{"podcast":{"title":"The Ancients","slug":"the-ancients-6975722","podcast_index_feed_id":6975722,"rss_url":"https://access.acast.com/rss/f2925f7a-eb08-471a-9958-387cb5ee6353/default","website_url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-ancients/episodes/alexander-the-greats-biggest-battles","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/6215f9e74b795a6299fd3b58/1688118301033-5d81dbbb93ddec91bc01fee4bb292511.jpeg","author":"History Hit","episode_count":642,"summary":"A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from antiquity. From Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome. Hosted by Tristan Hughes. New episodes every Sunday and Thursday. From History Hit, the world's best history channel and creators of award-winning podcasts Dan Snow's History Hit, Gone Medieval, and Betwixt the Sheets. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T12:17:09.355963+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722"},"episode":{"title":"The Library of Alexandria","slug":"the-library-of-alexandria","published_at":"2026-06-21T02:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722/the-library-of-alexandria","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722","url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-ancients/episodes/the-library-of-alexandra","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/the-ancients/e/6a316da55116a1ae69cb420a/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=pEa-hpMcezm39jxNEgpvsCSWXkKvaWVQHR-RPoeXoD4","summary":"The Library of Alexandria was one of the most important and most celebrated buildings of the ancient Mediterranean. It was a great hub of learning and literature and made Alexandria one of the ancient world’s foremost centres of knowledge and culture. But when was it built? And where did all the books come from? Tristan Hughes speaks to Dr. Islam Issa about the story behind one of histories greatest libraries. Together they explore why Alexandria’s reigning dynasty - the Ptolemies - were so obsessed with acquiring knowledge and uncover whether it really did burn down in a great fire. MORE The Lighthouse of Alexandria Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Ptolemy I: The First Greek Pharaoh Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify We're going on *TOUR* to Australia and New Zealand! - grab your tickets here . Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff. All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds The Ancients is a History Hit podcast. Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week, PLUS early access, ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe .   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"The Library of Alexandria was one of the most important and most celebrated buildings of the ancient Mediterranean. It was a great hub of learning and lit…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2550,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ancients-6975722/episodes/the-library-of-alexandria/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722/the-library-of-alexandria.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}