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Ancient Origins Tour IRAQ

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Ashurbanipal

Libraries of ancient wisdom that helped shape our understanding of the world. Source:  tilialucida/Adobe Stock

Halls of Ancient Wisdom: 7 Remarkable Ancient Libraries

Throughout history, some of the world’s most powerful rulers have acknowledged one simple fact, knowledge is power. This fact led them to build monumental testaments to the pursuit of knowledge and...
Assyrian king. Source: dani3315 / Adobe Stock.

Ashurbanipal: The Most Powerful Man on Earth (Video)

Ashurbanipal, the last formidable king of Assyria , stood as the epitome of power and dominance in the ancient world. With his empire extending from Egypt to Persia, he reigned as the most powerful...
The Fall of Babylon

The Monumental Fall of Babylon: What Really Shattered the Empire?

The fall of Babylon is a historical event that occurred in 539 BC. This event saw the conquest of Babylon by the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great and marked the end of the Neo-Babylonian...
Ashurbanipal: The Oldest Surviving Royal Library in the World with Over 30,000 Clay Tablets

Ashurbanipal: The Oldest Surviving Royal Library in the World with Over 30,000 Clay Tablets

The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal has sometimes been described as the ‘first library’ in the world, or the ‘oldest surviving royal library in the world’. The library was discovered by archaeologists...
Samson and Delilah by Jose Etxenagusia (1887)

The Last Lions of Asia Almost Lost to Mankind

According to legend, about 3160 years ago, in the Levant, there was an enormously strong man, who tore the jaws of an adult male lion with his bare hands. Samson’ name was derived from the word semes...
Hunting the Lions: The Last King of Assyria, and the Death of the Empire – Part II

Hunting the Lions: The Last King of Assyria, and the Death of the Empire – Part II

The Assyrian empire, with the death of King Ashurbanipal, was collapsing under the weight of politics and war. Kingdoms and leaders previously held in Assyria’s great grasp fell upon the vulnerable...
A lion is hunted, and is near death. Assyrian relief, Nineveh, north palace, 645-635 BCE

Hunting the Lions: A Dead King, and a Collapsing Assyrian Empire – Part I

The fall of Assyria was with a whimper and in no way ended with a bang. Instead, it ended in a slow, agonizing death. Ashurbanipal, Assyria's last great king, ascended the throne only to inherit a...
Intellectual, Code Breaker, Blasphemer: George Smith and the Ancient Chaldean Account of Genesis

Intellectual, Code Breaker, Blasphemer: George Smith and the Ancient Chaldean Account of Genesis

George Smith was born in 1840 in London to poor parents, and consequently left school at the tender age of fifteen to take up an apprenticeship with Messrs Bradburry and Evans, a firm of engravers...