We all know that the ancient world was a violent place, but we often don’t appreciate just how violent it was. The world was in a near-constant state of bloodshed and warfare. Massacres and mass...
Lambsar Castle, representing the gargantuan castle in the popular ‘Assassin’s Creed’ franchise, has yielded stunning astrolabe tile fragments during excavations. Located in the Central Alburz...
A routine road construction project has led to the accidental discovery of an extensive network of underground corridors in Bam village of Esfarayen county in northeast Iran. Archaeologists have...
Ironically, Xenophon’s Cyropaedia, written around 370 BC, a narrative describing the education of the ideal ruler centred on Cyrus the Great founder of the Achaemenid Dynasty, was a great inspiration...
When it comes to legends, none is quite as moviesque as that of the Hashshashins, who in the Middle Ages inspired fear in the hearts of leaders in the Middle East. Hassan-i Sabbah, dubbed the Old Man...
Believe it or not, fake eyes have existed for thousands of years. Besides improving the physical appearance of the patient needing the artificial eye, fake eyes also prevent tissues in the eye socket...
Considered the world’s most expensive spice , saffron has been highly valued by many ancient civilizations, but its origins have long been debated. A new study claims to have traced the evolution of...
The world of the ancient past is undoubtedly filled with many mysteries. The knowledge of the ancients escapes us today: we are not fully aware of the extent of their wisdom and their ability to...
The origins of Zoroastrianism can be traced back to nearly 4,000 years ago. It was the first monotheistic faith in the world and even Persia’s official religion from 600 BC to 650 AD. And it still...
A new research paper claims to reveal new facts about the ancient Persian (Achaemenid) Empire. While headlines tell of the 33 Achaemenid clay tablets determining that Persian laborers were paid wages...
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...
Excavations have been ongoing on at the Sasanian Empire’s Great Wall of Gorgan, a 125-mile (200-kilometer) long defensive fortification built across Golestan Province in northern Iran in the fifth...
The remains of an ancient mountain fire temple have been discovered in Iran. While archaeology knows of almost 200 fire temples around the world this one is special because it displays a rare ancient...
Located near Zabol in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, the ancient site of Shahr-i Sokhta (“Burnt City”) is one of the largest and richest Bronze Age sites in Iran and the Middle East...
This story details a cold case like no other. It occurred after the discovery of a mummy that was alleged to be an ancient Persian Princess. It ultimately led archaeological investigators on a wild...
Archaeologists are preparing to launch the third major excavation of an important site on the Jiroft plain , in the Halil River valley of southeastern Iran . The Konar Sandal remains were exposed...