History with Cy – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this video we'll take a look at the pivotal period of Greek history known as the Archaic Period. It's this time frame that gave rise to the polis, hoplite warfare, increased colonization around the coasts of the Mediterranean and Black Seas, oligarchies, tyrannies and lot of other really interesting aspects of life in the Greek-speaking world from 750-500 BC. 

Contents:

00:00 Introduction and Context
02:07 A Hard Life for Many 
07:27 The Polis
11:00 Oligarchies
16:35 Hoplite Warfare
20:57 Greek Society during the Archaic Period
24:55 Greek Colonization of the Mediterranean and Black Seas
30:38 Tyrants
33:58 A New Threat
35:12 Thank You and Patrons

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The Greek Dark Age, spanning roughly from 1100 to 750 BC, marks a mysterious chapter in the history of ancient Greece. Characterized by a sharp decrease in population, the abandonment of the once might Mycenaean palatial centers, disruption of trade networks, the loss of literacy and a steep decline in artistic endeavors, this time period was generally one of economic hardship and political fragmentation. However, amidst the darkness there were pockets of prosperity and social changes that eventually allowed for the rise of powerful Greek city-states and the dawn of Archaic Greek civilization.

Contents:

00:00 Introduction and Context
02:50 What was the Greek Dark Age
08:36 Greece enters the Iron Age
09:59 Greece starts to Recover
11:15 Chiefs and Chiefdoms
15:51 The Geometric Period
17:35 The Greek Alphabet
18:33 Panhellenism
21:53 Thank You and Patrons

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In the second of this two part series on the Achaemenid Persian Empire, we continue with Darius the Great's son, Xerxes and some of the main events of the Greco-Persian wars, and then follow the lives of his successors up to Darius III and the fall of the Achaemenid Empire with its conquest by Alexander of Macedonia, a.k.a. Alexander the Great.     

Contents:

00:00 Intro and Recap
01:33 Xerxes (486-465 BC)
03:43 Xerxes Invades Greece
08:47 Battle of Thermopylae
11:18 Battle of Salamis
12:40 Battle of Plataea
14:40 Xerxes after Greece
18:26 Artaxerxes I (465-424 BC)
25:57 Darius II (424-404 BC)
30:07 Cyrus the Younger and the Battle of Cunaxa
31:17 Artaxerxes II (404-359 BC)
36:50 Artaxerxes III (359-338 BC)
39:20 Philip II and the Rise of Macedonia
42:25 Darius III (336-330 BC)
44:47 Alexander of Macedon and the Battle of the Granicus River
47:44 Battle of Issus
50:17 Battle of Gaugamela
53:40 The Last Days of Darius III
57:38 End of the Achaemenid Empire and Aftermath
58:54 Thank you and Patrons

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In this first of a two-part series, we'll take a concise look at the history of one of the greatest empires in all of antiquity - the Achaemenid Persian Empire.  Founded by Cyrus II and expanded by his successors Cambyses II and Darius I, the Achaemenid dynasty would not just go on to rule most of the known world at the time, but also transmit the ideas and innovations of its many subject peoples to from the shores of the eastern Mediterranean to the Indus River valley and beyond.  We'll start with examining the Achaemenid's rise to power, the world that they lived in, their religion including Zoroastrianism, and the beginning of their encounters with the Greek-speaking peoples of the Aegean and what would eventually lead to the Greco-Persian wars.    

Contents: 

00:00 Historical Backdrop (Assyria, Elam and Media)
09:35 Cyrus the Great (Early Years)
14:00 Cyrus vs. Croesus and Lydia
20:31 Cyrus and the Conquest of Babylon
24:43 Cyrus as Liberator in Biblical and Babylonian texts
27:33 Cyrus and Babylon
29:20 Cyrus' Last Campaign against the Massagetae
32:00 Cambyses II
37:06 Cambyses II - Mad or Maligned King?
42:18 Darius I (Darius the Great)
43:44 The Behistun Inscription and the Crisis of 522 BC
55:50 Persian Ethics, Religion, and Zoroastrianism
01:02:56 Achaemenid Administration - Roads, Canals and Satrapies
01:08:45 Expansion into Europe and start of the Greco-Persian Wars
01:11:19 Battle of Marathon
01:14:28 Thank you and Patrons

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Some of you wanted to know a bit more about the Amorites and they're arrival into Mesopotamia, so I thought I'd do a quick podcast on it. This program will take a look at early references to Amorites in Sumerian, Elbaite and Akkadian documents. <!--more-->

Contents:

00:00 Introduction
01:30 Who were the Amorites?
05:20 Earliest mention of Amorites in Sumerian texts
06:26 Amorites in texts from Ebla and other cities
12:25 Amorites and the fall of Ur
16:52 Letter of Ushashum the Amorite to Bilalama of Eshnunna
20:16 Thank you and patrons

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The history of ancient Sumer and the Sumerians, from the first notable farming communities to occupy their land to their magnificent cities, innovations, great kingdoms and empires. If you want to get a good grasp of who the Sumerians were, this is the program for you!


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In this podcast, we take a look at the fabled king, Croesus of Lydia, at least from the point of view of Greek writers such as Herodotus and Xenophon.  Croesus was a king who during his day (r. 560-546 BC) was deemed to have been the wealthiest sovereign in the world. However, he lost it all to the Persian king Cyrus the Great while finally learning the lesson that the great Athenian sage, Solon, was trying to convey to him.  It's an interesting tale and fun to examine.  


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The Achaemenid king, Cambyses II of Persia, was the son and successor of Cyrus the Great.  Though Cyrus is lauded by friend and foe alike as the ideal ruler, his son Cambyses in many written sources has been portrayed as just the opposite - a cruel, intolerant and unjust tyrant.  But are these accusations true or simply the result of anti-Persian propaganda that was spread by some of their dissatisfied subject peoples, most notably in Egypt?  Most of what we know about Cambyses II comes from his time in Egypt, which we'll take a look at here to see if we can determine just who the real Cambyses II of Persia was.   

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With this video we start a series of programs and podcasts all dealing with ancient Persia and the beginnings of the Achaemenid Persian Empire of Cyrus II, better known to the world as Cyrus the Great.  We'll first take a quick look at the history of the region around the time when the first Iranian tribes entered the region, followed by the Medes and how they laid the groundwork for the rise of one of history's greatest rulers, Cyrus the Great, founder of Persian Achaemenid Empire.  We'll also examine a good deal of the primary sources (such as the works of Herodotus, Babylonian chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, etc.) that help us to put together a better picture of who Cyrus was. You will not want to miss this episode!

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In this podcast we cover the last centuries of what was once an independent and powerful Elam.  During what's known as the Neo-Elamite period (1100-550 BC), Elam went on a steady decline until it's near destruction at the hands of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.  This is the story of the last kings of Elam and the final end of their conflict with the peoples and empires of neighboring Babylonia and Assyria.   

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