And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen…” Revelation, 14:08 This verse from the Bible likely sounds familiar to many; it refers to the conquest of the Mesopotamian city by Cyrus the Great and the Persians in 539 BCE, the year they ended a period of Babylonian splendor led by Nebuchadnezzar […]
Assyria
Posted inIron Age Archaeology
Fabulous New Discoveries Inside the Temple of Ninurta in Nimrud: Two Shrines, Statue Platforms with Cuneiform Inscriptions, a Kudurru and Other Artifacts
As part of efforts to preserve cultural heritage, recent archaeological work in Nimrud, Iraq, led by the Penn Museum in collaboration with Iraqi archaeologists, has brought to light fascinating discoveries that enrich our understanding of the ancient Assyrian Empire. This research, part of the Penn Nimrud Project, falls under the University of Pennsylvania’s Iraq Heritage […]
Posted inAntiquity
Sardanapalus, the Depraved Assyrian King Who Inspired Writers, Musicians, and Painters—Did He Really Exist?
There are historical figures who, for various reasons, transcend their status to become paradigms of something; in the case of the Assyrian king Sardanapalus, an archetype of corruption, debauchery, and decadence, something that art and literature have repeatedly depicted in famous works. However, many doubts surround his figure: Did he really exist? Did he truly […]
Posted inArchaeology
Ancient tombs reveal the heavy tax burden in the Assyrian Empire, where the poor became increasingly poorer
Over more than seven centuries, from approximately 1350 BC to 600 BC, the Assyrian Empire established political dominance and cultural influence that extended across numerous settlements in the ancient Near East. Resource extraction policies, such as taxation and levies, have been extensively analyzed through textual and artistic sources. Now, a recent study conducted by researcher […]
Posted inArchaeology
Mysterious Symbols of Ancient Dūr-Šarrukīn Deciphered: they Represent Constellations and the Name of Sargon II
The ancient city of Dūr-Šarrukīn, meaning “fortress of Sargon”, has long held mysteries that puzzled historians and archaeologists. Located in modern-day Khorsabad, Iraq, this ancient Mesopotamian site was home to King Sargón II, ruler of Assyria from 721-704 BCE. One enigma that has intrigued experts for over a century involves a series of five symbols— […]
Posted inIron Age Archaeology
Rare 2,800-year-old Assyrian Seal-Amulet Found in Lower Galilee
Hikers in northern Israel got a surprise when one walker spotted an glittering ancient artifact. Erez Avrahamov was enjoying a day out at the Tabor Nature Reserve when something caught his eye on the ground. At first I thought it was just a stone, but when I picked it up I could see it was […]
Posted inAntiquity, Prehistory
A single family remains in the Erbil citadel, the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world
The Near and Middle East are full of cities of proven antiquity, such as Byblos, Sidon, Jericho, Susa… Less well known is the city of Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, at the center of which is a fortified mound that claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world: the Erbil Citadel. In November […]
Posted inAntiquity
How Sumerians named substitute kings during eclipses and the custom survived even in Alexander’s time
Between 1805 and 1799 B.C. (according to short chronology) or 1868 and 1861 B.C. (according to medium chronology) King Erra-Imitti ruled in the Sumerian city-state of Isin in present-day Iraq (about 20 miles south of Nippur). His name comes to mean something as a follower of Erra, who was a god of war, riots and […]
Posted inAntiquity
The Assyrians, the people who built an empire in Mesopotamia 4,000 years ago, still exist
Assyria is the ancient region of northern Mesopotamia around the city of Assur, founded around 2600 BC on the banks of the Tigris (today its ruins are in northern Iraq). It was part of the Akkadian Empire of Sargon of Akkad until 2154 BC, which united all the Mesopotamian cities. And from the second millennium […]
Posted inAntiquity
Kurkh Monolith, the first documentary reference to Israel and the Arabs
One of the most curious, interesting and controversial archaeological pieces preserved in the British Museum is the so-called Kurkh Monolith. It is a fairly large Assyrian stele with inscribed descriptions of King Shalmaneser III. The information provided is essential to know the military campaigns of the sovereign but is also important because it contains the […]
