Ancient Civilizations: Lost Worlds of the Past

Episode 88: The Ancient Kingdom of Colchis — Homeland of the Golden Fleece separates the legend of Jason and the Argonauts from the historical civilization of western Georgia. The episode explores Colchian metallurgy, goldworking, agriculture, Greek trade, Vani, and later political change under Pontic and Roman influence. It also examines the theory that animal skins may have been used to collect river gold, while making clear that this remains a hypothesis rather than proven fact. Behind the myth, Colchis emerges as a wealthy and distinctive civilization at the crossroads of the Caucasus and the Black Sea.

Episode 87: The Kingdom of Aksum — Africa’s Ancient Superpower explores the state that flourished in the northern Horn of Africa and connected inland Africa with the Red Sea and Indian Ocean trading worlds. The episode examines Adulis, monumental stelae, Aksumite coinage, the conversion to Christianity under King Ezana, involvement in Arabia, and the kingdom’s links with Byzantium and early Islam. Its decline was gradual, but its religious and political legacy shaped the region for centuries.

Episode 86: The Elamites — Persia Before Persia explores one of the oldest civilizations of the ancient Near East. Centered on Susa, Anshan, and southwestern Iran, Elam developed complex states, religious traditions, writing systems, and diplomatic networks long before the rise of the Persian Empire. The episode examines Proto-Elamite writing, Chogha Zanbil, Elamite religion and art, conflicts with Mesopotamia and Assyria, and the destruction of Susa. It also explores how Elamite administrative traditions survived into the Achaemenid Persian period. Rather than being merely a civilization that came before Persia, Elam was a powerful and enduring culture with its own long history and lasting legacy.

Episode 85: The Nabataeans Beyond Petra — Masters of the Desert explores the wider civilization behind Petra, including caravan trade, water engineering, desert agriculture, religion, writing, and centers such as Hegra and Bosra. It also examines their relationship with Rome and the annexation of the kingdom in AD 106. The Nabataeans emerge not as mysterious builders of one lost city, but as a resilient desert civilization shaped by trade, engineering, and cultural flexibility.

Episode 84: The Sogdians — The Merchants of the Silk Road explores the Iranian-speaking people of Central Asia who became major intermediaries across the Silk Road. Centered around cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara, and Panjikent, Sogdian merchants created communities across Central Asia and China, moving goods, information, religions, and diplomatic contacts between distant societies. The episode examines the Ancient Letters, Sogdian settlements in China, their role in trade and diplomacy, their language, religious diversity, and the remarkable murals of Samarkand and Panjikent. Although conquest and cultural change eventually ended their distinct political identity, the Sogdians helped connect East and West for centuries.