Evidence for the material culture of ancient Israel comes mostly from artifacts and archaeology and attests to the influence of the great empires that surrounded Israel.
Vassal Treaty of Esarhaddon, King of Assyria (reigned 681–669 BCE). This copy of the treaty was found in the inner sanctum of the Assyrian temple in Tell Tayinat (in southeastern Turkey), where it was…
In 1735, Eleazar ben Samuel arrived in Amsterdam to take up the post of chief rabbi of the Ashkenazic community. To mark the occasion, Joel ben Lippman Levi minted a medal. On the front of the medal…
In this engraving from a Dutch translation of Leone Modena’s Historia de’ riti Ebraici (History of the Jewish Rites), a Jewish wedding in Amsterdam is pictured. Groom and bride stand under the huppah…