The History of the World podcast Magazine - 5th April 2024
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Welcome to the History of the World podcast magazine.

And once again this week, we're going to be looking at events that changed the world. So those of you who are not familiar with the History of the World podcast, what we do is

Every couple of weeks, we'll release an episode called a magazine episode where we will look back in the archives of the podcast and pick and choose some of the more favoured moments of the podcast history. At the moment, what we're doing is we're looking at events that changed the world. So we're going back, far back in history and plucking out some juicy little bits of information today.

to republish and bring to you in a magazine format. Well, events that changed the world. Where are we going this week? Well, I thought I would start by talking to you about the establishment of the city of Carthage, that wonderful city that gave us all those stories with the Carthaginian Empire. Where did it all start from? The city of Carthage was established in the 9th century BCE.

and it was along the coast of northwest Africa in what is now Tunisia. It emerged as one of several Phoenician settlements in the western Mediterranean, created primarily to facilitate trade. These settlements were strategically positioned to connect with the city of Tyre on the coast of present-day Lebanon.

Carthage's foundation as a Phoenician trading hub played a crucial role in shaping its destiny as a significant power in the Mediterranean region. The Phoenicians would land on the North African coastline and created a trade post on the coast which became a rapidly growing settlement.

There would have been some annoyed displaced North African Berbers to contend with who would have taken exception to these foreigners settling their indigenous lands. However, the Phoenicians were successful in achieving this and the settlement of Carthage was born in what would become the Tunis governorate of the modern country of Tunisia.

In fact, with all the wares that the Phoenicians brought to the African lands, it may have been enough to appease many of the indigenous Berbers.

They may have done this with the beautiful Phoenician purple cloths, metals from the lands of the East Mediterranean and quality cedar wood from the Lebanon mountains. They would have been carrying ceramics that had been traded with the expert Greeks who would have been one of the first peoples that the Phoenicians had a most very likely historical trade relationship with both across land and sea.

Although we have more recent evidence of glass production dating way back before the Phoenicians with the emergence of Egyptian phaenons and accidentally produced glass-like slag in prehistoric crucibles, the Phoenicians were the experts when it came to the production of glass items and this points us towards Phoenicians being regarded in the ancient world as a hub of manufacturing expertise and the land of the artisan.

Herodotus is an ancient Greek who lived in the 5th century BCE and has been retrospectively called the father of history. He is well known for his extensive historical narratives that we can refer to and his work for clues about what has been going on in ancient times.

Herodotus refers to a geographical place called the Pillars of Hercules, and this is used to reference the raised lands of Morocco and Gibraltar, which sit either side of the Strait of Gibraltar and represent a gateway from the familiarity of the Mediterranean Sea and the mysterious waters of the end of the world, which we call the Atlantic Ocean.

No one dared to travel beyond the Pillars of Hercules, apart from, according to Herodotus, the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians would find the luxury of gold along the Atlantic coastline of West Africa, and would have had plenty in terms of ceramics and glass, jewellery and trinkets, wood and cloths, that would have encouraged the West Africans to trade their gold.

they were also able to acquire tin from the coasts of the british isles and with those same trade abilities so much as we think of the phoenicians as the dominant trading people of the mediterranean the evidence tells us that their trade network was so much larger than that

Possibly on their way back into the Mediterranean, they would have stopped at a trading settlement that was rich in iron and had long been established by the Phoenicians and which is called today Cardis.

The peoples of Cardis were very interested in the African gold, so the trade relationship was healthy and the travelling Phoenicians were an excellent media between the coastal lands and cities. Some claim that the Phoenicians had the skill to circumnavigate the entire continent of Africa and it was something that Herodotus wrote about, but even cast his own doubts on.

Would the boats of the Phoenicians, even with their dual ability to sail or be rowed, have been able to conquer the rough seas of the ocean facing coasts of Africa? We may never truly know, but it is a fascinating question. Please write in if you have any further information.

All of this successful and diverse trade would have served to make Carthage a thriving colony with a huge population. And this is just as well because things had just started to change in the Phoenician homelands. Now, the ancient Olympic Games. Of course, it's an Olympic year this year, isn't it?

But the ancient Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held among the representatives of city-states in ancient Greece. These games were part of the Pan-Hellenic Games, which were significant events celebrated across Greece.

the Greek world. The ancient Olympic Games were not only athletic competitions but also cultural, religious and political events that left a lasting impact on Greek civilisation. So let's focus on what we believe is likely to be true and try to focus on the period when Greece was rising from the lows of the post-Mycenaean Dark Age.

We recognise that there was a significant rise in the knowledge of Greek activity and societal growth during the 8th century BCE. A date of 776 BCE is popularly offered by historians as the date of the first recorded Olympic Games.

So we will look closely at what the Olympic Games are and see what we can learn about Greece as a consequence. The Olympic Games, which in this context are referred to as the ancient Olympic Games to distinguish them from the huge modern event that the world is much more familiar with, was originally a small event where individuals would race against each other to impress the Greek god Zeus.

So already we've learned that we have to be careful due to the reference to mythology. The date of 776 is a retrospective date based on more recent knowledge and information. So it is very possible that 776 BCE is an incorrect date for the first ever Olympic Games.

However, the fact that it is feasible in the minds of ancient Greeks of a later age must mean that it is probably not far from the truth. Otherwise, there would surely be a definite alternative theory. So if it didn't take place in 776 BCE, then it probably isn't miles away from the truth, even if Zeus wasn't actually there.

The event was held every four years at a remote location called Olympia, which was otherwise a place of agriculture. We know that the Games continued until the 4th century CE, so they actually lasted for longer than a thousand years. And at its peak, it attracted tens of thousands of spectators to watch multiple sporting competitions.

Many individuals would gather at Olympia and huge religious ceremonies and trade fairs would take place as could be expected by such large gatherings. Events in the very earliest Olympic Games were restricted to running events but the Games would grow to include combat sports such as wrestling and boxing. The competitors would hail from various city-states of Greek lands.

Normally, we would find that there could be hostile relationships between the city-states of Greek lands, but these hostilities were put to one side during the Olympic Games. Some Olympic events were depicted on pottery, and pottery is one of the most significant factors of the timelines of this period of Greek history.

Next is the legendary tale of Romulus and Remus. It lies at the heart of Rome's foundation. The legend of Romulus and Remus intertwines fate, power and the birth of a great city. MUSIC

It is inevitable that we are going to be continuously comparing Roman gods to Greek gods and the reasons for this will become apparent as we walk through each episode. Firstly, the story of Romulus takes us back to the 8th century BCE which is after the emergence of the first Olympic Games on the Peloponnese Peninsula of modern day Greece.

However, both the first Olympic Games and the story of Romulus are both written about retrospectively, so there were no contemporary writings to validate either thing. The story of Romulus claims that there was a Vestal Virgin called Rhea Silvia, and that Rhea Silvia was impregnated by the Roman god Mars.

Now if you listen to the podcast regularly then you will know that I never make a statement like that without dissecting it for comprehension. A Vestal Virgin is a woman who has taken a vow of chastity in honour of the Roman goddess of the home called Vesta who herself was a virgin. The Roman god called Mars is the god of war.

Rhea Silvia would give birth to two twin boys called Romulus and Remus. Rhea Silvia's uncle was called Amulius and he was the king of a city called Alba Longa. Romulus and Remus were seen as a potential threat to his throne and so the two boys were abandoned on the banks of the river Tiber. The god of the Tiber river was Tiberinus.

And he rescued the two infant twin boys and placed them in the care of a she-wolf called Looper, who brought them up as her own cubs. Many famous depictions of this episode in history are demonstrated by pictures and sculptures of the two boys being suckled by Looper.

The two boys would be adopted by a shepherd called Faustulus, and they would indeed learn to be shepherds themselves. As young adults, they would become involved in a civil dispute, and Remus was taken prisoner and escorted to Alba Longa.

Romulus decided to free his brother, but during this time he would learn of his heritage and he would learn that he and Remus were the grandsons of King Anniulius' brother, the former King Numitor, who Amulius had deposed. Romulus rescued Remus and they successfully reinstated their grandfather Numitor as the king.

Romulus and Remus would then both attempt to build a new city, but the two brothers could not agree the location, and the result of the dispute was that Remus was killed, and that Romulus would found the city of Rome, atop the Palatine Hill, the centermost of what would become the seven hills of Rome.

This is just one of Rome's foundation stories and there are others, but this is the one that has become famously fabled over time.

The time of Romulus has been somewhat immortalised as the beginning of an important period of Roman history which is referred to as the Roman Kingdom and lasted from the beginning of Romulus' reign in 753 BCE through to 509 BCE.

The main sources for writing the history of the Roman Kingdom exist in the writings from after the period of the Roman Kingdom. Tiglath-Pileser III, also known as Tukulti-Apil-Eshara.

ascended to the throne of the neo-assyrian empire in seven forty five b c e and ruled until his death in seven twenty seven b c e his reign marked a significant turning-point in assyrian history

Tiglath-Pileser III's reign marked a pivotal moment in Assyrian history, propelling the empire towards unprecedented power and influence. In the year 749 BCE, things would begin to change dramatically for the Neo-Assyrian Empire, as the new king was Tiglath-Pileser III II.

who would instigate administrative reforms and over the course of the next eighteen years the map of the near east would alter again the assyrians had grown tired of previous regimes and as such they decided to revolt against the royal court and tiglath-peliza was installed as the new king

he would immediately start to reform the way that the country was being run by creating new political regions that would be governed much more effectively than previously

Around 80 provinces were created in the first seven years of Tiglath-Pileser's reign, and as such, each province would be governed by a loyal civil servant who would tax the population correctly and provide local forces to join the Assyrian army. The army would quickly become the best in the world.

some of the excavated artefacts reveal bronze scales which appear to belong to a form of lamella armour which is a type of armour made from small metal scales laced together we can also find evidence of bows for archers

The bows would be created by using pieces of horn glued to wood and a sinew string attached to create the elasticity required to propel the arrow. The arrow itself would have a head made from iron and it's the successful use of iron which makes a difference. Iron was the new bronze and the Assyrians were very adept at using it.

Archers would be accompanied by their own individual shield-bearer, who would enable the archer the time to fire the perfect shot in the heat of battle. The shield-bearer would be carrying a huge shield, which would effectively surround the archer from the front and from above, thanks to the shield's curved lip.

although the shield was made from reeds the archer's helmet was made from iron and would offer protection to the top and sides of the head it is believed that assyrian archers had the capability to fire arrows as far as half a kilometre

With their iron-headed arrows, which were cleverly carried in a quiver, the opposition had very little way to defend themselves, especially if they had been subjected to the work of the Assyrian slingers. The Assyrian slingers would accompany the Assyrian archers, and they would attempt to destroy opposition shields so that the archers could have had more chance of finding their targets.

the assyrians often used slingers in the past but during the reign of tiglath paliza the third they appear to have been very much a part of the organized unit now with their own lamella armor and their own iron helmets the bulk of the army however would be made up of heavy infantry these soldiers would carry their own lance and shield with the lance being useful at close quarters

the shields would be made from leather and would be held on the arm for defending specific attacks as opposed to the standing shields for protecting the archers cavalry and chariots would accompany this fighting unit and the results were incredible suddenly the assyrians had become an almost unstoppable force

The Assyrians also seemed to have a serious weapon in the siege tower which could be put to use when besieging an enemy city. A battering ram protruding from a mobile tower complete with archers at the top of the tower and very likely a large amount of infantry using the mobile tower for cover.

they would even cover the vehicle in wet hides to prevent the enemy from setting it alight after a successful siege tiglath paliza the third had a reputation for kidnapping the city's elite as a means of removing those individuals most likely to incite a rebellion

Another interesting factor in the way that the Assyrians dealt with conquered enemies was to take them en masse to a completely different part of the empire and resettle them. This may sound bizarre in principle but it would make these populations more dependent on their Assyrian rulers and less likely to rebel.

This would also create a multicultural Assyrian population as people began to lose a part of their ethnic identity since they were no longer living in their homeland. In the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible there is a reference to the Assyrian resettlement of Israelite people elsewhere in Assyria.

Through campaigns Tiglath-Pileser III would re-establish a Mediterranean coastline for the Assyrian Empire. When the Chaldeans seized the throne of Babylon in 734 BCE Tiglath-Pileser had the ability to deploy a force to seize it back and subsequently Tiglath-Pileser decided to rule Babylon himself.

therefore bringing Babylonia directly into the Assyrian Empire. By the time of Tiglath-Pileser's death in 727 BCE, the Assyrian Empire had reached the city of Tyre, just north of Israel. Tyre itself still exists today as a city in the modern country of Lebanon.

Our final event this week will be about the Babylonian captivity, also known as the Babylonian exile. And it refers to a period in Jewish history during which a significant number of Judeans from the ancient kingdom of Judah were held captive in Babylon. This captivity occurred following the Neo-Babylonian Empire's conquest of Judah.

The Babylonian captivity was a pivotal chapter in Jewish history, shaping their resilience, faith and enduring connection to their homeland. Now, if you recall, after the fall of the Assyrian Empire, the lands of the former Assyria were split between two empires, with the Median Empire to the north and the Babylonian Empire to the south.

The period that followed has already been mentioned during Volume 2 of this podcast and specifically during Episode 10 on the ancient religion of Canaan and Phoenicia. As Assyria was falling, this would have dire consequences for the Egyptians who would be helpless in watching the fall of their only Near East ally at the time.

The Egyptian Pharaoh, Necho II, would lead an Egyptian army to Carchemish to stand alongside the remnants of the Assyrian army against the Babylonians, led by their king Nebuchadnezzar II in 605 BCE at the Battle of Carchemish. But the Babylonians would see off the Egyptians, sending them back to Africa.

in the aftermath the babylonians would annex the ancient kingdom of judah and its capital city of jerusalem a city which would rebel against their new rulers by delaying their tribute payments

As a result, King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia would deport the Jewish people of Jerusalem to Babylonia after plundering Jerusalem and destroying the sacred Solomon's Temple during the siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. The feelings of the deported Jews in Babylonia are captured in Psalm 137 of the Hebrew Bible.

by the rivers of Babylon. There we sat down. Also we wept at our remembrance of Zion. On the willows, in the midst thereof, we hung up our lyres. From there our captors demanded a song, and our desecrators mirth. Sing us from the song of Zion. How can we sing the song of God?

on strange land. Zion is another name for the lands of Jerusalem, the lands that the Jewish people call their home and the sacred land that the Jewish people yearned to return to. The words of this particular psalm have resonated through the ages with seemingly countless musical renditions over the course of modern history.

One of the most well-known in pop culture was the version recorded by the Euro-Caribbean pop music group Boney M, released in 1978. The Babylonian captivity of the Jewish people would continue until the Jewish people were freed, and they were freed by none other than the hero of today's episode, Cyrus the Great.

After Cyrus' successful conquest of Lydia, he would turn his attention south towards the Babylonian Empire. Firstly, Cyrus would need to secure those northern Elamite lands centred around their capital city of Susa in 540 BCE.

This would bring Cyrus to the doorstep of the Mesopotamian lands of the Babylonians, now under the rule of King Nabonidus. Cyrus would be able to strike the Babylonians in the following year, engaging them in battle at the Battle of Opis.

The Babylonians were no match for Cyrus' mighty Achaemenid Persians and the Babylonians would crumble in defeat allowing Cyrus to march into Babylon and be proclaimed the new king. The Babylonian Empire would now become a part of the Achaemenid Empire which would include Jerusalem.

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As captive Jews who wish to return to Jerusalem would be allowed to do so, where

where they were beginning construction of a new temple to replace the one that the Babylonians had previously destroyed. Not all Jews would return to Jerusalem, and those who would not return would be the ancestors of the more modern Iraqi Jews. Historians cite the Babylonian conquest by Cyrus the Great as a good thing.

the babylonians have been portrayed as the bad guys in this episode in history with their apparent bullying of the jews however the kingdom of judah did have a reputation for being a stubborn people who would resist the imperious attitudes of the babylonians and the assyrians before them

Whatever your opinion is, it does appear that Cyrus would allow the Jewish people the freedom to live their lives wherever and however they pleased. The Kingdom of Judah was a relatively small part of Cyrus' imperial ambitions. Thanks a lot for listening to this week's episode of the History of the World podcast.

about events that changed history. Now, if you enjoy listening to this podcast and you'd like to support the podcast, then do please visit our website, historyoftheworldpodcast.com. Click on the Patreon link and sign up to make a monthly contribution.

You will become a lifelong member of the History of the World podcast Illuminati and qualify for gifts and rewards. This week, we welcome into the History of the World podcast Illuminati, Francisca Torres-Leiva and Paul. Welcome in to you both.

Now, if you'd like to get in touch with the podcast, drop me a line at historyoftheworldpodcast at mail.com. Also, you can follow the podcast on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Tumblr, Threads and Mastodon. And if you can't get enough of the podcast, then do look out for our special debrief episodes where we'll be talking some more about the source material that went into our podcast episodes. And the next one of those will be this weekend following episode

Our podcast episode about the Battle of Legnica, which pits the Mongols against the European nations, the Christian European nations. So don't miss that, whatever you do. Listener messages and reviews.

Shannon has been in touch with the podcast again. Hello, Chris Shannon from New Zealand again. Well, here we are finally caught up. Well, I caught up two weeks ago, but work has been too busy to write in. We had a famous sport event in my town. Things get really busy when it's in town. I digress again.

You did ask me what I did for a living. I bake pies. Australasian meat pies you find all over New Zealand and Australia. New Zealand pies are way better though. Hundreds of pies a day, thousands of pies a week, all made by hand, no machinery. Well, a pastry roller, but that's it.

Anyway, back on topic. You did ask about how evil Genghis Khan and the Mongols were. I'm surprised nobody else wrote in, or at least I don't remember you reading any out. I don't believe they were particularly evil for the time. However, I beg your pardon, how many Mongol massacres were preceded by people killing their envoys?

I believe that they always tried diplomacy first and if someone kills your diplomats then you have to set an example. Very harsh, yes, but reactionary. It had to be done. I don't see the massacre of Samarkand as more evil than say when the Crusaders captured Jerusalem where they just killed everyone because religion or maybe the Assyrians with all the crazy stuff they did to conquer people.

That's my point of view anyway. Thanks, Shannon. Great. Great response, Shannon. Yes. Interesting, isn't it? Interesting question. Were the Mongols particularly evil as a race of people? And I think you're quite right to bring up other instances of ruthlessness and almost unreasonable bloodshed.

at the hands of particular people. And I think if you look back through history, you'll see there's many an example made out of a city that resists capture and for no other reason than to scare other cities into submission. So I think this ruthlessness is not unusual in history.

But certainly the Mongols were very adept at it and they could be incredibly heartless when they needed to be. Certainly as a race of people, the stories of how they treated the people, how they massacred the population, how they abused the populations...

certainly can't be downplayed, can it? But anyway, thanks a lot, Shannon. And I'm very interested in what all of you think about this topic. Were the Mongols particularly evil?

Victoria has written in and put, Hi Chris, I just found your podcast a few days ago and I've enjoyed very much what I have heard so far. My areas of interest are the Mongol Empire and the medieval Silk Roads. I have written a historical fiction novel about Chinggis Khan's rise to power with the featured role of his beloved wife, Borte.

I'm just beginning the editing process now and soon to publish. No release date yet. I really appreciate the source material you provide. Much that is new. Thank you for your work. I look forward to listening more. Victoria Blay, pen name. So it's not even your real name. But yeah, how fascinating to hear that you're writing some historical fiction.

And it's based on this wonderful story and this incredible race of people, the Mongols and Chinggis Khan and his descendants. So what a topic, what an amazing topic to pick. And I should imagine that's going to be a fascinating book. And do please let us all know when the book is published so that we can all buy a copy.

Thank you so much for writing in, Victoria. We did get a review this week from 48cdy from Germany. Wonderful.

who's put excellent podcast, love the podcast at volume two. Now we'll definitely be recommending to my friends. Well, I do hope you've got loads and loads of friends so that you can recommend it. I like if you've only got two friends, then I'm not quite as excited about you recommending it to them. But if you've got like 2000 friends, definitely an excellent idea.

Anyway, that's all for this week. Thank you very much. And coming up this weekend, as I've mentioned before, the Battle of Legnica, when this incredible clash between the Mongols and Christian Europe takes place and the tactics that the Mongols employed. And why, basically, that we're not all Mongolians today?

Anyway, that's it for this episode. Thanks so much for listening. And until next time, be good. The History of the World podcast written and presented by Chris Haslam. Please consider making a financial contribution by going to the historyoftheworldpodcast.com website and clicking on the Patreon link.

Email the show at historyoftheworldpodcast at mail.com. And don't forget to join our social media at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr. See you next time.