Introduction to the Ancient Near East  Bob Dunston

The Old Testament and the Ancient Near East  Ralph W. Klein  

Exploring the Ancient World Cultures - Chronology of the Near East Spans the period between 3450BCE and 70CE the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Ancient and Lost Civilisations Extensive listing of civilisations that include Ancient Near Eastern.

Ancient Near East Site Maps from the Oriental Institute Map Series. Seven Site Maps covering the Ancient Near East.

Ancient Near East - The Ancient History Sourcebook An extensive scholarly resource.

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Annals of the Kings of Assyria Edited by E.A. Wallis Budge and L.W. King, and published in 1902

The Land Gerald A. Larue explains how Palestine served as an inter-continental cultural link, and when great nations developed and expanded, it became a buffer state, a cushion, between the people of the Nile and those of Asia Minor or Mesopotamia.

Bible Places Todd Bolen presents a helpful resource for those interested in Bible geography and archaeology. This is a graphics intense site and may require a little patience with a dial up conection.
 

Chronology of the Ancient Near East  David J.A. Clines examines different calendars used by the Ancient Near Eastern cultures.

Historical Tables of The Ancient Near East and Israel  Ralph W. Klein

2000-1200BCE in the Ancient Near East   Ralph W. Klein

Israel Tribal Period through United Kingdom   Ralph W. Klein  

The Divided Kingdom to the Fall of the North   Ralph W. Klein

The Last Days of Judah and the Babylonian Exile Ralph W. Klein

Yehud (Post Exilic Jewish Community)  Ralph W. Klein

Western Control of Syria-Palestine: Alexander to the Second Revolt   Ralph W. Klein

Timelines  Ralph W. Klein  

Third Millennium in the Ancient Near East

2000-1550 BCE in the Ancient Near East 

1550-1200 BCE in the Ancient Near East

Israel: Tribal Period through United Kingdom 1200-931 BCE

The Divided Kingdom (Rehoboam to Jehoshaphat in Judah//Jeroboam to Ahab in Israel  931-845 BCE

The Divided Kingdom (Jehoram to the beginning of Hezekiah in Judah//Ahaziah to Hoshea in Israel) 852-late 8c BCE

Judah (Hezekiah 726-697/6 [continued] to the beginning of Josiah 640-609 BCE

Josiah [continued] and his successors; Judah during the Neo-Babylonian Empire--Israel's exile 627-540 BCE

Yehud (Post-Exilic Jewish Community) and the Persian empire   539-329 BCE

From Alexander to the Transfer of Power from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids  333-201 BCE

From the Seleucids [continued] to the Coming of Rome 201-63 BCE

Roman Rule of Palestine--63 BCE to 135 CE

Light on the Old Testament from the Ancient Near East Martin Luther King an examination of some of the extra biblical matter for Old Testament study.

Mesopotamian History and People prepared by Washington State University.

On-Line Primary Literature  Related to ancient Near Eastern religions, Hellenistic Mediterranian religions and Biblical Study

The Motif of the Sleeping Divinity A. Mrozek and S. Votto compare common points in the Mesopotamian and Biblical texts.

The Birth of Kingship: from democracy to monarchy in Sumer Jacob Klein explains a somewhat obscure, historical development of how monarchy came to Sumer.

The Code of Hammurabi - Babylonian Law The Avalon Project of Yale University

The Akkadian Language - Babylonian and Assyrian cuneiform texts Akkadian is one of the great cultural languages of world history. Akkadian (or Babylonian-Assyrian) is the collective name for the spoken languages of the culture in the three millennia BCE in Mesopotamia, the area between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, approx. covering modern Irak.

When the King Crosses the Line: Royal Deviance and Restitution in Levantine Ideologies K.C. Hanson Plagues and famines were recurring problems for people of the ancient Levant (eastern Mediterranean); and since these phenomena were perceived to be the actions of the gods, they required interpretation by authorized prophets and diviners. The seven passages discussed here all articulate a common behavioral pattern (with a king identified as the culpable deviant) and character-set with regard to these catastrophes. The motifs manifested are: breach of the sacred, divine punishment in the form of plague or famine, prophetic interpretation, restitution, and blood-sacrifice. The character-set is: the deity, the king/s, the prophet/s, and the suffering population.

The Assyro-Babylonian Mythology - FAQ

Canaanite/Ugaritic Mythology - FAQ

Hittite/Hurrian Mythology - REF

Sumerian Mythology - FAQ

The Sumerian King List - Translation

Sumerian Literature - Oxford University

A History of the Ancient World James H. Breasted

Early Assyria and her Rivals  James H. Breasted

The Assyrian Empire James H. Breasted

The Chaldean Empire - The last semitic empire - James H. Breasted

The Thrones and Palaces of Babylon and Nineveh - From Sea to Sea - A Thousand Miles on horseback John F. Newman

Hodayot (1QHa The Thanksgiving Hymns) A scroll of prayers and hymns discovered in Cave 1 at Qumran, unlike the biblical Psalms in form, expressing the religious aspirations of people at that time.

Discoveries at Ninevah Austen Henry Layard

Babylon and Ninevah, Second Expedition Austen Henry Layard

The Calculated Frightfulness of Ashur Nasir Apal A.T. Olmstead

Philistines The subject of ultimate Philistine origins is introduced in the table of nations (Genesis10:13-14) by linking them to the Egyptians (Mizraim).

The Ugaritic Myth of Baal

The Baal Epic

Danel's Need for a Son

Other Creation Epics

Comparative Creation Chart Creation in Israel and the Ancient Near East

An overlooked message: the critique of kings and affirmation of equality in the primeval history Robert K. Gnuse  The Primeval History in Genesis 2-11 contains symbolic polyvalent narratives with diverse levels of interpretive possibility. One meaningful level of interpretation is to see how the accounts contain a strident critique of kingship, especially the social economic abuses perpetrated by kings. Kings who receive the strident barbs of the author include not only Mesopotamian rulers, but also, by implication, the rulers of Israel and Judah, who likewise abused their powers. This exilic critique of kings is also, in turn, part of the great biblical message affirming human equality and dignity, and it speaks a powerful egalitarian word to any age.

Enuma Elish - When on High The Mesopotamian/Babylonian Creation Story Dennis R. Bratcher explains that this epic recounts the struggle between cosmic order and chaos - a myth of the cycle of seasons. 

Enuma Elish - Babylonian Creation Myth  The Epic of Gilgamesh.

The Enuma Elish  Dennis Bratcher   provides the full text of the Mesopotamian myth of creation, with introductory comments and a summary of each tablet.

Gilgamesh an historical king of Uruk in Babylonia.

Gilgamesh Study Guide One of the oldest recorded histories.

Similarities Between the Flood Story in the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and the Flood Story in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 6:9-9:17)  Bob Dunston

Differences Between the Flood Story in the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and the Flood Story in the Hebrew Bible (Gen. 6:9-9:17)  Bob Dunston

Sabbath Origins and the Epic of Gilgamesh  Walter Mattfeld

The Sabbath/Shabbat as an Eternal Memorial and its Derivation from the Lunar Shupattu Memorial  Walter Mattfeld

  Other Flood Stories

Flood Stories from Around the World Mark Isaak explores extensive and varied flood stories from ancient folklore.

Similarities Between the Flood Story in the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and the Flood Story in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 6:9-9:17)  Bob Dunston

Differences Between the Flood Story in the "Epic of Gilgamesh" and the Flood Story in the Hebrew Bible (Gen. 6:9-9:17)  Bob Dunston

   Egypt

A History of the Ancient World - Egypt and it's earliest inhabitants James Henry Breasted

The Adventures of Sinuhit