The French Revolution set Europe ablaze.

It was an age of Enlightenment and progress, but also of tyranny and depression.

It was an age of glory and an age of tragedy.

One man stood above it all. This was the Age of Napoleon. I'm Everett Rummage, host of the

Age of Napoleon podcast. Join me as I examined the life and times of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic characters in modern history.

Look for the age of Napoleon wherever you find your podcasts.

Four hundred years ago, a trio of tiny kingdoms were perched on some damp islands off the coast of Europe.

Within three short centuries, these islands would become the center of an empire which ruled a quarter of the

globe and on which the sun never set. I'm Samuel Hume, a historian of the superpower. Hi, I'm Scott Chesworth, and welcome to the ancient world.

Episode 17, the Fall of Israel.

In the few short centuries since their founding, the Hebrew kingdoms of Israel and Judah had carved out a prominent place among the states of the

Iron Age near East. Their unique blending of ancient Canaanite culture with

the traditions of wandering desert tribes resulted in perpetual tension

between the worshippers of Canaanite deities and those of Yahweh.

And their alliances and conflicts with neighboring kingdoms often served to bring this issue to the forefront.

Whether they had begun their existence as a combined kingdom of Greater Israel or been founded separately.

Both states owed their ongoing existence in large part to the strength of their armies, honed

in near constant conflict against Assyrians, Aramayans, and most frequently each other.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming might of the resurgent Neo-Assyrian Empire, particularly in the wake of Tigless reforms, had permanently

changed the regional calculus.

Tigless's recent campaign had left both Hebrew states impoverished and in

Vassalage.

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