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West Asian History
- Stone Age
- Black Sea flooding?
- Sumerians
- Early Dynastic
- Akkadians
- Amorites
- Third Dynasty of Ur
- Hammurabi of Babylon
- Hittites
- Where was the ancient city of Troy?
- Phoenicians
- Assyrians
- Lydians – rich as Croesus
- The early history of the Hebrews (the Jews)
- Who were the Philistines?
- The Assyrian Empire collapses
- Nebuchadnezzar and the Neo-Babylonians
- Iran – Cyrus the Great and the Persian Empire
- From Xerxes to Alexander – the later Persian Empire
- Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic
- Where did the Parthians come from?
- Same empire, new dynasty: the Sassanians
- Islamic Empire
- Mohammed
- Umayyads
- Abbasids
- Seljuks
- Ottoman Empire
- Safavid Empire – the Ismailis
- Sofia Baffo and the Ottomans in the 1600s
- Safavid Iran in the 1600s
- Ottoman pashas (late 1600s)
- Nader Shah and Iran (1700s)
- Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
- Iran in the 1800s – British colonialism
- Nasser al-Din and Iran (1800s)
- Modern Iran: the Shah and the Revolution
West Asian Economy
- Farming
- Pigs
- Sheep and Goats
- Irrigation
- Seals and sealings
- Bronze Age Economy
- The origin of taxes
- What is usury?
- Inheritance in West Asia
- Miners and mining
- West Asian sailing: the Phoenicians
- Dark Age Economy
- Iron Age Economy
- The Lydians and the invention of money
- Sassanian Economy and the Silk Road
- Islamic Economy
- Safavid and Ottoman economy
West Asian Literature
- The first writing: Cuneiform
- The first named author: Enheduanna
- Epic of Gilgamesh
- The shepherd story from the Epic of Gilgamesh
- Who invented the alphabet?
- Early alphabet signs
- The alphabet replaces cuneiform
- Where does Hebrew come from?
- What is Aramaic?
- Sohrab and Rustem
- Vis and Ramin
- Islamic Literature
- Printing presses and the Ottomans
- Ottoman literature
West Asian Government
- Chiefdoms
- City-states
- States
- Empires
- Nomads
- West Asia and the Mediterranean
- Cavalry: riding horses into battle
- Medieval Islamic government
- Ottoman and Safavid government
West Asian Art
- Stone Age art
- Sumerian art
- Akkadian art
- Assyrian and Babylonian art
- Phoenician art – glass beads
- Persian and Parthian art in Iran
- What is fresco painting?
- What is a frieze?
West Asian Architecture
- Sumerian buildings
- Ziggurats
- Assyrian palaces
- Parthian architecture
- What is mud brick?
- Buttress
- West Asian houses
- Plaster
- Synagogues
- Islamic architecture
- What is a mosque?
Daily Life in West Asia
- Girls and young women in West Asia
- Married women in West Asia
- Slaves and Schools
- West Asian Food: bread, cheese, hummus, falafel
- Barley
- Wheat
- Figs
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Wine
- West Asian Clothing
- What about underwear?
- Straw
- West Asian Beds
- West Asian Environment
- The Little Ice Age and global warming
- Tuberculosis
- Dysentery
- Measles
- Smallpox
- West Asian doctors and medicine
- Islamic medicine
- West Asian Games
- Backgammon
- Dice
West Asia Projects
- Backgammon
- Bicycle Races
- Code of Hammurabi
- Molded Bricks
- Cuneiform Project
- Mesopotamian Plate
- Assyrian Wall Carving
- Figs
- Lentils
- Barley Soup
West Asian Religion
- Ishtar
- Ba’al
- Astarte
- Enlil
- Tammuz
- Cybele and Attis
- Enuma Elish
- Holy Men and Women
- Zoroastrianism
- Ahura Mazda
- Mithra
- What is the Nowruz festival?
- Monotheism
- Christianity
- Arians
- Manichaeans
- Nestorianism
- Medieval Islam
- Sunni and Shiite
- Sufis
- Ismailis
- Islam under the Ottomans and Safavids
Judaism
- Adam and Eve
- Cain and Abel
- Noah’s Ark
- Tower of Babel
- Abraham and Isaac
- Sodom and Gomorrah
- Joseph goes to Egypt
- Moses leaves Egypt
- Ten Commandments
- Joshua and the battle of Jericho
- Samson and Delilah
- David and Goliath
- Judah
- Babylonian Captivity
- Daniel in the Lion’s Den
- The Second Temple
- Esther
- Maccabees
- Hanukkah
- The Jews under Islam
West Asian Science
- Opium
- Plows
- Weaving and the heddle
- Wool
- West Asian Numbers
- Measuring Time
- West Asian Math
- A Math Problem
- Potter’s wheel
- Braziers
- What is a bellows?
- Lost Wax Casting
- Bronze
- Lead
- Iron
- Who invented glass?
- Hanging gardens of Babylon – the screw pump
- Cement
- Parchment
- West Asian Sailing
- Pontoon Bridges
- Sewers and sewage in West Asia
- Medieval Islamic science
- Ottoman science – astronomy and clocks
- Iranian science
Bibliography and further reading about West Asia:
Find Out About Mesopotamia: What Life Was Like in Ancient Sumer, Babylon and Assyria, by Lorna Oakes (2004).
Ancient Mesopotamians, by Elena Gambino (2000). For kids, retellings of Mesopotamian stories and lots of context.
Ancient Egyptians and Their Neighbors: An Activity Guide, by Marian Broida (1999). Not just Egypt! Includes activities for kids about the Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Hittites, and the Nubians.
