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The Rock-Cut Tombs of Qizqapan, Iraqi Kurdistan: Median or Achaemenid?
O Creator of the material world, at what distance from the holy man (should the place for the dead body be)?" Ahura Mazda replied: "Three paces from the holy man". (Vend. 8. 6-7) In September 2009 CE, one of my relatives...
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Stela of Idi from the Old Kingdom of Egypt
Only this part of a large limestone stela has survived. At the lower end, there is a head of a man with a beard (originally painted with red). The hieroglyphic inscriptions read "the head lector priest, sole companion, ... stolist of the...
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Gold Dinar of Al-Amin
Dinars (gold coins) minted in the reign of Caliph Al-Amin (r. 809-813 CE) of the Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258 CE).
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Dr. Amin Interviews Professor Al-Rawi
Professor Farouk Al-Rawi (left) talks with Dr. Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (author; right) about the newly discovered Tablet II of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The interview was conducted at the Sulaymaniyah Museum on April 7, 2019 CE. Professor...
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The Lullubian Rock Relief of Darband-i Basara
History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme. (Mark Twain) Darband-i Basara (the Pass of Basara) is a narrow natural gorge which transects the anticlines of the upper part of the Qaradagh Mountain Range. The elevation is about...
Definition
Abbasid Dynasty
The Abbasids were an Arabic dynasty that initially ruled over most of the Islamic empire (save some western parts) after assuming the caliphate in 750 CE, later on, their empire fragmented, however, they retained spiritual supremacy as caliphs...
Definition
Prophet Muhammad
Muhammad ibn Abdullah (l. 570-632 CE) is venerated today as the Prophet of Islam and the “seal of Prophets” by his followers – the Muslims. Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last – hence the “seal” – of many prophets before him in Judaism...
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Never Seen: The Trace of a Jewish Spirit from Mesopotamia
The Story Begins from a Dead End August 25, 2015 was a very hot day of summer but its omen was a very promising one! That day, I was with my friend, Mr. Hashim Hama Abdulla, director of the Sulaymaniyah Museum in Iraq, walking in the main...
Definition
Islamic Caliphates
Caliphate (“Khilafat” in Arabic) was a semi-religious political system of governance in Islam, in which the territories of the Islamic empire in the Middle East and North Africa and the people within were ruled by a supreme leader called...
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The Iraq Museum & Three Wars: Three Steps from Hell
This article documents and elaborates on the many critical behind-the-scenes events, unknown to the public, before the history leaves us. The author The bulk of the “the land between the two rivers” lies in what we call today the...