The reign of Byzantine emperor Justinian I (482–565 C.E.) was marked by both glory and devastation. Justinian reconquered much of the former Roman Empire while establishing lasting legal codes and Read more…
Post-Biblical Period
The post-Biblical period encompasses the eras of history that follow after the conclusion of events as recorded in the Bible.
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Justinian Plague Linked to the Black Death
• 05/10/2013
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The Origin of Christianity
• 11/09/2012
Geza Vermes explores the origin of Christianity by examining the characteristics of the Jewish Jesus movement to see how it developed into a distinctly gentile religion. Read more…
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First Turkish Dig Abroad Reveals Byzantine Baptistery in Kosovo
• 09/07/2012
Turkish excavations in Kosovo recently exposed a baptistery from the 6th century C.E. in the ancient city of Ulpiana. The original Roman city was destroyed in the fifth century C.E., Read more…
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Excavating Early Scottish Christianity
• 08/14/2012
Excavations on the Scottish island Eigg have uncovered a seventh century C.E. structure thought to be the monastery founded by St. Donnan, one of the first missionaries in Scotland. Also Read more…
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Fatimid Treasure Discovered at Crusader-Era Apollonia-Arsuf
• 07/16/2012
Archaeologists seek out the treasures of the past, but rarely do they come across literal pots of gold. Tel Aviv University and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority excavations at Read more…
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Conservation Efforts Expose Princely Umayyad Inscription
• 06/01/2012
Conservation efforts conducted by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan, the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro in Rome and the World Monuments Fund recently preserved an Umayyad Read more…
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Excavations at Beersheba Bus Station Expose the Heart of the Byzantine City
• 04/30/2012
When the Israel Antiquity Authority began excavating before renovations at the Beersheba bus station, they did not know that they were sitting just above the center of a Byzantine city. Read more…
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Medieval Jewish Manuscripts Reportedly Found in Afghanistan
• 01/03/2012
January 2013 update: 29 of the manuscripts were recently purchased by the Israel National Library. Read more in “Manuscripts Reveal Ancient Community of Afghan Jews.”
More than 150 medieval Jewish manuscripts Read more…
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Lovers’ Pipe Discovered in Jerusalem
• 01/02/2012
An Ottoman-era clay pipe inscribed in Arabic with the phrase “Love is the language for lovers” was discovered last week in ongoing archaeological excavations in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter. The pipe, Read more…
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New Index Helps Unravel Talmud’s Mysteries
• 12/29/2011
The Talmud, a massive, composite work of rabbinical discourse on Jewish law and scripture dating back to the sixth century C.E., can be formidable and difficult to penetrate, often requiring Read more…
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Byzantine-era Bathhouse Unearthed Near Jerusalem
• 12/26/2011
Archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority have discovered a large, well-preserved Byzantine-era bathhouse in the Judean foothills about 20 miles west of Jerusalem. The bathhouse, which the archaeologists date to Read more…
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Rare Crusader Arabic Inscription Discovered
• 11/16/2011
According to Israeli antiquities officials, an 800-year-old marble slab recovered from the walls of Old Jaffa contains the only known Crusader inscription written in Arabic. The almost completely intact four-line Read more…
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Met Reopens Galleries of Islamic Art
• 11/03/2011
This week, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York reopened 15 galleries showcasing the art and architecture of the Islamic world. The galleries, which have undergone a dramatic renovation Read more…
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Israel’s National Library Displays Early Islamic Texts
• 10/26/2011
Starting this week, visitors to Israel’s National Library will be able to view rare Islamic manuscripts from the library’s collection, including two early Qurans from the ninth century C.E., just Read more…
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Preserving the Tree of Life Mosaic from Jericho
• 10/24/2011
In order to preserve the stunning “tree of life” mosaic covering the floor of an eighth-century C.E. Jericho palace, architects and heritage officials are building a unique shelter at the Read more…
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Scholars Piece Together Cairo Genizah
• 10/19/2011
Scholars at Tel Aviv University are using digital technologies to piece together more than 350,000 fragments of the famous Cairo Geniza, a collection of ancient and medieval Jewish writings discovered Read more…
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The Remarkable Story of the Sinai Palimpsest
• 10/13/2011
In her book The Sisters of Sinai, author Janet Soskice recounts the remarkable adventure that led to the discovery of the Sinai Palimpsest. Read more…
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What Were the Crusades?
• 10/07/2011
David Nicolle’s new book takes a look at the Order of Hospitallers, a military order of the Christian Crusades. Read more…
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Original Maimonides Manuscript Goes Digital
• 09/26/2011
The Bodleian Library at Oxford University has digitized an 800-year-old copy of the Mishneh Torah, an authoritative guide to Jewish law written by the medieval Jewish scholar Maimonides in the Read more…
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Israeli Bus Station Becomes Archaeological Dig
• 09/19/2011
*Click here to read an updated post on the Beersheba excavations from April 2012*
Archaeologists with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) are uncovering evidence of Byzantine Beersheba in a most unexpected Read more…
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Haredi Jews Hold Conference on “Torah Archaeology”
• 09/13/2011
Leading Haredi Jews from Israel and abroad recently held a conference to discuss the light archaeology can shed on Jewish religious texts. Known for their conservative religious outlook, Haredi Jewish Read more…
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An Unexpected Consequence of the Christian Crusades
• 07/23/2011
The Fihrist (meaning “the catalogue”) is a compendium of all of the significant written works on religion, the humanities and science available at the end of the first millennium A.D. Read more…
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What Were the Crusades and How Did They Impact Jerusalem?
• 07/23/2011
What were the Crusades really? In truth, the Christian Crusades were more of a series of invasions that took place in fits and starts by all manner of Europeans—young, old, Read more…
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The Nag Hammadi Codices and Gnostic Christianity
• 03/29/2011
Until the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices in 1945, the Gnostic view of early Christianity had largely been forgotten. The teachings of Gnostic Christianity—vilified especially since they were declared Read more…
