Empire

By 1943, the price of rice was beyond unaffordable for most in Bengal, and people were dying in the streets. Despite government censorship of letters, news spread about the famine and the tide turned with the introduction of a new Viceroy. Yet when aid eventually did arrive from other regions of India, it was so chaotically handled that some food shipments were halted at the station. Listen as Anita and William are joined again by Kavita Puri to explore the legacy of what is sometimes dubbed ?Churchill?s Famine?. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1942, in the midst of the Second World War, the British administration feared that Japanese forces would take India as part of their campaign. To prevent access to resources in the event of a potential invasion, colonial forces enacted a ?denial policy?, confiscating rice and destroying boats. This, along with a cyclone and political unrest, led to starvation in the countryside of Bengal, forcing people to flee to cities in a desperate search for food. Listen as Anita and William take a break from the American series to revisit an important and tragic event in 20th century Indian history, with guest Kavita Puri? Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By the end of the Spanish-US war, the Philippines was on the menu. Two battles played out simultaneously on the archipelago: and old and a new empire fought for power over a colony, whilst Filipinos fought for independence. The Philippines honoured the US in their new constitution and flag. But they were betrayed, and a young revolutionary, Emilio Aguinaldo, led the Filipino people in the brutal war against American imperialism. Listen as Anita and William are joined once again by Daniel Immerwahr to explore the colonisation of the Philippines.  Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1898, whilst his boss was on a break at the osteopath, Teddy Roosevelt basically started a war. A master of the press, he managed to whip up war fever amongst jingoists in Congress, leading the United States to declare war on imperial Spain. Building on an established independence movement in Cuba, the US was ambiguous about its intentions. Was it liberation or colonisation that it wanted for this Caribbean island? Listen as Anita and William are joined again by Daniel Immerwahr to discuss the Spanish-US war. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 7th July 1898, President McKinley formally annexed Hawaii, making it a colonial territory of the USA. It was not until 21st August, 1959, that it became the 50th state. Orchestrated by the American planter class in Hawaii, led by Sanford Dole, this annexation was the culmination of a process throughout the 19th century which pushed the native Hawaiian population to the side for commercial gain. Listen as William and Anita look at the taking of the 50th state and the attempts by the last Queen of Hawaii, Lili?uokalani, to fight against the Americans. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not everyone agrees that the USA should be classed as an empire. But in the late 1800s, after white settlers had colonised western states, America turned to acquiring overseas territories in what could be described as an imperial project. And one surprising commodity catalysed the project? bird poo. Joining Anita and William to answer questions like ?how did shit shape the American empire?? and more, is Daniel Immerwahr, author of How To Hide An Empire.  Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Arizona Territory, April 30, 1871. The canyon known as Aravaipa lies still in the predawn darkness, the only sounds to be heard in the early-morning calm the song of birds and the lilt of running water as it courses its way toward the nearby San Pedro River. But upon this paradise all hell is about to break loose. With Native American land being squeezed and squeezed by settlers, and relations becoming more and more violent as indigenous customs are degraded and exterminated, things are at breaking point in Arizona. Nearly 500 native men, women, and children have moved into the US military base, Camp Grant, for protection, yet, the Tucson Committee of Public Safety still see them as a threat. Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Karl Jacoby as they discuss the Camp Grant Massacre and finish the story of 'How the West was Won'. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A whole genre of movies is based on a relatively short period of nineteenth-century American history. But what is the real story behind battles between Native Americans and white settlers during westward expansion? In the aftermath of the Mexican-American War, settlers flooded to the newly acquired territory and before long, violence was commonplace. Images of battles fought on horseback continue to shape our popular understanding, yet have often overshadowed the cultures and lives that were decimated during this period. Listen as Anita and William are joined by Karl Jacoby to discuss the interactions between Native Americans, settlers, and the US army in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1850, 13-year-old Olive Oatman and her family set off on the perilous journey by foot from Missouri to Arizona. Olive and her little sister were captured by a group of Native Americans and then sold to another. Yet rather than being treated as slaves, the girls were treated with kindness and welcomed as kin. But her version of her story was to be twisted and rewritten in the years that followed? Listen as Anita and William are joined once again by Katie Hickman to discuss the extraordinary experiences of Olive Oatman. Alongside Katie Hickman's, Bravehearted, available here (https://coles-books.co.uk/pioneering-women-of-the-american-wild-west-by-katie-hickman-hardback), a key source for Olive Oatman's life is The Blue Tattoo by Margot Mifflin, available here (https://coles-books.co.uk/the-blue-tattoo-the-life-of-olive-oatman-by-margot-mifflin). Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fort Laramie was once a stockade where European fur traders and Native Americans lived together peacefully. But by the 1850s it became a stop-over along the busy trail of emigrants moving westwards seeking gold and religious utopias. Their effect on the environment increased tensions with the local Lakota, and peace crashed down in 1854 all thanks to the death of a Mormon cow? Listen as William and Anita are joined by Katie Hickman to discuss life at Fort Laramie and the First Sioux War. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Despite having fought alongside them, President Andrew Jackson hated Native Nations. In the early 1800s, he sought to deceive Cherokee tribes into giving up their lands. How did Jackson overturn the precedent of respecting Native sovereignty and force thousands of Native Americans to migrate west? Listen as Anita and William are joined once again by Kathleen DuVal to explore the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

North America was never virgin territory. For thousands of years it has been home to established nations of Indigenous people who founded ancient cities like Cahokia. When European settlers arrived on the eastern seaboard, Native Americans never saw them as a threat. But as the United States established itself, how did its notion of a new republic affect those who had always lived there? Listen as Anita and William are joined by Kathleen DuVal to discuss interactions between Native Nations and American settlers. ?Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The British have surrendered, they?ll be leaving soon. Now the Americans have a new and arguably harder task than before. They have to meld those 13 states, each with their own sense of independence and unique characteristics, into a country. Taking inspiration from Rome, the Enlightenment, and their own experience of British rule, the Founding Fathers created a republic that lasts until today. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Maya for the last of our episodes on the American Revolution. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Declaration of Independence establishes the ideals on which this break away nation founds itself on. But it?s full of contradictions. It complains of white colonists being enslaved by King George III, yet its signatories own enslaved Africans. It declares all men are created equal, but what about women? Listen as Anita and William are joined by Maya Jasanoff as they explore the war, from the evacuation of Boston, to the battle of Yorktown. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The infamous Boston Tea Party sees colonists dressed as Native Americans dump British tea in the surrounding waters. Calls of ?the British are coming!? rally untrained militias to stand together against one of the most advanced militaries in the world. The two sides have their first face off. A war begins. Listen as Anita and William are joined by Maya Jasanoff who explains how the War of Independence was just as much a civil war as any other kind. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From sugar to paper, a series of taxes in the 1760s spark outrage amongst American colonists that snowball into a revolution. Was it inevitable that thirteen of Britain's 26 colonies in the Atlantic would band together and break away from the British Empire? Listen as Anita and William are joined by Maya Jasanoff to discuss the beginning of the American Revolution. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're all about the Benjamins. Franklin is unquestionably the most well-rounded of the Founding Fathers. Not only did he help draft the Declaration of Independence and help America define itself, but he also discovered that electricity and lightning were one and the same, reformed the postal system, and proved you couldn't catch colds from swimming. Listen as William and Anita look at their last Founding Father and his incredible range of skills. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Often given less attention than the other Founding Fathers, John Adams is no less significant. Not only did he go on to be the second US President, but he was an accomplished diplomat and had a strong moral compass - he was one of the few Founding Fathers who was a committed abolitionist. Listen as William and Anita look at his life and extraordinary marriage to Abigail Adams. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence impoverished in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar? Listen and find out. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thomas Jefferson is one of the most complex figures in the whole American Revolution. A child of the enlightenment, it was he who wrote 'we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are born equal'. Yet, throughout his life he possessed over 600 enslaved people and had sexual relations with some, including Sally Hemings. Listen as William and Anita dive into the early life of Thomas Jefferson and try to understand this contradiction. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Everybody knows Washington as the strapping, powerful general and then president who helped to overthrow the British and forge America, but how did he get there? He was born into a respectable Virginian planter family, had an ordinary education and, with the exception of his tortured relationship with his mother, had a childhood of no note. However, as a young man he sought out the world and learnt all he could from it. He fought as a soldier alongside the British where he displayed his capacity for immense bravery and his ability to motivate men, setting him on his path to his great achievement. But he was not a saint, his great passion was farming and to work his farm he had vast numbers of slaves. He consistently sought to expand his land too, normally at the expense of the Native Americans. Join William and Anita as they discuss the complexity of George Washington and his life before the American Revolution. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Deerfield, February 1704. The small, puritan town of roughly 300 inhabitants in western Massachusetts has been riven with tension ever since the French and Native American forces had begun raiding them at the end of the previous year. The snows of winter have settled over New England and, on the last night of February 1704, the village is attacked. What follows is an extraordinary tale that not only tells us about life in New England, but also illuminates the fragility of early colonial America. Listen as William and Anita discuss captivity in New England and how the religious and political dynamic of this period is far more porous than some would believe. ?Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of the most famous names in American history, Pocahontas had an extraordinary life. She was the daughter of Powhatan, a great Native American chief, and was born in Werowocomoco, in what we?d now call Virginia. From a young age, she mixed with the initial English settlers and spent time in the first European settlement in America, Jamestown. But, her life was turned upside down when she was lured aboard a ship and taken prisoner by Samuel Argall, an English naval officer. Before long, presumably under a degree of duress, she had converted to christianity, married an Englishman, and was making her way across the Atlantic. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Camilla Townsend to discuss the life and legacy of Pocahontas. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Empire that dare not speak its name. America was born through an explicit rejection of empire as it forced the British from the continent and indeed many of its citizens would baulk at the suggestion their nation is an empire. Yet, over its lifetime the empire of liberty, as Thomas Jefferson himself once called it, has continually flexed its imperial muscles. In our newest series, William and Anita will take you from the great plains of North America to the shores of the Philippines and explore the history of the American Empire. In today?s episode, William and Anita look at the first colonial interactions on the North American continent as the British land in Virginia and establish contact with the Powhatan Native Americans. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1877 Queen Victoria took on the title Empress of India, a nation which she undoubtedly had close to her heart. Yet, under her reign and that of her successors, India was exploited. At the same time, she takes Abdul Karim, known as the Munshi, into her court. Many of her courtiers despised this Indian man and his influence, but Victoria stuck by him. Undoubtedly, Empire was central to Victoria and she saw it as a force for good, but how do we see that and the rest of her reign now? Listen as William and Anita discuss Victoria?s final years and her legacy. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Across 1851, over 6,000,000 people went to London to see the Great Exhibition. Designed to showcase the very best of what Britain and the empire could offer the world, the event was an incontrovertible success which cemented Britain?s status as the nation at the centre of the world economy. But, with the events of 1857 in India and the extreme levels of violence that came with it, followed by the death of Albert in 1861, Victoria?s rule was not plain-sailing even at this point. Listen as William and Anita discuss Victoria and her interactions with the empire on which the sun never sets. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is one of the great love affairs of history. Upon meeting again shortly after her 18th birthday, Victoria and Albert became smitten with each other and within 5 days Victoria asked him to marry her. Whilst initially an unpopular match, the spectacle of the Royal Wedding dispelled some of the public?s misgivings about Albert. However, all was not well in the first decade of Victoria?s reign. The turbulence of 1840s Europe is ripping through Victoria?s nation. Listen as William and Anita discuss the first years of Victoria?s reign as she deals with assassination attempts and the Irish famine. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born on the 24th May 1819, Alexandrina Victoria was fifth in line to the throne at a time in which the monarchy?s popularity was declining. Yet, over the course of her reign, which at the time was the longest of any British monarch, Victoria transformed the monarchy, Britain, and its place in the world. She endured a tortured childhood in which she was controlled and mollycoddled to the extent she could not even walk down the stairs without holding someone?s hand. But, before she was even 20, she was crowned to much jubilation - Britain had entered a new era. Listen as William and Anita discuss the formative years of Queen Victoria. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For centuries Spain had been an outlier in Europe due to its religious diversity; Christians, Jews, and Muslims all existed reasonably peacefully across the Iberian peninsula. Under Isabelle of Castile that all changed. She began the Spanish Inquisition and brought to the fore a religious fundamentalism that would eventually force out of the country the muslims and the jews. In the epoch defining year of 1492, she also conquered Granada with her husband Ferdinand, ending the era of Islamic Spain, and gave patronage to Columbus as he took his first voyage to the new world. Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Brian Catlos. **Empire Live** Empire live show tickets are ON SALE NOW!! Join Anita and William at the London Barbican 8 July 2024! Buy your tickets here or here. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

To some she is Europe?s first great queen, to others she is one of history?s great villains, but there is no doubt that Isabella of Castile holds one of the most significant legacies in European history. Born third in line to the throne of Castile, she asserted herself and rose to be queen of Castile and then through her fiery marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon, laid the foundations for the unification of Spain. But as soon as she rose to dominance, she made it clear that she was willing to use terror to enforce her rule. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Brian Catlos to discuss the rise to power of Isabella of Castile. **Empire Live** Empire live show tickets are ON SALE NOW!! Join Anita and William at the London Barbican 8 July 2024! Buy your tickets here or here. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Jahangir sliding into more of an opium and alcohol fuelled slumber with each passing day, Nur Jahan took the reins of the Mughal Empire. In this she demonstrated her political prowess, but she was also a remarkable woman. She hunted tigers, greatly improved her family's standing, and at one point led an army of men on elephant-back. But her most significant legacy lies in the tomb she designed for her father, which in turn helped to influence the architecture of the famous Taj Mahal. Listen as William and Anita discuss Nur Jahan at her peak. **Empire Live** Empire live show tickets are ON SALE NOW!! Join Anita and William at the London Barbican 8 July 2024! Buy your tickets here or here. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nur Jahan was born on a roadside as her well-to-do parents fled from Safavid Persia for the tolerant court of the Mughal emperor. Her first marriage was respectable although unremarkable, but then her husband died and she entered the imperial harem. From here, she rose through the ranks and managed to charm one of the most powerful men in the world, the emperor Jahangir. Listen as William and Anita discuss the rise of one of the most powerful women in Indian history. **Empire Live** Empire live show tickets are ON SALE NOW!! Join Anita and William at the London Barbican 8 July 2024! Buy your tickets here or here. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Börte came from a powerful nomadic tribe and in many ways her marriage to Genghis Khan set him up to become the great conqueror we know. They married young and when they were twenty, he brought his new bride back to his camp. But their newlywed life was turned upside down when Börte was kidnapped. He formed important alliances to retrieve her and seek revenge. Once reunited, Börte became a key advisor to her husband as he laid the foundation of the Mongol Empire, establishing a dynasty that lasted for centuries. Listen as Anita and William are joined by Marie Favereau to discuss the life of Börte. **Empire Live** Empire live show tickets are ON SALE TODAY from 9am UK time!! Join Anita and William at the London Barbican 8 July 2024! Buy your tickets here or here. Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sold as a slave to the great Abbasid Caliph, al-Khayzuran quickly rose to the very top of the pyramid. Through marriage and motherhood, she became wife of the caliph and then Queen Mother and in both instances she wielded extraordinary power. In the court at Baghdad - the very heart of the civilised world - al-Khayzuran had major influence and it is possible that during her lifetime, she was the most powerful woman in the world, determining politics from Morocco to Afghanistan. Some even say she assassinated one of her sons, and put a second on the throne. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Hugh Kennedy to discuss the extraordinary life of al-Khayzuran. **Empire Live** Tickets for our live show go on sale on THIS Thursday, but for members of the Empire Club tickets are available in the pre-sale as of 9am GMT TODAY! If you want to sign up to the Empire Club, simply go to https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Empress Theodora is often unfairly remembered for the salacious stories that have been told about her when she was forced to work in a brothel. She was far more than that. She used her power to improve the fortunes of women who were unfortunate enough to go through the same shocking situation as her. She helped rebuild the Hagia Sophia and turn it into the largest and most beautiful building in the 6th century world. She assisted Justinian?s foreign campaigns that sought to restore the glory of the Roman Empire. In short, she was remarkable. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Peter Sarris for the final time, as they discuss the extraordinary story of Theodora as Empress of the Roman Empire. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Placed by her mother into a brothel when she was just a child, Theodora was born into the most brutal of worlds. It was a Constantinople riven with division, whether due to theology or circus factions it was always ready to boil over. As befitting a Christian saint, Theodora managed to rise above all of this; she escaped working in a brothel, became the model of a reformed woman, and married the future emperor, Justinian. Then, in 527, when he was declared Emperor, Theodora was brought forward and revealed as Empress of the Roman Empire. Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Peter Sarris to discuss this tale of star-crossed lovers and how it facilitated the improbable rise of Theodora. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born in poverty at a time when the Roman Empire was in danger of cracking up and disintegrating, Helena was set for a life of obscurity as a stable hand, bar maid, and, according to some, a prostitute. Yet, in the most improbable tale she rose through the social hierarchy to be proclaimed Empress, then later canonised, and declared by some as queen of the world. Not only was she mother and most trusted advisor to the Emperor Constantine, but she played a pivotal role in the conversion of the Roman Empire to Christianity. Whilst on pilgrimage in the Middle-East she was said to have discovered the one true cross and helped to set a template for Christian pilgrimages that would last for centuries. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Peter Sarris to discuss St Helena and her unprecedented rise through Roman society to the position of supreme power. A key source for St Helena's life is Helena Augusta: Mother of the Empire, by Julia Hillner. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With Julius Caesar dead, Cleopatra turned to another of Rome?s dominant figures. She became entwined with Mark Antony, the ruler of the eastern half of the Roman Empire, but even with their enormous combined power the destructive tendrils of Roman politics were inescapable. Just like all of the Mediterranean, Alexandria dwelt in the shadow of Rome and so when Octavian, Julius Caesar?s chosen heir, turns on the couple in an attempt to become the sole emperor of Rome, their future looks uncertain. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Stacy Schiff to discuss Cleopatra as she reaches the peak of her powers and then, not long after, her doom. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born in the romantic splendour of Ptolemaic Egypt, not far from the Library of Alexandria, Cleopatra was destined for greatness. She ascended to the throne at 18 and very quickly asserted her authority across Egypt as her extraordinary mind and legendary charisma captivated all. To some she was even a goddess, a living embodiment of the Egyptian goddess Isis. Such was her magnetism that not even the most powerful men of the age were able to resist her. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Stacy Schiff to discuss Cleopatra, her rise to power, and her relationship with the ruler of Rome, Julius Caesar. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In late autumn, 629 AD, Xuanzang set out for the great university of Nalanda from Chang?an. Across the desert, over the Pamirs, and through multiple robberies, it was an epic journey. As he neared the Buddhist heartlands, he saw Buddhism in decline with its monasteries increasingly dilapidated, and he feared disappointment. However, after 6 years on the road he arrived at Nalanda and was awestruck by its splendour. In particular, he was blown away by the library. Nine storeys high, split into the Sea of Jewels, the Ocean of Jewels, and the Jewel-Adorned. It was a haven of scholarship. Through years more of work, he would transcribe the ancient scripts to be taken back to China and lay the groundwork for a moment of great civilisational collaboration. Listen to William and Anita in the final instalment of this miniseries as they discuss Xuanzang and the mark he left on history. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Buddhism reached China in the 1st century AD, yet it remained a minor, foreign religion for the next 100 years. It was not until the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 AD and the cracking of the classical Confucian order that Buddhism began to make headway in the Middle Kingdom. Over the following centuries, the religion took hold and so China both transformed Buddhism and was transformed by it. Yet, a monk named Xuanzang, born in 600 AD, was worried about Chinese Buddhism. He feared it had strayed too far from its origin and so he undertook a journey to the Buddhist heartlands of North India and the great university of Nalanda. Listen as William and Anita discuss the early stages of Buddhism in China. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the 1st century AD, the nomadic Kushans settled in what is now Afghanistan and established settlements and trade. From here, they moved down over the Hindu Kush and took large sections of Northern India. Within their new kingdom, Buddhism flourished under the patronage of the ruling class. Before Kushan rule, the Buddha had never been represented as a human, only as a tree or an empty throne. Yet through the empire?s trade connections with Rome, Buddhist symbols took on a more classically western form, and so the Buddha began to be depicted in Apollo-like statues. By the 3rd century AD, the Kushan Empire was dwindling, but Buddhism would not be stopped. It began to spread even further along the Golden Road, right to the borders of China. Listen as Anita and William explore the Kushan Empire and its role in the spread of Buddhism. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Pre-order William's book below: UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Golden-Road-Ancient-India-Transformed/dp/140886441X India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/140886441X/ Australia: Available 17th September 2024 US: Available Spring 2025 Waterstones edition: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-golden-road/william-dalrymple/9781526681256 Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ruling in the 3rd century BC, Ashoka was one of India?s greatest ever rulers. Under his rule, the Mauryan Empire grew into the largest empire India had ever seen. Its capital, Pataliputra was a dazzling, glorious, cosmopolitan city that was eleven times larger than Athens. After a brutal conquest of the Kalinga kingdom, Ashoka suffered from intense guilt and turned to Buddhism as he now coveted peace. From then on, he was committed to spreading Buddhism not just throughout his kingdom, but across the world. Listen as William and Anita discuss Buddhism?s transformation from a regional religion to one that spans nations. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Pre-order William's book below: UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Golden-Road-Ancient-India-Transformed/dp/140886441X India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/140886441X/ Australia: Available 17th September 2024 US: Available Spring 2025 Waterstones edition: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-golden-road/william-dalrymple/9781526681256 Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

India was the forgotten heart of the ancient world. For a millennium and a half, from about 250 BC to 1200 AD, India was a confident exporter of its diverse civilisation, creating around it a vast empire of ideas, an ?Indosphere? where its influence was predominant. During this period, the rest of Asia was the willing recipient of a mass-transfer of Indian soft power. Indian art, religions, technology, astronomy, music, dance, literature, mathematics, and mythology blazed a trail across the world, along a Golden Road that stretched from the Red Sea to the Pacific, connecting different places and ideas to one another. Listen over the next five episodes as William and Anita tell the story of Buddhism and how it travelled along the Golden Road, starting today with the life of Siddharta Gautama, an aristocrat born in the 5th century BC. At the age of 29, he left behind his life of luxury and sought to understand the real world. In so doing, he changed the course of history. At the age of 35 he meditated for 49 days under a sacred pipal tree and eventually he reached enlightenment. We know him as the Buddha. Pre-order William's book below: UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Golden-Road-Ancient-India-Transformed/dp/140886441X India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/140886441X/ Australia: Available 17th September 2024 US: Available Spring 2025 For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From the beginning of the Raj, British tastes began to turn away from Indian cuisine towards a European palate. The colonial classes sneered at Indian food, instead seeing French food as the height of sophistication. Meanwhile, people in Britain ? including Queen Victoria ? sought out Indian flavours and so began the Indianisation of British cuisine. Imports of curry powders rapidly increased and the earliest Indian restaurants popped up in British cities. With this came the introduction of renowned dishes such as chicken tikka masala and coronation chicken. Listen as Anita and William dive into the historical origins of the British obsession with curry. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the East India Company first arrived on the shores of India, the food they ate in their first factories was not so different from that of Britain. It was all stews, heavy with butter and stuffed with spices, almonds, cinnamon, fruit and raisins, scooped up by bread. Although the Portuguese introduced the chilli to Goa at the start of the 16th century, it had not yet travelled into North India. Over the course of the next 200 years the cuisines of the British and the Indians diverged, in no small part due to the chilli. Listen as William and Anita explore the wonderful history of the East Indian Company at Table. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since November 2023, the Houthis have been attacking international shipping lanes in the Red Sea. They set off from the Yemeni coastline on speedboats, armed with guns and unmanned drones, often supplied by Iran, and cause havoc. Such has been the chaos of these attacks that Britain, the USA, and other western nations have launched retaliatory airstrikes. But where did this group come from and what do they want? Emerging in the 1990s as a Shia religious movement that rejected the repressive and corrupt rule Yemen faced at the time, the Houthis grew in power and influence. This culminated in a coup in 2014 that made them the de facto ruler of Yemen and started a civil war that has since drawn in Sunni Saudi Arabia, Iran, and many other powers in the region. Listen as William and Anita are joined by Orwell Prize-winning journalist and Yemen specialist Iona Craig to discuss the rise of the Houthis. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Assistant Producer: Anouska Lewis Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In September 1980, Saddam Hussein?s Iraqi forces invaded neighbouring Iran and so began the longest conventional war in modern history. After initial Iraqi successes, a brutal stalemate set in that was reminiscent of the horrors of the First World War. The Iraq-Iran War saw the use of chemical warfare, in 1984 Saddam?s forces unleashed the first recorded use of nerve gas in battle, and there was grinding trench warfare. Iran also pioneered human wave attacks, which merely added to the extreme human toll this war took. After eight long years a ceasefire was reached but both nations were left financially and militarily exhausted. Listen as Anita and William explore this horrific and often forgotten conflict. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In June 1982, Israeli tanks rolled over the Lebanese border. Soon after, Iran sent 1,500 Revolutionary Guards into Lebanon to help fight them. Thereafter, funded by Iran but largely manned by Lebanese Shi?ites, Hezbollah established itself as the most powerful militia in Lebanon and the Ayatollah?s most influential proxy. They were among the first Islamic groups in the Middle East to use suicide bombing, assassination and kidnapping. But it did not stop there. In the 1990s, Hezbollah began to morph into a political party too and set itself on the road to being the dominant force in Southern Lebanon it is today. Listen as William and Anita talk to Kim Ghattas about the history of one of the most feared Islamic groups in the Middle East. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

1979 was the year that set the Islamic world on the path to today. In Iran, the revolution established the nation as a theocracy that sought to defend Shi'ism across the world. In Saudi Arabia, the siege of the Holy Mosque led to the nation embracing a more radical Sunni Islam that it began to export around the world. Almost immediately they began to clash, with great impact across the globe. Listen to William and Anita as they speak with Kim Ghattas about the birth of this rivalry. For bonus episodes, ad-free listening, reading lists, book discounts, a weekly newsletter, and a chat community. Sign up at https://empirepod.supportingcast.fm/ Twitter: @Empirepoduk Email: [email protected] Goalhangerpodcasts.com Producer: Callum Hill Exec Producer: Neil Fearn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices