We are three kings and four episodes deep now, check out the astonishingly violent Neo-Assyrian empire as it rises to power. The framework is the kings and conquests, but from this we get to take long side tracks to consider why the empire grew the way it did, the effect it had on the people and the ancient world, and what it meant for ancient culture.

You can start out on Spotify or Youtube, but the Oldest Stories podcast is available pretty much anywhere. The Assyria series starts with episode 139: An Iron King for an Iron Age.

This is well into year 5 of the show, and while we have only just started doing video stuff, the podcast has gotten pretty in-depth covering Sumer and Akkad, the Isin-Larsa period, Old Babylon, the Hittites, Historical Israel, and plenty of other stuff as well. Check it out and let me know what you think!

I wanted to share a new podcast episode in which I talk to historian and author Dr. Amanda Podany about her latest publicaton, “Weavers, Scribes, and Kings” and also discuss everything Mesopotamia, ranging from the rise of urban settlements, the invention of writing and so much more.

https://www.diggingupthepast.net/p/mesopotamia-the-land-between-the

Are there any sites that sell Babylonian, Akkadian, Sumerian, Neo-Babylonian, and Achaemenid cuneiform tablets with well-documented provenance?

It's a contentious topic, especially when discussing with revisionist historians who often portray this region as predominantly Arab, even in ancient times.

What evidence do we have that the native inhabitants of Southern Iraq, prior to the Islamic conquests, were not Arabs? I'm especially interested in linguistic, cultural, and archaeological data that can help paint a clearer picture. For instance, references to non-Arab groups like the Nabateans among them ibn wahshiya who literally identified by the moniker that the Arabs gave for the settled native non-Arabic speakers of Southern Iraq.

How can we constructively engage in discussions with those who assert a predominantly Arab identity for ancient Southern Iraq? I'm seeking a factual and historically accurate perspective to better explain how Arab kingdoms like characene existing in the area does not necessarily mean that the area was predominantly ethnically Arabian.

Thank you for your insights!

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Alright hi, hello it's me again.

I'm currently doing a report on the power dynamic in Mesopotamia between those who could write Sumerian cuneiform (priests, kings, scribes ect) and those who couldn't. Does anyone have a source where it tells us about if the scribes or priests hid any form of information? And if you could also supply the link to said source that would be really helpful as I need it to get an A on this report.

Please and thank you, hope you enjoy your day.

I’m assuming that there was some differentiation before Sargon founded Akkad. Thanks!

Currently reading gilgamesh, and am confused about something. When he stated that he took a white kid and a brown kid to the sun god, was that in a literally or metaphorical sense? Sorry if it's a dumb question, I'm an amateur when it comes to this stuff

gatewaystobabylon.com/gods/lords/lordamu.html

It's the only new lead I have on information on him but I wanted to some peoples input on if this seems like a legitimate source or if it's just nonsense-

Thank you-

Anyone know where I can find the full myth/story, it keeps getting mentioned while I'm doing research on Damu but I'm unable to find the actual source for it. I was wondering if anyone in this subreddit might know where I could read it or at least get a rough idea of the story.

Hi, I'm wondering if Mesopotamian literature wrote about the 2 rivers, specifically in poetry? What were some poems or literary works that described the 2 rivers?

I was wondering how ethnically/genetically related the different Semetic-speaking peoples of Mesopotamia were, as I am either misunderstanding or my research is turning up short. There were the Assyrians, Akkadians, Kassites, Babylonians, Chaldeans (?), Gutians, all being described as to what I can tell different peoples, with notable exceptions being the Sumerians and Elamites who were probably significantlty genetically different. Was this distinction based on the language they spoke? Did someone from Assur have viewed someone from Babylon as a different culture? Or are do they function as denonyms.

Also, would these people have been as genetically different as Italians and Greeks, or closer to an Arab from Jordan vs Iraq? And how did they view eachother?

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Thank you

I’m a school teacher so I decided to make it for my students. They love it!

https://youtu.be/klOg1mogYEk?si=ro1YM_m5cI-2VFJ6

Please recommend some good ones especially ones that go into detail about the religions. Thanks in advance.

I compiled seven excerpts from the epic of gilgamesh for a school project. I gave it the title of "seven dreams" (like the seven days gilgamesh sleeps at utnapishtim's). I was hoping you guys could help me translate it in cuneiform so that i could write it on the cover!