 |
Oldest StoriesAuthor: James Bleckley
History and myth of the Cradle of Civilization, bronze age Mesopotamia, beginning with the dawn of writing. The show will cover the full history of Mesopotamia, from Gilgamesh to Nabonidas, a span of some 2500 years, with myths of heroes and gods, and tales of daily life peppered throughout. Sumer, Akkad, Old Babylon, Hittites, and Israel have all been covered in depth, current episodes get deep into the Assyrian Empire. New episodes every other Wednesday. Online at oldeststories.net. Language: en Genres: History Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
Listen Now...
Babylon Had It Coming
Episode 20
Wednesday, 22 April, 2026
Babylon had survived five destructions before Sennacherib tried to erase it for good. Why did Assyria's most bookish king — a man who loved Babylonian scholarship — finally flood the city and smash its temples in 689 BCE?This is Oldest Stories, a biweekly deep dive into ancient Mesopotamia. Online at oldeststories.netIn this episode we trace Babylon's strange immortality: a city founded around 1894 BCE that claimed six thousand years of history by borrowing it from Eridu, the first city of the gods. We walk through each of Babylon's "deaths":Death 1: the ritual transfer from dying Eridu to Babylon under Hammurabi's successors, making Babylon the heir to pre-Flood kingshipDeath 2: the Hittite sack of 1595 BCE and decades of abandonmentThe Kassite revival, when Babylon became the world's university town, exporting doctors and diviners instead of armiesThe humiliations under Tukulti-Ninurta I, the Elamite sack that stole Marduk, and Nebuchadnezzar I's brief martial comebackThe long grind with Assyria: Merodach-Baladan's revolts, Sennacherib's first campaign at Cutha and Kish in 703 BCE, the puppet kings Bel-ibni and Assur-nadin-shumi, the 694 BCE boat raid on Elam, the Elamite counterstroke in 693, and the bloodbath at Halule in 691We end with the two-year siege of Babylon, Sennacherib's decision to dig a canal through the city, and what the destruction meant for cuneiform civilization. If Babylon had stayed dead, would Mesopotamian culture have lasted longer?This episode continues our Sennacherib series. For the rise of Sargon II, Tiglath-Pileser III, and the earlier Assyrian-Babylonian wars, see the playlist.Music from the show: oldeststories.net/music (or search "Oldest Stories Music")Support the show:Books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhSDonate: oldeststories.netPatreon / YouTube members get bonus episodes: patreon.com/JamesBleckleyNo-AI readings of ancient texts: youtube.com/@osnightreading
