The Hittites

The Hittites

Author: History Hit April 16, 2026 Duration: 58:36

What made the Hittites one of the great Bronze Age powers, and how did their empire survive on war, diplomacy and faith? Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Elena Devecchi to uncover ancient royal intrigue, lavish festivals, the 'Thousand God', and the world’s oldest known peace treaty.


From Hattusha’s immense lion gates to secret archives and sacking Babylon, it’s a dramatic deep dive into an empire that once stretched as far as Troy.


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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.


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Hosted by Tristan Hughes, The Ancients digs into the distant past, one specific theme at a time. This isn't a sweeping lecture but a series of focused conversations. Each episode brings you directly into dialogue with leading historians and archaeologists, who share the latest research and perspectives on the ancient world. The scope is vast, moving from the mysteries of Neolithic Britain all the way through to the complex events surrounding the Fall of Rome. You might find yourself immersed in the details of a single archaeological discovery one week and exploring the broader political currents of an empire the next. Produced by History Hit, this podcast benefits from the same depth and quality that defines their other award-winning series. With new episodes arriving every Sunday and Thursday, there's always a fresh journey into antiquity waiting. For anyone with a curiosity about where we came from, this podcast serves as a reliable and engaging guide, making the remote past feel immediate and vividly real.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

The Ancients
Podcast Episodes
How Slavery Built the Roman Empire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Was the Roman Empire really made by conquest? Or was it powered by something much darker?For centuries, millions of enslaved people sacrificed their lives and their labour on the altar of Roman progress, an integral cog…
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The story of Romulus and Remus is one of the most famous myths from the ancient world. But the Romans believed the founding of their city stretched far beyond the tale of the twin brothers. Heroes, kings and exiles all p…
Shapur I: Rome's Greatest Enemy? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:15
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Duration: 56:19
Three thousand years ago, prehistoric Scotland was a landscape of rival communities, raids and warfare. Bands of warriors fought for power and territory leaving behind extraordinary weapons that reveal a more violent sid…
The Catiline Conspiracy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:20
In 63 BC, Rome faced a conspiracy that threatened to tear the Roman Republic apart. At its centre stood two figures: Marcus Tullius Cicero, the grand old orator of Rome and Lucius Sergius Catilina, accused of plotting vi…
Alexander the Great's Mad Scientist [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:15
WARNING: graphic descriptions of violence and warfareMeet Diades, Alexander the Great’s overlooked military engineer, the man who made the impossible siege of Tyre happen.Tristan Hughes and Professor Edmund Richardson re…
Hollywood’s Odyssey: The Historians' Verdict [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:40
Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster film Odyssey brings Homer’s epic roaring back to life and Tristan Hughes and Dr. Emily Hauser are here to unpack every storm, monster and star-making turn. From the brilliance of the adapt…
The First New Zealanders [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:31
What if the first New Zealanders crossed an ocean, landed in a brand-new world, and built a whole society in just a few generations?Tristan Hughes and Dr Richard Walter tell the story of East Polynesian voyagers who reac…
Odyssey | Sea of Monsters & Slaughter of the Suitors [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:06
When Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, his homecoming turns into a ruthless reckoning. Tristan Hughes and Dr. Emily Hauser dive into the shocking climax of Homer’s Odyssey, where hospitality, vengeance and survival col…
Caral: Oldest City in the Americas? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:54
Long before the age of the Inca and Maya, a remarkable city once flourished on the coast of modern Peru. Founded more than five thousand years ago, the sacred city of Caral is home to monumental pyramids, lavish temples…