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Babylonian

Hanging gardens of Babylon. Source: Trendy Image Two / Adobe Stock.

The Wonders of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Video)

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon , a marvel of ancient Babylonian architecture, emerged around 600 BC, a testament to King Nebuchadnezzar II's devotion to Princess Amitis of Media. Consolidating the...
The Sirrush Dragons guarded the Gate of Ishtar.	Source: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP (Glasg)/CC BY-SA 4.0

The Ishtar Gate and the Deities of Babylon

The Ishtar Gate was the main entrance into the great city of Babylon, commissioned by King Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC) as part of his plan to create one of the most splendid and powerful cities of...
The Magnificent Ishtar Gate of Babylon

The Magnificent Ishtar Gate of Babylon

The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate of the city of Babylon (in present day Iraq) and was the main entrance into the great city. It was a sight to behold; the gate was covered in lapis lazuli glazed...
Babylonian lions. Source: Zzvet / Adobe Stock.

Why These Brick Lions That Once Protected Babylon Feel Alive (Video)

The brick lions that once guarded Babylon's streets hold a unique vitality. These imposing creatures, sculpted from individual bricks, bear a profound significance. In contrast to our contemporary...
The royal game of Ur. Source: Trustees of the British Museum / CC by SA 4.0.

Playing the 4,500-Year-Old Royal Game of Ur (Video)

What happens when a popular Youtuber takes on the British Museum curator at one of history’s oldest board games? That’s just what happened when Tom Scott challenged Irving Finkel to a Royal Game of...
Representational image of the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem. Source: Ryan / Adobe Stock

Details of 586 BC Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem Revealed in Fire Analysis

A team of Israeli archaeologists recently completed a study of a large building that was apparently obliterated by fire during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 586 BC. This research was unique,...
Medieval man cleaning his hands. Source: AI Generated.

Grimy No More: How Medieval Folk Kept Clean (Video)

In medieval times , hand cleanliness was essential after a day of manual labor. While wiping hands on the ground was a common practice, water was the primary cleansing agent. However, water alone...
Excavating Azekah: Defensive Bastion Of The Kingdom Of Judeah

Excavating Azekah: Defensive Bastion Of The Kingdom Of Judeah

Describing the fortress of Azekah 2,700 years ago the mighty Assyrian King Sennacherib wrote that “its walls were strong and rivalled the highest mountains…by means of beaten earth ramos, battering...
Dr. Martin Worthington, who was hired to attain authenticity in Marvel’s Eternals, in the Library of Trinity College Dublin pictured with a collection of cuneiform tablets written in ancient Babylonian language. Source: Trinity College Dublin

Irish Academic Adds Ancient Babylonian Authenticity to Eternals Movie

When Irish academic, Dr. Martin Worthington, embarked on learning how to speak the now-extinct Babylonian language of ancient Mesopotamia, little did he know that his knowledge would be used in a...
Babylonian clay tablet shows Pythagorean Triples were used 3,700 years ago.           Source: University of New South Wales

Mathematician Finds Pythagorean Triples On Ancient Babylonian Tablet

A University of New South Wales, Sydney mathematician has discovered the oldest example of applied geometry ever recorded, the university’s newsroom reports . The tablet illustrates the use of...
Inscription on one of the basalt rocks depicting the Babylonian king Nabonidus holding a scepter in his hand.  Source: Saudi Heritage Commission

Archaeologists Find Inscribed Stone Honoring Babylonian King Nabonidus

Archaeologists from the Saudi Heritage Commission discovered a remarkable ancient artifact while exploring a fertile archaeological site in northwestern Saudi Arabia, the Commission has announced ...
Flood tablet from Epic of Gilgamesh has Noah’s Ark being built based on fake news trickery.   Source: www.photostock.am / Adobe Stock

3,000-Year-Old Tablet Has Noah’s Ark Built Based On “Fake News”

A new translation of 3,000-year-old tablet reveals 'fake news' was employed by an ancient Babylonian god to trick ‘Noah’ and his followers into building his ark. The act of ancient trickery was found...
Babylonian relief carving. Credit: Andrea Izzotti / Adobe Stock

Eat Like a Mesopotamian: Experts Reconstruct 4000-Year-Old Recipes

Mesopotamia is considered to be home to one of the first civilizations and it decisively shaped world history. Now thanks to some of the oldest culinary recipes, inscribed on clay tablets, we now...
Jewel made of gold and silver found at Mt Zion. Credit: Mt Zion Archaeological Expedition/Virginia Withers

2,500-Year-Old Smashed Jewel Found at Site of Babylonian Destruction of Jerusalem

Archaeologists working at Mount Zion in Jerusalem have unearthed a rare, gold and silver jewel and a Scythian arrowhead in a layer of ash that dates to the Babylonian destruction of the city (587 BC...
Representational image of Enki.

Enki: The Epic Mesopotamian Water God Who Saved Humanity

In the belief system of the Sumerians, Enki (known also as Ea by the Akkadians and Babylonians) was regarded to be one of the most important deities. Originally Enki was worshipped as a god of fresh...
Sumerian warriors

The Sumerian Seven: The Top-Ranking Gods in the Sumerian Pantheon

The Sumerian religion was polytheistic in nature, and the Sumerians worshipped a great number of deities. These deities were anthropomorphic beings, and were meant to represent the natural forces of...
The Royal Game of Ur.

The Enigmatic Ancient Royal Game of Ur – Will We Ever Understand It?

The Royal Game of Ur (known also as the Game of Twenty Squares) is a board game from ancient Mesopotamia. This two-player game is one of the oldest known board games and was immensely popular in the...
‘Crossing the River Styx’ (circa 1520-1524) by Joachim Patinir. Many ancient people imagined the edges of the earth as strange and magical places.

What Did Ancient Civilizations Believe Lay at The Edges of the Earth?

The first civilizations didn’t have satellites in the sky, mapping every inch of the world in real time. They only knew the parts of the world they’d seen. Everything beyond that, they had to imagine...
A Pazyryk horseman from the Asian steppe in a felt painting from a burial around 300 BC. (Public Domain). Krishna with cow. (CC BY 2.0) Hathor as a cow, Papyrus of Ani (Public Domain)

Horses, Cows and Celestial Creatures at the Dawn of Civilizations

When I think of the Aryans of the ancient times, I think of Central Asia, the steppe, a horse culture that could enable their language, Sanskrit to spread, at a gallop, so to speak, westward and...
‘The Tower of Babel’ (1595) by Lucas van Valckenborch.

Inside Etemenanki: The Real-Life Tower of Babel

If there was a tower of Babel, it was Etemenanki: a massive, stone ziggurat at the center of Babylon built to be a passageway up to heaven. The Babylonians didn’t see their tower of Babel as a...
Episodes in the book of Genesis. Oil painting by a Spanish painter. Iconographic Collections.

Can the Babylonian Calendar Help Explain the Ages of Patriarchs Recounted in the Book of Genesis? - Part 2

The ages of Adam and his descendants in the Book of Genesis appear incredulous when compared to the average lifespan of Man throughout history. Though there have been several attempts to justify the...
Episodes in the book of Genesis. Oil painting by a Spanish painter. Iconographic Collections.

Can the Babylonian Calendar Help Explain the Ages of Patriarchs Recounted in the Book of Genesis? - Part 1

The ages of Adam and his descendants in the Book of Genesis appear incredulous when compared to the average lifespan of Man throughout history. Though there have been several attempts to justify the...
The 3700-year-old Babylonian tablet with the ‘Pythagorean theorem.’

3700-year old Babylonian Tablet Confirms Pythagoras Did Not Invent the Theorem Bearing His Name

An unknown Babylonian mathematician beat Pythagoras to the discovery of trigonometry by more than 1000 years, claim experts studying the piece. That Babylonian genius marked down the famous theorem...
Tree of Life

Oldest Examples of ‘Tree of Life’ Designs Discovered in Domuztepe Mound, Turkey

Archaeologists have unearthed vessels portraying “tree of life” motifs during excavation works in the Domuztepe Mound in the southern province of Kahramanmaraş, which is considered to be the biggest...

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