Featured Article
Article
Chariots in Ancient Chinese Warfare
The chariot was used in Chinese warfare from around 1250 BCE but enjoyed its heyday between the 8th and 5th century BCE when various states were constantly...
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Image
Maya Incense Burner
A Maya incense burner in the form of Itzamnaaj. The god wears a costume with feline headdress. Painted ceramic, c. 1200-1521, Peten, Guatemala (St...
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Article
Ancient Israelite & Judean Religion - Its History and Development
As early as the 10th century BCE, Israelite and Judean religion began to emerge within the broader West Semitic culture, otherwise known as Canaanite...
Definition
Enlil - Mesopotamian Keeper of the Tablets of Destiny
Enlil (also known as Ellil and Nunamnir) was the Sumerian god of the air in the Mesopotamian pantheon, but he was more powerful than any other elemental...
Definition
Anu - Mesopotamian Father of the Gods
Anu (also known as An) is an early Mesopotamian sky god who was later viewed as the Father of the Gods and ruler of the heavens, a position which then...
Definition
Utu-Shamash - Sumerian God of the Sun and Justice
Utu-Shamash (also known as Babbar, Samas, Shamash, and Utu) is the Sumerian god of the sun and divine justice. He is the son of the moon god Nanna and...
Article
British Concentration Camps in the Boer War
The British authorities controversially used concentration camps for civilians during the Boer War (1899-1902) in Southern Africa. The reason was to...
Definition
Nanna - Mesopotamian God of the Moon and Wisdom
Nanna (also known as Nannar, Nanna-Suen, Sin, Asimbabbar, Namrasit, Inbu) is the Mesopotamian god of the moon and wisdom. He is one of the oldest gods...
Definition
Ereshkigal - Mesopotamian Queen of the Dead
Ereshkigal (also known as Irkalla and Allatu) is the Mesopotamian Queen of the Dead, who rules the underworld. Her name translates as "Queen of the...
Definition
First Anglo-Boer War - Transvaal's Fight for Independence
The First Anglo-Boer War (aka Transvaal War, 1880-1) was a conflict between Britain and the Boer Republic of Transvaal in Southern Africa. The Boers...
Article
The Descent of Inanna - A Sumerian Tale of Injustice
The Sumerian poem The Descent of Inanna (circa 1900-1600 BCE) chronicles the journey of Inanna, the great goddess and Queen of Heaven, from her realm...
Article
Cylinder Seals in Ancient Mesopotamia - Their History and Significance
Among the most interesting and revealing artifacts discovered from ancient Mesopotamia are cylinder seals. These fairly small items may be seen today...
Definition
Synod of Whitby
The Synod of Whitby was an assembly held in 664 by King Oswiu of Northumbria, with the aim of deciding whether Oswiu's kingdom should follow Roman Christian...
Definition
Inanna - The Most Popular Goddess of Ancient Mesopotamia
Inanna is the ancient Sumerian goddess of love, sensuality, fertility, procreation, and also of war. She later became identified by the Akkadians and...
Definition
Cylinder Seal - Ancient Personal Identification
Cylinder Seals were impression stamps used by the people of ancient Mesopotamia. Known as kishib in Sumerian and kunukku in Akkadian, the seals were...
Definition
Jameson Raid - The Failed British Coup in Transvaal
The Jameson Raid was an unofficial and failed attempt by the British to take over the Boer Republic of Transvaal in Southern Africa in December 1895...
Article
The Marduk Prophecy - Travels of the Statue of a Babylonian God
The Marduk Prophecy is an Assyrian document dating to between 713 and 612 BCE found in a building known as The House of the Exorcist, adjacent to a...
Definition
Edmund I - The Second King of England
Edmund I ruled the Kingdom of the English from 939 to 946. In his youth, alongside his brother, King Aethelstan (reign 924-939), he defeated a Celtic-Viking...
