Ugarit is an ancient coastal city-state of northern Syria. In the amiable climate of the East Mediterranean, Bronze Age Ugarit grows a...

Enkomi is among the most important settlements of middle Bronze Age Cyprus. Originally it's situated on the east coast as a prime...

The Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) is a subspecies of Eurasian brown bear. Native to the Middle East, Caucasus Mountains and...

Ninkasi is a goddess of beer and brewing in ancient Mesopotamia. She embodies the pleasant, ambrosial and aphrodisiac effects of beer as...

The Tjeker (Tjekker, Teresh, Taresh) are a seafaring culture in constant conflict with Egypt, and one of the tribal groups named in the...

Mount Nemrut is a dormant volcano in Van province of east Turkey, near Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands. Nemrut is named for the...

Nimrod is a legendary Mesopotamian king in the early Bronze Age. A controversial figure, Nimrod has a savage nature and civilized mind,...

Yahweh is the God of the Israelites in ancient Levant. In the Book of Exodus he reveals his Hebrew name, YHWH, to Moses. The origins of...

Çayönü Tepesi (Cayonu) is a Neolithic settlement in SE Turkey. From c. 8630-6800 BCE it's a site of innovation, agriculture and human...

Neolithic farmers in Britain and northern Europe are the first to drink milk. Early humans are lactose intolerant but consume dairy...

Kamrushepa (Kamrušepa) is a Luwian and Hittite goddess of medicine and magic. She's the wife of Sun God Tiwaz and plays an important...

Urash (Uraš) is an ancient Mesopotamian earth goddess and wife of Anu , sky god and oldest deity. Anu has two other consorts, different...

Salt is an essential mineral of life. In food it stimulates taste and is among the oldest preservation methods. Part of the human taste...

Pomegranate ( Punica granatum ) is one of the seven ancient foods of the southern Mediterranean. Figs are also part of the group....

Aruru is a goddess of vegetation with a nasty yen for violence. Her major cult centers are Sumerian sites Adab (Bismaya), Kesh and...

When the gods come into being in Mesopotamia, they create the Igigi to act as their servants because they find work too exhausting. As...

An innocuous shrub of desert regions, green ushtun ( Seidlitzia rosmarinus ) is used by ancients for soap and medicine. In Mesopotamia...

Shulpae (Šulpae) is a Mesopotamian demon god. His wife is the eternal Ninhursag , the mother mountain goddess. Her major cult center is...

Sin (Nanna, Dilimbabbar, Suen), is the ancient Mesopotamian God of the Moon. He fathers several deities including Inanna , Queen of...

A Mesopotamian urban center, Kish is occupied for thousands of years. At about 12 km (7.5 mi) from Babylon Iraq, Kish is built upon the...