|
Al-Mashrafah
Qatna (modern: , Tell al-Mishrifeh; also Tell Misrife or Tell Mishrifeh) was an ancient city located in Homs Governorate, Syria. Its remains constitute a tell situated about northeast of Homs near the village of al-Mishrifeh. The city was an important center through most of the second millennium BC and in the first half of the first millennium BC. It contained one of the largest royal palaces of Bronze Age Syria and an intact royal tomb that has provided a great amount of archaeological evidence on the funerary habits of that period. First inhabited for a short period in the second half of the fourth millennium BC, it was repopulated around 2800 BC and continued to grow. By 2000 BC, it became the capital of a regional kingdom that spread its authority over large swaths of the central and southern Levant. The kingdom enjoyed good relations with Mari, but was engaged in constant warfare against Yamhad. By the 15th century BC, Qatna lost its hegemony and came under the authorit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Mushrifah
Al-Mushrifah (, also spelled ''al-Mishirfeh'', ''el-Mishrife'' or ''Musharrfeh'') is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located northeast of Homs, with a population of 14,868 in 2004. Nearby localities include Ayn al-Niser, Umm al-Amad and al-Mukharram to the east, and Talbiseh, al-Ghantu and Teir Maalah to the west. Outside the modern town is Tell el-Mishrife, the site of the ancient city-state of Qatna. It has a religiously mixed population of Sunni Muslims, Alawites and Christians. The village contains several mosques and two churches. History In the mid-19th century, the village of al-Mushrifah was built within the ancient site of Qatna (Tell al-Mishrifeh). Houses were built on top of the royal palace floors, which caused some damage to them while also providing a protective cover for the underlying ruins. In 1940, its population was 1,500. In the 1950s, under the influence of the Syrian Communist Party The Syrian Communist Par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitanni
Mitanni (–1260 BC), earlier called Ḫabigalbat in old Babylonian texts, ; Hanigalbat or Hani-Rabbat in Assyrian records, or in Ancient Egypt, Egyptian texts, was a Hurrian language, Hurrian-speaking state in northern Syria (region), Syria and southeast Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) with Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan Indo-Aryan superstrate in Mitanni, linguistic and political influences. Since no histories, royal annals or chronicles have yet been found in its excavated sites, knowledge about Mitanni is sparse compared to the other powers in the area, and dependent on what its neighbours commented in their texts. The Hurrians were in the region as of the late 3rd millennium BC. A king of Urkesh with a Hurrian name, Tupkish, was found on a clay sealing dated at Tell Mozan.Salvini, Mirjo. "The earliest evidences of the Hurrians before the formation of the reign of Mittanni." Urkesh and the Hurrians Studies in Honor of Lloyd Cotsen. Urkesh/Mozan Studies Bibliotheca Mesopotamic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Story Of Sinuhe
The ''Story of Sinuhe'' (also referred to as Sanehat or Sanhath) is a work of ancient Egyptian literature. It was likely composed in the beginning of the Twelfth Dynasty after the death of Amenemhat I and the ascention of Senwosret I as sole pharaoh. The tale describes an Egyptian man who flees his kingdom, and lives as a foreigner before returning to Egypt shortly before his death. It explores universal themes such as divine providence and mercy. The oldest known copy of the text dates to the reign of Amenemhat III, around 1800 BCE. The work was so popular within Egypt that newer copies have been found ranging up to 750 years after the original. The story is known from significantly more primary sources than any other ancient Egyptian literary narrative – at least five papyri and 30 ostraca. Most other such narratives are known from one period, whereas Sinuhe spans the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom. Summary ''The Story of Sinuhe'' is written in verse and opens with a word ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Astour
Michael Czernichow Astour (December 17, 1916 Kharkov – October 7, 2004 St. Louis) was professor of Yiddish and Russian literature at Brandeis University and from 1969 professor of history (classical civilization and the ancient Near East) at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. Biography Early life Astour was born into a non-observant Jewish family, only son of a lawyer and essayist, Joseph Czernichow, and his wife, the historian Rachel Hoffmann. In 1921, the family relocated from Kharkov, then part of the Soviet Union, to Kaunas in Lithuania, which had recently achieved independence. The move was influenced by concerns for security: he had been a defense attorney at the Revolutionary tribunal (Russia), revolutionary tribunals set up in Russia after the October Revolution, representing people accused by the Cheka of involvement in counter-revolutionary activities. In 1924 they settled in Vilna in Poland, where he received his secondary schooling at the Vilna Yiddish hig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni Pettinato
Giovanni Pettinato (30 April 1934, in Troina – 19 May 2011, in Rome) was an Assyriologist and paleographer of writings from the ancient Near East, specializing in the Eblaite language, His major contributions to the field include the deciphering of the Eblaite script, discovered by Paolo Matthiae in 1974–75. Pettinato graduated from Heidelberg in 1968, where he had studied for ten years. In 1968 he began teaching Assyriology at the University of Rome. Pettinato died on 19 May 2011 at the age of 76. He was an emeritus of several associations, including the Accademia dei Lincei and authored several publications about the Sumerian and Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...n civilizations. References 1934 births 2011 deaths Italian Assyriologi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ebla
Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was an important center throughout the and in the first half of the Its discovery proved the Levant was a center of ancient, centralized civilization equal to Ancient Egypt, Egypt and Mesopotamia and ruled out the view that the latter two were the only important centers in the Ancient Near East, Near East during the Early Bronze Age. The first Eblaite kingdom has been described as the first recorded world power. Starting as a small settlement in the Early Bronze Age ( ), Ebla developed into a trading empire and later into an expansionist power that imposed its hegemony over much of northern and eastern Syria. Ebla was destroyed during the It was then rebuilt and was mentioned in the records of the Third Dynasty of Ur. The second Ebla w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran border, west, Turkmenistan to the Afghanistan–Turkmenistan border, northwest, Uzbekistan to the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border, north, Tajikistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, northeast, and China to the Afghanistan–China border, northeast and east. Occupying of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains Afghan Turkestan, in the north and Sistan Basin, the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's capital and largest city. Demographics of Afghanistan, Afghanistan's population is estimated to be between 36 and 50 million. Ancient history of Afghanistan, Human habitation in Afghanistan dates to the Middle Paleolithic era. Popularly referred to as the graveyard of empire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baltic Region
The Baltic Sea Region, alternatively the Baltic Rim countries (or simply the Baltic Rim), and the Baltic Sea countries/states, refers to the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea, including parts of Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. Unlike the "Baltic states", the Baltic region includes all countries that border the sea. Etymology The first to name it the ''Baltic Sea'' () was 11th century German chronicler Adam of Bremen. Denotation Depending on the context the ''Baltic Sea Region'' might stand for: * The countries that have shorelines along the Baltic Sea: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Sweden. * The group of countries that are members of the inter-governmental '' Baltic Assembly'' and '' Baltic Council of Ministers'', and generally referred to by the shorthand, Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. * Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, exclaved from the remainder of Russia.«The B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Near East
The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th century by modern Western geographers and was originally applied to the Ottoman Empire, but today has varying definitions within different academic circles. The term ''Near East'' was used in conjunction with the ''Middle East'' and the ''Far East'' (China and beyond), together known as the "three Easts"; it was a separate term from the ''Middle East'' during earlier times and official British usage. As of 2024, both terms are used interchangeably by politicians and news reporters to refer to the same region. ''Near East'' and ''Middle East'' are both Eurocentrism, Eurocentric terms. According to the National Geographic Society, the terms ''Near East'' and ''Middle East'' denote the same territories and are "generally accepted as comprisin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hurrians
The Hurrians (; ; also called Hari, Khurrites, Hourri, Churri, Hurri) were a people who inhabited the Ancient Near East during the Bronze Age. They spoke the Hurrian language, and lived throughout northern Syria, upper Mesopotamia and southeastern Anatolia. The Hurrians were first documented in the city of Urkesh, where they built their first kingdom. Their largest and most influential Hurrian kingdom was Mitanni. The population of the Hittite Empire in Anatolia included a large population of Hurrians, and there is significant Hurrian influence in Hittite mythology. By the Early Iron Age, the Hurrians had been assimilated with other peoples. The state of Urartu later covered some of the same area. A related people to the Hurrians are the Urarteans. History Early Bronze Age The Khabur River valley became the heart of the Hurrian lands for a millennium. The first known Hurrian kingdom emerged around the city of Urkesh (modern Tell Mozan) during the third millennium BC. There ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sargon II
Sargon II (, meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727), Sargon is generally believed to have become king after overthrowing Shalmaneser V (727–722), probably his brother. He is typically considered the founder of a new dynastic line, the Sargonid dynasty. Modelling his reign on the legends of the ancient rulers Sargon of Akkad, from whom Sargon II likely took his regnal name, and Gilgamesh, Sargon aspired to conquer the known world, initiate a golden age and a new world order, and be remembered and revered by future generations. Over the course of his seventeen-year reign, Sargon substantially expanded Assyrian territory and enacted important political and military reforms. An accomplished warrior-king and military strategist, Sargon personally led his troops into battle. By the end of his reign, all of his major enemies and r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hama
Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one of the four largest cities in Syria, with Damascus, Aleppo and Homs, Also notably being the only Governorate with no land borders with any foreign countries, Hama is also known for its Cheese-making tradition, notably reflected in a signature local dessert Halawet el Jibn. The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, Which are claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for irrigation, the norias today are purely for show for the local population. History The ancient settlement of Hamath was occupied from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age. Neolithic The stratigraphy is very generalized, which makes detailed comparison to other sites difficult. Level M ( thick) contained both white ware ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
