Articles

The Song of the Hoe is a Sumerian praise poem celebrating the hoe for its many uses and linking it to the creation of the world by the great god Enlil. As the economy of Mesopotamia was almost entirely based on agriculture, it is not surprising...

A Japanese carrier force attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, O'ahu, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941 and so brought the United States into the Second World War (1939-45). The surprise attack, made before war was officially declared, caused...

Without warning or even declaring war, Japan attacked the US naval fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on 7 December 1941. Japan's military government, which had already occupied Manchuria, Korea, coastal China, and French Indo-China, needed access...

Abner Doubleday (1819-1893), an officer in the US Army during the American Civil War, is famous today for two events – neither of which actually happened: - Firing the first shot from Fort Sumter on 12 April 1861 - Inventing the game...

The Nimrud Ivories are a vast collection of figures, panels, and plaques, carved from ivory, dated to the 9th to 7th centuries BCE, discovered in the ruins of the ancient city of Nimrud. Today, they are considered among the finest archaeological...

A Praise Poem of Lipit-Estar is a Sumerian praise song honoring Lipit-Estar (also known as Lipit-Ishtar, reign circa 1935 to circa 1924 BCE), the fifth king of the First Dynasty of Isin, best known for his legal code written between the time...

In September 1862, while in Urbana, Maryland, on the Maryland Campaign, Confederate Cavalry General J. E. B. Stuart (1833-1864) decided to take a break from the American Civil War and stage a grand party at the Landon House (also known, since...

Enki's Journey to Nippur (circa 2000 BCE) is a Sumerian origin myth explaining the creation of the temple at Eridu by the god Enki and how musical instruments were ordained for use in festivals in ancient Mesopotamia. The poem formed part...

The Queen of the Night (also known as the "Burney Relief") is a high-relief terracotta plaque of baked clay, 19.4 inches (49.5 cm) high, 14.5 inches (37 cm) wide, with a thickness of 1.8 inches (4.8 cm), depicting a naked winged woman flanked...

The Hymn to Nungal (circa 1894-1595 BCE) is a Sumerian poem praising Nungal, the goddess of prisons and rehabilitation (also associated with the underworld), as well as the prison house she presided over. Her name means "Great Princess,"...