Beyond Kingdoms and Empires

ZNetwork: Beyond Kingdoms and Empires   By David Wengrow. Contemporary historians tell us that, by the start of the Common Era, approximately three-quarters of the world’s population were living in just four empires (we’ve all heard of the Romans and the Han; fewer of us, perhaps, of the Parthians and Kushans). Just think about this for […]

Mount Gerizim and Can scholars piece together ancient worship practices

Temples have been found throughout the ancient Near East. Mostly we do not have a very good idea of what and how things went on at these sites. Along with reconstructing architectural remains, we can wonder if scholars can piece together ancient worship practices. Over the years, many ancient temples have been discovered and laid […]

Old texts saved behind a wall at the Mar Behnam monastery

When one knows that modern-day Syria in the past was occupied  by the Romans and before them the Assyrians, Persians and Akkadians and when one considers that the country was home to ancient Paleolithic fossils, some of the earliest evidence of agriculture and one of the largest troves of cuneiform tablets ever discovered, are hearts […]