The Hellenistic Age Podcast

As Rome consolidated the Mediterranean under their hegemony, the Parthians were poised to overrun Iran and Mesopotamia. Leading a small tribe from the steppes during the mid-third century B.C., the Arsacid dynasty established themselves as vassal-rulers in the Seleucid Empire, but the turmoil in Syria during the second century allowed the Arsacids to challenge the Seleucids for mastery over the Hellenistic Middle East. In this episode, we chronicle the origins of the Parthian Empire from its foundation to the reign of Mithridates I, exploring how the Arsacids forged a realm that they would oversee for nearly five hundred years.

Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/04/14/119-the-rise-of-the-parthian-empire-from-arsaces-to-mithridates-i/)

Episode Transcript:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/119-the-rise-of-the-parthian-empire-from-arsaces-to-mithridates-i-transcript.pdf)

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Andriscus' defeat in Macedonia was not enough to quell the troubles of Greece, as the Achaean League was also on the warpath. The relationship between Rome and the League since 167 had mostly been amicable, though not without controversy, and the more hawkish Achaeans looked to assert their autonomy by campaigning against the Spartans. This the Senate could not tolerate, and through the brief Achaean War and sack of Corinth in 146, the Romans made it clear that only they would be the ones to determine the destiny of Greece.

Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/03/25/118-graecia-capta-the-roman-conquest-of-greece/)

Episode Transcript:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/118-graecia-capta-the-roman-conquest-of-greece-transcript.pdf)

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Fifteen years after the last Antigonid ruler was deposed and the Macedonian kingdom abolished, a man by the name of Philip VI Andriscus claimed to be the lost heir of King Perseus. Though perceived as a charlatan, Andriscus gathered enough support to invade Macedonia in 150 and re-establish the monarchy. The brief Fourth Macedonian War (150-148) demanded the Senate's intervention, in turn leading to the establishment of a permanent Roman presence in the homeland of Alexander the Great.

Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/02/23/117-antigonid-macedon-the-vergina-sun-never-sets/)

Episode Transcript:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/117-antigonid-macedon-the-vergina-sun-never-sets-transcript.pdf)

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Though the Romans expected an easy fight, the Carthaginians put up a valiant defense of their city that dragged on for three years. With no progress being made, command is assigned to Scipio Aemilianus, the adopted grandson of the famed Scipio Africanus. Through his skilled generalship he finally achieves victory over Rome's Punic rivals, and the once-mighty nation that produced the likes of Hannibal Barca was destroyed nearly seven hundred years after its legendary foundation.

Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/02/08/116-the-third-punic-war-didos-lament/)

Episode Transcript:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/116-the-third-punic-war-didos-lament-transcript.pdf)

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“Carthage must be destroyed” – and with these words Cato the Elder doomed his North African rival by helping spark the Third Punic War, the last in a century of conflicts between Rome and Carthage. Deprived of its military in the aftermath of Zama and harassed by the Numidian king Massinissa, Carthage nevertheless managed to bounce back as an economic powerhouse during the first half of the second century B.C. Yet this recovery made the Senate suspicious of their Punic neighbor, which rapidly escalated into a war of annihilation as the Romans were determined to secure their position as sole master of the Mediterranean.

Episode Notes:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/01/20/115-the-third-punic-war-delenda-est/)

Episode Transcript:
(https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/115-the-third-punic-war-delenda-est-transcript.pdf)

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