20. Persia - An Empire in Ashes

Fall of Civilizations Podcast

History

4.9 • 5.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 November 2025

⏱️ 329 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the highlands of the Iranian Plateau, a collection of enormous pillars reach up to the sky...In this episode, we tell the story of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Find out how this remarkable ancient power sprung up from the rubble of a ruined world to become the most powerful human society on earth. Hear how they raised their grand palaces and monuments, and brought an unprecedented number of people together within their borders, as well as coming into conflict and cooperation with other ancient peoples. And finally find out what happened to bring the palaces of the Persian kings crashing down in fire and flame.CREDITSVoice actors: Michael HajiantonisLachlan LucasAlexandra BoultonSimon JacksonTom Marshall-LeeChris HarveyJack JacobsNick DentonAmrit SandhuMatt BidulphPaul CasselleTim StephensonAmeen TaherReadings in Old Persian were performed byIn Spanish by Scott FinsAnd readings in Greek were performed by Dimitris ChavresSinging of the Zoroastrian gathas was performed by ArdalanThe Theme music is Home at Last by John BartmannSound design was by Alexey SibikinHistorical advisor was Dr. Mateen.M. Arghandehpour at the University of OxfordFull list of sources available here:

Transcript

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0:00.0	Sean has had some good ideas over the years, but using Canva was a really good one.
0:08.0	Sean designed some social posts to promote his friend's car boot sale.
0:13.0	They looked good, really, really good.
0:17.0	Next thing he knows, someone came and bought the lot, including the car.
0:24.5	Now Sean doesn't know how he's going to get home.
0:28.0	Thanks, Canva. In the year 1618, the Castilian Spaniard, Garcia de Silva i Figueroa, was traveling through the heartlands of Persia in what is today Iran.
0:59.2	By then, Figueroa was about 61 years of age, a venerable statesman who had set out from Spain
1:07.0	four years earlier as an ambassador from King Philip III.
1:14.5	His mission was to meet with the Shah of the Safavid Persian Empire, flatter and befriend him,
1:21.8	and encourage him to go to war with their common rival, the Ottoman Empire.
1:28.9	But Figueroa's embassy got off to a bad start.
1:34.8	When he arrived at the Shah's court, the Persian ruler tried to entertain his guest with a display
1:40.8	of dancing girls, but the aging and pious Spaniard was unimpressed.
1:48.2	Figueroa later wrote about what happened in his ambassador's report.
1:59.4	The king then told all those present that the Spanish ambassador, because of his advanced age, did not like watching dancing girls.
2:08.1	And turning to the ambassador, he said, it's no good trying to deceive us, leading us to believe that it is due to your virtue, when we know that the real reason is the impotence of your advanced
2:18.2	age.
2:19.5	At this, he and the other two ambassadors burst into laughter.
2:28.6	Now that he was an object of ridicule, Figueroa's diplomatic aims would also come to nothing, and he soon left
2:37.2	the Shah's court, despondent with his mission in ruins. The old Spaniard set out on the journey home,
2:46.1	but on his way he consoled himself by taking in some of the sites of the lands of Persia.
2:54.2	Traveling through the mountainous region of the Iranian plateau, he and his guides enjoyed the fruitful lands,
	...

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