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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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History

From the powerful civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley, to the fearsome yet sophisticated society of the Vikings, the ancient world was a surprising and challenging place. Here we feature some of the most seminal and influential events and people throughout history, that have helped shape the world we know today.

Çatalhöyük after the first excavations. (Omar hoftun/ CC BY-SA 3.0)
2 March, 2020 - 23:40 jim willis

Turkey’s Catalhöyük: A Victim of Climate Change

These days, the dusty, sunbaked ruins of Çatalhöyük in central Turkey do not receive a lot of attention, except from tourists and archaeologists, but around 9,000 to 7,000 years ago it was a busy,...
'Battle of Alexander versus Darius’ (1644-1650) by Pietro da Cortona. Darius III was Alexander the Great’s adversary at the Battle of Gaugamela. Source: Public Domain
2 March, 2020 - 14:01 Aleksa Vučković

Battle of Gaugamela: Alexander the Great Thrashes the Achaemenids

No name in world history rings more familiar than that of Alexander the Great. A man that managed extraordinary feats, conquering huge swaths of the world and placing his banner in many a kingdom and...
Stained glass depicting Saint David. Source: Hchc2009 / CC BY-SA 4.0.
1 March, 2020 - 14:00 dhwty

Miracle from the Womb: Saint David, Patron Saint of Wales

Saint David (known in Welsh as Dewi Sant) was a Welsh bishop who is recorded to have lived during the 6th century AD. Not much is known about Saint David and the main source of information about the...
Samson and Delilah by Domenico Fiazella (1650) Louvre (Public Domain)
28 February, 2020 - 19:58 MartiniF

Hair-Raising Status of Ancient Gods and Men

Human hair has always played an important role in culture and in society. For men and women alike, styling one's hair seems to be an innate human desire to emphasize their beauty and power. Thus,...
Big Bang and the hands of God representation. Source: rolffimages / Adobe Stock
28 February, 2020 - 19:00 Gary Driver

The Bible’s Big Bang, Creation of the Universe

The most profound mystery of mankind is the origin of the universe. In juxtaposition, its origin is also the most profound event known to man. Since about 1200 BC the Bible has declared in its first...
From the royal tombs of Ur, the Standard of Ur mosaic, made of lapis lazuli and shell, shows peacetime. (Public Domain)
27 February, 2020 - 01:06 jim willis

Changing History: The Ferris Wheel of Lost Civilizations

Although history textbooks often present information as if it is set in stone and firmly established, recent research into ancient civilization reveals one embarrassing fact that continuously seems...
Caroline Herschel’s interest in astronomy led her to be the co-discoverer of the universe. Source: Raisondtre / Adobe Stock.
24 February, 2020 - 22:59 Caleb Strom

Caroline Herschel, Co-Discoverer of the Universe

Caroline Herschel is famous for being one of the first women to make significant contributions to astronomy . She discovered eight comets and many nebulae and star clusters, both on her own and in...
This fresco is commonly known as The Tarot Players. It is from the Casa Borromeo, in Milan, and was probably painted in the 1440s. (Public Domain)
24 February, 2020 - 20:24 Alessandra Filiaci

The Literary Panorama of the Tarot Cards: Historical Reality and Myths

Although the Tarot is the most widely used ‘book of images’ in the world for the purpose of fortune-telling , many people are oblivious to its origins. A popular belief exists that the Tarot...
Statue of ancient Athens statesman Pericles
22 February, 2020 - 23:01 B. B. Wagner

Pericles: The Charismatic and Powerful Politician of Ancient Greece

On the eve of his conception sometime in 495 BC, Pericles’ mother Agariste dreamed of giving birth to a lion. It was then, months later, Pericles was born. Pericles (495 BC – 429 BC) was a legend...
Tahitian warrior dugouts, by Giulio Ferrario. (1827) (Public Domain)
21 February, 2020 - 02:42 jim willis

Pre-Historic Island Hopping ‘Hobbits’ in the South Pacific

Although New Zealand and the Philippines are separated by more than 5,000 miles (8,000 km), the stories of how people first migrated to them, and how those stories were treated by scholars, show...
Man on fire showing representation of one of the victims at the Ball of the Burning Men (‘Bal des Ardents’) Source: Daniele Depascale / Adobe stock
20 February, 2020 - 22:06 Aleksa Vučković

Ball of the Burning Men: Temperatures Rose at Hot Royal Party

The world of medieval aristocracy was always plagued by extravagance, power, and eccentricity. Where there was an abundance of power and wealth, the great leaders and kings of the world descended...
Tomb of the augurs. Tarquinia, Italia. (circa 530 BC) (Public Domain)
19 February, 2020 - 16:13 MartiniF

The Augurs of Rome: Birds Predicting The Will Of The Gods

Cycles of nature were at the core of the ancient practice of divination to decipher the will of the gods. Many different methods of divination were practiced in antiquity, such as dream...
The system of Nadi Shastra start from the thumb fingerprint. Right thumb for the man and left for woman. Then the Brahmins find 108 points to correlate with the palm leaf scripts for the destiny reading. (Image: Courtesy: Enrico Baccarini)
17 February, 2020 - 19:45 Enrico

Nadi Shastra: Ancient Leaves of Destiny

A fascinating and incredible mystery is linked to ancient India, a journey into the remote past of a land that still has to reveal to the whole of humanity many of its 'stories' and its wonders. The...
Representation of ancient writing of one of the oldest languages in a book. Source: Andrey Lavrishchev / Adobe stock
17 February, 2020 - 13:56 Aleksa Vučković

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...
A detailed drawing of a Viking age sword from the early ninth century found at Sæbø in the west of Norway. Bergen Museum. (Public Domain)
16 February, 2020 - 15:34 ashley cowie

Swords of Fate: The Ancient Blades That Forged History

For thousands of years humans have found good reason to stab, chop, slice and dice each other up, and the choice weapon which has endured the tests of time is the sword. Historically, kings, emperors...
Ancient saint. Credit: Peer Marlow / Adobe Stock
16 February, 2020 - 14:02 dhwty

Saint Hildegard of Bingen – Visionary, Mystic, Writer, and Composer

Saint Hildegard of Bingen is arguably one of the most remarkable women of the Middle Ages . During her lifetime, she was abbess, mystic, visionary, and composer. In addition, she was a respected...
Depiction of ancient Greek woman. Source: Algol / Adobe stock
15 February, 2020 - 18:01 B. B. Wagner

What Was Life Really Like for an Ancient Greek Woman?

The lives of the ancient Greeks were ones of hardship and endurance. The experiences of ancient Greek women were even tougher. If a newly born Greek girl was deemed worthy and not abandoned, their...
Street art illustrating what the Spanish conquistadores did to the Inca during their conquest and the Battle of Cajamarca. Source: shantihesse / Adobe Stock.
15 February, 2020 - 14:07 dhwty

The Battle of Cajamarca – The Conquest of the Spanish and the End of the Inca Empire

The Battle of Cajamarca was a battle fought between the Spanish and Inca in 1532. The battle, which is sometimes considered to be an ambush or a skirmish, saw a small band of Spaniards led by the...
Hungarian Vizsla out hunting with a pheasant in its mouth. Source: oroszgy / Adobe stock
14 February, 2020 - 19:05 Ksana

Link Between the Huns and Vizsla Dogs Unravels an Ancient Enigma

The history of the Vizsla or Hungarian Pointer breed goes hand in hand with that of the Huns’ (later called Hungarians’ or Magyars’) and even the history of their language. Recent DNA analysis...
Universe Explosion (Gerd Altmann/CC0)
13 February, 2020 - 15:01 jim willis

From Pigeon Poop to the Origin of the Universe

The term, ‘Big Bang’ was coined by the English astronomer and cosmologist Sir Fred Hoyle in 1949. But when he first employed it, during a BBC radio broadcast on astronomy, it was meant to be derisive...
Cyrus the Great. Source: armin dara / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
13 February, 2020 - 01:55 dhwty

Cyrus the Great – Conqueror or Uber Human Rights Activist?

Cyrus II of Persia (more commonly known as Cyrus the Great and called Cyrus the Elder by the ancient Greeks) was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Although there are various ancient sources for...
Kosher Female Figurines in Judah During The Biblical Period?
11 February, 2020 - 14:10 Rabbi Allen Maller

Kosher Female Figurines in Judah During The Biblical Period?

Israeli archeologist Dr. Aaron Greener asks “what are clay female figurines doing in Judah during the biblical period?” My non-archeologist answer is; they represent kosher (suitable for religious...
Captain Kidd in New York Harbor by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863 – 1930) (Public Domain)
11 February, 2020 - 03:01 ashley cowie

Pirates of the Northern Seas and Scotland’s Oceanic Criminals

Pirates, maybe even more than mermaids and sea serpents, are the most fascinating and misunderstood entities of maritime history and while it is known today that mermaids were seals and giant...
The Battle of Zama. Source: Art Institute of Chicago / Public domain
8 February, 2020 - 17:35 dhwty

When Hannibal Met His Nemesis: The Battle of Zama

The Battle of Zama was a decisive battle of the Second Punic War (also known as the Hannibalic War, or the War Against Hannibal), which was fought between Rome and Carthage. The battle was won by the...

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