Ancient history

A short history of games of chance in the Middle East

From ancient dice and royal game boards to modern digital platforms, the Middle East's long relationship with games of chance reveals a timeless fascination with luck, fate and uncertainty.

“From ancient dice to modern apps, the Middle East's fascination with games of chance has endured for over four thousand years.”
People look at the newly acquired Tomb of Francois, a 4th-century BC masterpiece bought last month by Italy's Culture Ministry for 15 million euros, at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome, Italy, June 30, 2026.

Frescos from famed Etruscan tomb go on display in Rome after multi-million euro purchase by Italy

"A historical overview of gambling in the Middle East, from ancient civilizations to modern regulation."

A historical overview of gambling in the Middle East

Mosaic showing Alexander the Great on a horse, June 25, 2026.

Turkey places site of Alexander the Great’s first battle with Persians under historic protection


A Feast Fit for A King

Experience unlike any other. The Biblical Museum of Natural History brings Torah to life with creatures, curiosities, and an exotic dining.

The taxidermy exhibits at the Biblical Museum of Natural Hhistory.

Archaeologists uncover long-lost Temple of Zeus in ancient Limyra

Ceramic finds within the precinct indicated habitation dating back 5,000 years and urban development about 2,400 years ago.

archaeological findings.

Study of 50,000-year canine skulls shows dogs diversified millennia before modern breeding

Researches links early Holocene dog lineages to human migrations across Eurasia as far back as 11,000 years ago.

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Atlantis-like city found under Silk Road lake; scientists say a 15th-century quake caused its fall

The Russian Geographical Society says brick ruins, grain mills and a 13th-century Muslim necropolis at Toru-Aygyr beneath Issyk-Kul show a lost Silk Road center now lies 1–4 meters underwater.

Archaeologists working in the shallow waters of Lake Issyk-Kul announced they completed the first campaign of a new survey.

New genetic study reveals indigenous lineage isolated for 8,500 years in central Argentina

Published in Nature, the research traces the lineage's dominance in the Pampas until about AD 1800 with scant genetic mixing from surrounding peoples.

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15,000 years ago, hunters gatherers on the Carmel lived off coastal lakes teeming with birds

The study by Dr. Amos, Prof. Weinstein-Evron, and Yeshurun analyzed bird bones from Nahal Me’arot and el-Wad caves to reveal Natufian hunting and environment.

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Radiocarbon breakthroughs place Thera mega-eruption before Egypt's new kingdom

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University and Groningen report in PLOS One that the volcanic ash layers predate the Eighteenth Dynasty, extending the Second Intermediate Period.

A view of the mountaintop ruins of Ancient Thera from Mt. Elias.

Face carved on T-shaped pillar at Karahantepe links Neolithic Anatolia and the Levant

Munro says the minimalist carving closely matches a twelve thousand year old face unearthed in Israel, hinting at a shared symbolism across early settlements.

Face carved on T-shaped pillar at Karahantepe links Neolithic Anatolia and the Levant.

Excavations resume at ancient Ugarit near Latakia after 14-year pause

Ugarit is famous for its vast archive of clay tablets inscribed in seven languages, considered among the oldest records of bronze age political and social life.

Archaeological excavations.

'New chapter in the history of the pharaohs': Zahi Hawass teases 2026 Great Pyramid reveal

Egyptologist Zahi Hawass said advanced scanning and robotic tools opened hidden spaces and predicted "a great archaeological discovery that will write a new chapter in the history of the pharaohs".

A panoramic view of the Great Pyramids of Giza, Egypt,