logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2024
53m 25s

How to Survive in Babylonia

History Hit
About this episode

Would you be able to survive in ancient Babylonia?


In this episode, Tristan is joined once again by Amanda Podany from California State Polytechnic University to discuss the realities of daily life in this fascinating empire. Together, they discuss everything from clay tablet literature and ancient board games to crime, slavery and female entrepreneurship in the era of King Hammurabi c. 1750 BC.


Produced by Joseph Knight. Edited by Aidan Lonergan.


Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code ANCIENTS sign up now for your 14-day free trial HERE.


You can take part in our listener survey here.

Up next
Today
Origins of Homo Sapiens
Where do we come from? The origins of modern humans stretch back hundreds of thousands of years, and new discoveries are reshaping how we understand our species’ story. In this episode, recorded on location at London’s Natural History Museum, Tristan Hughes speaks with Professor ... Show More
41m 10s
Aug 21
Ashurbanipal: The Last Great King of Assyria
Known as the 'King of the World' and the last great king of Assyria, Ashurbanipal bestrode the ancient Mesopotamian world as a warrior but also a scholar, ruling the great Assyrian empire at the height of its power.In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by Assyriologist Dr Sel ... Show More
52m 11s
Aug 17
The White Huns
The Huns weren’t just Attila’s warriors in Europe — in Central Asia, the White Huns built the most powerful Hunnic empire, ruling for a century and dominating the ancient Silk Roads.While the European Huns fought Rome, the White Huns commanded trade routes, overthrew kingdoms, an ... Show More
53m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2023
Babylon
The urban cultures of ancient Mesopotamia formed the foundation for so much of our modern world. Nowhere exemplifies this better than the city of Babylon, which was the cultural seedbed for the Greek and Roman civilisations that in turn left such lasting legacies. On this episode ... Show More
34m 12s
Oct 2023
Kings of Medieval Ethiopia
Overseeing a rich and diverse kingdom, Ethiopia’s medieval monarchs consolidated their power by claiming descent from the Biblical King Solomon. But why did they pursue long-distance diplomatic contacts with Latin Europe?  In this episode of Gone Medieval, Dr. Eleanor Janega meet ... Show More
38m 22s
Nov 2023
Life on the Medieval Coast
The popular BBC television series Villages by the Sea explores coastal life through the centuries. Its presenter Ben Robinson is an archaeologist with the fantastic job of exploring lost villages and uncovering their secrets, including those that give an insight into medieval lif ... Show More
41m 8s
Jan 2024
The 7 Wonders of the Ancient World
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 excit ... Show More
31m 52s
Aug 2024
Lawrence of Arabia
The famed British officer who fought alongside Arab guerrilla forces in WW1. Best known for his legendary exploits as an intelligence officer in the Middle East, Thomas Edward Lawrence was also an archaeologist, scholar and photographer. His life was one of adventure and espionag ... Show More
59m 29s
Nov 2023
The Fall of Constantinople
May 1453 saw Constantinople under siege - the culmination of an age long struggle between Christianity and Islam for control of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Ottoman leader Mehmed II had dreamed of possessing the city since he was a boy, and now the shining light of Christian ci ... Show More
35m 47s
Jul 2023
How to Survive Plague and War in the Middle Ages
Throughout history, there have been plenty of hugely destructive, catastrophic moments. And yet somehow the human race managed to live on until today. So how did people in the Medieval period find ways to survive, for example, a siege of their city, or a natural disaster, or plag ... Show More
25m 16s
Sep 2023
Origins of the Māori
Around the time of the start of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, and the Black Death was devastating tens of millions of people in Europe and Asia, waves of migration from Polynesia laid the foundations of the Māori society in Aotearoa - modern-day New Zealand.  ... Show More
42m 42s
Sep 2023
The Legacy of Rome
Rome has attracted aspiring conquerors and leaders for millennia, not just as a great metropolis, but as an idea. It has long been a symbol of military might and universal power, defined by political and religious authority as well as great feats of engineering that would leave i ... Show More
23m 24s
Nov 2023
The Rise of Constantinople with Bettany Hughes
The city of Constantinople, founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 324 AD, was a glittering jewel in the eastern Mediterranean for more than a thousand years. Its dazzling cathedrals, ambitious emperors and mixing pot culture were the stuff of legend throughout Christendom. ... Show More
39m 35s