| Title | : | Kings of Kings (Hardcore History, #56-58) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Audiobook |
| Number of Pages | : | - |
| Publication | : | First published October 28, 2015 |
II - From Biblical-era coup conspiracies to the horrific aftermath of ancient combat this second installment of the series on the Kings of Achaemenid Persia goes where only Dan can take it. For better or worse…
III - If this were a movie, the events and cameos would be too numerous and star-studded to mention. It includes Xerxes, Spartans, Immortals, Alexander the Great, scythed chariots, and several of the greatest battles in history.
Kings of Kings (Hardcore History, #56-58) Reviews
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This is not a book per se, but it is 12 hours long and I need to pad my reading challenge numbers. Dan Carlin makes professional and extremely in-depth podcasts (each from 3-5 hours) on all periods of history, focusing primarily on military and political topics. Carlin is not a professional historian, but he is a very careful student of history, and quotes heavily from both primary sources and modern scholarship. To this he adds his own unique blend of historical imagination, modern analogies and pop culture references, and sheer enthusiasm for his topic. More than anything, his podcasts are like excellent lectures, by someone who can tell a story.
Kings of Kings is a three part series on the Achaemenid Persian empire; a fascinating regime that figures heavily in both the Old Testament and in well-known Greek history, but is less often studied in its own right. Recommended for anyone interested in military history or wanting a general overview of the Persian empire. -
Interesants, 12 stundu garš podkāsts/audiogrāmata par Seno Persiju, no dibināšanas līdz Aleksandra Lielā iekarojumiem. Kā arī Persiešu un Grieķu sarežģītajām savstarpējām attiecībām.
Patika, ka autors vairāk stāsta par cēloņiem un sakarībām un mazāk fokusējas uz sausiem faktiem un gadu skaitļiem.
Īpaši interesants ir skats uz notikumiem no 'otras puses'. Rietumu civilizācijas vēsture tomēr ir rakstīta no grieķu perspektīvas: grieķi ir mūsējie, persieši ir sliktie.
Kā Persijas valdnieks Kserks varētu komentēt Termopilu kauju? Izcēlos ar armiju Grieķijas krastā. Tur manu ceļu šaurā aizā aizsprostoja pāris tūkstoši fanātiķu, dažu dienu laikā visus sakāvu, Spartas karali nogalināju. Pašu armijas zaudējumi minimāli, nepārsniedza dažus procentus, tādēļ devos tālāk devos uz Atēnām, kuras nopostīju (divreiz). Atstāju savu ģenerāli sakārtot lieta un pats devos uz mājām ar svarīgākām lietām nodarboties. -
This is not a book or even an audio book and now that I have got that out of the way, it is a 15 hour lecture(podcast) on the history of the Persian Empire. I knew this information and I was still highly entertained for someone who is just getting this for the first time I expect they will be blown away.. Calin has a way of keeping it interesting while still giving out facts that is remarkable. Fun stuff.
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This was the series that got me into Hardcore Histories and might still be my favourite one. I appreciate the extra context for the Biblical references to these characters and times.
Most memorably for me, he recounted in colour the story of the writing on the wall from Daniel 5, where Daniel prophesies the end of the kingdom of Babylon. The story finishes by saying that same night Belshazzar was killed and the kingdom was taken over by Darius the Mede. Carlin finishes the story saying that of course, that ending didn't actually happen. I've heard and read Daniel 5 plenty of times, but no one has finished it that way for me before. -
"Even if it's not true, you need to believe in ancient history."
The series is about the evil empire who attacked the Greek in the Battle of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea. Xerxes was the King of Kings during those times, when discussing terms with Lacedaemonians or Spartans as they are better known. Famous residents of the county of Lakonia, where we get our word for short "laconic" remarks. Like "molon labe" - "Put down your arms. - Come and take them." But this is all in the episode III of the three episode series by Dan Carlin. Before we discuss the ascent of the Achaemenid Empire.
To set the stage, we need Assyrians who were famously cruel when conquering the city-states around them, like Elam. They looted, skinned, beheaded, raped and then salted the earth so nothing would grow there. And by looting we mean they took the statues of gods, bones of previous rulers and perhaps the opposing general would walk in chains with the head of the ruler hanging from his neck, to make sure that everybody understood who won. After the death of Ashurbanipal 627 BC, an allied army of Medes and the Babylonians besieged Nineveh (612 BC) and sacked 750 hectares of what was, at that time, one of the greatest cities in the world. The fall of Nineveh led to the destruction of the Neo-Assyrian Empire over the next three years as the dominant state in the Ancient Near East.
Around the 7th century BC, the region of Persis in the southwestern portion of the Iranian plateau was settled by the Persians. From Persis, Cyrus (Kūruš) rose and defeated the Median Empire as well as Lydia and the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Lydia was ruled by king Croesus, the supposed creator of metal coins. Originator of the expression "richer than Croesus". Cyrus might have been the first one to offer the opponent a lenient way to surrender and join the empire. Mentioned in the Bible, because Cyrus freed jews from the slavery of Babylon.
We get this information from the cold functional writings of the black-and-white era. This is in contrast to Herodotos or other Greek writings, which were colorful and probably meant to be performed live as entertainment. So not a myth, but not exactly the truth as well.
After Cyrus came his son Cambyses II who seems to have rather bad PR, but he managed to invade Egypt after several tries. In one case he supposedly lost an army in the desert that archeologists still hope to find one day.
After some confusing intrigues and maneuvers, we get Dareios I who had served as a spearman in the Egyptian campaign. Even though Dareios did not seem to have the support of the populace, he had a loyal army, led by close confidants and nobles. Expanded the empire towards Greece, followed by his eldest son born after Dareios became the king of kings - Xerxes.
The last part is reserved to another empire - Philippos II of Macedonia and Alexander who had all the setup to "conquer the world" done by his father, who was a prisoner of Thebes and learned their phalanx and methodology with a vengeance. It's just amazing how successful Alexander was and in how short of a period he managed to take over and how fast it all was lost.
I was surprised that the series doesn't discuss the mess that was the succession, but I guess you need to end somewhere. History is just too long of a story. Fortunately there will always be the next episode. -
- Eitt af uppáhalds tímabilum mínum í söguni. Þátturinn fer m.a yfir Cyrus hin mikla, Darius, Xerxes
og Grecco Persian wars, Philip annan og son hans Alexander mikla.
-Lærði margt nýtt um hvernig Persa veldið var stofnað.
-Margar af uppáhalds strýðs orrustum mínum koma fyrir í þessum þætti, m.a Marathon,
Thermopalye, Platea og Guagamela. En það er svoldið leiðinlegt að heyra hversu lítið við
raunverulega vitum um þær. Herodotus skrifaði helstu heimildirnar um þær en oft er það sem hann segir heldur óraunhæft.
- Dan Carlin fór svoldið á hraðferð yfir Alexander Mikla og pabba hans, en gefur manni það helsta. Erfitt að hugsa samt ekki að Alexander hefði mátt fá sinn eigin þátt alveg fyrir sig.
- Heldur langt. 3 Partar og hver partur er um 5-6 klst. Dan Carlin eyðir töluverðum tíma í að tala með dramatískum tóni og í að setja þig í spör fólksins, en það er partur charminum hans. -
These installments covered the king's of the Babylonian dynasty and the Persian empire that soon followed. The surrounding events of the book of Nehemiah really was captivating and brings a whole new understanding of how important the rebuilding of the wall was. Likewise, Nahum's writings on these two nation's as well as the Assyrian nation confirms along with the other historical documents that these nation's were absolutely terrifying and that there may never be a set of more destructive nation's as these.
Additionally, one of my favorite historical stories of the Persian empire's invasion of the Spartan city was excellently covered. Leonidas and the Spartans is a story that everyone should know about and it saddens me that most folk I talk to have no idea what that story is. So, check this out if for no other reason than that -
Dan Carlin is amazing! His stories are amazing. If history were presented this well in schools, eighth graders would actually pay attention in class! History comes alive with Dan, and this book is a perfect example. This tells the true story of the 300 Spartans defending Thermopylae, going back in time a couple thousand years to provide the background setting and going forward in time to show the aftermath. Totally captivating!
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Really thorough and interesting podcast series about Cyrus the Great. Dan Carlin has a great voice and passion for history that really makes the series entertaining and informative. I enjoy how qualifying he is about what may or may not have happen. He is very transparent about his sources and the biases that come with those sources. The Hardcore History podcast in general is really well done and this specific series is one of the best ones I've heard on the podcast.
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Absolutely brilliant - I knew very little about Persian empire (1. the 300 blah blah 2. biblical references to Cyrus 3. bits and pieces here and there) and I am astounded by how much I was missing. Thanks to Carlin, this gap is now filled; I loved the podcast so much I became a supporter: "a buck per show" is dirt cheap for this quality.
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Another amicable and very informative talk from Dan. What I particularly like is his honesty in his constant reminders that what he is saying is not always based on documented fact due to the gaps in ancient historical records.
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Masterful storytelling by Dan Carlin, he knows how to keep the story moving even over hundreds of years. Hitting the high points and the unique details that keep the listeners interest. He also does not shy away from acknowledging the skew of history and sources.
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Great long form podcast. Carlin does a great job of bringing some of this ancient narrative to life. Most clearly, how some aspects of human nature have and haven't changed, and how empires come and go. Great dovetail with OT literature which in fairness needs a different author/book to unpick.
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Learned about how Persians treated their victims. Death is but a release, but the torture before it is the punishment.
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Sort of a slow start, but overall amazing.
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This is how you should tell history in schools so that students are all in into the topic. Bravo, Dan!
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Best historical podcast about the bad guys in 300 with guest appearance of Darth Vader.
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Not Carlin's best. Especially episode one of three is very hard to follow. Episode two and three pick up the slack though and it's a decent listen.
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Outstanding. Better than any of the so called "Great Courses" on audible.
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Amazing listening. the podcasts contain lot of small nuggets that let me do more research. for example: Cyrus the Great is most likely ذو القرنين mentioned in Quran.
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The history of the (Achaemenid) Persian Empire told them a Hardcore History way.
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The best podcast series I have ever listened to!!!
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An incredible breakdown of an undermentioned empire which sparked a decade-long interest in Dan carlin's work for me
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Who could make me enjoy myself through 15 hours of history of the Persian Empire and make me want more history?
