The Ancients

Few rulers humbled Rome quite like Shapur I. A King of Kings, he rebuilt the Sasanian Persian Empire, defeated Roman armies and captured Emperor Valerian in one of antiquity's most remarkable military triumphs.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Eve MacDonald to explore the rise of Shapur the Great. Why did he find so much success against the ancient Roman behemoth? How did he help forge a new Persian superpower on the Empire’s eastern frontier? And is he worthy to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Hannibal, Boudicca, and Spartacus in the Roman villain hall of fame?MOREPersia Reborn: Rise of the SassaniansListen on AppleListen on SpotifyEdges of Empire: The Sassanian FrontiersListen on AppleListen on Spotify Presented by Tristan Hughes. Editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. Video producer is McKenna Fernandez, channel manager is Vilde Osknes.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. 

Three thousand years ago, prehistoric Scotland was a landscape of rival communities, raids and warfare. Bands of warriors fought for power and territory leaving behind extraordinary weapons that reveal a more violent side to Scotland’s ancient past.In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Matthew Knight, Senior Curator of Prehistory at the National Museum of Scotland, to explore Scotland’s first warriors. Who were these Bronze Age fighters? What did their weapons reveal about their status and identity? And how did warfare shape life in prehistoric Scotland?MOREThe Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. Video Editor is Matthew Wilson. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. 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, plus early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

In 63 BC, Rome faced a conspiracy that threatened to tear the Roman Republic apart. At its centre stood two figures: Marcus Tullius Cicero, the grand old orator of Rome and Lucius Sergius Catilina, accused of plotting violence, rebellion and the overthrow of Rome’s political order. But was the danger as great as Cicero claimed?In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Catharine Edwards to uncover the truth behind the Catiline Conspiracy. Did Cicero save the Roman Republic in his finest hour, or did he exaggerate the threat to destroy a political rival? Join us to discover the story behind one of ancient Rome’s most notorious political crises.ORATOR by Catharine Edwards is published in hardback, eBook and audio by Hutchinson Heinemann, 23rd July.MORE:CiceroListen on AppleListen on Spotify Battle of Mutina: Cicero's Fight for the Roman RepublicListen on AppleListen on SpotifyThe Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Astall. Produced by 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, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Fresh from the choppy, azure seas of the Aegean after our 3-part Odyssey series, Dr Emily Hauser sits down with Tristan one last time for this exclusive subscriber episode. Together they unearth why Homer's epics - The Iliad and the Odyssey - have remained compelling and enduring for over 3,000 years, explore the real-life kernels of history that inspired the feats of the Mycenaeans in ancient literature, including a hypothesised Trojan version of the Iliad, and delve into Emily's literary achievements, including her best-selling book Mythica - a history of Homer's world and the women written out of it.Presented 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.

WARNING: graphic descriptions of violence and warfareMeet Diades, Alexander the Great’s overlooked military engineer, the man who made the impossible siege of Tyre happen.Tristan Hughes and Professor Edmund Richardson retell the thrilling, brutal, brilliant story of invention, ambition, and ancient warfare at its most extreme.In 332 BC, he turned a coastal blockade into a 1km causeway, then faced fire ships, molten sand, and a city that refused to yield.MOREAlexander the Great | Rise to PowerListen on AppleListen on SpotifyTyre: The Jewel of PhoeniciaListen on AppleListen on SpotifyThe Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Astall. Produced by 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, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film Odyssey brings Homer’s epic roaring back to life and Tristan Hughes and Dr. Emily Hauser are here to unpack every storm, monster and star-making turn. From the brilliance of the adaptation to the ancient story beneath it, Tristan and Emily bring their expert historical knowledge to challenge what Nolan keeps, what he changes, and why Odysseus still captivates us after 2,500 years.MOREZeusListen on AppleListen on SpotifyCassandra: Priestess of TroyListen on AppleListen on SpotifyWe're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - tickets are selling fast, last few available here.Presented by Tristan Hughes. The editor is Natasha Hughes. Studio manager is Hanif Hussain. The video producer is McKenna Fernandez, producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcastSign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

What if the first New Zealanders crossed an ocean, landed in a brand-new world, and built a whole society in just a few generations?Tristan Hughes and Dr Richard Walter tell the story of East Polynesian voyagers who reached Aotearoa around the late 1200s, bringing canoes, knowledge, and ambition from Hawaiki to a vast, forested island world.From the moa-rich site of Wairau Bar to archeological evidence of exquisite stone tools, ornaments, and fishhooks, Tristan and Richard discuss how these settlers adapted fast, explored far, and laid the foundations for Māori life in New Zealand.MOREThe First HawaiiansListen on AppleListen on SpotifyAncient Polynesia: Pioneers of the PacificListen on AppleListen on SpotifyWe're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - final tickets are available here.The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Tim Arstall. Produced by 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, PLUS early ad-free podcasts and exclusive subscriber-only episodes every fortnight. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

When Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, his homecoming turns into a ruthless reckoning. Tristan Hughes and Dr. Emily Hauser dive into the shocking climax of Homer’s Odyssey, where hospitality, vengeance and survival collide in a blood-soaked finale.What drives Odysseus to unleash such fury, and what does the massacre reveal about power, justice and ancient heroism?We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - final tickets are available here.The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. The editor is Natasha Hughes. The video producer is McKenna Fernandez, producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.All music courtesy of Epidemic SoundsThe Ancients is a History Hit podcast.Watch Tristan Hughes and Dan Snow retrace the Odyssey in Greece in a new documentary on History Hit TV! Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts and exclusive subscriber episodes. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe. 

This is an exclusive episode for Ancients subscribers! Tristan Hughes is joined by Dan Snow and head of History Hit TV Bill Locke for a behind the scenes romp through the making of our Odyssey podcasts and documentaries coming to History Hit this July. Together they peel back the curtain and reveal the secrets of filming on-location in Greece, from exploring the long lost ruins of Mycenae to their trepidatious voyage across the Ionian sea. Expect sharp opinions, exclusive on-set gossip and plenty of ancient adventure on the side.MOREOdyssey | Circe, Cyclops and CalypsoListen on AppleListen on Spotify The Trojan WarListen on AppleListen on Spotify The Ancients is now on YouTube! Watch here: @TheAncientsPodcastPresented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. Video Editor is Matthew Wilson. Produced by Joseph Knight and McKenna Fernandez. 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, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.