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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Philip II banned Arabic in an attempt to quash Moorish heritage. Detail from the ceiling of the Hall of Kings at the Alhambra in Granada. Source: Rumomo / CC BY-SA 4.0

Philip II Outlawed Arabic to Try to Erase Moorish Heritage in Spain

The reign of Philip II of Spain stands as a pivotal era marked by religious fervor. In 1566, Philip II issued a decree that reverberated across the Iberian Peninsula. This edict not only outlawed the...
10th Century Astronomical Text of Abd-al Rahman al-Sufi Unveiled

10th Century Astronomical Text of Abd-al Rahman al-Sufi Unveiled

The “suwar al-kawakib" or the Book of Fixed Stars is a 10th century astronomical Arabic text, authored by the famed scholar Abd-al Rahman al-Sufi in the year 964 AD. It was produced by the powerful...
Jinn by an ancient city

Jinn: Tales of Wish Masters Throughout Time

In translation, the term jinn can be interpreted as ‘hidden from sight’ or ‘the hidden ones.’ In Arabic, the word jinn defines a collective number and it derives from the root jnn or gnn, which means...
Sarcophagus of Canaanites, now at Israel Museum   Source: Davidbena / CC BY-SA 4.0

Canaanite Genomes Reveal Truth About Their Descendants

The people who lived in the area known as the Southern Levant - which is now recognized as Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Jordan, Lebanon, and parts of Syria - during the Bronze Age (circa 3500-...
The ancient tombs at Al-Ula during night time.          Source: OMAR A.THIAB / Adobe stock

Digs to Uncover Secrets of Ancient Enigmatic Al-Ula Civilizations

In Saudi Arabia a new international archaeology project has been announced, that could help us to understand some long-lost civilizations. Work has begun at the Al-Ula heritage site, which was once...
Main: Beautiful Gopuras in the Hindu Jambukeswarar Temple in Trichy (Tiruchirapalli), Tamil Nadu, South India, where the gold coin hoard was found.   Source: little_mouse / Adobe stock.         Inset: Representation of the gold coin hoard found at the temple.           Source: Portable Antiquities Scheme / CC BY 2.0.

Gold Coin Hoard Found Hidden Beneath Famous Hindu Temple

A hoard of coins has been uncovered at a famous temple in southern India . Hundreds of gold coins were unearthed in a pot that could date back over a millennium, to when this area was part of the...
Representation of ancient writing of one of the oldest languages in a book.    Source: Andrey Lavrishchev / Adobe stock

10 of the World’s Oldest Languages Still Used Today

Languages have always been the very fiber of humanity. The cornerstone of society, and the force that paved the way for civilization. Without it, societies could not have developed as they did - it...
Painting by Jean-Joseph Benjamin-Constant, Orientalism genre, representation of The Book of Exposition. Source: Jeangagnon / Public Domain.

The Book of Exposition and the Enigmatic English Bohemian

Though this title may make many an aspiring writer think it to be instructional for forbidding the writing of on the nose dialogue, The Book of Exposition is far from the case. The Kitab al-Izah Fi'...
The medieval chess piece found in Norway in December 2017.

Richly Adorned Arabic Influenced Chess Piece Unearthed in Norway

Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute of Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) have recently discovered a rare and richly decorated Arabic-inspired chess piece in Tønsberg. Arabic Inspired Chess...
The Wise Men visit the Baby Jesus and offer gifts.

Uncovering the Language of the First Christmas

Around the Christmas period, the now typical jokes pile up on social media. Jesus is commended for having a “stable upbringing”. The three wise men fret: “We’re running low on Frankincense. Don’t...
One of the woven silk bands.

Researchers Discover ‘Allah’ Inscribed in Vikings Burial Costumes

Researchers from Sweden have discovered that Vikings had “Allah” and “Ali” embroidered into their funeral clothes, raising questions about the ties between the Islamic world and the Viking-era...
An example of the Proto-Sinaitic script.

The A to Z of Alphabet Origins and the Most Ancient Written Languages

Writing is traditionally regarded as one of the requirements for a society to be considered as a civilization. Various writing systems have been invented by the great civilizations of the world, one...
The Red Monastery: Will the Last Byzantine Monument in Egypt Survive Local Development?

The Red Monastery: Will the Last Byzantine Monument in Egypt Survive Local Development?

It has been claimed that the Red Monastery, more specifically, its principal church, is one of three surviving examples of Byzantine architecture from the early period of that empire’s history, the...
Said to Cure Everything but Death, These Seeds are an Ancient Miracle Cure

Said to Cure Everything but Death, These Seeds are an Ancient Miracle Cure

The black cumin seed or “Nigella Sativa” has been revered as a miracle cure for a vast amount of illnesses and ailments throughout the ages and across many cultures. The plant is indigenous to the...
Drawing of the house of wisdom

The House of Wisdom: One of the Greatest Libraries in History

Adding to the list of names among the greatest libraries of the past, the Bayt al-Hikmah (translated as ‘The House of Wisdom’) was established in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire, around...
A photo showing some stelae found with Arabic inscriptions.

Archaeologists Discover that Earliest Known Arabic Writing Was Penned by a Christian

The oldest known Arabic writing found in Saudi Arabia, from ca. 470 AD belong to a Christian context and predates the advent of Islam with 150 years. In December 2015, researchers from a French-Saudi...
An exceedingly rare discovery: two pages of the Koran on parchment or amimal skin, dating from around the time Mohammed himself walked the Earth.

Oldest pages of the Koran found in England may date to Mohammed's lifetime

Two pages from a Koran, which are believed to have been written down by a contemporary of Mohammed himself, have been found in a library in England. The folios had been in a collection in the...
1,400-year-old medicinal treatise of Galen found hidden under hymns in ancient manuscript

1,400-year-old medicinal treatise of Galen found hidden under hymns in ancient manuscript

A 6th century translation of a work of one of the most important ancient Greek doctors has been discovered in an animal-hide manuscript, hidden underneath text of 1,000-year-old hymns. A researcher...
Picatrix: The Ancient Arabian Book of Astrology and Occult Magic

Picatrix: The Ancient Arabian Book of Astrology and Occult Magic

The Picatrix is an ancient Arabian book of astrology and occult magic dating back to the 10 th or 11 th century, which has gained notoriety for the obscene natural of its magical recipes. The...
Petra - Jordan

Oldest Arabic inscription provides missing link between Nabatean and Arabic writing

A Saudi-French archaeological team has discovered the oldest known inscription in the Arabic alphabet at a site located near Najran in Saudi Arabia, according to a report in Arab News . The finding...
Marseille Tarot

The Ancient Origins of the Marseille Tarot

The Marseille Tarot is the result of one or more attempts to copy imagery in Sumerian and Babylonian cylinder seals and other artefacts from that civilization. Theosophical Society founder Helena...