During the Neo-Assyrian period (approximately 934-612 BCE, based in modern Iraq) the annals and royal inscriptions of several kings mention women with a curious title: ‘Queen of the Arabs’. These women have been included in previous discussions regarding Assyrian interaction with the ‘Arabs’, but a full investigation into their roles as rulers…[Read more]

This paper compares psychostasia and/or kerostasia concepts from Indo-European, Semitic and adjacent cultures, and relates them to Cognitive Metaphor Theory. In the context of metaphysical weighing, the religions of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome all associated lightness with goodness and/or a favourable outcome; Hinduism does likewise. The…[Read more]

The emergence of Judaism and Samaritanism in antiquity is closely linked to the process by which the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) became defined as the Torah of Moses.

This essay examines three cases in which pentateuchal ritual law is employed in Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles: the Sukkôt celebration in Neh 8:13–18, Hezekiah’s Passover in 2 Chr 30, and Josiah’s Passover, in 2 Chr 35:1–19. These case studies reveal that the scribes responsible for Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles considered the ritual texts of the P…[Read more]

This article explores how the priestly wilderness shrine functions as a monumental space in the sanctuary construction account of Exod 25–31, 35–40. It draws on spatial theory and studies of monumental architecture to identify five features of the tent of meeting that infuse it with monumentality: first, its significance in negotiating the pat…[Read more]

The early history of the study of Parthian art may be profitably divided into three overlapping phases. The first phase, ‘Ordering’, begins with Johann Joachim Winckelmann’s dismissive assessment of Parthian art, at this point known mainly from coins, as derivative and barbaric. The second phase, ‘Exploration’, begins in the mid-ninet…[Read more]

Tags made of mudstone are predominantly found in ancient Egyptian Predynastic cemetery contexts. This study examines the symbolism and significance of mudstone tags that are crescent-shaped and/or feature the recurved horns of hartebeests. The use of syncretic imagery on these tags provides evidence for the fluidity of artistic perceptions in…[Read more]

Tags made of mudstone are predominantly found in ancient Egyptian Predynastic cemetery contexts. This study examines the symbolism and significance of mudstone tags that are crescent-shaped and/or feature the recurved horns of hartebeests. The use of syncretic imagery on these tags provides evidence for the fluidity of artistic perceptions in…[Read more]

Angels, as mythical beings, appear and disappear suddenly throughout Biblical Texts, without any clear explanation of their origins or metaphysical ranks. Whether they are considered circumstantial theophanies or entities with granted self-existence and specific divine functions; such metaphysical entities have a vital presence in the religious…[Read more]

The Late Bronze Age was a period of heightened international diplomacy throughout the eastern Mediterranean littoral and the Near East. A direct result of this supra-regional interconnectivity is argued to have been the formation of an independent hybrid visual style, the ‘International Style’, an iconographic idiom which occurs sparingly on art…[Read more]

The Late Bronze Age was a period of heightened international diplomacy throughout the eastern Mediterranean littoral and the Near East. A direct result of this supra-regional interconnectivity is argued to have been the formation of an independent hybrid visual style, the ‘International Style’, an iconographic idiom which occurs sparingly on art…[Read more]

Assyrian imperialism is closely associated with the practice of mass deportation. This practice has been explained by recourse to many different motivations. But can we hope to pinpoint the logic informing deportation rather than merely identifying its advantages? This paper surveys the evidence of deportation in the Levant in the period 745–620 B…[Read more]

Im Zeitalter von Smartphones und Social Media sind digitale Netze ein allgegenwärtiger und zentraler gesellschaftlicher Raum geworden. Kulturvermittlung arbeitet oft in diesem neuen digitalen Kontext, trotz zahlreicher Enthüllungen über das skandalöse Geschäftsmodell der kostenlosen Social Media Plattformen. Darum müssen wir über Datenethik in der…[Read more]

The text signs on this comb are Minoan Linear A and not the Proto-Canaanite of Serabit el-Khadim as claimed in its 2022 archaeology report. Like most pre-classical linear texts found by archaeology, the language of this text is Akkadian which was the language of the Neolithic farming culture which spread into Europe from the Near-East starting…[Read more]

Prédio sito na Calçada de Sant’Ana tornejando para a Rua do Instituto Bacteriológico, LISBOA PORTUGAL Photographed by Ph.G. de MENDONCA (Wikidata Q90315009). 16 September 2020. This photograph was created by Philippe Gil de Mendonça to document the architecture of Portugal at the request of wikipedia.org and commons.wikimedia.org. The cop…[Read more]

Av. Duque d’Avila 18 LISBOA PORTUGAL Photographed by Ph.G. de MENDONCA (Wikidata Q98462960). 6 September 2020. This photograph was created by Philippe Gil de Mendonça to document the architecture of Portugal at the request of wikipedia.org and commons.wikimedia.org. The copyright and usage rights of the original (16MP) picture remain exclusively…[Read more]

Palácio da Mitra, Marvila, LISBOA PORTUGAL Photographed by Ph.G. de MENDONCA (Wikidata Q74474222). 2 October 2022. This photograph was created by Philippe Gil de Mendonça to document the architecture of Portugal at the request of wikipedia.org and commons.wikimedia.org. The copyright and usage rights of the original (16MP) picture remain e…[Read more]

Av. Duque d’Avila 24 LISBOA PORTUGAL Photographed by Ph.G. de MENDONCA (Wikidata Q98462953) . 4 September 2022. This photograph was created by Philippe Gil de Mendonça to document the architecture of Portugal at the request of wikipedia.org and commons.wikimedia.org. The copyright and usage rights of the original (16MP) picture remain exclusively…[Read more]

Palacete na Rua Dr Alexandre Braga ODIVELAS PORTUGAL Photographed by Ph.G. de MENDONCA (Wikidata Q66814413). 10 October 2021. This photograph was created by Philippe Gil de Mendonça to document the architecture of Portugal at the request of wikipedia.org and commons.wikimedia.org. The copyright and usage rights of the original (16MP) picture…[Read more]