“The Fall of Babylon” by English painter John Martin depicting Cyrus the Great’s forces overwhelming the Babylonian army. Circa 1831. Source: CC BY 4.0 by the Wellcome Collection.

Of War & Hope: Lessons From History For Israel & Iran

Once again history repeats itself. The Middle East finds itself in the grip of a catastrophic conflict, with recent missile exchanges between Israel and Iran inflicting devastating losses. Recent missile strikes, including one targeting Israel’s Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva, and retaliatory airstrikes on Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor, have left devastation in their wake.

Bust believed to be of Sulla, probably from after his death. Source: Glyptothek / Public Domain.

Sulla: The Man Who Showed Caesar the Way

There is no question that the fate of Rome, her empire, Europe and by extension the western world was changed by one man. In the space of a single human lifetime this man took the august but creaking Roman Republic and, driven by his own ambition as much as a love for his people, remade