The oldest known depiction of Jesus from the #WorldBetweenEmpires exhibit at the Met Museum

#WorldBetweenEmpires focuses on the remarkable cultural, religious, and commercial exchange that took place in cities including Petra, Baalbek, Palmyra, and Hatra between 100 B.C. and A.D. 250.

Aphrodite, Helios, Zeus, Sphinx— “The world between empires—art and identity in ancient Middle East” exhibition at @metmuseum #WorldbetweenEmpires

metmuseum: During this period, the Middle East was the meeting point of 2 powerful empires—Parthian Iran in the east and Rome in the west—that struggled for regional control. #WorldBetweenEmpires focuses on the diverse and distinctive cities and people t…

Dura Europos was a Roman city on the Euphrates in #Syria. A great melting pot of cultures (I was lucky to visit in 2009). Here, a tile from its famous synagogue; a portrait of the god Mithras; and (if you look carefully) graffito of a cavalryman! @metmuseum #WorldBetweenEmpires

metmuseum: #WorldBetweenEmpires also examines important contemporary issues—above all, the deliberate destruction and looting of sites including Palmyra, Dura-Europos, and Hatra. Watch recorded conversations with leading archaeologists, in the exhibition…

Gods of the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria from the #WorldBetweenEmpires exhibit at the Met https://t.co/qf4fxZAYp0

The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East #WorldBetweenEmpires #TheMet

The #WorldBetweenEmpires show collected material from the Middle East dating to ca. 100 BCE—300 CE, when cities like Petra, Palmyra, Dura Europos & Baalbek were thriving commercial centers. The show was divided by city or culture, exploring exchange, interaction, and more!

Beautiful in death as in life: a funerary statue from #Palmyra in #Syria. The Palmyrene language (look closely for the inscription) was an #Aramaic dialect closely related to #Syriac but had its own alphabet #WorldBetweenEmpires @metmuseum

wall paintings from the Christian House at Dura Europos (ca. 232) depicting miracles of Jesus ~ on loan to @metmuseum from @YaleArtGallery for the #WorldBetweenEmpires ~ are a sight to behold in this space and visible with new clarity at eye level

⁣A happy #Easter to all those celebrating. The wall paintings from the Christian building at Dura-Europos—considered the world’s oldest surviving church—include the earliest securely dated representations of Jesus Christ. #WorldbetweenEmpires https://t.co/e6GDTaBeaz

A tear sheet from the past Met exhibition, #WorldBetweenEmpires and the UndeniaBull earrings. Statuette of standing nude goddess, 1st century B.C.–1st century A.D. Alabaster, stucco, gold, rubies

From the same Dura Europos house church, incredible paintings of #Jesus and his disciples walking on water. The oldest firmly dated images of Christ in the world (ca. 232 AD) #WorldBetweenEmpires #Syria @metmuseum

The arts of the ancient Near East can help us understand the rise of #Islam: here, statues of al-‘Uzza and Allat, pre-Islamic goddesses also mentioned in the #Quran in the famous “Satanic Verses” incident @metmuseum #WorldBetweenEmpires

For me, the biggest highlight of #WorldBetweenEmpires is the wall painting from the house church at Dura Europos in eastern #Syria, ca. 232 AD. Oldest firmly dated images of #Jesus in the world. Here, Jesus healing the paralytic @metmuseum

The Vallerano necropolis near Rome contained over 100 burials, mostly dated to the mid- to late 2nd century. This ring comes from Tomb 2, which belonged to a young woman likely of Syrian origin. #WorldBetweenEmpires https://t.co/e6GDTaBeaz [Museo Nazionale Romano, Il Medagliere]

Sending #Passover greetings to all those celebrating. Found in a first-century synagogue during excavations at Migdal (ancient Magdala), the Magdala Stone features a seven-branched menorah, the earliest such image known in a synagogue. #WorldbetweenEmpires https://t.co/e6GDTaBeaz

The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East https://t.co/dtqrPscQzP #WorldBetweenEmpires

Mirror (and case) found in the Cave of Letters, where rebels sought refuge at the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt (132-35). Even at the end you can’t let yourself go. On display @metmuseum #judaism #history #worldbetweenempires