A scholar of the ancient Near East explains how loan forgiveness was handled thousands of years ago in the Bible and royal decrees.
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Articles on Ancient Mesopotamia
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There are many nods to Mesopotamian myth in Marvel’s Eternals. The character of Gilgamesh is the first ancient Near Eastern hero with a leading role in a Marvel film.
Though often seen as placid, turtles have been depicted as powerful, fighting animals since ancient times. One of the most famous battleships, the Korean Geobukseon, was called the ‘Turtle Ship’.
Beer was extremely popular in ancient Mesopotamia. Sipped through straws, it differed from today’s beer and was enjoyed by people from all walks of life.
As US protesters deface monuments of once revered leaders, they are drawing from an ancient tradition used by both marginalized people and those in power.
What caused the rise and then collapse 2,600 years ago of this vast empire centered on Mesopotamia? Clues from a cave in northern Iraq point to abrupt climate change.
Ennigaldi-Nanna is largely unknown in the modern day. But in 530BC, this Mesopotamian priestess worked to arrange and label various artefacts in the world’s first museum.
From the Bible to Versailles, gardens are bound to their political and religious history.
Top contributors
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Honorary Research Associate, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor in Ancient History, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Macquarie University
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Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences, California State University, Dominguez Hills
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Associate Professor of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University
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Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Colorado Boulder
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Assistant Professor of History, North Carolina State University
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Associate professor of Ancient History, University of Minnesota
