Tag: Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia—the land “between the rivers” in modern-day Iraq—was home to the ancient Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians.

Culture, History

Akitu Feast: A Celebration of New Beginnings in Ancient Mesopotamia

The Akitu feast was one of the most important religious festivals in ancient Mesopotamia. It marked the beginning of the new year and the renewal of life in spring. It was also a time to honor the supreme god Marduk and his son Nabu, who were believed to have created and ordered the universe out of chaos. It reaffirmed Marduk’s role as the supreme god and creator of all things. It also reaffirmed the king’s role as Marduk’s representative on earth and his legitimacy as ruler of Babylon. It also reaffirmed the bond between the king, the gods, and the people, who shared a common destiny and fate. Continue reading Akitu Feast: A Celebration of New Beginnings in Ancient Mesopotamia

Indrajit RoyChoudhury4 Comments
History

Iraq Dig Uncovers 5,000-Year-Old Pub Restaurant

The US-Italian team made the find in the ruins of ancient Lagash, northeast of the modern city of Nasiriyah in Iraq, which was already known to have been one of the first urban centers of the Sumerian civilization of ancient Iraq. Team finds primitive fridge, oven, benches for guests, around 150 serving bowls, evidence of eating, drinking, and even beer recipe inscribed on cuneiform tablet. A detailed analysis would need to be carried out on the samples taken during the excavations. Continue reading Iraq Dig Uncovers 5,000-Year-Old Pub Restaurant

Indrajit RoyChoudhury13 Comments
History

Golden Lyre of Ur | Mesopotamia

It is unknown which culture was the first to create music, but a set of beautiful Sumerian instruments from the city of Ur provide us with some insight into the world of ancient music. The famous Lyres of Ur, which are somewhat similar to modern harps, are the oldest stringed instruments unearthed to date. The Golden Lyre, found in the Great Death Pit at the Royal Cemetery of Ur (in southern Iraq), got its name because the whole head of the bull is made of gold. The eyes are made of inlaid mother-of-pearl and lapis lazuli. Research has shown that the bull played a key role in the religious imagination of the Sumerians: it could serve as the deity’s divine animal or the god himself could take on the form of a bull. Continue reading Golden Lyre of Ur | Mesopotamia

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History

Gold Helmet of Meskalamdug | Mesopotamia

Elaborate hairstyles became important for both men and women in Mesopotamia. The kings began to wear a full beard and long braided hair tied in a large bun at the nape of his neck. Women continued to wear their hair long, twisting it into large buns that covered the top of the head to the base of the neck and adorning it with ribbons and pins. The wealthiest people decorated their elaborate hairstyles with beautifully made jewelry of gold and silver. The gold of the helmet of Meskalamdug was expertly formed to resemble the hairstyle popular for men of the time: waves around the face with a bun tied in the back. Continue reading Gold Helmet of Meskalamdug | Mesopotamia

Indrajit RoyChoudhury8 Comments
History

The Great Ziggurat of Ur | Mesopotamia

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

Indrajit RoyChoudhury4 Comments
History

Oldest Cookbook from Ancient 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

Indrajit RoyChoudhury8 Comments
History

Ancient City Shaduppum | Mesopotamia

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

Indrajit RoyChoudhury10 Comments
History, Travel

Temple of Goddess Ninmakh in Babylon

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

Indrajit RoyChoudhury14 Comments
Travel

Erbil Citadel (Kurdistan)

Settled more than 6,000 years ago, Erbil Citadel is thought to be one of the longest continuously inhabited sites in the world. The Citadel, which rises some 30 meters above the plain, is surrounded by a lower town that developed in the modern city of Erbil. The Erbil Citadel, locally called Qelat, is a tell or occupied mound, and the historical city centre of Erbil. Over the millennia, the Erbil Citadel has taken shape, each generation building new structures on top of those of the previous generation. Continue reading Erbil Citadel (Kurdistan)

Indrajit RoyChoudhury10 Comments