The arabian nights: Did you mean...?

Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) was a Danish nobleman who made the most significant contribution to our knowledge of astronomy before the telescope arrived. He discovered a supernova, observed the elliptical interplanetary orbit of a comet, updated...

This map illustrates the rise and territorial expansion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (circa 911–609 BCE), a dominant Mesopotamian power that emerged after earlier phases of Assyrian history. Unlike their predecessors, Neo-Assyrian kings pursued...

The life of wealthy Romans was filled with exotic luxuries such as cinnamon, myrrh, pepper, or silk acquired through long-distance international trade. Goods from the Far East arrived in Rome through two corridors – the Red Sea and the Persian...

Caesarea Maritima, the city Herod the Great (r. 37-4 BCE) built for Rome on the southeastern coast of the Mediterranean served as the Roman Empire's powerbase of operations both commercially and militarily. With Rome's ultimate goal of adding...

The extent of the Abbasid empire at its greatest extent has been shaded with green. The whole of the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, Iraq, Syria, parts of Asia Minor, Egypt, the North African coast excluding Morocco (Maghreb), Crete and the western...

This infographic illustrates the Five Pillars of Islam, which form the core practices of the religion, established during the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (7th century CE) —Shahada (faith), Salah (prayer), Zakat (charity), Sawm (fasting...

Nomadic people left tens of thousands of inscribed rocks, like this one, across Jordan desserts, written in Safaitic, an Arabian dialect. This rock playfully shows a woman playing the flute. The inscription reads "By Aqraban, son of Kasit...

The Jabal al-Ahmar Necropolis in Hegra (Mada'in Salih) in modern-day Saudi Arabia is one of the four necropolis areas to have survived. It contains 18 tombs, some of which were recently uncovered. The remains of a 2,000-year-old Nabatean...

The Tomb of the Lion of Kuza (Qasr al-Farid) is a 1st-century CE Nabatean unfinished tomb carved into a single huge rock in Hegra (Madain Saleh) in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Nabatea's second capital after Petra. Qasr al-Farid is isolated...

Limestone bust of Zeus-Dushara from the courtyard enclosure of the Qasr al-Bint in the Nabataean city of Petra (Jordan). Dushara, the chief deity of Petra and the head of the Nabataean pantheon, was identified with the Greek god Zeus. This...