Oldest Stories

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.

  1. 6 days ago ·  Bonus

    The Bottom of the Mesopotamia Iceberg

    An examination of the deepest level of the Ancient Mesopotamia iceberg, commonly labeled "Theories and Speculative Ideas." The video reviews each claim against primary sources from Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria, including cuneiform tablets, excavation reports, and geological data, to demonstrate how historical method evaluates extraordinary claims. Coverage includes: Ancient Astronauts and the Annunaki: the origin of the theory in Zecharia Sitchin, what the Akkadian term actually means in Mesopotamian religion, and the evidential standards for alien contact claims. Great Flood myths: comparison of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Genesis, and other flood traditions with evidence for Persian Gulf and Black Sea inundations. Gilgamesh's tomb discovered in 2003: the Uruk excavation, the Iraq War interruption, and why no inscription links the tomb to the historical king. Hanging Gardens location: the case for Nineveh and Dur-Sharrukin, Archimedes screw technology by 700 BC, and why Babylon remains plausible. Nimrud Lens and Saturn's rings: what the 3x quartz lens can and cannot do, and the absence of telescopic astronomy in Assyrian records. Annunaki gold-mining slaves: the actual Mesopotamian creation motive of humans as laborers for the gods versus modern reinterpretations. Abraham from Ur: the biblical text, the Amorite migrations circa 2000 BCE, and the northern vs southern Ur debate. Sumerian King List long reigns: hundreds of thousands of years, symbolic numbers, and attempts at dynastic or calendrical readings. Sumerian origins: language isolate status, the Persian Gulf marsh hypothesis, and pre-flood settlement theories. Nibiru and the 12th planet: claims of hidden planets in tablets and the current state of translation work. 4.2 kiloyear event: climate data and its role in the fall of the Akkadian Empire alongside Gutian pressure. Structures beneath Eridu: the E-Abzu temple's 18 rebuild phases and what lies under ziggurat foundations. Linguistic fringe theories: proposed links between Sumerian and Turkic, Hungarian, Elamite, and Dravidian. Meluhha trade network: Indus Valley contacts, Neo-Assyrian memory loss, and claims of an Ethiopia-to-India empire. Nuclear war dark ages: why nuclear events leave unmistakable geological signatures Sumerian copper from Lake Michigan: sourcing from Cyprus and Iran versus New World contact hypotheses. Sacred marriage as genetic experiment: Ishtar priestess rituals and kingship legitimation. Ur III bala system as socialism: command economy, ration payments, and modern ideological projections. King List as doomsday calendar, Nam-Shub virus, 676 BC simulation, and Enki vs Enlil secret societies: modern fiction, numerology, and conspiracy narratives The purpose is not to ridicule speculation, but to show what counts as evidence in early Mesopotamian studies, where the limits of knowledge currently lie, and what kind of discovery would be required to reopen closed questions. Keywords: ancient Mesopotamia, Sumerian history, Akkadian Empire, Babylon, Assyria, Annunaki explained, ancient aliens debunked, Sumerian King List, Gilgamesh tomb 2003, Nibiru 12th planet, Hanging Gardens Nineveh, Nimrud lens, flood myth, 4.2 kiloyear event, Mesopotamia iceberg

    52 min

  2. 17 Jun

    Sennacherib Builds a Paradise in Nineveh

    Sennacherib is remembered as one of the most powerful kings of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, but his greatest legacy may not have been conquest. It was Nineveh: a rebuilt imperial capital of canals, gardens, temples, walls, lamassu, and the famous Palace Without Rival. In this episode of Oldest Stories, we look at Sennacherib’s engineering innovations and his massive transformation of Nineveh in the late 8th and early 7th centuries BCE. Unlike many earlier Assyrian kings, Sennacherib did not focus primarily on expanding the borders of the empire. Instead, he poured the wealth, labor, and power of Assyria into construction, urban planning, waterworks, palace architecture, royal gardens, and monumental art. We explore the building of the Palace Without Rival, the reshaping of Nineveh’s streets and walls, the canal systems that watered the city, the possible connection between Assyrian royal gardens and later stories of the Hanging Gardens, and the way Sennacherib used architecture to express kingship, divine favor, imperial control, and personal ambition. This is the story of an Assyrian king who turned the machinery of empire toward building one of the most impressive cities of the ancient world. Music from the show: oldeststories.net/music (or search "Oldest Stories Music") Support the show: Books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS Donate: oldeststories.net Patreon / YouTube members get bonus episodes: patreon.com/JamesBleckley No-AI readings of ancient texts: youtube.com/@osnightreading

    39 min

  3. 3 Jun

    Lachish and How an Assyrian Siege Worked

    Its the siege of Lachish, but also a much more wide ranging explanation of Assyrian siegecraft more generally. Including how it was recognizably modern and, in many ways, responsible for modernity.

    52 min

  4. 6 May

    Sennacherib vs Hezekiah in 701 BCE: Isaiah and the Battle of Eltekeh

    In 701 BCE, Assyrian king Sennacherib launched his western campaign against Judah, bringing him into direct conflict with King Hezekiah and the political counsel of the prophet Isaiah. The decisive field battle of that year was not at Jerusalem, but at Eltekeh, where Assyrian troops defeated an Egyptian and Kushite force sent to support the rebellious Philistine city of Ekron. This episode reconstructs the full 701 campaign from Assyrian annals and biblical accounts, beginning with the minor 702 operations in the Zagros mountains against Zamua, Parsua, and Ellipi, then following Sennacherib to the Phoenician coast. We cover the flight of Luli, king of Tyre, to Cyprus, the installation of Itobaal at Sidon, and the submission of eight Levantine rulers from Ashdod, Byblos, Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Arwad. We then turn to Philistia: the internal coup at Ashkelon, the Ekronite revolt that handed King Padi over to Hezekiah, and Sennacherib's restoration of Padi after the victory at Eltekeh. The episode explains why Jerusalem faced only a blockade rather than a full siege, examines Isaiah's advice against an Egyptian alliance, and considers the logistical, political, and possible epidemiological reasons Sennacherib withdrew with massive tribute but without taking the city. Music from the show: oldeststories.net/music (or search "Oldest Stories Music") Support the show: Books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS Donate: oldeststories.net Patreon / YouTube members get bonus episodes: patreon.com/JamesBleckley No-AI readings of ancient texts: youtube.com/@osnightreading

    45 min

  5. 22 Apr

    Babylon Had It Coming

    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.net In 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 kingship Death 2: the Hittite sack of 1595 BCE and decades of abandonment The Kassite revival, when Babylon became the world's university town, exporting doctors and diviners instead of armies The humiliations under Tukulti-Ninurta I, the Elamite sack that stole Marduk, and Nebuchadnezzar I's brief martial comeback The 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 691 We 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/7Wn4jhS Donate: oldeststories.net Patreon / YouTube members get bonus episodes: patreon.com/JamesBleckley No-AI readings of ancient texts: youtube.com/@osnightreading

    1hr 3min

  6. 8 Apr

    Sennacherib's Inheritance

    Sennacherib is remembered in the Bible as a villain, the Assyrian king who invaded Judah and stood against Jerusalem. But that reputation, like his father Sargon’s as a world conqueror, may be misleading. Beneath the image of the tyrant is a ruler who was unusually patient, deeply pious, and more interested in building than destroying. In this episode of Oldest Stories, we enter the Sargonid period of the Neo-Assyrian Empire and examine the life and character of Sennacherib. Raised not as a destined king but as a highly educated noble, Sennacherib emerges as a scholar-prince shaped by scribal learning, administration, and religious devotion. Unlike many Assyrian rulers, his early career shows little involvement in military campaigns and instead reveals a man deeply embedded in the machinery of empire. We also explore the transformation of Assyria under Sargon II and his predecessors, including the rise of centralized administration, the expansion of provincial governance, and the increasing role of eunuch officials in managing imperial bureaucracy. This was a turning point in Near Eastern history, where older systems of vassal relationships gave way to a more structured and enduring imperial model. At the heart of the episode is the shocking death of Sargon II in 705 BC. His defeat in Tabal, and the failure to recover his body, triggered a crisis not just of leadership but of theology. In the ancient Near East, an unburied king was not merely a tragedy—it was a sign of divine judgment. Sennacherib’s response, preserved in fragments of a text known as The Sin of Sargon, reveals a ruler attempting to understand the will of the gods through systematic divination, ritual purification, and personal introspection. From the abandonment of Dur-Sharrukin to the rise of Nineveh as imperial capital, this episode traces how Sennacherib stabilized a shaken empire and laid the groundwork for the great scholar-kings who would follow, including Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. His reign marks a shift away from relentless expansion toward consolidation, administration, and monumental construction—developments that would shape the final century of Assyrian dominance. This is the story of a king caught between fear and order, between divine wrath and imperial responsibility, and of an empire learning how to govern itself at scale. Like the songs at the end of the episodes? Check out the Oldest Stories Album about Mesopotamian History here: https://oldeststories.wordpress.com/2026/04/08/oldest-stories-music-page/ Or search Oldest Stories or Oldest Stories Music on your favorite music platform. If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially: Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/ or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content produced when and as I have time.

    38 min

  7. 25 Mar

    The Doom of Sargon II

    This episode examines the final major campaign of Sargon II of Assyria (reigned 722–705 BCE) and the long conflict with the Chaldean ruler Marduk-apla-iddina II (Merodach-Baladan) for control of Babylonia. Early in Sargon’s reign the Neo-Assyrian king suffered a serious defeat near the city of Der when an Elamite army intervened in support of the Babylonian revolt. The loss allowed Merodach-Baladan, leader of the Bit-Yakin Chaldean tribe, to claim the throne of Babylon and rule much of southern Mesopotamia for roughly a decade. After spending many years campaigning on other frontiers of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Sargon finally returned to Babylonia in a major campaign around 709 BCE. The episode explores the political and military situation in southern Mesopotamia at the time, including the complex relationships between Babylonian cities, Chaldean tribes, Aramean groups, and the kingdom of Elam. Evidence from Assyrian royal inscriptions and administrative texts suggests that Sargon relied not only on military force but also on diplomacy and internal divisions within Babylonia, encouraging cities and tribes to abandon Merodach-Baladan before the main Assyrian army arrived. The campaign ultimately led to Sargon’s entry into Babylon, where he participated in the important Akitu New Year festival and symbolically “took the hands of the god Marduk,” an act that confirmed his legitimacy in the traditional Babylonian religious system. However, the war continued in the far south in the marshlands of the Sealand, where Merodach-Baladan and the Bit-Yakin tribe attempted to resist from fortified settlements such as Dur-Yakin. The episode discusses the difficult fighting in the marshy terrain of southern Mesopotamia, the role of tribal auxiliaries and archers, and the logistical challenges faced by Assyrian forces during prolonged sieges and campaigns in the river delta. Although Sargon ultimately regained control of Babylon and forced Merodach-Baladan into exile, the political situation remained fragile. In the final years of his reign Sargon governed Babylonia personally while continuing to oversee construction of his new royal capital at Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad). The episode concludes with the unexpected end of Sargon’s career when he was killed during a campaign in Tabal in Anatolia in 705 BCE, an event that shocked the Assyrian world and had lasting consequences for imperial politics and religious interpretation of his reign. Topics discussed in this episode include Sargon II, the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Babylonian history, Merodach-Baladan, Chaldean tribes, Elam, Assyrian military campaigns, Dur-Yakin, the Sealand of southern Mesopotamia, the Akitu festival, Dur-Sharrukin, and the political transition to the reign of Sennacherib. Like the songs at the end of the episodes? Check out the Oldest Stories Album about Mesopotamian History here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/oldeststoriesmusic/oldest-stories-vol-1 Or also at your favorite music distributor, probably. If you like the show, consider sharing with your friends, leaving a like, subscribing, or even supporting financially: Buy the Oldest Stories books: https://a.co/d/7Wn4jhS Donate here: https://oldeststories.net/ or on patreon: https://patreon.com/JamesBleckley or on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCG2tPxnHNNvMd0VrInekaA/join Youtube and Patreon members get access to bonus content produced when and as I have time.

    34 min

  8. 18 Mar ·  Bonus

    AI and History

    How does one "do" history, and can an AI do it? The answers:1. You don't "do" history, you feel it.2. AI can do the actions of history, but it can't feel it.Bonus rant: I never liked the idea that the point of history is to learn from the past. Yes, there is learning to be done, that can be both useful and fun, but I feel that this reduces history to something less than it is in practice. And indeed, think about your own consumption of history, how often are you learning valuable lessons compared to how often you are simply experiencing the unique feeling of exploring the wider cosmos and seeing both your place within it and your connection with ancestors and the web of human connection? My bet is that the majority of it is the latter. And, indeed, I would suggest that much of the satisfaction of fiction, particularly world-exploring fiction like sci-fi and fantasy, is an artificially heightened version of the satisfaction you would have gotten from studying real history, the way hentai girlfriends are artificially heightened versions of real women with the unpleasant bits shaved off - those unpleasant bits are often the parts that are most meaningful. If history is a feeling, it is one we don't have much vocabulary for. But it is not one that can be replicated by robots, because it intrinsically resists optimization and completeness. It isn't just a push on the dopamine lever like a gatcha game. It is a textured thing, a feeling that encompasses more than the experience of experiencing it.

    21 min
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    James Bleckley
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    234
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © James Bleckley
  • Show Website
    Oldest Stories

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