A new translation of 3,000-year-old tablet reveals 'fake news' was employed by an ancient Babylonian god to trick ‘Noah’ and his followers into building his ark. The act of ancient trickery was found...
The site of Monte D'Accoddi on Sardinia is one of the most extraordinary mysteries of modern archaeology. It’s a real Babylonian style stepped pyramid that stands on a millenary plain as a reminder...
The Akkadian Empire was the first empire in Mesopotamia and arguably the first true empire that existed, being around during the third millennium BC. As has been a recurring empirical theme ever...
What exactly goes on high above our heads? Why do the stars and celestial spheres seem to dance around the sky? What is the sun up to when it seems to “randomly” disappear in the day, or when it...
In the city of Ur, where the first settlements in the marshes of southern Mesopotamia were built with reeds without any type of nails or woods, Ningal was born to Ninhursag and Enki. Her name means...
The Amorites, also called Amurru or Martu, were an ancient Semitic-speaking people who dominated the history of Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine from about 2000 to 1600 BC. Tribal nomads who forced...
Archaeologists are hailing, as very important, the dramatic discovery of a Bronze Age Palace . It was revealed as the waters of a reservoir fell because of a severe drought in Iraq. The ruin is...
In the belief system of the Sumerians, Enki (known also as Ea by the Akkadians and Babylonians) was regarded to be one of the most important deities. Originally Enki was worshipped as a god of fresh...
The destruction of the ancient town of Hasankeyf by the Turkish government has drawn anger and disappointment to many people all over the world. Unfortunately, the submersion of the early...
Tiamat is an ambiguous deity who played an important role in the creation myth of ancient Mesopotamia . She was their personification of the primordial sea, from which the first generation of gods...
Spectacular things were happening in Mesopotamia in the period we call the Early Bronze Age, particularly in the southern part of it, commonly called Babylonia. It was here that the wealthy,...
The Sumerian civilization (known also as Sumer) was one of the earliest civilizations in the world. This ancient civilization emerged in the region of southern Mesopotamia (modern day southern Iraq...
Ancient languages are captivating despite the fact that studying them or learning about them is a long, complex process. Of course, many students just get briefly acquainted with this subject and...
The Burney Relief (known also as the Queen of the Night) is a terracotta plaque from ancient Mesopotamia . The relief is dominated by a nude female figure with wings and talons . She is usually...
The Sumerian religion was polytheistic in nature, and the Sumerians worshipped a great number of deities. These deities were anthropomorphic beings, and were meant to represent the natural forces of...
A 4,000-year-old lost city has been discovered in Iraqi Kurdistan, according to researchers. “We weren’t expecting to discover a city here at all,” said Christine Kepinski, who explored the site,...
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, sex, and beauty and there are many tales of how she could entice both gods and mortals to lust after her. In one of the most famous images of the goddess, we...
A kudurru (meaning ‘boundary’ or ‘frontier’ in Akkadian ) is a type of stone document used in ancient Mesopotamia . While stone monuments have been used at various times in ancient Mesopotamia, it is...
Utu was a solar deity and god of justice in the ancient Mesopotamian pantheon, and also served as a judge in the Underworld. Whilst Utu was the god’s name in Sumerian, he was known in Akkadian as...
In the temple-schools of Mesopotamia , students learned exorcism rituals, how to mix healing atonements, perform astrology, and how to cure demonic possession. While these skills may seem archaic now...
In the early second millennium BC, the city-states of Mesopotamia thrived in the so-called “Ur III period.” Assuming political frameworks previously abandoned in times of chaos, the rulers of the...
One of the many fantastic stories in the Book of Genesis is the Tower of Babel, a tall construction made in Babylonia after the Deluge. The gist of the story is: All human beings used to speak the...
Louise Pryke / The Conversation The world’s first known author is widely considered to be Enheduanna, a woman who lived in the 23rd century BC in ancient Mesopotamia (approximately 2285 – 2250 BC)...
Ancient Mesopotamia was a vast region in Western Asia which has become known as the ‘cradle of civilization’ due to the huge number of feats the culture achieved. Agriculture, animal herding, and...
