The Armenian Apostolic Church on Saturday commemorates St Apkar (Abgar), a martyr of the church and our first Christian King. According to Armenian tradition, St Abgar was the first Christian king of the 1st century, the son of the Parthian king Arshakunie Arsham. He was also called "senior man" as he was the wisest of all and a genius.
Local Assyrian-Australian office worker Mikhael Bacchus (32) is once again bracing for years of correcting people who confuse him with Syrians, now that the Middle Eastern nation--whose name coincidentally sounds very similar to the name of his people--is in the news again.
When delving into the study of Christianity in China, one is struck by a particular attitude among Chinese scholars, especially those from mainland China, who often describe Christianity as a "foreign religion." Technically, it is true that Christianity did not originate in China, but the same could be said for Italy or France.
Does your heart soar when you're happy? If you were living in ancient Mesopotamia, you might assign such joyful flights to the liver. Researchers have analysed Mesopotamian texts to see how they described emotions inhabiting different parts of the body. The study, published in iScience, draws on Neo-Assyrian cuneiform texts dating from 934-612 BC.
The Armenians, a population in Western Asia historically native to the Armenian Highlands, were long thought to be descendants of Phrygian settlers from the Balkans. This theory, rooted primarily in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus, stemmed from his observation that Armenians serving in the Persian army were armed in a manner similar to the Phrygians.
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have deciphered what is believed to be the world's oldest map--a 3,000-year-old Babylonian clay tablet that may reveal the location of Noah's Ark. The artifact, known as the Imago Mundi, has been housed in the British Museum since 1882 after its discovery in what is now Iraq.