Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine (History and Archaeology)

A new analysis of the cult places in Palestine and Transjordan of the first millennium B.C. has been performed despite the many existing studies on the history and archaeology of Iron Age Palestine and Transjordan and on the religion of this period. This research was carried out in attempt to identify the main architectural development trends (it is difficult to say typologies) of Iron Age sacred architecture based on the documentation and analysis of all the cult places brought to light in the Southern Levant.
According to the Old Testament, the Israelites settled in Palestine during the Iron Age (ca. 1200-586 BC). They established the monotheistic cult of Yahweh and fought against their neighbours over territorial as well as cultural and religious issues. The Bible has been, and still is of great historical and political importance for the reconstruction of the roots of our civilisation, so much that even today biblical texts are considered historical documentation. The main issue is to verify the historicity of the events described by the Bible and to build, if possible, a history of Iron Age Palestine and Transjordan based on archaeological documentation independent from biblical tradition. The aim of this work is to be instrumental in developing a historical analysis of this subject and attempt to provide an objective archaeological documentation of the Iron Age cult places of Palestine and Transjordan.
The first part of the book illustrates the archaeological evidence. Data are arranged site by site, along with a brief history of the excavations. It also reports different interpretations by archaeologists of the material discovered based on re-examination of the documentation of past excavations, and, in some cases, contains additional remarks by the author. In this way, the available data and possible interpretations are kept apart, thus providing readers with a clear documentation and allowing them to choose the interpretative course they wish to pursue.
An initial difficulty encountered in this research is the inaccuracy of the data produced by the excavations. Archaeology is not an exact science, since human interpretation is always inevitably superimposed on documentation. Data provided by excavations of the first half of the 20th century are often confused in many respects, as there were no modern technologies of stratigraphic investigation and the current knowledge of the characteristics of pottery assemblage of every single period was not available. This documentation must be re-examined in the light of recent information, such as stratigraphic sequences obtained from new excavations at the same sites, or from comparison with recently discovered materials at other sites. Nonetheless, also data collected by recent archaeological researches can be distorted by the historical perspective of the archaeologists who dug and published the materials and structures that were brought to light.
The sites included in the analysis are grouped into four main geographical areas: Northern Palestine, Southern Palestine, the Southern Palestinian coast and Transjordan. It is inevitably an arbitrary subdivision, followed mainly to provide an initial idea of the geographical distribution of Iron Age cult places brought to light by archaeological excavations. No distinction was made between historical territorial areas, such as Philistia, Judah, Israel, Ammon, Moab and Edom, because these political organizations varied in extent considerably over the course of time and also rose at different times. Therefore, this approach prevented structures of a definite site phase from being attributed to a kingdom or a culture the site did not belong to, either because the kingdom or culture had not risen yet, or because its borders had shifted.
The documentation in the first part of the book is the outcome of a first important choice reached using criteria that help to identify what can be regarded as a cult place. The remains of Iron Age cult places in Palestine and Transjordan are in effect fairly poor, there being only few monumental structures whose architectonical and spatial plan, as well as use and function in the community, are clear. Diversely, there are many poorly preserved small buildings or simple installations whose sacred nature is much more difficult to define. For example some cult activities could share the same space used for other daily activities (such as in domestic sacella), thus producing difficult to interpret documentation. On this subject the teachings of Colin Renfrew have proven very useful to single out some elements of the archaeological context that can show the occurrence of sacred rituals. The presence of some of the indicators mentioned by Renfrew reveals a cult space even when it is clearly not a temple building that is easily identified by its architectonic plan and the materials collected inside. Other two elements that can help to identify a sacred place are the uninterrupted use of the same area for ritual purposes and the possible analogy of architectonic plan, characteristics and disposition of sacred furniture with other obvious cult structures. As M.D. Coogan observed, the religious sphere is in general conservative, so in multi-periodical sites the sacred area was possibly maintained on the same location for a long time, and cult structures followed traditional typologies.
The second part of the book tried to distinguish the presence of architectural and spatial typologies adopted in Iron Age cult places in Palestine and Transjordan, and hence to identify the common architectural traditions in the area. This level of research widened the reference geographical area and historical period and included some structures of Bronze Age sacred architecture (in particular buildings of Late Bronze Age) of Palestine and Transjordan, as well as some temples of the neighbouring lands connected with the Southern Levant during the Iron Age, i.e. Cyprus, Phoenicia, Syria, northern Mesopotamia and Egypt. This broadened horizon explained the origins of many characteristic elements of architectonic typologies documented in the area, whose development often did not strictly adhere to local customs but absorbed suggestions and accepted the architectonic and spatial traditions of neighbouring civilizations.
Many scholars have studied the sacred architecture of this period. In particular, Y. Shiloh’s analysis of the cult spaces of Palestine during the Iron Age stressed the presence of small cultic corners placed inside residential buildings as well as sacred structures like temples and sanctuaries, which, until then, had been regarded as almost the only examples of cult places existing in Iron Age Palestine. This consideration undermined the previous idea of a religion that was strictly organised within official public sacred areas and shed light on the presence of a variety of cult places with different functions and appearances.
The perspective proposed by A. Mazar paved the way to research on the comparison of architectonic traditions in the areas surrounding Palestine, in particular Cyprus and Syria. His conclusions sparked off a lively debate and are still a starting-point for future research.
J.S. Holladay’s analysis of regions ruled by the kingdoms of Judah and Israel during the Iron Age II provides many useful elements for understanding the complexity of cult forms and their architectonic expressions. The distinction between domestic and corporate cult places is particularly interesting and, within the latter, between sacred areas devoted to an established worship and those devoted to a “nonconformist” worship. The identification of a plurality of sacred spaces helped to reconstruct a more complex and complete picture of peoples’ religious life than the one offered by biblical accounts.
The third and last part of the book reviews the conclusions made in the previous two sections within a wider historical perspective, analysing the distribution of different cult place typologies during the various historical phases of the Iron Age. On one hand, the archaeological data gathered so far provide important data on the reconstruction of the religion, society and culture of the areas studied, while, on the other, the historical events themselves help to confirm the value of some interpretative hypothesis. Why particular typologies of cult place arose and what their function was in the societies of Palestine and Transjordan during the Iron Age, or why and how architectonic traditions and suggestions from other regions of the Near East and Mediterranean were adopted, can only be understood within the framework of a wider historical context. The extraordinary variety of cult spaces documented in this research seems to become readable and to make sense if the particular historical, social and political situation of the area is taken into account. The pattern of sacred architecture during the Iron Age appears to be coherent with the division of the Palestine-Transjordan region during this period into many political and cultural “niches” that were nevertheless open to suggestions coming from a wide international scenario (Egypt, Cyprus, Phoenicia, Syria, Assyria). There was neither a common cultural tradition in the region nor was there a dominant strong power, and this hindered the development of a coherent and univocal architectonic language, a tradition. And, the various “niches” of the area often adopted architectonic solutions that had been conceived by the neighbouring civilisations, i.e. in the coastal plain of Palestine, where elements of Cypriote architecture were often accepted, in Judah, where the Solomon temple followed a well established North Syrian tradition and some Phoenician inspirations, and in other areas of Palestine and Transjordan that were influenced by neo-Assyrian architecture.
This research identified some characteristic features of the whole area. In the first place, the articulation of populations’ religious life on several levels is evident, as previously mentioned by Holladay. The religious experience was not limited to participation in public official ceremonies, nor to private worship in the houses, but also took place in different cult spaces spread throughout the settlements, for example in quarter-sanctuaries or cult installations placed in public squares or next to fortified gates, or also in extra-urban sanctuaries. Secondly, it was possible to recognize the constant cohabitation of official worship and “Nonconformist” religion: the former generally took place in temples built by government institutions, while the latter was performed in simpler cult structures which often were less codified in their architectonic and spatial plan. Lastly, another feature shared by the numerous cultures documented in Palestine and Transjordan during the Iron Age was the persistence of a polytheistic religion, only partly stemmed by the emergence of some national gods, like Yahweh in the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, Milkom in Ammon, Kemosh in Moab and Qos in Edom. A strict monotheistic doctrine developed mainly in Judah and Israel, yet it did not manage to wipe out the other popular cults.
However, local originality and a new architectonic language can only be found in unofficial cult structures, in smaller temples, and in extra-urban and regional sanctuaries. These include the Iron Age temple of Tell ‘Arad, and the Hellenistic and Persian temples of Lakish and Beersheba based on the “Four-Room House” plan typical of Iron Age Palestine, the road-sanctuaries of Ḥorvat Qitmit and ‘Ain Ḥazeva and other extra-urban sanctuaries which followed a functional architectonic plan designed to delimitate a sacred area suitable for corporate rituals and to receive the offerings of travellers journeying along the trade roads.

ABSTRACT: This lecture (subdivided into parts 1a-1b) provides a summary of the course requirements and information in general, plus a broad introduction to the re-discovery and evolving archaeological study of and approaches to Ancient Syria-Palestine (also termed the Levant and Canaan), which formed part of the Ancient Near East. It continues with an overview of the diverse topography, climate, fauna, flora, metals and minerals, and other resources in this and neighbouring regions. The course itself will focus mainly on the Neolithic through 586 B.C., and mainly upon "Palestine," but with some coverage of Egypt (e.g., Hyksos period), Arabia, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, Southeast Anatolia (Turkey/Asia Minor), and the empires of Assyria and Babylonia.  UPDATES: The course is offered every two years within a classroom setting, and is updated variously every two years. The revisions to the 2020 version are minimal. NEW: Aug. 2023 revisions.

Connecting the holy sites in the Hijaz
to Istanbul via railway was a project
that came to light during the reign of the
Ottoman Sultan Abdel Hamid II. He sought
to demonstrate his strength and power
practically by applying the concept of
a greater Islamic community to a series of
projects within the Ottoman Empire. He
thus announced the Hijaz railway project as
facilitation for Muslim pilgrims travelling to
the Hijaz.

Although the literature does not provide much information on the membership of Eli Cohen in, the Order of Freemasons, it is clear from the findings in the article that his membership in the Order and Learning his principles constituted an important factor in his life.

"Abstract
Food habits are of primary importance in order to characterize cultural identities. Recently an increasing amount of archaeological data, submitted to new archaeozoological analyses, has made possible new developments in food and nutrition studies on ancient societies. The aim of our work is to collect and study the archaeozoological evidence related to the presence of suids in the Phoenician settlements of the West Mediterranean area and to compare it with the well known information given by written source on food rules in the Syro-Palestinian world. Another aspect of the research will focus on the differences in the consumption of suids within Phoenician colonies and settlements that hosted both Phoenicians and local populations.

La disamina delle abitudini alimentari appare di primaria importanza nella caratterizzazione delle identità culturali. L’incremento dei dati archeologici e l’intensificazione delle analisi archeozoologiche stanno recentemente aprendo nuovi sviluppi agli studi relativi all’alimentazione delle società antiche.
Finalità di questo lavoro è la verifica della nota proibizione alimentare relativa al consumo della carne di maiale, attestata in alcune fonti scritte, attraverso la raccolta e l’analisi delle evidenze archeologiche relative al consumo dei suini negli insediamenti fenici e punici di Sardegna. Il quadro così delineato sarà quindi rapportato con i dati provenienti dal consumo presso le comunità indigene dell’isola, e da altre aree zone del Mediterraneo occidentale, e con le informazioni desumibili dalle fonti epigrafiche fenicie e puniche e dai testi ugaritici."

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The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

The late Antique mosaic of Orpheus decorated a small room, approximately 18 m2 in area, connected with two even smaller ones, in 4 m2 and the other 2 m2 in area, belonging most likely to a small funerary chapel (or tomb) discovered in the ancient necropolis by the Damascene Gate in Jerusalem; it was discovered in 1901 by H. Vincent.
The author proposes a new interpretation of the iconographic program of the Orpheus myth used by wealthy Christians in a sepulchral context (see Olszewski M.T. «Orphée endeuillé de la mosaïque funéraire de Jérusalem», in Rey Mimoso-Ruiz, B. ed., Actes du colloque «Orphée entre Soleil et ombre», à l’Institut Catholique de Toulouse du 16 au 17 novembre 2007, Inter Lignes, numéros spécial – mars 2008, pp. 205-214, 226). He also proposes a new interpretation of the role Orpheus played in Roman funerary art, concentrating on the importance of the play on words and the visual and textual punning that was popular in ancient art and especially in funerary art. He rejects the popular interpretation of Orpheus as Christ in the Roman catacombs and proposes to interpret the image as that of Orpheus, bard of the departed souls, without any ahistorical connection with Christ. The program of the mosaic from Jerusalem is thus explained as a play on the words Orpheus-orphanos and Chiron (Chi-Rho) and Pan [Παν(τοκράτωρ)].The frequently used Christian funerary formula of resting in peace, Christ or the Lord corresponds
perfectly with the mood created around the mythical bard.
Orpheus’ universal role as singer and musician moving even the most stony of hearts, extolling the beloved departed, is absolutely justified in the context of a 6th-century Christian tomb. Orpheus is a popular and neutral figure, meaning that in effect it does not constitute a threat to Christian theology and can be tolerated by the educated Christians of Jerusalem.

The aim of this module is to provide students with good understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict, its roots and complexities. This module explores the Arab-Israeli conflict both for its intrinsic importance and as a case study in contemporary world politics. The module is designed to equip students with sufficient knowledge to be able to analyse current events and decision-making processes, comprehending the best interests of each stake-holder in this protracted conflict. The module starts with an overview of the historical beginnings of the conflict when Palestine was controlled by the Ottoman Empire. It explains the significance of the Zionist Revolution, through World War 1, The British Mandate over Palestine, and the first Arab-Israeli war (1947-1949). The module analyses processes that led to major wars between Israel and its Arab neighbours -- 1956, 1967, 1973, 1982, 2006, and the birth of the Palestinian problem. The module explores the Israeli occupation and the 1987-2002 Intifada. Finally, it discusses different proposals as to how the conflict can be resolved.

http://reichert-verlag.de/autor/r/ritter_markus/9783895006791_der_umayyadische_palast_des_8_jahrhunderts_in_hirbat_al_minya_am_see_von_tiberias-detail

The book provides an archaeological and art historical study of the architecture and the architectural decoration of the remarkable palatial residence in Khirbat al-Minya at Lake Tiberias in northern Palestine, modern Israel. It constitutes the first monograph publication of finds from German excavations at the site in 1932–39 and their archaeological record, and it contributes to the discussion on Umayyad art and its relation to Early Byzantine and Late Antique art in the Bilad ash-Sham.

This lecture series tells the story of Syrian civilisation under the great Islamic dynasties of the Middle Ages. It presents the historic monuments and artistic achievements of Syria from the Umayyads to the Ottomans, with an introductory session exploring the Greek and Roman legacy in Syria. The focus is on the area of the present Syrian Arab Republic, although takes in the wider historic regions of Bilad al-Sham and al-Jazira when relevant. The lecture series makes full use of the world-class collections of the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, and seeks to provide a meaningful context for the objects on display, including a gallery tour of the Syrian objects on the last day. The course further aims to provide a context for sites and monuments damaged or destroyed in the ongoing conflict, examining their place in Syrian civilisation and highlighting their continuing cultural importance.

More than 20 years after presenting his first interpretation of the mosaic from the House of Aion in a paper entitled “Uwagi na temat mozaiki z Domu Aiona w Nea Paphos (Cypr)” (Meander 9/10, 1987, p. 421-438, in Polish, and translated to English: « The Immortality of the Human Soul and the Dionysiac Mysteries in the 4th Century Allegory [in Connection with the Interpretation of the Mosaic from the “House of Aion” at Paphos in Cyprus]»), where he proposed reading the five mythological panels (1. Leda and Zeus; 2. Dionysus on Mount Nysa; 3. The Dionysian thiasos; 4. Apollo and Marsyas; 5. The Apotheosis of Cassiopeia) as an allegory of the destiny of the human soul and body, starting with conception and ending with the liberation of the soul and its apotheosis, the author now enhances his initial interpretation with numerous reflections concerning the historical context of this work of art, created in the years 320-360.
If, according to the author, the mosaic is a “Hymn” in honour of the pagan gods, Man (his soul) and his place in the (pagan) universe, then at the same time it polemicises with the Christian faith and its God, Jesus Christ.
The author puts forward numerous new solutions relating to the mosaic’s iconography and iconology. Analysis of the mosaic also leads him to propose a solution to the as-yet unanswered question regarding the absence of images of the crucified Christ in Christian art of the 3rd and 4th centuries, up until 420/430, when the first images of Christ on the cross appear.
CONTENTS:
Introduction
1. Research to-date (recap)
2. Description of mosaic (recap)
2.1. Composition of five mythological scenes
2.2. Brief iconographic description of mythological panels
2.3. Outline of individual iconographic elements and their respective roles
2.4. The pagan gods’ air of majesty and dignity as an expression of piety
3. A few words about the pagan reaction
4. An apology of pious human life according to pagan principles and a polemic on the Christian model of Man and his theological idol, Jesus Christ
4.1. Divine intervention in the act of human conception (allusion to/polemic on the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary)
4.2. The Epiphany of Dionysus (an allusion to the Epiphany of Christ – Theou Pais)
4.3. The procession and dissemination of Dionysian order (allusion to/polemic on Christ’s entry into Jerusalem)
4.4. The error of Marsyas (polemic on/allusion to the error of Jesus the Messiah): arrest, sentencing for arrogance and lack of piety (asebeia) and condemnation to a martyr’s death
4.5. The anabasis (or anagoge psyches) of a ‘beautiful soul’ (allusion to/polemic on the Ascension of Christ)
5. A few words on the mosaic programme prior to final conclusions
Final conclusions

Hekhalot literature are accounts of divine visions, mystical ascents into heaven and observance of the divine council, and the summoning and control of great angels, usually for the purpose of gaining insight into Torah  Practical Kabbalah (Hebrew: קַבָּלָה מַעֲשִׂית‎ Kabbalah Ma'asit) in historical Judaism, is a branch of the Jewish mystical tradition that concerns the use of magic. It was considered permitted white magic by its practitioners, reserved for the elite, who could separate its spiritual source from Qliphoth realms of evil if performed under circumstances that were holy (Q-D-Š) and pure (טומאה וטהרה, tvmh vthrh  The concern of overstepping Judaism's strong prohibitions of impure magic ensured it remained a minor tradition in Jewish history. Its teachings include the use of Divine and angelic names for amulets and incantations. Kabbalah has been used to refer to the whole history of Jewish mysticism, but more accurately, and as used in academic Jewish studies, Kabbalah refers to the doctrines, practices and esoteric exegetical method in Torah, that emerged in 12th-13th century Southern France and Spain, and was developed further in 16th century Ottoman Palestine. These formed the basis of subsequent Jewish mystical development. Jewish Kabbalists; secondary literature incorporating Kabbalah is enormous, particularly in the voluminous library of Hasidic Judaism that turned esoteric Kabbalah into a popular revivalist movement. Hasidism both adapted Kabbalah to its own internalised psychological concern, and also continued the development of the Jewish mystical tradition. Therefore, only formative articulators of Hasidic thought, or particularly Kabbalistic schools/authors in Hasidism are included here. In the Sabbatean mystical heresy that broke away from Judaism, only the founders are listed. Solely academic-university Jewish studies researchers of Jewish mysticism, not being "Kabbalists", nor necessarily Jewish, are not listed here; nor are separate non-Jewish derivative/syncretic traditions of Kabbalah.Talmudic tannaic sages: Maaseh Merkabah (mystical Chariot)-Maaseh Bereishit (mystical Creation) (1st-2nd centuries). Yordei Merkabah (Chariot Riders)-Heikhalot (Palaces) mysticism (1st-11th centuries). Early-Formative texts are variously Traditional /Attributed/ Anonymous/ Pseudepigraphical: Nehunya ben HaKanah Traditional attribution of the Bahir. 1st century Four Who Entered the Pardes (including Rabbi Akiva c. 40–137 CE)Simeon bar Yochai (RaSHBI) Protagonist of the Zohar 1st-2nd centuries Hasidei Ashkenaz (1150-1250 German Pietists). Mystical conceptions influenced Medieval Kabbalah:Samuel of Speyer (Shmuel HaHasid) 12th centuryJudah ben Samuel of Regensburg (Yehudah HaHasid) 1140–1217 Eleazar of Worms (Eleazar Rokeach) The Theosophical or Theosophical-Theurgic tradition of Theoretical Kabbalah (the main focus of the Zohar and Luria) seeks to understand and describe the divine realm using the imaginative and mythic symbols of human psychological experience. The Meditative tradition of Ecstatic Kabbalah (exemplified by Abraham Abulafia and Isaac of Acre) strives to achieve a mystical union with God, or nullification of the meditator in God's Active intellect. The Magico-Talismanic tradition of Practical Kabbalah (in often unpublished manuscripts) endeavours to alter both the Divine realms and the World using practical methods. While theosophical interpretations of worship see its redemptive role as harmonising heavenly forces, Practical Kabbalah properly involved white-magical acts, From the Renaissance onwards Jewish Kabbalah texts entered non-Jewish culture, where they were studied and translated by Christian Hebraists and Hermetic occultists.[25] The syncretic traditions of Christian Cabala and Hermetic Qabalah developed independently of Judaic Kabbalah, reading the Jewish texts as universalist ancient wisdom preserved from the Gnostic traditions of antiquity Sephirot (divine attributes) and Partzufim (divine "faces"), Ohr (spiritual light and flow), Names of God and the supernal Torah, Olamot (Spiritual Worlds), a Divine Tree and Archetypal Man, Angelic Chariot and Palaces, male and female, enclothed layers of reality, inwardly holy vitality and external Kelipot shells, 613 channels ("limbs" of the King) and the divine Souls of Man.  l Sephirah Malkuth (Kingdom) with the indwelling Feminine Divine immanent Presence of God throughout Creation, adapting for it the previous Rabbinic term Shekhinah (Divine Presence), but lending the concept new hypostatic and sexual interpretation (Earlier Biblical Wisdom literature describes Wisdom as a feminine manifestation of God). The fallen, exiled state of Creation by man exiles the Shekhinah into captivity among the Kelipot forces of impurity, awaiting redemption Above by man Below. Nachman of Breslov saw this archetype in fairy tales of the world nts, veils and condensations of divine immanence. The innumerable levels of descent divide into Four comprehensive spiritual worlds, Atziluth ("Closeness" – Divine Wisdom), Beriah ("Creation" – Divine Understanding), Yetzirah ("Formation" – Divine Emotions), Assiah ("Action" – Divine Activity), with a preceding Fifth World Adam Kadmon ("Primordial Man" – Divine Will) sometimes excluded due to its sublimity. Together the whole spiritual heavens form the Divine Persona/Anthropos.sin of Adam and Eve (who embodied Adam Kadmon below) took place in the spiritual realms. Their sin was that they separated the Tree of knowledge (10 sefirot within Malkuth, representing Divine immanence), from the Tree of life within it (10 sefirot within Tiferet, representing Divine transcendence). This introduced the false perception of duality into lower creation, an external Tree of Death nurtured from holiness, and an Adam Belial of impurity.[73] In Lurianic Kabbalah, evil originates from a primordial shattering of the sephirot of God's Persona before creation of the stable spiritual worlds, mystically represented by the 8 Kings of Edom (the derivative of Gevurah) "who died" before any king reigned in Israel from Genesis 36. In the divine view from above within Kabbalah, emphasised in Hasidic Panentheism,  Prophetic revelation closed after the Biblical return from Babylon in Second Temple Judaism, shifting to canonisation and exegesis of Scripture after Ezra the Scribe. Lesser level prophecy of Ruach Hakodesh remained, with angelic revelations, esoteric heavenly secrets, and eschatological deliverance from Greek and Roman oppression of Apocalyptic literature among early Jewish proto-mystical circles, such as the Book of Daniel and the Dead Sea Scrolls community of Qumran. Early Jewish mystical literature inherited the developing concerns and remnants of Prophetic and Apocalyptic Judaisms.Jewish Sages of Provence and Languedoc in southern France in the latter 1100s, with the appearance or consolidation of the mysterious work the Bahir (Book of "Brightness"), a midrash describing God's sephirot attributes as a dynamic interacting hypostatic drama in the Divine realm, and the school of Isaac the Blind (1160–1235) among critics of the rationalist influence of Maimonides. From there Kabbalah spread to Catalonia in north-east Spain around the central Rabbinic figure of Nahmanides (the Ramban) (1194–1270) in the early 1200s, with a NeoplatonicChristian Hebraist scholars and occultists, who freely syncretised and adapted it to diverse non-Jewish spiritual traditions and belief systems of Western esotericism.[44] Christian Cabalists from the 15th-18th centuries adapted what they saw as ancient Biblical wisdom to Christian theology, while Hermeticism lead to Kabbalah's incorporation into Western magic through Hermetic Qabalah.[45] Presentations of Kabbalah in occult and New Age books on Kabbalah bear little resemblance to Judaic Kabbalah.[ Jewish Haskalah enlightenment movement from the late 1700s renewed an ideology of rationalism in Judaism, giving birth to critical Judaic scholarship. It presented Judaism in apologetic terms, stripped of mysticism and myth, in line with Jewish emancipation. Many foundational historians of Judaism
–CONTENTS - THE YOGA OF THE WEST 1 II. THE CHOICE OF A PATH 8 III. THE METHOD OF THE QABALAH 13 IV. THE UNWRITTEN QABALAH 19 V. NEGATIVE EXISTENCE 29  - VI. OTZ CHIIM, THE TREE OF LIFE 37 VII. THE THREE SUPERNALS 43 VIII. THE PATTERNS OF THE TREE 55 IX. THE TEN SEPHIROTH IN THE FOUR WORLDS 62 X. THE PATHS UPON THE TREE 72 XI. THE SUBJECTIVE SEPHIROTH 78 XII. THE GODS UPON THE TREE 84 XIII. PRACTICAL WORK UPON THE TREE 92  Part II.  XIV. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 104 XV. KETHER, THE FIRST SEPHIRAH 109 XVI. CHOKMAH, THE SECOND SEPHIRAH 122 XVII. BINAH, THE THIRD SEPHIRAH 139 XVIII. CHESED, THE FOURTH SEPHIRAH 161 XIX. GEBURAH, THE FIFTH SEPHIRAH 173 XX. TIPHARETH THE SIXTH SEPHIRAH 188  Part III.  XXI. THE FOUR LOWER SEPHIROTH 216 XXII. NETZACH 221 XXIII. HOD 238 XXIV. YESOD 252 XXV. MALKUTH 265 XXVI. THE QLIPHOTH 297 XXVII. CONCLUSION

Due to a bug with Academia uploads, up-to-date version is stored on https://www.academia.edu/43273403/Mission_de_Ph%C3%A9nicie

Digital edition of Renan’s book, in order to facilitate its access to a larger audience; enhanced with hyperlinks to digitized sources.
Cette édition numérique de l’ouvrage d'Ernest Renan paru en 1864, vise à permettre son accès à un plus large public. L'exploitation de la richesse du livre, en particulier ses nombreuses annotations de bas de page, est facilitée par les ressources informatiques comme la recherche plein texte et les liens hypertexte, de manière à gagner du temps pour le chercheur ou le simple curieux qui s’intéresserait au sujet… 

La puissance des outils de recherche et archivage bibliographique disponibles de nos jours, comme Gallica, Google-Books, ou Internet Archive, a permis également d’ajouter des approfondissements  et des rapprochements avec d’autres sources mentionnées par Renan, devenues accessibles à tous quelques cent-cinquante ans plus tard.

In 1516, following the victories of Ottoman Sultan Selim I (r. 1512-20) at the battles of Mercidabık and Ridaniye against the Mamluks, the sanjacks of Ajloun, Nablus, Lajjun, Gaza, Jerusalem and Safad were incorporated into the Ottoman realm. These sanjacks became administrative units attached to the Province of Damascus during remaining part of the sixteenth century. The geographical area of these sanjacks consisted of modern-day Jordan, the northern Lebanon, and a large portion of Israel. Palastine, a complex region that is historically hard to define its geographical boundaries, was also within the borders of these sanjacks. This dissertation aims to examine the Ottoman rule in the region which constitutes one of the most controversial geographies of the modern world in the sixteenth century by closely looking at its administrative and demographical structures.
This dissertation that was based on the sixteenth-century Ottoman records and particularly on the Tapu Tahrir registers demonstrates that the region under consideration consisted of various religious and ethnic groups in the sixteenth century. While the Muslim Arabs dominated the area in terms of population, the Muslim Turks who represented the ruling elite and the military class and some of the Muslim Kurdish tribes were also visible in the archival records. Among the non-Muslims, the local Christian Arabs formed the most dominant ethic and religious groups while it is also possible to see some other Christian ethnic groups including Armenians, Copts, and Syriacs in the records. The archival material at our disposal testifies that the Jews formed the lowest demographic component of the region. The Arab origin Jews were the largest group among the Jewish population at the early phases of the Ottoman rule. However, the demographical composition of the Jews changed with the arrival of the European Jews from Spain, Portugal, Germany, and Italy. While the immigration wave continued during the sixteenth century, the region was never became the an attractive center for the European Jews immigrating into the Ottoman lands since most of them chose to settle in other parts of the empire.
Key words: Ottoman Empire, the Province of Damascus, Palastine, Ajloun, Nablus, Lajjun, Jerusalem, Gaza, Safad, demography, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Tapu Tahrir registers

French rule over Syria and Lebanon was premised on a vision of a special French protectorate established through centuries of cultural activity: archaeological, educational and charitable. Initial French methods of organising and supervising cultural activity sought to embrace this vision and to implement it in the exploitation of antiquities, the management and promotion of cultural heritage, the organisation of education and the control of public opinion among the literate classes. However, an examination of the first five years of the League of Nations-assigned mandate, 1920-1925, reveals that French expectations of a protectorate were quickly dashed by widespread resistance to their cultural policies, not simply among Arabists but also among minority groups initially expected to be loyal to the French. The violence of imposing the mandate 'de facto', starting with a landing of French troops in the Lebanese and Syrian coast in 1919 - and followed by extension to the Syrian interior in 1920 - was met by consistent violent revolt. Examining the role of cultural institutions reveals less violent yet similarly consistent contestation of the French mandate. The political discourses emerging after World War I fostered expectations of European tutelages that prepared local peoples for autonomy and independence. Yet, even among the most Francophile of stakeholders, the unfolding of the first years of French rule brought forth entirely different events and methods. In this book, Idir Ouahes provides an in-depth analysis of the shifts in discourses, attitudes and activities unfolding in French and locally-organised institutions such as schools, museums and newspapers, revealing how local resistance put pressure on cultural activity in the early years of the French mandate

`This excellent study is a welcome addition to the scholarship on the inter-war mandates of Syria and Lebanon. Ouahes focuses on the cultural institutions through which the French authorities imposed their rule, ably demonstrating the ways in which the mandate system was transformed into a political and cultural framework akin to colonialism. While tracing the disillusion and contestations that ensued, he nonetheless discusses the impact and disparate legacy of the period on both the French and the diverse populations of the two mandates.' - Patricia M.E. Lorcin, Professor of History and Samuel Russell Chair in Humanities, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, `Resisting the imposition of French imperial control in 1920s

'Syria was never solely a matter of violent opposition. Ranging from classrooms and museums, to archaeological sites and vernacular journalism, in this richly evocative text Idir Ouahes reveals how Syrians contested the imposition of French Mandate rule in the realms of cultural heritage, educational provision and print media.' - Martin Thomas, Professor of Imperial History, University of Exeter

As the supreme head of the judicial hierarchy, Ebussu{ud not only reconciled secular and religious laws, but also promoted his patron's public image as "Caliph of God on earth," with all its attendant implications for universal sovereignty. He proclaimed this notion through the honorific titles he accorded Süleyman in the dedicatory prefaces of Ottoman Turkish and Arabic texts that circulated among the empire's literate elite, and through monumental epigraphy, most notably the foundation inscription of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul (discussed below), which he composed in 964 .180 This grandiose mosque complex was built between 1548 and 1559, just around the PAGE 60 time the sultan's tile revetments transformed the Dome of the Rock with an external decorative skin bearing powerful inscriptions dated 952 (1545-46) and 959 (1551-52). The subsequent recladding of the Dome of the Chain with tiles in 969 (1561-62), followed by the refitting of the Dome of the Rock's four gates with bronze-plated wooden doors in 972 (1564-65), marked the last stages of Süleyman's refurbishment of the Haram al-Sharif. Primarily focusing on the raised platform of the precinct, these successive renovation projects had been initiated in 935 (1528-29) with the installation of a new set of stained glass windows around the octagonal walls of the Dome of the Rock, the Qur}anic quotations of which I shall interpret in the next section, along with the sultan's other religious inscriptions superimposed on the building's palimpsestous surfaces.(181) Before turning to these Quranic texts, however, let us take a look at the public image that Süleyman constructed by means of Arabic historical inscriptions in Jerusalem and its Haram. Page 97 Footnote 181. The Süleymaniye complex and the sultan's empire-wide architectural patronage are discussed in Gülru Necipoqlu, The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire (London, 2005), 189-230. For the chronology of Süleyman's building projects and monumental inscriptions at the Haram al-Sharif and in the city of Jerusalem see Meinecke, "Erneuerung von al-Quds," 257-83, 338-60. The sultan's historical inscriptions, published by van Berchem, have conveniently been compiled in Mehmet Tütüncü, Turkish Jerusalem (1516-1917): Ottoman Inscriptions from Jerusalem and Other Palestinian Cities

Trafficking of cultural properties was and still is a psycho-social related dynamic steered and pushed by the collectors addictive behavior (Belk, R. W., 1994: pp.317-326). It is intimately related to the social status of the different players in the “chaîne opératoire” from extraction to exhibition. It is fed, in the lower social strata, by popular myth and the need for money. Popular myth of treasure hunting and tons of gold that will transform one’s life in a blink of an eye. As for the upper strata seeking to enlarge their antiquities collections, addiction is the major drive behind spending huge money in order to possess fossilized pieces of the past (Subkowski, P., 2006: pp.383-401).
The vicious mercantile players are the middle men or the dealers, who profit from the above mentioned dynamics and their “hostages” in order to make money – more money. They continuously push the excavators who normally are from poor backgrounds to hunt for more “treasures”, then they display their goods in front of the collectors to stimulate their Pavlov syndrome more and more each time. To these three players the smugglers must be added. They are usually related to the diggers, their job is to transport the excavated objects through the borders and get them to the local dealers.
Lebanon as many other countries, rich with archeological uncovered sites, was at a time and still is in many ways a playground for the looters and the collectors with all the middle men through whom the dynamic goes.

In the short period between the Young Turk Revolution and the outbreak of the First World War two important translations into Arabic concerning Zionism were published in Palestine. The first of them appeared in 1911, when Najīb al-Khūrī NaSSār translated an article entitled "Zionism" from the Jewish Encyclopedia and published it firstly in the newspaper al-Karmal and later on that year in the form of a book. The second was carried out by c Īsā al-c Īsā in 1914, when he translated and published part of the book Our Program by Menachem Ussishkin in his newspaper FilasTīn. The goal of this paper is to analyze these translated documents and the comments written by the translators, and to put them into the historical context.

Their ships bore images of gods as their figure-heads. Wherever they went ,they carried with them their religion and worship, and were careful to erect in each colony a temple, or temples, similar to those which adorned them the cities of other country.
Also the some names there gods were called as the following  Rimmon, " high " ;Baal, " Lord " ;MelekorMolech, " King " ;Eliun, " Supreme " ;Adonai, "my Lord " ;Bel-samin, '' LordofHeaven,'*and the like. They regarded Him as wholly distinct from matter,and believed Him to have brought in to existence all other beings,and all material things. But this belief was early overlaid and corrupted. The different names of God passed by degrees into different gods; new deities were invented or imported,as Ishtarfrom Babylon, and Thoth and Ammon from Egypt.Monotheism passed into Polytheism. Instead of worshipping a single supreme God—El,the " great orEHun,the *'' Supreme " One—the Phoenicians,like so many other peoples,brokeup their primitive con-ception into anumberof fragments,andmadeof eachfragment adistinct and separate personality.BaalorBaal-shemin, *' theLordof Heaven,"became adeity distinct from El, and the first object of Phoenician worship. Hewas representedastheson ofEl,or sometimes ofUranus,and as the practical

Cette édition numérique de l’ouvrage d'Ernest Renan paru en 1864, vise à permettre son accès à un plus large public. L'exploitation de la richesse du livre, en particulier ses nombreuses annotations de bas de page, est facilitée par les ressources informatiques comme la recherche plein texte et les liens hypertexte, de manière à gagner du temps pour le chercheur ou le simple curieux qui s’intéresserait au sujet… 

La puissance des outils de recherche et archivage bibliographique disponibles de nos jours, comme Gallica, Google-Books, ou Internet Archive, a permis également d’ajouter des approfondissements et des rapprochements avec d’autres sources mentionnées par Renan, devenues accessibles à tous quelques cent-cinquante ans plus tard.

Alchemy and, the Hermetic science and practice may be traced to a much earlier period.  Fundamental tenet of alchemy is the declaration of the Emerald Tablet: "That which is below is as that which is above, and that which is above is as that which is below, for the performance of the miracles of the One Thing." There can be little doubt that the Emerald Tablet, as we have it, is a relatively modern work, although it is attributed to Hemes Trismegistus; but exactly the same doctrine is taught in the Hindu Katha Upanishad: "As below so above, as above so below; he passes from death to death who finds here the least shadow of variety. There is no variety in THAT. It should be grasped by the mind alone. He, indeed, passes from death to death who here finds the least shadow of variety."

So long ago as 1879, Dr. William A. P. Martin, a missionary to China, published an article in the China Review, in which he offered evidence to show that alchemy was known and practiced in China at least three hundred years before the Christian Era, and that it entered Europe by way of Byzantium and Alexandria. He cited many ancient texts, which include the
following points of similarity between Chinese alchemical literature and that of the West: (1) The doctrine that there is a seed of metals; (2) the idea that there is in all things an active principle whereby they may attain to a condition of higher development; (3) the fact that alchemy was perpetuated in China chiefly by oral tradition, supplemented by books written in figurative language; (4) Chinese alchemy, like that of Europe, is inseparable from astrology and magic; (5) the combination of the idea of the transmutation of metals with that of the making of a universal medicine; (6) the secret of making gold was regarded as being inferior to that of the Elixir of Life; (7) success in the work required self-culture and self-discipline; (8) the metals were all regarded as being composite; (9) the true matters of the work were concealed by names also used in the West, including lead, mercury, sulphur, and cinnabar; (10) the same symbolic terms appear in Chinese as in Western alchemical texts-such as, the "Radical Principle," the "Green Dragon," the "True Mercury," the "True Lead," and so on; (1 1) there were two alchemical processes, the first inward and spiritual, the second outward and material, and there were two elixirs, a greater and a lesser.

The Western literature of alchemy can be traced back to the days when Alexandria was the meeting-place for that group of adepts of the Inner School who later transferred their activities to Fez, and from that city issued the earliest versions of Tarot. In much of its doctrine, the Hermetic and alchemical philosophy is definitely Neo-Platonic, and as Neo-Platonism is tinged with ideas brought to Alexandria by wandering teachers from India, we can understand how there came to be a mixture of Hindu thought, Egyptian magic, and Greek philosophy in the Hermetic teaching set forth in the symbols of alchemy and Tarot.
Authorities disagree as to the derivation of the noun alchemy. Plutarch supposed it to be a combination of the Arabic definite article a1 with the Greek chumein, signifLing "to pour." An opinion prevailing today is that the true derivation is from Khem, an Egyptian noun meaning "black, fertile soil," in contrast to barren sand. Khem was the name given by the Egyptians to their country, and even Plutarch knew this, for he mentions it in his Isis and Osiris. The derivation of alchemy from Khem is further confirmed by the fact that old alchemical books allude to Hermetic practice as "the Egyptian Art."

The esoteric doctrine received by us is that the noun alchemy, like many other words in the Western literature of Hermetic science, is derived from Hebrew. It does not follow from this that alchemy is of Hebrew origin. Rather should it be understood that for certain purposes the Inner School adopted the Chaldean- Hebrew language to preserve and transmit esoteric doc- trines, just as modern scientists use Latin and Greek for similar purposes.
In Hebrew the word is ALChMH. It is a combination of the Semitic god-name AL, El, signifLing "strength," with ChMH, Khammaw, the Hebrew poetical noun for "sun." Thus "alchemy" may be interpreted as meaning "strength of the sun," or "God the Sun." Both interpretations are in harmony with alchemical doctrine.
Because ChMH, Khammaw, is derived from the root ChM, Khem, "the black one," which, as we have said, was given by the Egyptians to their own country, and by Egyptian priests to a certain aspect of the father-god, Osiris, alchemy is truly the Egyptian Art, and it is also the Science of God, the Black One, that is, the Hidden One. It is the science of the hidden essence which is veiled by solar energy. It is also the Osirian Art, because it is the system of practice which enables us to control the hidden powers of the "underworld" which, according to the Egyptian doctrine, is governed by Osiris. This hidden realm of Osiris is the world of occult forces and laws concealed beneath the superficial appearances of the world which is perceived by the greater number of human beings.

At the same time, although we have said that alchemy is not crude chemistry, and that all its instruments are con- tained in a hidden laboratory, you must not jump to the conclusion that it is a pure metaphysical process. It may be correctly described as being a psycho-physiological operation. The Hermetic practice is a method of psychological transformation directed by the conscious mind of man. This is the mode of human consciousness personified by the Egyptians as Thoth, by the Greeks as Herrnes, and by the Romans as Mercury. Thus it becomes evident that what Bernard of Trevisan means by saying that the operation is performed by the help of Mercury is little more than a paraphrase of what we have quoted from the Katha Upanishad: It should be grasped by the mind alone."
Dissolution is said to be the whole mystery of alchemy, because Hermetic practice enables us to control those functions of our bodies which dissolve, or break down into their constituent elements, the forms of materials taken from our environment. The laboratory of the alchemist is his own personality. The secret vessels therein are organs in his own physical body, together with their astral and etheric counterparts.
The principal piece of alchemical apparatus is a furnace, called an "athanor." Eliphas Levi says: "We are all in possession of the chemical instrument, the great and sole athanor which answers for the separation of the subtle from the gross and the fixed from the volatile. This instrument, complete as the world and precise as mathematics, is represented by the sages under the
emblem of the pentagram, or five-pointed star, which is the absolute sign of human intelligence. I will follow the example of the wise by forbearing to name it; it is too easy to guess it."
Today there is no need for even the slight concealment which seemed advisable when Levi wrote. The athanor is the human organism. Its name, like many other alchemical terms, is derived from Hebrew. In that language it is Ath-Ha-Nour, which means "Essence of Fire." Thus Bernard of Trevisan is correct when he says that the Great Work is not performed by means of fire, and so are the other sages who insist that the fire employed by them is "no common fire." It is the essence of fire, manifested as the human organism, which provides us with the instrument for the Great Work. Hence the athanor is defined as a "self-feeding, digesting hrnace, in which an equable heat is maintained." Is not this a fairly good description of the human body?
Some reference to the significance of the pentagram has been made in other publications of the School of Ageless Wisdom. It is intended, however to publish as soon as possible a series of texts on magic, in which the arcane meaning of this august symbol will be filly dealt with.
For the present it is enough to say that Levi's own interpretation of the pentagram includes these two points: (1) that the five-pointed star is a figure of the human body; (2) that it expresses the mind's domination
over the elements. Here he plainly states the Hermetic position, which is the same as that of the Hindu adepts mentioned by Swami Vivekananda. The mind of man can, and does, dominate all the forces of nature, through the instrumentality of the body. Hence the primary work of the alchemist is directed toward the purification and perfection of this chemical instrument.
It is perfectly true that the alchemist seeks to transmute the baser metals into gold. When he speaks of the seven metals, however, he means something other than the common products of the mine. Thus George Ripley warns his readers (in his Compound of Alchyrnie) against fruitless experiments with various substances, including "meane Mettalls dygged out of the Myne." And the other sages make the same distinction, speaking always of "our" Mercury, "our" Sulphur, "our" Gold and Silver, so as to make it plain that they are mentioning something peculiar to the Hermetic operation. The alchemical metals bear the names of the sun, moon, and the five planets known to the ancients, as follows:
LEAD SATURN 3 IRON MARS 8 TIN JUPITER 4 GOLD SOL or SUN 0 COPPER or BRASS VENUS SILVER LUNA 9 c QUICKSILVER MERCURY

Although much has been written on the subject of ancient Mediterranean harbours, the relatively new area of harbour
geoarchaeology remains dispersed in the geoscience and archaeological literature. Over a decade of research has amassed rich and varied datasets of anthropogenically forced coastal evolution, with a remarkable number of between-site analogies. This new research field also shows the rich potential of geoscience to reconcile important archaeological questions. No single publication, however, has yet drawn on these geological patterns to yield a detailed overview suitable for geoscientists and environmental archaeologists. The aim of this review article is to
(1) discuss how ancient harbours have come to be preserved in the geological record;

(2) expound the basic principles and palaeoenvironmental tools underpinning ancient harbour geoarchaeology;

(3) outline some of the most significant research advances made; and

(4) discuss a new chrono-stratigraphic model applicable to harbour.
sequences.

Since Max Weber who denied that the Oriental cities were "real" cities , effforts of many scholars have been aimed at establishing a connection between the city form and its socio-political structure.1 It has often been claimed that the city plan mirrors a city's political organisation.2 The lack of preconceived public spaces in the Near Eastern cities as opposite to the city-states of the Classical Antiquity was one of the focuses of these discussions (Liverani 1997, 91-93; May / Steinert, Introduction, this volume).

(for English scroll down)
Aus der bauhistorischen Untersuchung großer Wohnhäuser und einem breiten Fundus zeitgenössischer Quellen entwickelt die vorliegende Arbeit eine detailreiche Architektur- und Sozialgeschichte des bürgerlichen Wohnens in Beirut zwischen 1860 und 1930. Sie verfolgt Veränderungen in Architektur, Raumstruktur und Möblierung und spürt dem spannungsreichen Wandel von Wohnpraxis, Gastlichkeit, Geschlechter­beziehungen und Beziehungen zwischen Familie und Dienerschaft nach.

Based on building-historical surveys of large middle- and upper-class houses and a broad range of contemporary sources, this book presents a detailed architectural and social history of domestic culture and the bourgeois home in Beirut between 1860 and 1930--bridging the late-Ottoman and the early-Mandate periods. It identifies significant changes in architecture, spatial structure, and furnishings, and traces tension-fraught dynamics in domestic practices and the spatial manifestation of hospitality, gender relations, and relations between family and servants.

Inanna, Aya and Ninlil; goddesses of the Sirius star Imprint number 38 This imprint pictures a sexual intercourse of sun god Utu with Inanna, a goddess of the Sirius star. On the right stands the moon god Suen dressed in a woollen skirt. This trio: the moon god, the sun god and the Sirius goddess are pictured on many cylinder seals. In this paper I examine some of them. Around 2000 B.C. the Sirius star and the sun were in conjunction from about half April until about half June: rising and setting at the same time: "Egyptians based their calendar on the heliacal rising of Sirius, namely the day it becomes visible just before sunrise after moving far enough away from the glare of the Sun. This occurred just before the annual flooding of the Nile and the summer solstice, after a 70-day absence from the skies. Sirius was identified with the great goddess Isis, while the 70-day period symbolized the passing of Isis and Osiris through the duat (Egyptian underworld)". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirius This meant that for 70 days Sirius and the sun formed a couple. In the next verse the conjunction of Sirius with the sun is described as Inanna riding together with her brother, the sun god Utu: