Herodotus describes the strange land of Scythia, the great steppe with its nomadic horselords and fierce warriors before King Darius' invasion.

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Folk Round by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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The Magians have usurped the Persian throne but seven nobles will conspire to win it back and crown a King among their own.

Cambyses, son of Cyrus, King of Persia, turns his attention to the west, crossing the great desert and invading Egypt.

The priests of Egypt recount their Pharaohs from Min to Amasis, the fated king tasked with withstanding the coming Persian invasion.

Herodotus steps foot in the ancient land of the Nile and describes the people and culture as it was in his time.

From the fall of Croesus to the blood-soaked plains east of the Caspian: Cyrus mocks the Ionian Greeks, turns proud Lydians into harp-strumming shopkeepers, and storms the walls of Babylon.

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Lord of the Land by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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From scattered shepherds in the high Zagros to the ashes of Nineveh: the cunning rise of the Medes, the seven-ringed fortress of Ecbatana, and the birth of an empire.

Fulfilling a prophecy and refusing to die, and a man fulfills his destiny and claims his throne.

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Folk Round by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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The richest man who the Greeks ever knew meets the oracle that destroys him.

Herodotus begins his Histories with Croesus of Lydia: golden rivers, a doomed prophecy, and the first great clash between East and West.

The chapter that starts it all.

Episode 1 MUSIC

Folk Round by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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The very first history book ever written – read distilled as Herodotus wrote it 2,500 years ago.

In 440 BC, a curious traveler from Halicarnassus set out to preserve “the great and marvelous deeds of both the Greeks and barbarians” before they vanished from memory. What he produced is The Histories: nine books that sweep from the palaces of Lydia and the pyramids of Egypt to the nomad horsemen of Scythia and the epic war between the Greeks and the Persians.

Welcome to Tomes of the West – an epic journey through 2,500 years of Western history, beginning with the father of history himself, Herodotus. From the dawn of recorded inquiry to the present day, we’ll journey the epic long road of ideas, battles, discoveries, and revolutions that shaped our civilization. Join us as we open the great books, dust off the ancient voices, and follow the story of the West, one tome at a time.