The Jianwen Emperor (r. 1398-1402 CE) was the second ruler of the Chinese Ming dynasty (1368-1644 CE). Following a civil war and Jianwen's mysterious disappearance, his uncle took over the throne and ruled as the Yongle Emperor (r. 1403-1424 CE). A victim of his successor's prejudiced rewriting of official court records, Jianwen may have been a reasonable ruler who sought to reverse... [...]

In Searching for the Amazons: The Real Warrior Women of the Ancient World, John Man, a historian specializing in Asian history, explores the mythical and historical origins of the mysterious Amazonian women. In doing so, he details their legendary history through readings of various Greek authors and presentation of archaeology about the ancient Scythians. His description of how various Scythian... [...]

The Yongle Emperor (aka Chengzu or Yung Lo, r. 1403-1424 CE) was the third ruler of the Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE). Inheriting a stable state thanks to the work of his father, the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368-1398 CE), Yongle made lasting contributions to Chinese history such as moving the capital to Beijing and beginning construction of the Forbidden City as an imperial residence. The emperor... [...]

Louis Hersent, Daphnis and Chloe. Photo: Erich Lessing/Art Resource NY.

In “Daphnis and Chloe in the Garden of Eden” in the July/August 2013 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Theodore Feder explores how a second-century pagan love story alludes to the Biblical tale of Adam and Eve. In this post, delve deeper into the story with passages from the pagan romance, their Biblical counterparts and images of artistic representations of the lovers and their [...]

Read Philip Stern's Biblical Views column “Love Is Strong as Death—but Don't Spend the Family's Wealth” from the Biblical Archaeology Review, January/February 2017.—Ed.

“Love Is Strong as Death—but Don't Spend the Family's Wealth” By Philip Stern

The Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) from the Hebrew Bible is a love song beyond compare—although it has been compared to everything. Some have deemed it ancient pornography. Others have sung its praise. In the second century C.E., Rabbi [...]