The Ancients

What if Julius Caesar had survived the Ides of March? This episode explores his last known plans — vast eastern campaigns, sweeping reforms, and his visions for Rome’s future. Could he have rivalled Alexander the Great, crowned himself king, or reshaped the Republic forever? Discover history’s greatest “what if.”MOREThe Rise of Julius CaesarListen on AppleListen on SpotifyCleopatraListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Arstall. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast. Sign up to History Hit to watch the new documentary RISE OF CAESAR; and see Adrian Goldsworthy, Dr. Simon Elliott, and Dr. Hannah Cornwell, Tristan Hughes, peel back the layers of the man, the myth, and the massive political ego that transformed the Western world forever.As well as hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

What drove Herodotus to write the first great story of history? Tristan Hughes speaks with Dr. Roel Konijnendijk to uncover the world of Herodotus of Halicarnassus - the traveler, investigator, and storyteller behind The Histories.From Persian kings to Greek heroes, they explore his methods, digressions, and the quest to explain why empires rose, wars raged, and memory became history.MOREHomerListen on AppleListen on SpotifyThe Persian Wars: Darius, Athens and the Battle of MarathonListen on AppleListen on SpotifyWatch this episode on our YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here:https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

What drives a bestselling author to march Hadrian’s Wall in full Roman armour? In this After Ancients exclusive subscriber episode, Tristan Hughes meets Dr. Ben Kane; Irish-born vet turned master of historical fiction, to uncover how brutal research fuels gripping realism. From dusty bibliographies to charity marches, Roman relics to Richard the Lionheart, Kane shares how scholarship, sweat, and daily writing discipline forge stories that truly live and breathe the past.Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

Three thousand years ago, Phoenician ships sailed west across the Mediterranean, their holds packed with pottery, wine and enslaved people to trade. Passing beyond the fabled Pillars of Heracles, they were pushing at the familiar limits of the ancient world.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Josephine Quinn, to explore the story of the Phoenicians. From the bustling sea ports of Tyre and Sidon to the founding of famous settlements like Carthage, discover how these remarkable seafarers built vast trading networks across the Mediterranean. Tristan and Josephine discuss who the Phoenicians really were, how their reputation as master mariners took shape, and the enduring legacies often linked to them, including the spread of the alphabet and their influence on the ancient world.MORETyre: Jewel of PhoeniciaListen on AppleListen on SpotifyOrigins of CarthageListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here:https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

In 1999, a mysterious bronze disc buried for millennia in central Europe transformed how we see the prehistoric world. The Nebra Sky Disk - forged 3,600 years ago - is the oldest known depiction of the night sky.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined, once again, by archaeologist Raven Todd DaSilva to uncover the remarkable story of this Bronze Age star map. Discovered in Germany in thrilling and illegal circumstances, this precious artefact reveals a sophisticated understanding of the heavens long before classical astronomy. Together, Tristan and Raven explore how ancient Europeans mapped the stars, what the disk’s symbols may represent, and why this extraordinary object continues to reshape our understanding of prehistoric science and belief.MOREThe Skulls of Jericho:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyThe Bronze Age Collapse:Listen on AppleListen on Spotify Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here:https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Before Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops, Earth was rebuilding from catastrophe. Out of the ashes of the Great Dying rose a new prehistoric world and with it came the age of the dinosaurs.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Henry Gee to explore the full sweep of dinosaur history, from their emergence on the supercontinent Pangaea to their 150-million-year dominance of the planet. Discover how early reptiles evolved into the giants of the Jurassic and Cretaceous, how ecosystems transformed around them, and why their reign finally came to a dramatic end.MORERise of HumansListen on AppleListen on SpotifyFeathered DinosaursListen on AppleListen on SpotifyPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor and producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. You can take part in our listener survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on