Category: Ancient history

Christopher Tyerman is Professor of History of the Crusades at Oxford University and the author of The World of the Crusades: An Illustrated Guide (Yale University Press, 2019).

Second Temple literature includes texts written when the Jews returned to Judea after the description of the First Temple. Jewish scholar Malka Simkovich discusses the scriptures and stories that shaped early Judaism, including the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Everyone knows the story about Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. It’s as famous as the Dead Sea Scrolls. But did you know that the city of Herculaneum (or Ercolano) met a similar fate? Join Kenneth Lapatin, curator of the J. Paul Getty Museum, for a discussion of the book, Buried by Vesuvius: The Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum. 

What was the Holy Land? Where is it? Writings from the time period can be found in Second Temple literature like the Dead Sea Scrolls, but the region isn’t easily defined. Old Testament scholar H. G. M. Williamson walks readers through a 3,000-year period which gave birth to today’s three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Michael F. Bird is a biblical theologian and the author or editor of more than 30 books, including a collaboration with New Testament scholar N. T. Wright. He is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Theology at Ridley College.

Historians often interpret the English Reformation in simple ways, but the reality was messy. Join historian Peter Marshall as he discusses his book, Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation.