Although this episode will cover a greater span of time than the first two episodes covered, we'll still slow down and see how a Sumerian moon-god named Nanna-Suen and a Mesopotamian Royal Hymn called “Shulgi and Ninlil’s Boat” can help us better understand maritime history; how Sargon of Akkad forged one of the world's first large empires and used that power to influence trade; and eventually how transition and turmoil within Mesopotamia led to a decline of trade that began with Hammurabi and lasted for centuries.

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We'll witness the expansion of Sumer from a scattered farming society into the world’s first true civilization and see how society became less egalitarian with the emergence of a ruling class. Then, surplus grain and the ambitions of the rulers combined to spur on long distance trade that reached south into the Persian Gulf and beyond.

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In which we meet the Ubaid people and see how they became the first inhabitants of southern Mesopotamia and used their natural resources to construct basic reed boats.

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Thanks for dipping your toes in the figurative waters here with the Maritime History Podcast! I'm Brandon Huebner and I'll briefly introduce the podcast and explain why I think maritime history is an integral and overlooked facet of world history. It makes for many a fascinating story, and the podcast here will cover as many of those as we can, so hop aboard and join us for the voyage!

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