Whose Song is It?

By Dean Kalimniou

A few months ago, I was driving to the Assyrian New Year Festivities with my family. My wife, who is a member of that tribe, was playing a particularly patriotic and militant Assyrian song on the radio.

When Jeruslaem Was an Assyrian Vassal

A Oxford Journal of Archaeology publication by Reli Avisar examines how vassal kingdoms, elite consumption, and imported luxury goods shaped Iron Age Lachish and Jerusalem. It maps out a surprising economic and political reversal between the two sites.

A Timeless City in Turkey

Mardin, Turkey -- Mardin, a city etched into the rocky hills of southeastern Türkiye, offers an unparalleled confluence of history, architecture and cultural depth. Perched along the ancient Silk Road, the settlement has been a meeting point for empires, a sanctuary for faiths and a canvas for architectural ingenuity.

Star of Ishtar Serves Not Only Assyrian Food

By Don Rice

Saskatoon, Canada -- Businesses and non-profit organizations regularly open and move in Saskatoon. Today, the StarPhoenix talks to Montha Istifo, who opened Star of Ishtar Restaurant last year in Sutherland.

Nicholas II, Aššurbanipal, and Marco Polo Walk Into a Bookstore

By Jonathan Kay

If you're a fan of ancient history, I heartily recommend the Lost Civilizations series published by the University of Chicago Press through its Reaktion Books imprint, which I first encountered via Frances F. Berdan's outstanding 2021 volume on the Aztecs. The latest entry is The Assyrians, by British Museum Mesopotamia expert Paul Collins (who also wrote the Sumerian entry back in 2021).

Assyrians, the First Scuba Divers?

By Jason Dookeran

This 3,000-year-old artifact has turned the world of archaeological understanding on its head - or at least, that's what social media would have us believe. Housed in the British Museum's Northwest Palace collection, an intriguing Assyrian relief has sparked intense debate about ancient underwater capabilities that would make modern diving pioneers question everything they thought they knew about...