The Golden Years of Sargon II

From Oldest Stories by James Bleckley

March 11, 2026 · 31 min · Season 3 · Episode 17

About this episode

This episode examines the middle years of the reign of Sargon II of Assyria during a period of relative peace and the subsequent geopolitical shifts in the Near East.

Oldest Stories Album available here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/oldeststoriesmusic/oldest-stories-vol-1 but also possibly on your favorite music distributor service also. Check it out! This episode examines the middle years of the reign of Sargon II of Assyria (r. 722–705 BCE) during a brief period when the Assyrian Empire faced unusually little large-scale war. Following Sargon’s major victory over Urartu in 714–713 BCE, the geopolitical balance of the Near East shifted dramatically. Urartu, long the primary rival to Assyria in the Armenian highlands, was weakened both by Sargon’s campaign and by the simultaneous arrival of Cimmerian nomadic groups moving south from the Eurasian steppe. With the northern frontier temporarily stabilized, Assyria was able to redirect attention to other regions of the empire. The episode explores several smaller conflicts and political developments across the western and northern frontiers of the Assyrian state. These include Assyrian responses to Ionian Greek activity in the eastern Mediterranean, tensions involving the kingdom of Phrygia under King Midas, and Assyrian intervention in Que (Cilicia) and surrounding Anatolian regions. At the…

People in this episode

Host: James Bleckley

Topics covered

Assyrian history
Sargon II
geopolitical shifts
military campaigns
internal revolts
empire management

Keywords

Sargon II
Assyrian Empire
Urartu
Cimmerian nomads
Phrygia
Ionian Greeks
internal revolts
empire policy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Assyrian Empire

Places: Urartu, Armenian highlands, Near East, Cilicia, Anatolian regions, Phrygia, Tabal, Melid, Medes, Ellipi