Hi! I’m Daan Nijssen, a historian, writer, and passionate explorer of the Ancient Near East.
I’ve written two books in Dutch (Het wereldrijk van het Tweestromenland and Alle wegen leiden naar Babel) that bring Mesopotamia and the surrounding world to life for a broader audience. My third book is currently in the works: a new kind of project that blends historical reconstruction with literary imagination, set during the final days of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Alongside my writing, I also conduct academic research. In my latest research proposal, I explored the rise and fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire through the lens of international relations theory, especially realist constructivism. My goal is to shift the focus from the empire itself to the complex, often-overlooked dynamics between Assyria and its neighbouring powers.
Whether I’m writing for a general audience or working on academic analysis, one thing always draws me in: how people in the past made sense of their world, their fears, beliefs, ambitions, and the stories they told to hold it all together.
This blog is where I share some of that ongoing journey. Expect essays, reflections, research updates, and occasional side trails. My goal is to make the ancient world accessible without oversimplifying it, and to open up the conversation, between past and present, between scholars and readers, between research and imagination.
Thanks for being here.
If you’d like to get in touch, you can reach me at daannijssen@gmail.com.