Qatna is an ancient city in Syria whose remains are about 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Homs near the village of al-Mishrifeh. It was an important center in the second millennium BC and in the first half of the first millennium BC, with one of the largest royal palaces of Bronze Age Syria. An intact royal tomb has provided data on the funerary habits of that period. First inhabited in the second half of the fourth millennium BC, it was repopulated around 2800 BC and continued to grow. Around 2000 BC, it became the capital of a regional kingdom that spread its authority over the central and southern Levant. By the 15th century BC, Qatna had lost its hegemony and was under the authority of Mitanni. It was conquered and sacked by the Hittites in the late 14th century BC and abandoned by the 13th century BC. It was re-inhabited in the 10th century BC, becoming a center of the kingdoms of Palistin and Hamath until it was destroyed by the Assyrians in 720 BC, eventually disappearing in the 6th century BC. The site has been excavated since the 1920s. As a result of the Syrian Civil War, excavations stopped in 2011.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qatna
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1845:
The Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States, becoming the 28th state admitted into the union. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_annexation
1860:
To counter the French Navy's Gloire, the world's first ironclad warship, the British Royal Navy launched the world's first iron-hulled armoured battleship, HMS Warrior. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Warrior_(1860)
1911:
Sun Yat-sen was elected in Nanjing as the Provisional President of the Republic of China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yat-sen
1975:
A bomb set by unknown perpetrators at LaGuardia Airport in New York City exploded, killing 11 people and seriously injuring 74 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975_LaGuardia_Airport_bombing
1997:
In order to prevent the spread of the H5N1 flu virus, the Hong Kong government began the slaughter of 1.3 million chickens. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_spread_of_H5N1
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
ensete: Ensete ventricosum, a species of flowering plant in the banana family Musaceae, the root of which is used for food and other purposes. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ensete
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
We praise thee, O God, for thy glory displayed in all the creatures of the earth, In the snow, in the rain, in the wind, in the storm, in all of thy creatures, both the hunters and the hunted, For all things exist as seen by thee, only as known by thee, all things exist Only in thy light, and thy glory is declared even in that which denies thee; the darkness declares the glory of light. Those who deny thee could not deny, if thou didst not exist; and their denial is never complete, for if it were so, they would not exist. --T. S. Eliot https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot