Early African warfare: Nubian archers in the Middle Kingdom (from the Nubian museum in Aswan, Egypt) The beginnings of war There has been fighting in Africa since the early Stone [...]
When did people start to fight wars? Why do people fight wars? This woman, in the last stages of pregnancy, was tied up, beaten, and dumped in a lake by attackers. [...]
Earliest known dice (Iran, ca. 2600 BC) See that the six is already opposite the one, as on modern dice? But check out this Harappan die. The people of West Asia really [...]
Rustem kills the treacherous Shaghad When he was an old, old man, Rustem really did die (according to the story in the Shahnameh). Rustem died from treachery and betrayal, by his [...]
Medieval Islamic games: Muslims playing chess in Spain Chess from India The big new game of the Islamic Empire was chess. The Arabs learned to play chess from the Sassanians when [...]
Riding horses: Assyrian archer on horseback, ca. 650 BC Riding horses Near the beginning of the Iron Age, about 800 BC, people in Central Asia began riding horses more instead of [...]
Siege of Nineveh When the Assyrian kings of what is now Iraq and Syria (ancient Mesopotamia) built their great palaces in the 700s and 600s BC, artists carved long stories [...]
Islamic archery contest If you're a teacher, parent, or day camp counselor thinking of spending a week or so on ancient Islam, here's some ideas other people have found useful: [...]
Ottoman archer on horseback Archery competitions were very popular in the Islamic Empire. You could sign up for an archery class through your local community center or college. Or you [...]
Central Asian horses, like in the Alpamysh story When is the Alpamysh from? Nobody knows who composed the Alpamysh, or exactly when, but they probably first sang the Alpamysh in [...]
