Before and After Babel
August 2023 | Vol. 11.8 By Marc Van De Mieroop “But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the sam
Heartbreak and the History of Distress in Ancient Mesopotamia
July 2023 | Vol. 11.7 By Moudhy Al-Rashid The concept of “heartbreak” appears multiple times in cuneiform texts as a metaphor to describe both mental and physical conditions. H
The Remarkable Rise of Assyria: A Reassessment
July 2023 | Vol. 11.7 By Bleda S. Düring Assyria is one of the most remarkable imperial states in global history, often celebrated as the first “world empire”. At its peak, du
A Letter from the Editor
July 2023 | Vol. 11.7 By Jessica Nitschke It is my great honor to have been selected as the new Editor of The Ancient Near East Today. I officially took over the reins in January
Digitizing Manuscripts from Southwest Asia: Access, Ethics, and Sustainability
July 2023 | Vol. 11.7 By Raha Rafii The expansion of digital humanities in the last decade has led to a widespread increase in manuscript digitization projects by libraries, univer
Who Knew? Uncovering Unexpected Histories in the Southern Levant
June 2023 | Vol. 11.6 By Martine van den Berg This past February, the first-ever Friends of ASOR Tour to Israel and the Palestinian Territories headed off for a 13-day archaeolog
The Book of Esther as a Source for Achaemenian History
June 2023 | Vol. 11.6 By Morteza Arabzadeh Sarbanani The Book of Esther (Fig. 1) is set in the Persian capital of Susa during the reign of Xerxes (Ahasuerus in Hebrew) and tells th
Archaeological Laborers of 20th-Century Palestine
June 2023 | Vol. 11.6 By Melissa Cradic Who were the workers who carried out excavation of archaeological sites in the “big dig” era of the early 20th century in Palestine? Und
Who Invented Idolatry?
June 2023 | Vol. 11.6 By Daniel Barbu In late antiquity, Christian authors triumphantly celebrated the end of polytheism and idolatry: Christ had vanquished the demons and the Chur
Baths of the Roman and Byzantine Southern Levant: Roman Ideas and Local Interpretations
June 2023 | Vol. 11.6 By Arleta Kowalewska and Craig A. Harvey Bathhouses are one of the most iconic remains associated with the Roman world, easily recognized by their distinctive