HomeShowsThis Day In History
Stream HISTORY
HomeShowsThis Day In HistoryStream HISTORY
  1. Home
  2. Topics
  3. Ancient Middle East
  4. Stories

Ancient Middle East ‑ Stories

The ancient Middle East gave rise to some of the greatest empires in human history, including Mesopotamia, Babylonia, the Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire.

Viking Queen May Have Been Exceptionally Powerful

Queen Thyra was honored on engraved stones more than anyone else in Viking‑Age Denmark.

Read more
Bilingual Kushan inscription discovered on a rock face in Tajikistan.

Ancient Mysterious Script Finally Decoded

Archaeologists decoded part of the ‘unknown’ writing system from the Kushan Empire using the same technique that helped decipher the Rosetta Stone.

Read more
Shadowy black and white print showing the back of a kneeling woman reaching up toward a tall robed god, with a dead man lying on the ground beside her

6 Ancient Resurrection Stories

Jesus wasn’t the only one believed to have risen from the dead. The concept of resurrection appears in ancient cultures around the world.

Read more
Head of a high priestess with inlaid eyes Mesopotamia, Akkadian, Ur (modern Tell el-Muqayyar), area EH, south of gipar Akkadian period (ca. 2334–2154 BC) Alabaster, shell, lapis lazuli, and bitumen; 9.5 × 8 × 8.5 cm. University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, USA, excavated 1926; B16228

The Earliest Known Author Was a Woman from Mesopotamia

A priestess named Enheduanna claimed authorship to poetry and other texts—sometimes in first‑person—more than a millennium before Homer.

Read more
A close-up of the text of the Code of Hammurabi.

How the Code of Hammurabi Influenced Modern Legal Systems

The collection of laws and regulations carved into stone thousands of years ago carries principles and ideas that are still applied today.

Read more
Circa 548 BC: Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian empire. By 548 BC, he was King of Persia.

How Cyrus the Great Turned Ancient Persia Into a Superpower

A largely tolerant and merciful ruler, Persian king Cyrus the Great established one of the largest empires in world history.

Read more
How Mesopotamia Became the Cradle of Civilization

How Mesopotamia Became the Cradle of Civilization

Environmental factors helped agriculture, architecture and eventually a social order emerge for the first time in ancient Mesopotamia.

Read more
How Hammurabi Transformed Babylon into a Powerful City-State

How Hammurabi Transformed Babylon Into a Powerful City‑State

The ancient Babylonian king ruled with military and diplomatic finesse—and he also knew a thing or two about self‑promotion.

Read more
Sumerian Inventions That Changed the World

9 Ancient Sumerian Inventions That Changed the World

The Sumerian people of Mesopotamia had a flair for innovation. Here’s how they left their mark.

Read more

Photos: 10 Biblical Sites

These tantalizing archaeological finds may—or may not—offer material evidence of ancient locations, characters and stories written about in the Bible.

Read more
Judas' Betrayal

Why Jesus Was Betrayed by Judas Iscariot

Once one of Jesus’s most trusted disciples, Judas became the poster child for treachery and cowardice.

Read more

Why Did Pontius Pilate Have Jesus Executed?

Historical accounts of the man who sentenced Jesus to death paint him as arrogant and cruel; the Bible goes easier on him, shifting the blame.

Read more
A+E Global Media Logo
  • HISTORY Education
  • HISTORY Vault®
  • HISTORY Apps
  • HISTORY2™
  • HISTORY en Español®
  • Military HISTORY®
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Share Your Opinions
  • FAQ / Contact Us
  • Advertise with Us
  • Employment Opportunities
  • A+E Factual Studios™
  • Accessibility Support
  • A+E Studios®
  • TV Parental Guidelines
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright Policy
  • Cookie Notice
  • Ad Choices
© 2025, A&E Television Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.