Sumerian civilization: Did you mean...?

Syria is a country located in the Middle East on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and bordered, from the north down to the west, by Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon. It is one of the oldest inhabited regions in the world with archaeological...

Tiamat is the Mesopotamian goddess associated with primordial chaos and the salt sea best known from the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish. In all versions of the myth, following the original, Tiamat always symbolizes the forces of chaos, which...

This is a detail of the so-called "War Scene" of the Standard of Ur. This detail is part of the left half of the middle register. Here, six Sumerian soldiers stand and stride to the right. They wear leather head caps and cloaks as well as...

The Weld-Blundell Prism, the most complete version of the Sumerian King List extant, from Larsa, c. 1827-1817 BCE. Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

Carved stone cuneiform tablets in Sumerian. Left: Temple of Ningirsu, Girsu. Right: Temple of Nindara, Ur. Dating around 2141-2122 BCE.

This fragment of a stone inlay was found in Kish. It depicts an incised design of a man wearing the typical Sumerian long robe, carrying a pole on his shoulder. This is probably from a battle scene. The overall depiction of this man is very...

Shell inlay depicting a standing and naked man (ordinary individual or priest) offering a libation. Excavated by Sir Henry Layard for the Department of Antiquities in Iraq. This object was part of the objects allotted to the British Museum...

Enheduanna (circa 2300 BCE) is the world's first author and was the daughter (either literally or figuratively) of the great empire-builder Sargon of Akkad (reign 2334-2279 BCE). Her name translates from the Akkadian as "high priestess of...

The 'Near East' is a modern-age term for the region formerly known as the 'Middle East,' comprising Armenia, Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and part of Turkey, corresponding to ancient Urartu, Mesopotamia...

Scribes in ancient Mesopotamia were highly educated individuals trained in writing and reading on diverse subjects. Initially, their purpose was to record financial transactions through trade, but in time, they were integral to every aspect...