The History of Egypt
Ancient Egypt, from Creation to Cleopatra. This podcast tells the story of pharaonic Egypt "in their own words." Using archaeology, ancient texts, and up-to-date scholarship, we uncover the world of the Nile Valley and its people. Hosted on the Airwave Media Network.
Episodes
September 11, 2025 • 36 mins
The war of the words. Following his strategic defeat at Kadesh, Ramesses set about putting his version of the story into wide circulation. Today, art and texts of this conflict survive at the temples of Abu Simbel, Karnak, Luxor, Abydos, and the Ramesseum. Among those texts, we have the “Literary Record” or “Kadesh Poem.” A lengthy, dramatised version of the events, painting Ramesses as the great hero. In this episode, I introduce ...
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September 4, 2025 • 94 mins
Why is the Battle of Kadesh so famous, compared to other ancient conflicts? What can we take away from Ramesses' account in terms of "truth" vs "rhetoric." And what did it all up to, really? Prof. Peter Brand returns to discuss the battle in great detail, from the blow-by-blow moments to the larger strategic and political context. Along the way, we learn why Ramesses is like Rambo, and take a whimsical visit to medieval Bohemia...
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August 28, 2025 • 46 mins
Who won? In the aftermath of battle, Ramesses and Muwattalli withdrew from Kadesh. We discuss the short- and long-term fallout and consider the "score card" for the respective armies. Then, we spend time with the wounded soldiers, using the Edwin Smith Papyrus to understand diagnoses and treatments used by ancient Egyptian physicians (swnw). Finally, we explore a curious hypothesis, suggesting that Ramesses practiced a form of "de...
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August 21, 2025 • 16 mins
Howdy folks. In lieu of a narrative episode this week (while I recover from the quadruple-length Battle of Kadesh), I wanted to alert you to an interview I did for the Autocrat podcast (available on Spotify, YouTube, and the Autocrat website). In a lengthy conversation, we explore the full gamut of Egyptian history from the Creation, through Pharaonic era, the Late Bronze Age Collapse, and up to the Roman Empire in Egypt (and the "...
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August 15, 2025 • 119 mins
In June of 1287 BCE (approximately), one of antiquity’s great conflicts unfolded in southern Syria. Meeting near Kadesh (Qidsha), the armies of Egypt and Hatti fought each other in a spectacular engagement. The events of that battle are recorded, somewhat grandiosely, by Ramesses II in temple art and extended hieroglyph narratives. With those as our foundation, we explore the most dramatic day in the young pharaoh’s life.
CHAPTERS...
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August 8, 2025 • 50 mins
Ramesses, Muwattalli, and the Trojans(?). In June of 1287 BCE, the Great Kings of Hatti and Egypt were on the verge of a major confrontation. Ramesses, marching across Sinai and into Canaan, made careful preparations for his assault on Kadesh. Alas, even the best-planned campaign could not be hidden from a watchful enemy. In Hatti, Muwattalli II sent calls to his vassals, summoning them to fight. The Hittite army, and its allies, i...
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August 1, 2025 • 32 mins
Preparing for Kadesh. In 1287 BCE (late in his fifth regnal year) King Ramesses II departed Egypt on campaign. His target? The city of Kadesh / Qidsha in southern Syria. The Kadesh campaign is famous, as one of history’s “great battles.” Today, we “set the scene,” and explore the preparations for this war. We have a surprisingly detailed picture of this, thanks to inscriptions, art, and excavations. From a new royal city, Pi-Ramess...
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July 25, 2025 • 49 mins
Leading up to the Battle of Kadesh (c.1287 BCE) betwen Ramesses II of Egypt and Muwatalli II of Hatti, we need to understand the background. Why was this city the epicentre of such a major conflict? How did the rulers of Kadesh (Kadeshians?) persistently frustrate pharaohs dating back two centuries to Thutmose III (c.1480 BCE). Today, Prof. Peter Brand (University of Memphis) gives us the details...
Learn more about Ramesses and K...
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July 17, 2025 • 14 mins
We learn how to insult someone in ancient Egyptian, based on the surviving texts...
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July 11, 2025 • 67 mins
Heart of Darkness at Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. Far from the Nile Valley, on Egypt’s northern coastline, Ramessid soldiers and civilians constructed a significant fortress to control the maritime roads. This remote garrison faced off against Libyan tribes coming from the far west (e.g. the Meshwesh of Cyrenaica), traded with Mediterranean merchants, possibly dealt with marauding pirates and Sea Peoples, and built a life for themselves ...
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July 3, 2025 • 14 mins
Explicit content. There's a factoid floating around on the internet. It claims that, to ensure fertility and good harvest, pharaohs would annually masturbate into the River Nile. This claim is total bubkis, but where did it come from? Which deities and myths were most closely associated with such concepts? In this mini episode, we explore the factoid and its potential origins.
Great gods of fertility and Creation:
Allen, J. P...
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June 26, 2025 • 20 mins
Hapi was Egypt. The life-giving waters of the annual flood (inundation) were his work; and thanks to these waters, Egypt flourished, its people were fed, the gods received their offerings, and the social order was maintained. From the New Kingdom, papyrus and ostraca record songs/poems to the river god, called "Praise (dua) of Hapi." From the days of Ramesses II, we also have elaborate proclamations to the god and his blesings...
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June 19, 2025 • 40 mins
What did ancient Egyptians like to smell? Did they use any narcotics in their day to day lives? And what do mummified bodies smell like? Today, I'm pleased to welcome Dora Goldsmith to the podcast.
Dora Goldsmith is a PhD-candidate at the Freie Universitat in Berlin, Germany. Specialising in ancient smellscapes, Dora explores how the ancient Egyptians perceived and described the scent of their world. Along the way, Dora introduces...
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June 16, 2025 • 3 mins
We're joining YouTube! After many years of on-off effort, I'm finally putting podcast episodes in video form up on my YouTube channel.
Also, a quick update on the narrative as a I prepare the Battle of Kadesh...
Follow us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@ancientegypthist
Massive thanks to Amr Saleh for taking on the editing duties. I hope you'll all join us on an exciting journey to bring more ancient Egypt to you(tube).
...
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June 10, 2025 • 12 mins
Hello everyone, it’s that time again! In March of 2026, we’re offering a new itinerary in the Nile Valley. This one is called the New Kingdom Cruise. It lasts for ten days, with a special focus on the south, the monuments of Elephantine (Aswan) and Lake Nasser. We ride a cruise boat, organised by Ancient World Tours, and visit monuments of Thutmose III, Sety I, Ramesses II, and even the Roman Emperors.
For bookings follow this li...
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June 5, 2025 • 30 mins
Ramesses II defends his borders. In the early years of his reign, Ramesses focussed on home defence. His army established new forts at remote locations along the western Delta and Mediterranean Coast (Marmarica). Traces of this work can be found at famous locations like el-Alamein, Mersa Matruh, and Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham, the latter of which has been the object of detailed excavation in recent decades. Apparently, Ramesses was fort...
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June 3, 2025 • 52 mins
Fellow podcaster Scott Chesworth, from The Ancient World has a new season. I’m excited to introduce “The Ancient World – Ages”, a series covering the Early Bronze Age Collapse (c. 2200 BC) and the remaking of Southwest Eurasia.
In this feed swap, you’ll hear episode A3 – The Kings of Kish. It covers the period c.2900 BCE and 2350 BCE, also known as the Early Dynastic Period in Sumer. A time of kings, emerging from legends. Figures...
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May 30, 2025 • 29 mins
Ramesses goes back to school. Luxor Temple is a magnificent monument, in a city full of them. The sanctuary you visit today is, in large part, the work of Ramesses' early reign. New pylons, colossal statues, obelisks, and dedicatory texts provide the testament to the young pharaoh's work. Exploring these, we also get a surprising insight into temple archives and educational facilities, embodied in the Per-Ankh / House of Life...
O...
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May 16, 2025 • 24 mins
Delta raiders. Decades before their famous migrations, the "Sea Peoples" were already active and visible in the eastern Mediterranean; and Ramesses II had his own dealings with these groups. In year 2 of his reign, Ramesses II (Usir-Ma'at-Ra) dealt with a coastal raid by the Sherden, who came from the "islands in the midst" of the sea (which the Egyptians called the "Great Green"). The battle, and its aftermath, is referenced in se...
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May 9, 2025 • 90 mins
The new royal tomb, and how two 18th Dynasty rulers defined the "New Kingdom" as we know it. Prof. Aidan Dodson is a dedicated and prolific scholar, whose research covers many facets of ancient Egyptian history (and even WW1 warships!) His latest book, Thutmose III & Hatshepsut: Pharaohs of Egypt - Their Lives and Afterlives looks at how these two monarchs, and their followers, defined many of the aspects of "pharaonic culture" as ...
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