Who Were the Sea Peoples? And Did They Bring About the End of the Bronze Age?
Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey has sparked a resurgence of interest in the Sea Peoples. But who were they and should they be blamed for the fall of the Bronze Age?
The House of Aršāma, Persian Satrap in Egypt
Satraps (“governors”) did the everyday work of maintaining Persian imperial rule across its vast empire. Ancient texts from Egypt allow us to understand how this arrangement wo
Did the Phoenicians Bring Democracy to Greece?
From Aristotle to John Adams, great minds of government have revered Carthaginian democracy as the purest expression of a people’s will. What impact did it have in the developmen
The Myth of the Servant: A New Tale of Kingship from the Ancient Near East
Why do so many of the ancient world’s most famous kings share the same unlikely origin story? The answer may lie in a mythical template first forged in Mesopotamia.
Alexander the Great in Jerusalem
One of the famous scenes of antiquity is that of the visit purportedly paid by Alexander the Great to the temple of Jerusalem. But did Alexander actually visit Jerusalem? And does
Moses’ Other Names: A Clue to the Biblical Exodus During Egypt’s Civil War?
Did an historical event give rise to the story of the Exodus? A story told by the ancient historian Josephus may provide some clues.
A Failed Coup: The Assassination of Sennacherib and the Assyrian Civil War of 681 BC
When the Assyrian king Sennacherib was assassinated in 680 BC, it launched a civil war amongst his sons. How did Esarhaddon come out on top? And what were the consequences for the
The Amorites: Rethinking Approaches to Corporate Identity in Antiquity
Most of our approaches to identity in antiquity fixate upon a binary, constructed in modern scholarship. But individuals embrace multiple collective identities, whether social, ide
The Hittite Prince Who Stole an Empire
Hattusili began life as a sickly child and spare prince, but survived and persevered to capture the throne, becoming Great King of the Hittite Empire.
An Alternative Timeline for the Colossus of Rhodes
Legend says that the Colossus of Rhodes fell to ruins not long after its construction. Ancient texts and geological evidence suggest a more complex history.