the devastation he caused in the Balkans - and where did he turn his attention to next? One of the most powerful, and feared, leaders of history, Attila turned his sights on the West ... Show More
44m 58s
Jun 2021
Richard Antaramian, "Brokers of Faith, Brokers of Empire: Armenians and the Politics of Reform in the Ottoman Empire" (Stanford UP, 2020)
In today's program, I speak with Richard E. Antaramian about his recent monograph, Brokers of Faith, Brokers of Empire: Armenians and the Politics of Reform in the Ottoman Empire (Stanford University Press, 2020).
In Brokers of Faith, Brokers of Empire, Antaramian shows that the ... Show More
1 h