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The Amorites: third millennium BCE

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The Amorites were an ancient Semitic people who lived in the ancient Near East, particularly in the regions of Mesopotamia and the Levant. They are mentioned in historical and biblical texts, and their presence is noted from the early 3rd millennium BCE to around the 12th century BCE. The Amorites played a significant role in the political and cultural landscape of the ancient Near East during this period.   The Amorites initially inhabited the western parts of Mesopotamia, including the region of Mari on the Euphrates River. Over time, they expanded their influence into the Levant, including parts of modern-day Syria, Jordan, and Israel. 
 In the biblical and historical texts, the Amorites are often mentioned as one of the indigenous peoples of the land of Canaan. 
   The Amorites were originally a nomadic people from the west of the Euphrates, but they had settled throughout southern Mesopotamia for several generations. The Amorites had begun to settle in Babylonian cities i...

The Basques: A Timeless People

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The Basques were an ancient people. They endure to this day as a unique ethnic group, with mysterious origins and a culture that grew in almost complete isolation, leading to enormous distinctions from their surrounding peoples. Everything from their language to their DNA is unrelated to the surrounding tribes. The history of the Basques is long and unique, and their cultural identity has been shaped by their distinctive language, Euskara, as well as their geographic location in the western Pyrenees. The Basques are considered one of the oldest ethnic groups in Europe, and their history is characterized by a rich cultural heritage, autonomy struggles, and a resilient identity. The Basques are believed to be one of Europe's oldest ethnic groups, with roots that may trace back to pre-Indo-European populations in the region. Their language, Euskara, is unrelated to any other known language, making it a linguistic isolate. According to one scholar, even the Basques themselves are an un...

Sparta: A Kingdom Built on Blood and Honor

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Sparta, or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, located in the southeastern Peloponnese. It rose to prominence around the 10th century BCE, when Dorian Greeks settled there after the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization. According to legend, Sparta was founded by King Lacedaemon and named after his wife, Sparta.  In its early years, Sparta was much like other Greek city-states: small, agricultural, and ruled by kings. Over time, however, it developed a unique and highly militarized society. Yet, Sparta (‘the sown land’?) lies 56 km. (35 miles) south of Tegea, and 48 km. (30 mi.) north of Gytheum, at the heart of the fertile alluvial valley of the Eurotas in the district of Laconia Southwest Peloponnes. Dorians, who were the occupants of Sparta, or Spartiates, enjoyed full civil rights, whereas the occupants of the villages around Sparta, the perioikoi, had only local independence. The subject population of the area ruled by Sparta (Laconia) had no rights what...

Before the Fall: The World of the Sasanians

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In order to fully understand the history of the Sassanid Empire and how the Sassanid dynasty came to be the rulers of the Neo-Persian Empire, we must go back to the formation of the Achaemenid Empire. Their rule extended from a region that the natives called Parsa, and in Greek that region was called Farsis. That region was located near the Zagros Mountains in present-day southern Iran and extended to the shores of the Persian Gulf. Their homeland became the name of the entire empire we know today as Persia in Hellenistic pronunciation. From the 6th century BC. From the middle to the 4th BC. By the end, the First Persian Empire had expanded its empire over three continents and controlled the region. For a short time, much of the empire was incorporated into Alexander the Great's Macedonian empire, which united and unified Greece, Persia, and other Eastern cultures. Thus, a Hellenistic culture was created, which was largely Greek in origin, but was not so accepted by the Persians. ...