Ancient History Roundup
Signed books, Hannibal's elephants, a new history chronicle, and much more!
Welcome to this month’s Ancient History Roundup. But before we get on with that, we have a giveaway to talk about!
Signed Paperback Copies
The paperback editions of The Far Edges of the Known World are back from the printers and will be making their way to bookshops in the UK at the end of February. But in the meantime, much to my wife’s frustration, I have been sent a box filled with copies! So I have decided (with a little nudge from her) to offer these up as an incentive to switch to a paid subscription for this newsletter.
I will sign and send out a copy to the next 10 people, from the UK, to sign up as paid subscribers. For those of you have already have paid subscriptions - thank you! I have already saved a pile for you. If you would like one, send me a DM and I will send one out to you - again, if you are in the UK. Once the US and other editions (hopefully) move into paperback, I will look to do a similar offer with them.
Big news in late antiquity!
This could be very big news in the field of late antiquity and the early middle ages. A chronicle, written by an anonymous member of a Syriac Christian community, has been deciphered. Dating from around 712/13 CE, it was originally writing in Syriac before later being translated into Arabic, but it is the content of the surviving manuscript that is so exciting. One of its most illuminating sections covers the 7th century: the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, the rise of Islam, the early Arab conquests, and later Arab–Byzantine conflicts. It also covers places much further afield such as the Balkans, Sicily and Rome as well.
Friends who work in this field are very excited about the prospect of having new evidence to work with for this period. And if they are excited, then it must be something to be excited about!
Roman Shipwreck
I love a good shipwreck. There is something so evocative and otherworldly about seeing the images on the sea floor. The ship and its contents often appearing from the sands below like a time capsule from another world! So news from Italy of a Roman ship wreck off the coast near Puglia have piqued my interest. It was originally discovered by a police patrol, of all things, and was kept secret to protect it from looters. The ship is thought to have been a merchant ship from around the 4th century CE, with speculation that it may have been to north Africa. But we await more details and discoveries as studies continue.
War Elephant in Spain?
An elephant bone has been found at an ancient site in southern Spain, dating back 2,250 years ago. This is a little odd as elephants did not live in Spain during this period. But any keen eyed historians (and mathematicians) may notice that 2,250 years ago, is roughly the same time in which a certain Carthaginian commander by the name of Hannibal was leading his elephants across the Alps. His march began in, you guessed it, the south of Spain! Could this be a bone from one of his elephants? Who knows, but it would be cool if it was.
Rock art in Sinai
Egyptian rock art has been found on the rock panel known as Wadi Khamila in Sinai. Famous for is Nabataean inscriptions, researchers have found older ones that seem to commemorate the Egyptian colonisation of Sinai. Alongside images of a dominant, Pharaoh like figure standing above a cowering, bent over individual - the message is clear - there is also a small piece of writing: “God Min, ruler of copper ore / the mining region”. The copper-rich lands of Sinai were clearly the main attraction to Egyptian expansion in the area. While the Min was a god with many different hats, but one of those hats was as the divine protector of Egyptians when they were outside of the Nile Valley. And for this man, solider or otherwise, the reference to Min was clearly an important one.