Synopsis:  Severus’ close friendship with Plautianus estranges him from his family.  In his final years, a rebellion in Britannia provides one last opportunity to shape his legacy.
“The contemporaries of Severus, in this enjoyment of the peace and glory of his reign, forgave the cruelties by which it had been introduced.  Posterity, who experienced the fatal effects of his maxims and example, justly considered him as the principal author of the decline of the Roman Empire.” – Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Volume 1, Chapter 5
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Episode B32 – The Fourth Caesar

LATEST SERIES: Carchemish (C Episodes) - tracing the life and death of the Neo-Hittite kingdoms; PREVIOUS SERIES: The Ancient World - from the earliest human civilizations down through 500 BC; Rediscovery (R Episodes) - the stories of the modern scholars and adventurers who rediscovered the ancient world; Bloodline (B Episodes) - tracing the descendants of Mark Antony and Cleopatra over ten generations; Thea (T Episodes) - tracing the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire

History

Society & Culture

Synopsis: Faced with a series of disloyal vassals, Sargon conquers the remaining Neo-Hittite kingdoms and absorbs them into his empire. The Cimmerian invasion of Anatolia leads to the deaths of two powerful kings. In their absence, the preservation of peace and stability falls to local rulers such as Azatiwadas of Quwe.
“I am Azatiwadas, the Sun God’s man, servant of Tarhunzas, whom Awariku, king of Adanawa, made great. Tarhunzas made me mother and father to Adanawa, and I caused Adanawa to prosper. I extended the plain of Adanawa on the one hand towards the west and on the other hand toward the east, and in my days Adanawa had all good things, plentiness, and luxury. I filled the Paharean granaries, and I made horse upon horse, and I made army upon army, and I made shield upon shield, all with the help of Tarhunzas and the gods.” – Bilingual (Luwian/Phoenician) inscription of Azatiwadas, late 8th/early 7th century BC, recovered from the stone gates of his fortress at Azatiwadaya (Karatape-Aslantas, Turkiye). 
Information on the Neo-Hittite fortress of Azatiwadaya (Karatepe-Aslantas, Turkiye):
https://www.hittitemonuments.com/karatepe/
Map of the Iron Age Near East:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Near_East.jpg
Map of Iron Age Anatolia:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Anatolia.jpg
Map of Iron Age Northern Syria:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Syria.jpg
Map of Iron Age Southern Syria and Canaan:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Canaan.jpg
List of Regional Kings:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C30_Kings_List.pdf
Episode Images:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C30_Images.pdf
References and Further Reading:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C30_References.pdf
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Episode C30 - The Death of Kings

Synopsis: Rusa of Urartu wins early victories against Assyrian armies, but his intrigues in the Zagros kingdom of Mannea earn him Sargon’s wrath. After a crushing defeat by Cimmerian invaders, Rusa’s unable to prevent Sargon’s destruction of his kingdom.
“I caused there to be lamentation in the wide land Urartu and in all the mountains, and I made Rusa, their king, use flint blades, razors (and) scalpels to slash himself in mourning for as long as he lived. I made Musasir part of the territory of Assyria and assigned it to the authority of a eunuch of mine, the palace herald. The awesome splendor of the god Assur, my lord, overwhelmed Rusa, the Urartian, and so with his own iron dagger he stabbed himself in the heart like a pig and put an end to his life.” – The Annals of Sargon II
Map of the Iron Age Near East:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Near_East.jpg
Map of the Iron Age Zagros Mountains:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Zagros_Enhanced.jpg
Episode Images:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C29_Images.pdf
References and Further Reading:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C29_References.pdf
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Episode C29 - City of the Raven

Synopsis: After defeating Syrian rebels at Qarqar and extending his dominion to the borders of Egypt, Sargon II labors to defend Tabal from the advances of Midas of Phrygia. Letters to Midas from Pisiri of Carchemish give Sargon a pretext to depose the Country Lord and annex his kingdom to Assyria.
“In my fifth regnal year, Pisiri of the city Carchemish sinned against the treaty sworn by the great gods and repeatedly sent messages hostile to Assyria to Midas, king of the land Musku; he held me in contempt. I threw (Pisiri), together with his family, in iron fetters. I opened his palace, his treasure house. I carried off as booty 10 talents of refined gold, (and) 2,100 talents of silver, (along with) arhu-copper, tin, iron, elephant hides, elephant ivory, battle-gear, and the guilty people among the city Carchemish who had sided with (Pisiri), along with their possessions, and brought them to Assyria. I conscripted 50 chariots, 200 cavalry and 3,000 foot soldiers from among them and added them to my royal military contingent. I settled Assyrians in the city Carchemish and imposed the yoke of the god Assur, my lord, upon them.” – The Annals of Sargon II
Map of the Iron Age Near East:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Near_East.jpg
Map of Iron Age Anatolia:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Anatolia.jpg
Map of Iron Age Northern Syria:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Syria.jpg
Map of Iron Age Southern Syria and Canaan:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Canaan.jpg
Regional Kings List:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C27_Kings_List.pdf
Episode Images:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C28_Images.pdf
References and Further Reading:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C28_References.pdf
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Episode C28 - The Fall of Carchemish

Synopsis: Shalmaneser V succeeds his father to the thrones of Assyria and Babylonia, then deals with rebellions in Samaria and Tyre. But his reign is cut short by the violent coup of Sargon II. After losing his hold on Babylonia, Sargon marches west to confront a Syrian alliance under Yaubidi of Hamath.
“With regard to the city Assur…Shalmaneser V, who did not revere the king of all the world, raised his hand against that city with evil intent…He oppressively imposed state service and corvee-duty upon its people and treated them as if they were of the lower class. At that time, the Enlil of the gods angrily overthrew his reign. As for me, Sargon…he exalted me and had me take hold of scepter, throne, and crown.” – The Assur Charter of Sargon II
Map of the Iron Age Near East:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Near_East.jpg
Map of Iron Age Anatolia:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Anatolia.jpg
Map of Iron Age Northern Syria:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Syria.jpg
Map of Iron Age Southern Syria and Canaan:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Canaan.jpg
Regional Kings List:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C27_Kings_List.pdf
Episode Images:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C27_Images.pdf
References and Further Reading:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C27_References.pdf
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Episode C27 - True King

Synopsis: Tiglath-pileser crushes rebellions in Patin and Luash and annexes their territories to Assyria. King Rasyan of Aram-Damascus forms a coalition of southern kingdoms - including Israel, Edom, Phoenicia and Philistia - to challenge Assyrian dominance, but betrayal by allies and the brutal tenacity of Tiglath-pileser lead to his kingdom’s downfall.
“I am Bar-Rakib the son of Panamuwa, king of Sam’al, servant of Tiglath-pileser the lord of the four quarters of the earth. Because of the righteousness of my father and my own righteousness, I was seated by my Lord Tiglath-pileser upon the throne of my father. The house of my father has profited more than anybody else, and I have been running at the wheel of my Lord, the king of Assyria, in the midst of mighty kings, possessors of silver and possessors of gold.” – Stele of King Bar-Rakib of Sam’al
Map of the Iron Age Near East:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Near_East.jpg
Map of Iron Age Northern Syria:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Syria.jpg
Map of Iron Age Southern Syria and Canaan:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/Map_Canaan.jpg
Regional Kings List:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C25_Kings_List.pdf
Episode Images:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C26_Images.pdf
References and Further Reading:
https://audio.ancientworldpodcast.com/C26_References.pdf
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Episode B32 – The Fourth Caesar

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