“History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books-books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napoleon once said, ‘What is history, but a fable agreed upon?”
The Laws of Eshnunna are believed to be about two generations older than the Code of Hammurabi and the differences between the Code of Hammurabi and the Laws of Eshnunna significantly contributed to illuminating the development of ancient and cuneiform law. Continue reading Laws of Eshnunna | Oldest Written Laws
The Mundeshwari Temple is located at Ramgarh village of Bhagwanpur block in Kaimur district in the Indian state of Bihar on the Mundeshwari Hills. It is an ancient temple dedicated to the worship of Lord Shiva and Shakti. It is believed that rituals and worship have been performed here without a break, hence the Mundeshwari temple is considered as the oldest functional Hindu temple of India. The temple is an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monument since 1915. Continue reading Mundeshwari Mandir | Oldest Hindu Temple in India
National Forest Martyrs Day is observed in India on September 11 every year to commemorate the Khejarli massacre, which took place on September 11 in 1730. The Ministry of Environment and Forest made the declaration in 2013 to remember the sacrifice of those who laid their lives to protect the forests and wildlife across the remote corners of the country and since then, people across India observe this day every year to pay tributes to the valour and sacrifice made the forest personnel to protect the forests and wildlife of India. Continue reading National Forest Martyrs Day | September 11
What connects Bengal and the Indus Valley Civilisation? A 2,500-year-old archaeological site, suffering from neglect might have the answer. A thriving settlement between the 4th century BCE and 12th century CE, Chandraketugarh is often thought to be the kingdom of Gangaridai as referred to by ancient Greek and Roman writers. Apart from its historical significance, Chandraketugarh is of great cultural importance, associated with Bengali poet and astrologer Khana, the daughter-in-law of Varahamihira, the famed astronomer and mathematician who was part of Chandragupta Vikramaditya’s court. Continue reading Chandraketugarh | A Lost Civilization
Ziggurats were built by ancient Sumerians, Akkadians, Elamites, Eblaites and Babylonians for local religions. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included other buildings. The precursors of the ziggurat were raised platforms that date from the Ubaid period during the sixth millennium BCE. The Ziggurat at Ur and the temple on its top were built around 2100 BCE by the king Ur-Nammu of the Third Dynasty of Ur for the moon goddess Nanna, the divine patron of the city state. Continue reading The Great Ziggurat of Ur | Mesopotamia
The earliest cookbooks found around the world give people today a fascinating look at not only what the people of the time ate but also their lifestyles, mainly of those from the upper class. The oldest known documented recipes in the world come from the ancient city of Babylon. The Mesopotamian recipe book is the oldest and the first documented cuisine in the world, of which only three Babylonian cuneiform tablets are extant today and is a set of cracked tablets engraved by an early civilization’s version of a master chef going back to 1700 BCE. The recipes are elaborate and often call for rare ingredients. The dishes were slow-cooked in a covered pot to make the food extra tasty. Ancient foodies seem to have preferred fowl and mutton. Continue reading Oldest Cookbook from Ancient Mesopotamia
Karbala is an ancient city, it was known since the Babylonian age. The city is best known as the location of the Battle of Karbala, which was fought in 680 CE between the army of the second Umayyad caliph Yazid I and a small army led by Imam Hussain ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the Mosques of Imam Hussain and Abbas. The city is considered a holy city for Shi’ite Muslims in the same way as Mecca and Medina. The Battle of Karbala at Karbala. Continue reading Holy Land of Karbala
Although Shaduppum was established as early as the late third millenium BCE, during the days of Sargon of Akkad, Shaduppum didn’t rise to prominence until the second millennium BCE, where it seems to have been a heavily fortified administrative station for the kingdom of Eshnunna, and its name means “the treasury.” Among the tablets from Shaduppum are two with parts of the Laws of Eshnunna as well as some important mathematical tablets, which are not only interesting, but surprising too. There remains much we don’t know about Shaduppum, that we may never know, but one thing is clear: Shaduppum was a city that had a little bit of everything that made it a Mesopotamian city worth a look. Continue reading Ancient City Shaduppum | Mesopotamia
Located in the fabled ancient city of Babylon, adjacent to the Processional Way and the iconic Ishtar Gate, the Ninmakh Temple was rebuilt several times during the reigns of Esarhaddon, Assurbanipal, and Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century BCE. Ninmakh is the Sumerian Mother Goddess and one of the oldest and most important in the Mesopotamian Pantheon. She is principally a fertility goddess. Ninmakh subsumed the characteristics of similar deities like Ki (earth) and others, and was later herself subsumed by the fertility goddess Inanna/Ishtar. Continue reading Temple of Goddess Ninmakh in Babylon
The Baghdad city was founded in the month of July, 762 CE. Where Iraq stands today is historically known as ‘the cradle of civilisation’. This land, also called Mesopotamia — the fertile land around the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, saw the rise and fall of great ancient empires like the Sumerian, Babylonia, Assyria, and the Akkadian empire. As Baghdad was built on the trade route which linked central Asia with eastern lands, it became a trade hub with markets offering goods not only from all parts of the Muslim world but from Europe and far off countries like India and China. Continue reading The Birth of a Landmark for World Civilization
Indrosphere 