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The Ancients
History Hit · History
A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from antiquity. From Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome. ...
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Bronze Age Syria: Cradle of Cities
Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Hittites usually dominate the story of the Bronze Age. But Syria was home to some of the region's most powerful cities and kingdoms and helped forge the ancient Mediterranean world. Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Amanda Podany to uncover this lost cradle of cities, from the wealthy trading…
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Origins of Constantinople
Why did Emperor Constantine abandon Rome to build a spectacular new capital from scratch? In the year 312 a bloody civil war and a miraculous heavenly vision changed the Roman world forever. Tristan Hughes and Professor Judith Herrin uncover the epic origins of Constantinople. Discover how Constantine ruthlessly…
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The Ninth Legion: Did They Disappear?
It's one of history’s most compelling cold cases. What happened to the Ninth Legion, a crack unit of 5,000 Roman soldiers who vanished from the historical record without a trace? Tristan Hughes is joined by Roman historian Dr Simon Elliott to investigate the fate of the legion that helped conquer Britain. Was the…
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Viking Origins: The Nordic Iron Age
Two thousand years ago, centuries before the Vikings, there was another Scandinavia. An Iron Age world. Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Marianne Hem Eriksen to uncover the deep roots of the seafaring North, journeying through a forgotten world of elite halls, Roman encounters, and ancient burial rites. MORE Iron Age…
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Caratacus: King of the Britons
Before Boudicca, another British leader brought the Roman war machine to a grinding halt. Meet Caratacus; the cunning King of the Britons who spent seven years outmaneuvering the empire. Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. Miles Russell to uncover the forgotten story of this charismatic guerrilla fighter. From leading…
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Ancient Antarctica
The frozen continent of Antarctica was once a land of forests, rivers and thriving ecosystems. And millions of years before humans ever existed it was home to a whole host of ancient creatures, from the first sharks to the earliest marsupials. Tristan Hughes is joined by paleontologist Professor John Long to uncover…
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Prehistoric Penguins
When the asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs, one remarkable avian survivor traded the skies for the sea. Tristan Hughes and paleontologist Dr Steve Brusatte explore how prehistoric penguins emerged on ancient Zealandia, lost their flight and grew into colossal apex predators. But how did these giant ocean rulers…
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Life and Death in Ancient Babylon
Babylon was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world. But what was life really like for the people who lived there? Behind its magnificent temples and royal palaces lay a city of crowded streets, disease, danger and everyday struggles. Tristan Hughes is joined by friend of the show and Babylonian extraordinaire…
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The Gospels: Are They Historical?
How much can we really know about the historical Jesus? The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have shaped Christianity for nearly 2,000 years, but they were written decades after the events they describe. So how should we treat them as historical sources? Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Helen Bond to…
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Maya Hieroglyphs Decoded
Forget everything you thought you knew about the ancient Maya. Cracking their mysterious hieroglyphs didn't just reveal boring calendars, it exposed a cutthroat, Game of Thrones -style world of rival superpowers, Tikal and Calakmul. Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor David Stuart to uncover tales of powerful female…
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Human Sacrifice in Ancient Britain
WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of graphic violence from the start. When we picture human sacrifice in ancient Britain, the iconic, flaming Wicker Man often comes to mind. But how much of this is Roman propaganda, and what does the actual archaeology reveal? Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist Dr.…
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Ice Age America: The Clovis Culture
Before the mammoths disappeared, people hunted them across Ice Age America. Armed with distinctive stone spear points, the mysterious Clovis culture left behind traces of a world filled with giant beasts and landscapes now lost to time. Tristan Hughes is joined by archaeologist Dr Madeline Mackie to explore the latest…
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The First Punic War
How did the Romans ambush a massive Carthaginian fleet from behind a Sicilian island to win one of history's fiercest sea battles? For over 20 years, Rome and Carthage fought a brutal war for supremacy over Sicily. Tristan Hughes is joined by Carthage expert Dr. Eve MacDonald to explore the epic First Punic War; a…
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Iron Age Ireland
How much of Iron Age Ireland is myth, and how much is archaeological reality? At the monumental Hill of Tara, sacred kings ruled over a landscape steeped in ancient ritual and ancestral memory. Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr. John Waddell, author of The Celtic World, to explore the truth to be found through the mist…
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Human Origins: Did We Begin in Africa?
The story of human origins is often imagined as a simple journey from Africa, but is the truth actually much messier? Tristan Hughes and leading palaeoanthropologist Prof. Chris Stringer dismantle the traditional narrative, discussing how recent breakthroughs in fossils and ancient DNA reveal a complex, shifting…
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Egypt's Lost Cities
What happens when an entire city disappears? Beneath the sands and wetlands of Egypt lie the remains of forgotten cities that once stood at the heart of one of the ancient world’s greatest civilisations. In this episode of The Ancients , Tristan Hughes is joined by Egyptologist Chris Naunton to uncover the story of…
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Roman Emperor Augustus and His Trusted General
Augustus was Rome's first Emperor. But who made his empire possible? Behind the throne stood Marcus Agrippa, the brilliant general whose victories secured the Roman world yet whose name was consciously erased from the record by his erstwhile great friend. In this very special episode Tristan Hughes is joined by…
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The Vandals
The Vandals have gone down in history as the barbarians who helped bring down the Western Roman Empire. Their name became synonymous with violence and destruction, but who were they really? In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Andy Merrills to uncover the real story of the Vandals. From their…
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Terror Birds
What kind of predator needs no teeth to terrify its prey? The terror birds were enormous flightless hunters that ruled South America for millions of years, standing metres tall and built for a life of pursuit and slaughter. In this episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by palaeontologist Dr Steve Brusatte to explore the…
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The Maya Ballgame
A rubber ball. A stone court. And a sport where the stakes could be life and death. For more than 2,000 years, Mesoamerican peoples played a remarkable ballgame that became far more than entertainment; across the Maya world, it became a spectacle and a ceremony with religion, politics and power at it's heart. Today…
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How Slavery Built the Roman Empire
Was the Roman Empire really made by conquest? Or was it powered by something much darker? For centuries, millions of enslaved people sacrificed their lives and their labour on the altar of Roman progress, an integral cog in the grinding imperial machine. And so today on The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr…
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Romulus & Remus
The story of Romulus and Remus is one of the most famous myths from the ancient world. But the Romans believed the founding of their city stretched far beyond the tale of the twin brothers. Heroes, kings and exiles all played a part in Rome's legendary beginnings. Tristan Hughes is joined by Jeremy Armstrong to…
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Shapur I: Rome's Greatest Enemy?
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…
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Scotland's First Warriors
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…
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The Catiline Conspiracy
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…
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Alexander the Great's Mad Scientist
WARNING: graphic descriptions of violence and warfare Meet 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…
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Hollywood’s Odyssey: The Historians' Verdict
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…
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The First New Zealanders
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…
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Odyssey | Sea of Monsters & Slaughter of the Suitors
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…
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Caral: Oldest City in the Americas?
Long before the age of the Inca and Maya, a remarkable city once flourished on the coast of modern Peru. Founded more than five thousand years ago, the sacred city of Caral is home to monumental pyramids, lavish temples and one of the world's earliest urban societies. Tristan Hughes is joined by Jason Nesbitt to…
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