The great Mesopotamian language (𒍜𒅴 𒀝𒅗𒁺𒌑(𒌝) - Lishanum Akkaditum), also known as Akkadian, emerged in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 3000 BCE and continued until 500 BCE. Its academic and liturgical (religious) use persisted until 100 CE. It spread to become the official language of the Fertile Crescent and large parts of Western Asia and North Africa, and it is classified within the group of West Asian (Semitic) languages. Akkadian is the mother tongue of the Mesopotamians, and all Mesopotamian languages originated from it. Over the centuries, this language influenced the peoples of the region and the entire world, remaining in use for more than 3,100 years.

However, the Amorites (𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 - Amurrum), who were referred to as the "Westerners," had the greatest impact on the mother language of Mesopotamia (Akkadian). The Amorites were an ancient Semitic-speaking people from the Bronze Age. They first appeared in Sumerian records around 2500 BCE and expanded to rule most of the Levant, all of Mesopotamia, and parts of Egypt from the 21st century BCE to the late 17th century BCE. One of their most renowned and famous emperors was Hammurapi (𒄩𒄠𒈬𒊏𒁉), who ruled from approximately 1792 to 1750 BCE. Since their occupation of Babylon and Assyria, changes began to appear in the Assyrian and Babylonian dialects of Mesopotamia. This gradual fundamental change continued from the beginning of their rule over Mesopotamia, around 2000 BCE, until 1600 BCE. Their influence reached its peak during the Old Babylonian period when they established their capital in Babylon and ruled much of southern Mesopotamia. This change in the language of Mesopotamia led to the emergence of new languages, such as Mandaic, Syriac, and others (Hatran, Talmudic, and Arabic). There is no scientific evidence to support the claim by biblical archaeologists that the Mandaic and Syriac languages are Aramaic dialects; rather, they are languages of Akkadian origin that were significantly influenced by the language of the Amorite occupiers. This is exactly what happened to the English language.

It's about the culture of Mesopotamia

any help is appreciated

Hi!

Could anyone point me towards books in English that are similar to this:
https://www.zinnfigur.com/en/Books-Media/Book-series/Military-history/Heere-Waffen/Schertler-O-text-Lunyakov-S-illustrations-Die-Heere-im-Alten-Orient.html

I already know about the Osprey books, but the ones I found all have the illustrations separate from the text, in the back of the book, which I find less useful and more bothersome to use.

I'm looking for books about ancient Mesopotamian civilizations (Sumeria, Akkadia, Babylon, etc.) with large amounts of colored illustrations of clothing, armor, weapons and buildings.
The linked book is mainly about military, but I'd be happy if someone could recommend one about the working, regular people and their clothing as well.

The colored illustrations would be important because I'd like to use the books as reference for illustrations and character design.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ancient-tablets-foretold-doom-awaiting-154920263.html

I found this alleged “Near East” antique online and I am considering buying it for an Assyrian friend. It looks to me (I know nothing) to be pre-Islamic (non-Arabic) script and perhaps cuneiform. Does anyone recognise the type of writing, could it be cuneiform?

I have always heard from both laymen and historians, in documentaries or otherwise, refer to past civilizations in Egypt as "Egyptian" or "Ancient Egyptian" and Aztecs and Mayans as "Mexico". But I rarely hear Mesopotamian civilization being referred to as "ancient Iraqi", and I always see that people make a strict distinction between Iraq and Mesopotamia, when it isn't so much the case for everywhere else. Why is that? Why do people have such a hard time admitting that Mesopotamia is Iraq?

Hello! I'm writing a fantasy novel that takes place in ancient Babylon (and also other ancient civilizations are present). Due to plot reasons and my -kinda- wild imagination I want to create my own Exodus story -sort of-, but with a catch - Instead of the wilderness they'll wander around in the sea. I want to get acquainted with the nuances - How many ships we need, how easy will it be for ships to communicate with eachother or deliver messages, what dangers they might get across etc. The amount of people that are migrating is between 20,000 and 30,000. I'd really appreciate if someone could help!

I've found a couple articles regarding the Anu Ziggurat who have mentioned 19 gypsum tablets. Does anybody know anything about the contents of the tablets, beyond, "temple accounting," which multiple of these articles seem to parrot?

**Edit: It's very late; I meant to type, "were," in the title.

Okay so I came across pictures of this Assyrian carving, and have done much internet searching yet can't find any info about the inscription, or where this piece is, came from, or basically any way to find more info on it.

Anyone know of like a book written about it or some resource that might have the translation to the inscription? Thanks!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_genie#/media/File%3AGenien%2C_Nimrud_870_v._Chr._Aegyptisches_Museum%2C_Muenchen-4.jpg

I’m currently reading a book on Mesopotamian myths and legends and just came across the line, “Then Alla made his voice heard and spoke to the gods his brothers”.

I did some reading around after this and saw differing perspectives on whether this was a mistranslation or poor transliteration but nothing seemed to be particularly backed by any scholarly consensus.

Is there any chance of this being an early reference to the name Allah or is it just a mistake on the translators part or is it just nothing?

I'm currently writing a novel with a biopunk setting, in which the rich people are all named after various gods from different religions (Mesopotamian, Greek, Chinese, Inuit, Egyptian, etc). Three of my major characters are based upon Ninurta, Inanna, and Enlil (all are genetic clones of one another) and their ethnicities are depicted as african mixed with arabic.

In my story, I have consistently matched ethnicities with the gods in question. For example, a character named Sedna is literally Inuit and a character named Pangu is literally Chinese. However, considering that these three characters are my oldest ones, I haven't gotten a chance to evaluate their ethnicities until now. In drafts for the novel, all three of these characters appear more black than they do middle eastern, and while I have considered adding more characters from this specific family to make the full bloodline more mixed, I have had mixed thoughts about it considering that I am trying to be very careful with references and details pertaining to the original gods for this futuristic setting. For example, Ninurta has a lot of tattoos that depict Mesopotamian symbolism and the various demons he has slain in the mythology. Both Ninurta and Inanna have roles in the plot that pertain HEAVILY to their roles as gods too, so this inspiration goes far deeper than just mere appearance and little references.

Maybe it doesn't seem like such a big deal to others but it really is to me considering that I have spent years and pages upon pages of this project 😭. And I have done a lot of research trying to figure out if black people were present in these ancient societies and the answers I'm finding are VERY mixed considering that it's a question that not many people have asked.

Should I reevaluate these characters and revise, or am I doing okay with it? I have deep appreciation for all things mesopotamian and don't want to accidentally erase culture in some way when these characters and this project means the absolute world to me.

I recently moved into a new house, and was working in the garden today. In one of the walls around the garden, I found this plaque with writing on it. Does anyone know what language it is, and maybe have some pointers to what it could mean? My guess is that it is some type of cuneiform, but I don't know if it is an original text that is copied, or something modern (in French) translated to this alphabet

https://preview.redd.it/60633429oicd1.jpg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7c4e0fd53c694f22252bc93eaf08a49e039b7f02

Hello everyone! I'm happy to say that my fantasy novel based on ancient Mesopotamia is finally done and ready for purchase! You can follow the link to my author page to purchase it through Amazon, or if you want the audiobook, it's also available through Audible!

I've been working on this book for some time and feel I did justice in writing Mesopotamian society for the modern world. Specific names and places were changed for the everyday reader unfamiliar with pronunciations, but you'll still be able to recognize them as Mesopotamian. If you know your history well enough, some of you may catch one or two surprises I wrote in there! I hope you enjoy my debut novel, A Burnt Offering!

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What are good books about Mesopotamian history for laymen?

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Hey folks! I'm a teacher looking to revitalize my curriculum a little bit. My scope covers Mesopotamia and I'd like my students to read some excerpts of primary sources. What are some of your favorites?