DahlHistory

About DahlHistory

DahlHistory is long-form ancient history for people who want the whole story. From Mesopotamia and Egypt to Greece, Rome and beyond, I cover archaeology, warfare, politics, religion and the people caught in the middle of it all. I have degrees in History and Classics, and try to keep things clear, evidence-based and interesting without sanding off the complexity. Perfect for driving, working, relaxing, or falling asleep to yet another ancient empire collapsing.

Publisher

Dahl

Category

history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Sept 2026

Latest episode

11 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

6 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   11 Oct 2026

   The Fall of Akkad, And The Rise of Ur

   After Sargon, the Akkadian Empire faced succession struggles, rebellion and pressure along its borders. This full documentary follows Rimush, Manishtushu and Naram-Sin, the fragmentation of Akkad, the Gutians, and the rise and fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur. Artifacts, maps and surviving texts accompany the story through Gudea, Ur-Namma, Shulgi and the final years of Ibbi-Sin. Later literary traditions are distinguished from contemporary evidence. CHAPTERS: 00:00 The Empire After Sargon 02:08 The First Succession 03:21 Rimush And The Rebellions 05:28 The Eastern Campaigns 06:52 Manishtushu And The King’s Land 09:28 Naram-Sin And The Great Revolt 12:47 The Divine King And His Victory Stele 15:45 Temples And The Royal Family 17:43 The Curse Of Agade 18:17 Shar-Kali-Sharri And The Breaking Of Akkad 20:00 Drought And Fragmentation 21:59 Who Was King? 22:35 The Gutians 23:35 Gutium And The Zagros 26:16 Akkad And The Mountain Frontier 30:18 When Akkad Came Apart 32:09 Drought And The Collapse Of Empire 33:45 Erridu-pizir And The Gutian Kings 36:48 La-erabum And Gutian Rule At Umma 39:20 Gudea And Mesopotamia Between Empires 42:02 Utu-hegal Defeats Tirigan 45:03 Gutium After The Gutian Kings 47:43 The Curse Of Agade 50:26 How The Gutians Became Barbarians 51:22 The Sumerian King List And Later Legends 52:45 What The Contemporary Evidence Shows 54:06 The Cities After Akkad 55:38 Gudea And The Surviving States 57:01 Ur Beneath Uruk 58:44 Ur-Namma Builds A Kingdom 01:01:06 Temples, Canals And Law 01:03:15 Shulgi And The Divine King 01:05:20 The Bala System And Puzrish-Dagan 01:07:01 War On The Northern Frontiers 01:09:03 Amar-Sin And Shu-Sin 01:11:08 Ibbi-Sin, The Last King 01:13:15 The Price Of Barley 01:14:30 Ishbi-Erra And The Rise Of Isin 01:16:36 Ur Alone 01:18:21 The Eastern Army 01:19:20 The Fall Of Ur In 2004 BCE 01:20:25 The City In The Storm 01:21:52 The Cities Survive 01:22:36 Closing Thoughts SOURCES & FURTHER READING Aaron A. Burke, The Amorites and the Bronze Age Near East (2021). Jerrold S. Cooper, The Curse of Agade (1983). Douglas Frayne, Sargonic and Gutian Periods (2334–2113 BC) (1993); Ur III Period (2112–2004 BC) (1997). Mario Liverani (ed.), Akkad: The First World Empire (1993). Piotr Michalowski, The Correspondence of the Kings of Ur (2011); The Lamentation over the Destruction of Sumer and Ur (1989). Walther Sallaberger & Aage Westenholz, Mesopotamien: Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit (1999). Juris Zarins, “Ur, Lagash and the Gutians,” in In Context: The Reade Festschrift (2020). MUSIC: Shadows and Dust, Undertow, Signal to Noise (No Melody), Intervention (No Melody), Descent, The Long Dark, Permafrost, A Kind of Hope, Sanctuary, Hymn to the Dawn, Beyond These Walls, Extrapolation, Cobalt, The Distant Sun, Hiraeth, Solace — Scott Buckley Released under CC BY 4.0. https://www.scottbuckley.com.au “Dark Times” — Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0. https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?Search=Search&isrc=USUAN1100747 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music uses edited excerpts, fades and level adjustments. Map credits: Zunkir / Sémhur, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Scaled, faded and given glow. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Empire_akkad.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ur_III.svg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   Hammurabi, and the Rise of Babylon

   Hammurabi's rise transformed Babylon from a regional kingdom into a power that dominated much of Mesopotamia. His reign brought shifting alliances, ambitious campaigns, the destruction of Mari, and one of the ancient world's most famous collections of laws. This little documentary follows Babylon from the aftermath of Ur's fall through the incredibly lengthy reign of Hammurabi. It will cover his alliance with Zimri-Lim, his struggles against the neighbouring kingdom of Elam, as well as the conquest of Larsa, and even the challenges of governing the very cities and countrysides he successfully brought under his rule. Royal letters, surviving tablets, inscriptions and archaeological objects help tell the story of the people behind these events, from kings and officials to soldiers, merchants and the families whose lives appear in the legal records. This is the first part in a two-part mini-series on the incredibly fascinating and elusive city of Babylon, as well as perhaps its most famous ruler, none other than King Hammurabi himself. The next video will of course follow the city of Babylon immediately after Hammurabi's untimely death at only 60 years old in 1750 BCE. Can't believe it's already been 3775 years since you've passed... Rest in peace my sweet Prince, we hardly knew ye. MUSIC AND MUSIC-BED CREDITS Music by Scott Buckley — released under CC BY 4.0. https://www.scottbuckley.com.au https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Memories Of Stone Amberlight Undertow Incantation Fading Tears Of A Distant Sun Eidolon Solstice The Waster Descent Stars In Her Skies Genesis Cobalt Time And Space The Things That Bind Us Here Ashes Of A Fallen Year (2019 Remaster) Machinery Of The Stars Sanctuary Sentinel Honour Among Thieves Legionnaire (2022 Remaster) All tracks listed above are by Scott Buckley. Music has been excerpted, mixed and faded under narration. Credits include the documented constituent tracks of the music beds used in this video. SELECTED SOURCE AND IMAGE CREDITS Shibtu's letter: ARM 26 212 = ARM 10 6 = A.3217. Supporting excerpt from Martti Nissinen, Prophets and Prophecy in the Ancient Near East, text 22, p. 46. https://www.sbl-site.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Nissinen.pdf Laws of Eshnunna, IM 51059: National Museum of Iraq photograph via CDLI P480693. Obverse extracted and background removed. https://cdli.earth/artifacts/480693 Palace of Zimri-Lim, Mari: photograph by Gianfranco Gazzetti / GAR, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mari_Palazzo_di_Zimri-Lim_-_GAR_-_7-01.jpg https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Subscribe for more long-form ancient history, if that's your thing! ;) #Hammurabi #Babylon #ancienthistory CHAPTERS: 00:00 Babylon Before Hammurabi 04:03 The Early Kings 06:43 Hammurabi Inherits Babylon 11:12 The Alliance With Mari 15:34 The War Against Elam 20:42 The Conquest Of Larsa 25:13 Eshnunna And The Fall Of Mari 29:35 Governing The Conquered South 33:50 The Laws Of Hammurabi 39:35 The End Of The Reign

3. 

   10 Sept 2026

   Homer’s Odysseus, the King of Ithaca

   Odysseus is remembered as the king of Ithaca, but what kind of kingdom was Ithaca actually? In this episode, we follow the island from the Late Bronze Age into the Early Iron Age and compare Homer’s world with the archaeology beneath it. We look at Mycenaean remains, burials, imported objects, Aetos, Polis Cave, bronze tripod dedications and Ithaca’s connections with Kefalonia, Italy, the Adriatic and Cyprus. There is no great palace waiting for us on the island, but there is more than enough evidence to ask what kind of real society may sit behind Homer’s stories.

4. 

   10 Sept 2026

   Ur, and the Royal Death Pits

   Ur was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia, but some of its most remarkable remains come from beneath the ground. This episode follows the city through its early development and into the famous Royal Cemetery, where archaeologists uncovered extraordinary goldwork, weapons, musical instruments and burials involving dozens of people. We look at what these graves can actually tell us about kingship, religion, wealth and death in ancient Sumer, and why the so-called Royal Death Pits remain some of the strangest discoveries ever made in Mesopotamia.

5. 

   10 Sept 2026

   Uruk, and the Invention of the City

   Around 6,000 years ago, Uruk became something the world had never really seen before: a true city on an extraordinary scale. In this episode, we follow its growth from earlier Mesopotamian settlements into a vast urban center of temples, workshops, administration, trade and political power. We look at how Uruk functioned, why writing and large-scale bureaucracy emerged there, how its influence spread far beyond southern Mesopotamia, and what life may have looked like inside one of humanity’s earliest great cities.

6. 

   10 Sept 2026

   The Birth of Mesopotamia, From the First Settlements to the First Empire

   From the households of the Ubaid world to Uruk, the rival cities of Sumer and the empire of Sargon of Akkad, this full-length documentary follows the changing ways people organized work, worship, trade and political power in ancient Mesopotamia. Artifacts, maps and surviving texts accompany the journey from settlements to cities and kingdoms. Later legends are distinguished from contemporary evidence. CHAPTERS: 00:00 From Settlements To Empire 00:47 The Ubaid World 03:36 Households Before Cities 08:47 A World Connected 12:30 Toward Uruk 15:08 Uruk Before The City 18:49 The Fourth Millennium 23:55 The Sacred Precincts Of Uruk 29:44 The City That Had To Count 35:30 Work, Food And Power 38:41 The World Uruk Reached 42:56 The End Of The Uruk World 46:30 Cities And Their Rulers 48:53 The Kings Uruk Remembered 53:16 Enmebaragesi Of Kish 54:51 Me-Salim, King Of Kish 57:42 The House Of The Ruler 59:28 An Inherited Frontier 01:00:23 The Rival Cities Of Sumer 01:00:54 Uruk And Ur 01:04:00 Lagash And Umma 01:09:20 Urukagina And Lugalzagesi 01:12:39 Sargon Of Akkad 01:16:08 The Cupbearer 01:21:32 The Armies Of Sumer And Akkad 01:27:49 Fifty Rulers And One King 01:33:24 Akkad: The City That Ruled The Cities 01:37:20 The Roads Out Of Sumer 01:42:19 Enheduanna At Ur 01:47:22 Rimush And Rebellion 01:51:52 Manishtushu: Stone And Land 01:54:57 Naram-Sin And The Great Revolt 01:59:43 The God Of Agade 02:04:03 Shar-Kali-Sharri And The Unraveling 02:07:19 Drought And The Curse Of Agade 02:12:52 The Legacy Of The First Empire 02:17:27 Closing Thoughts SOURCES & FURTHER READING Guillermo Algaze, The Uruk World System. Robert A. Carter & Graham Philip (eds.), Beyond the Ubaid. Benjamin R. Foster, The Age of Agade. Douglas Frayne, Pre-Sargonic Period; Sargonic and Gutian Periods. Sophus Helle, Enheduana. Gwendolyn Leick, Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia; Sex and Eroticism in Mesopotamian Literature. Mario Liverani, Akkad: The First World Empire. M. E. L. Mallowan, The Development of Cities from Al-Ubaid to the End of Uruk 5. Béatrix Midant-Reynes, The Prehistory of Egypt. Hans J. Nissen, The Early History of the Ancient Near East, 9000–2000 B.C. Hans J. Nissen, Peter Damerow & Robert K. Englund, Archaic Bookkeeping. John Nicholas Postgate, Early Mesopotamia. Daniel T. Potts, The Archaeology of Elam. Walther Sallaberger & Aage Westenholz, Mesopotamien: Akkade-Zeit und Ur III-Zeit. Marc Van de Mieroop, The Ancient Mesopotamian City. David Wengrow, The Archaeology of Early Egypt. Joan Goodnick Westenholz, Legends of the Kings of Akkade. Uruk: 5000 Jahre Megacity. Stanley Mayer Burstein, Berossus/Berosus, the Chaldean. Kathleen Kuiper (ed.), Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest. Primary texts: https://ebl.lmu.de | https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk | https://www.penn.museum MUSIC: Sleep, Solace, Hymn To The Dawn, Reverie, Permafrost, Borealis, Cobalt, Meanwhile — Scott Buckley https://www.scottbuckley.com.au Released under CC BY 4.0. Peace of Mind, New Direction, Meditation Impromptu 01 — Kevin MacLeod https://incompetech.com Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Music uses edited excerpts, fades and level adjustments. Map credit: Simeon Netchev / World History Encyclopedia.

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