Hi! Shlama! Shlomo!
My name is Arim and I was born in Stockholm.
Growing up as a second-generation immigrant in Sweden, I felt like an outsider most of my childhood. Despite yearning to fit in, I was inherently different.
One day, I asked my dad how I could learn about our Assyrian heritage. He gave me a thick book written for academics, but despite my interest in history, I could barely make it through the introduction. As a result, I never learned about my history.
Unlike ancient Greece, Rome, or Egypt, there are no Hollywood movies, video games, or bestselling novels set in ancient Assyria. Nor are there charter trips to Assyrian cities (that don’t exist anymore)—like there are to Athens, Rome, or Cairo. Assyrian history isn’t popularized, which makes it inaccessible to most.
When my first child was born, I decided he wouldn’t go through the identity struggle I did. So I started writing.
Me, walking through ancient Nineveh, the Assyrian capital in the 7th century BC.
A Work in Progress Since 2019
My initial vision to popularize Assyrian history was to make a TV-show. Starting in 2018, I studied screenwriting for two years under some of the most renowned teachers in Hollywood. I wrote several screenplays set in Assyria, and one of them got representation from an agent. But it didn’t go anywhere, and I didn’t like that I couldn’t influence the outcome.
2018
I randomly discovered a book titled “The Oldest Cuisine in the World.” In the 1980s, author Jean Bottero deciphered 35 recipes on clay tablets dated to 1700 BC. But lacking measurements and proper instructions, they were impossible for modern cooks to follow. What a pity, I thought, and the idea for Table of Gods was born.
2019
I quit my day job to self-publish Table of Gods. I read millions of words of scholarly papers, and probably wrote as many, trying to figure out the concept for the book. Table of Gods grew from being a recipe book, to a history book, to a time machine.
2020
I slowly learned that self-publishing a book includes far more than just writing the book. I also needed the help of chefs, brewers, scholars, photographers, food stylists, designers, editors, printers, and fulfillment partners, etc. I initially planned to launch the book in 2021. I'm glad I didn't.
2021
My vision for Table of Gods and the reality of my manuscript were still far apart. I decided to double down on my craft and applied to a school for upcoming authors. I worked on my manuscript for a year under the mentorship of a published author, which took it to a whole new level.
2022
My sister helped me launch this website by the end of 2022. In 2023, over 3,000 people joined my book’s waitlist. I also launched a YouTube channel and started posting long and short videos about food and legends from ancient Mesopotamia. The videos received over 300,000 views in the first year.
2023
We completed all 63 recipes and had 142 people from around the world test them. I also sent the manuscript to 329 beta readers, a professional editor, and several Near Eastern scholars who fact-checked it. I signed with a design studio specializing in art books, got a publishing deal (which I humbly declined), and traveled to the British Museum to plan my book launch. My followers in 2024 grew to over 50,000 across social media, YouTube, and the book’s waitlist.
2024
