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from babylon to baghdad: ancient iraq and the modern west

from babylon to baghdad: ancient iraq and the modern west Latest

hattusa-wall

Sep 14 Blog

Who Were the Hittites?

By: Ellen White

Archaeology tells us a lot about the Hittites—and the Neo-Hittites too. But it’s hard to reconcile this with the Hittites of the Bible.

tablets-of-jewish-exiles

Aug 20 Blog

How Bad Was the Babylonian Exile?

By: BAS Staff

Was there really weeping from the Judahite exiles by the rivers of Babylon? New evidence suggests that life was actually pretty good for some Judahite deportees and their successors.

black-obelisk-shalmaneser-iii

Aug 2 Blog

10 Things to Know About the Assyrian Empire

By: Robin Ngo

The Assyrians referenced in the Hebrew Bible were a mighty force that exerted power over much of the Near East, including Israel and Judah, in the ninth through seventh centuries B.C.E.

Ain Dara temple

Jul 23 Blog

Searching for the Temple of King Solomon

By: Biblical Archaeology Society Staff

The black basalt ruins of the Iron Age temple discovered at ’Ain Dara in northern Syria offer the closest known parallel to the Temple of King Solomon in the Bible.

Jul 16 Blog

53 People in the Bible Confirmed Archaeologically

By: Lawrence Mykytiuk

How many people mentioned in the Hebrew Bible have been confirmed archaeologically? Lawrence Mykytiuk reveals the surprising number—from Israelite kings to Mesopotamian monarchs—and some lesser figures as well.

Hattusa Entrance

Dec 6 Blog

The Last Days of Hattusa

By: Trevor Bryce

In the latter part of the second millennium B.C., the Hittite empire was a Near Eastern superpower. Then, suddenly, the empire collapsed and Hattusa was invaded and destroyed.

Sargon II

Jul 1 Blog

The Qurnah Disaster

By: Samuel D. Pfister

In April 1855, a convoy carrying thousands of antiquities from French and British excavations in Mesopotamia set out from the city of Mosul, in modern-day […]

sulaymaniyah-gilgamesh-epic

Sep 22 Blog

Ancient Clay Tablet Offers Insights into the Gilgamesh Epic

By: Robin Ngo

An ancient clay tablet acquired in recent years by the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq offers new insights into the Gilgamesh Epic.

Jun 20 Blog

Hanging Gardens of Babylon … in Assyrian Nineveh

By: Noah Wiener

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon may not be Babylonian after all—they may have been 300 miles to the north at Assyrian Nineveh, planted by Sennacherib at the start of the seventh century B.C.E.

sargon-khorsabad

May 22 Blog

The Decline of the Neo-Assyrian Empire

By: Robin Ngo

A recent study argues that overpopulation and drought may have contributed to the rapid demise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.

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50 Real People In the Bible Chart
A Digger’s Life: A Guide to the Archaeology Dig Experience
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Past, Present, and Future
Biblical Peoples—The World of Ancient Israel
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