Jewish Experiences in the Roman Bathhouses of Judaea/Syria Palaestina
February 2024 | Vol. 12.2 By Yaron Z. Eliav A Typical Roman Public Bathhouse. Drawn by Yannis Nakas for the Author. In the first few centuries of the common era, hundreds of thousa
Migrations and Invasions: How Steppe Nomads Shaped the Near East
January 2024 | Vol. 12.1 By Kenneth W. Harl Nomadic peoples dwelling on the Eurasian steppes have historically played a major role in shaping the civilizations of the Near East. On
Death as a Stage for Performing Identity in the Assyrian Empire
january 2024 | Vol. 12.1 By Petra M. Creamer How can burial practices tell us about the power of an empire over its subjects? If this seems like a broad question – it is. When st
A Girl’s Helping Hand on the Journey to the Afterlife: Alabaster Ishtar-Aphrodite Figurines from Seleucid-Parthian Babylonia
December 2023 | Vol. 11.12 By Stephanie M. Langin-Hooper Sometime late in the Seleucid or early in the Parthian period (c. 2nd century BCE), a family living in or near Babylon grie
Gender in the Ancient Near East and Egypt
November 2023 | Vol. 11.11 By Stephanie Budin Sex and gender have become central topics of discussion and scholarship in a wide variety of fields, ever since second-wave feminism e
How Empires and Cities in the Ancient Near East Accelerated Wealth Inequality
October 2023 | Vol. 11.10 By Andrea Squitieri and Mark Altaweel The rise and economic development of mostly Western states from the 18th to 20th centuries resulted in increased ph
Beyond the Fertile Crescent: Life in the Black Desert
October 2023 | Vol. 11.10 By Yorke M. Rowan The forbidding landscape known as the Black Desert is created by lava flows stretching from southern Syria to northern Saudi Arabia that
Dogs as Part of the Social Fabric of Iron Age Settlements
October 2023 | Vol. 11.10 By Lidar Sapir-Hen and Deirdre N. Fulton The interaction of humans with their best friend, the dog, is extensively studied. In historical periods, evidenc
Horvat Midras (Israel): A Window into Socio-Religious Change in Rural Roman Palestine
September 2023 | Vol. 11.9 By Orit Peleg-Barkat and Gregg E. Gardner The ongoing excavation of Horvat Midras/Khirbet Durusiya (Israel) provides an opportunity to study changes in t
“Sin”: The Hidden History
September 2023 | Vol. 11.9 By David Konstan Sin is a religious concept. In civil law, one is accused of committing a crime, not a sin. But sin is often still more narrowly understo