The ancient world was full of wonders. Engineering marvels like the Great Wall of China and Stonehenge. Remarkable peoples like the Aztecs, the Romans and the Mongols. Infamous leaders such as Cleopatra, Julius Caesar and Herod the Great. Inventors, explorers, builders, pioneers and philosophers who shaped the world we live in today. Welcome to Ancient Civilisations - the podcast that takes you back in time to discover the ancient world, one story at a time. A Noiser production, narrated by Paul McGann and John Hopkins. As featured on Short History Of... and Real Dictators. Noiser+ members get ad-free listening, exclusive content, and early access to new episodes across the Noiser podcast network. Click the subscription banner at the top of the feed to get started. Or go to noiser.com/subscriptions. No part of this podcast may be used or reproduced in any manner for the purpose of training artificial intelligence technologies or systems. In accordance with Article 4(3) of the DSM Directive 2019/790, Noiser Ltd expressly reserves this work from the text and data mining exception.
42 episodes transcribedFor almost two hundred years, the Knights Templar were one of the most fearsome military forces in the world. Despite their strict vows of individual...
Sakkara, Egypt, 2,630BC. A man stands atop a structure of dizzying height as the final block grinds into place. For Imhotep, it is the culmination of...
After a bloody battle on September 22nd, 1877, Saigo Takamori and his loyal warriors pause on a hillside overlooking Kagoshima. They’ll never surrende...
"What happens when a volcano erupts just six miles from a bustling city? In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius is regarded as a source of bounty by those who live i...
Take a trip back in time to Ancient Rome, to discover the bizarre and barbaric world of the gladiators. But who were these mysterious warriors? And ho...
For over six hundred years the Ottoman Empire ruled swathes of the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Europe. As an Islamic superpower centred on...
For a little over 200 years, the First Persian Empire ruled over a vast expanse across three continents, making it arguably the world’s first great su...
The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a testament to human ingenuity and architectural brilliance. Built in the third century BC on the small island of Pha...
After its initial discovery in 1974, the Terracotta Army became the unofficial eighth wonder of the world. Comprising an estimated 8,000 statue warrio...
We track Attila’s progress as he rampages through Gaul. A family bust-up sparks an extraordinary alliance, as Attila gets engaged to the Roman Emperor...
We’re in south-eastern Europe in the 400s AD. The once mighty Roman Empire is riven in two. And on the Great Hungarian Plain a fearsome enemy is risin...
The discovery at Sutton Hoo of the ship burial of an Anglo-Saxon king and his lavish treasure is one of the greatest archaeological finds on English s...
Though he ruled for just 13 years, Alexander the Great is as famed for his hedonistic lifestyle as his military genius. But how did he become one of t...
The Great Wall of China is one of the architectural wonders of the world. Stretching for over 21,000km - as far as London to New York and back, twice...
The leader brings reforms to his newly unified Mongol nation. The man formerly known as Temüjin will now conquer an empire bigger than any before in r...
We're in the Mongol lands of Central Asia in the late 1100s. This is a place of nomadic warriors, a region divided between tribes. But one man will em...
In 1799, French soldiers in Egypt unearthed what would become one of the world’s most famous artefacts. After a desperate race to decipher its symbols...
Since the arrival of the Aztecs in central Mexico from the early 1300s, history has been fascinated by them. They’re widely reputed to be a savage peo...
While the Roman Republic was still in its infancy, the Greek city-state of Athens rose from the ruins of war with the Persians to become the most beau...
In November 1922, in Egypt's Valley of the Kings, a young water boy called Hussein Abdul Rasoul makes a remarkable discovery. A set of stone steps lie...
