In as early as 5000 BC the vast and spectacular city of Uruk - replete with towering walls, glistening temples and complex irrigation systems - lay sprawled across the face of Southern Mesopotamia. Not only is Uruk the oldest city in the world, but it is arguably one of the most consequential, having facilitated one of the great turning points of human civil ... Show More
Oct 29
718. The Suez Crisis: Britain's Shattered Empire (Part 2)
What role did France, Russia, America and Israel play in the Suez Crisis of 1956? Did the Egyptian leader, President Gamal Abdel Nasser, respond to the foreign invasion with military force? And, how did the debacle unfold? Join Dominic and Tom as they embark upon the final, drama ... Show More
1h 16m
Oct 26
717. The Suez Crisis: Anarchy in the Middle East (Part 1)
Why did the Suez Crisis break out in 1956? Who were Anthony Eden, the British Prime Minister at the heart of the scandal, and Gamal Abdel Nasser, the Egyptian President? And, would the crisis be the death knell to the British Empire? Join Dominic and Tom as they begin their journ ... Show More
1h 26m
Oct 2019
8. The Sumerians - Fall of the First Cities
In the dusts of Iraq, the ruins of the world's first civilization lie buried. This episode, we travel into the extremely distant past to look at the Sumerians. These ancient people invented writing and mathematics, and built some of the largest cities that the world had ever seen ... Show More
2h 29m
Sep 2025
Fall of the Sumerians
Tristan Hughes continues our special series on Great Disasters, journeying back to ancient Mesopotamia with Dr Paul Collins to explore the fall of the Sumerians.4,000 years ago, the great cities of Sumer — Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Girsu — stood as glittering centres of power, crowned wi ... Show More
1h 1m
Jun 2025
Episode A5 - The Cupbearer
Synopsis: Sargon of Akkad forges the world’s first Empire. “After Enlil’s baleful glare Had slain Kish like the Bull of Heaven, Had slaughtered house and land of Uruk in the dust, like that monster bull, And Enlil had then and there given Sargon, king of Agade, Lordship of Uruk, ... Show More
48m 25s