The Hellenistic Age Podcast

Starting from the early third century B.C., the Nabataean kingdom ruled over much of the Levant from the Sinai Peninsula to the Hejaz. Most known for their famous rose-colored capital city of Petra, the Nabataeans occupied a unique position within the eastern Mediterranean for nearly five hundred years, competing with the Hellenistic, Hasmonean, and Herodian kingdoms. Yet they also acted as a stabilizing force for the so-called "Incense Road", leaving behind brilliant rock-cut monuments like al-Khazneh ("The Treasury"). Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/12/20/114-the-nabataean-kingdom/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/114-the-nabataean-kingdom-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

Civil war continues to grip the Seleucid Empire, as Alexander I Balas is challenged by the young Demetrius II for the throne of Syria. Things come to a head when Ptolemy VI, tied by marriage to Balas through his daughter Cleopatra Thea, launches an invasion of Coele Syria. In August 145 BC, the armies of Demetrius, Alexander, and Ptolemy meet at the Oenoparus River in a showdown whose outcome will surprise everyone involved. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/111-the-seleucid-empire-the-elephant-in-the-throne-room/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/113-the-war-of-the-three-kings-transcript.pdf) Family Tree - Antiochus IV to Alexander I (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reign-of-antiochus-iv-to-alexander-i.pdf) Family Tree - Ptolemy VI (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/reign-of-ptolemy-vi.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

The newly enthroned Demetrius I Soter managed to instill a degree of order throughout the Seleucid realm, crushing the would-be king Timarchos in Babylonia and the rebellion of Judas Maccabee. Yet his behavior abroad alienated many of the other kings like Attalus II of Pergamon and Ptolemy VI, who in turn bankrolled the ambitions of another Seleucid usurper: Alexander Balas, the (supposed) lost son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/11/05/112-the-seleucid-empire-breaking-the-hammer/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/112-the-seleucid-empire-breaking-the-hammer-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

With Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ death in Persia, the throne passed to the boy-king Antiochus V Eupator and his standing regent Lysias in 164. Between the Maccabean Revolt, would-be usurpers, and arrogant Roman emissaries, few of the kingdom’s subjects had faith in the ruling pair. This was sensed by Prince Demetrius, the son of Seleucus IV held hostage in Rome, who escaped captivity with the aid of Polybius of Megalopolis and returned to Syria to reclaim his birthright. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/10/14/111-the-seleucid-empire-the-elephant-in-the-throne-room/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/111-the-seleucid-empire-the-elephant-in-the-throne-room-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)

In the aftermath of the Sixth Syrian War, the tripartite division of authority between Ptolemy VI , Cleopatra II, and Ptolemy VIII was a tenuous one at best, having to deal with rebellions of ambitious courtiers and disgruntled subjects. On top of this, the two brothers schemed for control over the Egyptian kingdom, and through their manipulations brought the intervention of the Roman Senate to handle one of the most dysfunctional families in all of antiquity. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2025/09/20/110-ptolemaic-egypt-twos-company-threes-a-crowd/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/110-ptolemaic-egypt-twos-company-threes-a-crowd-transcript.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/hellenisticpod.bsky.social) Show Merchandise: Etsy (https://www.etsy.com/shop/HellenisticAgePod) Redbubble (https://www.redbubble.com/people/HellenisticPod/shop?asc=u) Donations: Patreon (https://patreon.com/TheHellenisticAgePodcast) Ko-Fi (https://ko-fi.com/hellenisticagepodcast) Amazon Book Wish List (https://tinyurl.com/vfw6ask)