{"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 Persian Gulf","slug":"the-persian-gulf","published_at":"2026-04-30T02:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722/the-persian-gulf","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-ancients-6975722","url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-ancients/episodes/the-persian-gulf","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/the-ancients/e/69eb7b1c13963c02434c67cc/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=x3ZAQrpxRbfBdp1DEiJCVlvQmZcIICgoG60Q_PtqgRY","summary":"Near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital commercial chokepoints, lies an ancient trade route that powered civilisation 4,000 years ago: the Persian Gulf - where goods and ideas flowed between the great cities of Mesopotamia, Arabia and beyond to the far flung cities of the Indus Valley and the Indian subcontinent. In this episode of The Ancients , Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Steffen Laursen and Dr Lloyd Weeks to uncover the story of this Bronze Age superhighway. How did this narrow sea connect such distant civilisations? What kinds of goods travelled its waters, and who controlled these vital routes? From the thriving Bahraini port of Dilmun to the wider networks beyond the Gulf, discover how this region became a crossroads of trade, culture and power, and why it still matters so much today. MORE Ea Nasir and the World's Oldest Letters: Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify The Romans and India: Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify 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. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe .   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Near the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital commercial chokepoints, lies an ancient trade route that powered civilisation 4,000 years ago: th…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3521,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-ancients-6975722/episodes/the-persian-gulf/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-persian-gulf.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}