Better Iraq

 

Iraq’s largest archaeological site is in danger and may be lost forever, an Iraqi scientist says.

Hadiya Jwan al-Khalidi, head of Muthana University’s History Department, urged the authorities to move quickly to save Uruk before it was too late.

She said Uruk was not “an ordinary archaeological site. I am really sad to see what has become of this treasure.”

Situated east of the present course of the Euphrates, the site was known to the Sumerians as Unu. The Akkadians called it Uruk.

 

http://www.azzaman.com/english/index.asp?fname=news\2010-05-21\kurd.htm

 

Al Rasheed street used to be one of the highly visited streets in Baghdad, have a history of its own

 

thanks for http://www.almimary.com for the presentation 

Another disturbing news from Iraq and a disturbing way to report it to,
below Quote from "Jerusalem Post"

"For centuries Jews, Christians and Muslims came to Al-Kifl, a small
town south of Baghdad, to visit the tomb of the Prophet Ezekiel and
pray.
The distinctive Jewish character of the Al-Kifl shrine, namely the
Hebrew inscriptions and the Torah Ark, never bothered the gentile
worshipers. In the 14th century a minaret was built next to the
shrine, but the interior design remained Jewish. The vast majority of
Iraq's Jewish community left some 60 years ago, but Shi'ites took good
care of the holy site.Until now. Recently "Ur," a local Iraqi news
agency, reported that a huge mosque will be built on top of the grave
by Iraq's Antiquities and Heritage Authority, while Hebrew
inscriptions and ornaments are being removed from the site, all as
part of renovations."

whats disturbing about the act is the total disregard to all the
history and value that these places mean, Not only from religious
prospective.

but again to sell more copies the Post could not resist just report
the ill act of those responsible about such an act and made the title
generalize against Iraqi people instead of pointing out that the board
of antiques is pretty much swayed by those who have a narrow minded
approach, the article title unfairly says "Iraq erases Jewish identity
of Prophet Ezekiel from tomb"

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1263147896786&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

It is a known fact how great and powerful Nabuchadnezzar was, being the king of the mightiest and greatest kingdom in the world at that time, The Babylonian Empire…
His deeds and contributions to his people and empire were numerous and unforgettable. Babylon was indeed the centre of the universe at that time…
A picture showing the King Nabuchadnezzar

However, the succession after his death in 562 BC was troublesome. Three reckless kings sat on the throne of Babylon, but their rule wasn’t of any significance or benefit to the Empire; it has been greatly awakened, rather than strengthened.
As a result of that, the Persians took the chance when Babylon was weak and unstable, and stabbed the Babylonians in the back in spite of the peaceful relations between the two empires…
The King of the Medes even married his daughter, Amytis to the Babylonian King, Nabuchadnezzar to keep a good relation with the powerful counterpart, and to prevent them from invading their country…
Nabonidus was appointed the next king; he was mentally unstable and headed into an oasis in the Arabian Desert, leaving Babylon for more than 10 years…
He made his foolish, young, and spoilt son, Belshazzar (grandson of Nabuchadnezzar), the viceroy of Babylon, and put him in charge of his officials and army.
A picture showing the King Nabonidus

According to the Bible, and confirmed by the Greek historian philosopher, Herodotus, in October of 539 BC, Belshazzar hosted a great feast, inviting a thousand of his lords, officials and guests to wine and dine inside the Royal Palace… everybody was happy and drinking.
The Great Feast

In the middle of Belshazzar’s feast, a horrible and scary scene happened, a human hand appeared out of nowhere. It wasn’t attached to a body. And it began to write in Aramaic on the wall of the royal banquet hall in front of all the guests… The entire hall was terrified and went quiet. Belshazzar was terrified, pale, and began to shake all over. The only sound was the sound of a finger scratching giant letters that shined like fire on the plaster wall.
The hand wrote “Mene, Mene, Tekel Peres Upharsin” in Aramaic. Nobody understood what the writing meant.
Aramaic writing on the wall

The writing here is shown in Hebrew, but it’s confirmed that it was in Aramaic (maybe the painter was Jewish)

Again, Jewish alphabet instead of Aramaic

Greatly alarmed, Belshazzar immediately called upon all the priests, magicians, astrologers, and wise men of Babylon to decipher and interpret the meaning of the inscription (whoever shall read and interpret the meaning, will be the third most powerful man in Babylon)… Unfortunately, nobody knew what the writing meant…

The Queen, Nabuchadnezzar’s wife, advised the king to call upon the Prophet Daniel. She told him how Daniel was the right hand of his grandfather, Nabuchadnezzar, and how very wise and knowledgeable he was in interpreting dreams, and solving riddles and answering puzzles…
And according to her suggestion, Daniel was immediately brought before the king… refusing all the king’s rewards and gifts, he offered to tell the king what the writing meant…
Prophet Daniel in front of Belshazzar

Daniel started explaining the meaning behind this mysterious inscription…”Mene, Mene, Tekel and Pharsin”

(Mene) means that God has counted out the number of days you will be a king, and they are over…
(Tekel) means that God has weighed you in the balance, and found you wanting…
(Peres and Pharsin) means that the kingdom will be divided, and given to the Medes and the Persians…
Daniel’s Vision, the Persian Army surrounding Babylon

Before the great feast, Cyrus’ army had engaged the Babylonian army outside of the city’s walls and routed them.
A picture showing a battle betwen the Persians and the Babylonians, outside the city walls

Because of the foolish King’s feast, he ordered the Army to withdraw and return inside the city, confident enough that Cyrus would never be able to get through Babylon, with its huge thick walls, and an amount of food stored inside the city, sufficient for 20 years! and also, a great natural source of water, the Euphrates river, passing right through the city…
During the Siege, the Persian Army, led by Gobryas have concluded the only weak point of Babylon… the water.
They diverted the Euphrates river from its original path, which resulted in the dryness of the river’s basin inside Babylon… There wasn’t any water left for the city…
Cyrus’ Army infiltrates Babylon, it was said that they were in awe of the city’s majestic and prestigeous scenery

Nabonidus returned to Babylon after it was occupied by the Persians and he and his son, Belshazzar, were slain by the Persian army.
Gobryas slays Nabonidus

After Babylon has been captured by the Persians, the Persian King, Cyrus came to Babylon from Persia…
Fourteen days after his army had “captured” Babylon (October 30, 539 BC) Cyrus entered the city.

Cyrus, seen standing is inside Babylon

A picture depicting Cyrus, the Great

Another one…

That was the end of one of the most beautiful, impressive, and powerful cities in the world, Babylon… which also declares the end of one of the mightiest and greatest empires that ruled the world at that time, The Babylonian Empire…

Have a look at this beautiful Sumerian piece of art depicting the three different social classes that were recognised in the community at that time…The Layer at the top of the Pyramid or the (Upper Class) represents the nobles, priests, government officials and warriors…The (Middle Class), or the layer in the middle represents the merchants, traders and artisans…The (Lower Class) constituted the majority of population, containing serfs and slaves that were responsible for all manual labor.
Please check out this site…. you will find an interactive depiction of this sculpture (The Peace Side), so you can click on the different parts of the drawings to see a bigger (magnificated) portion of the sculpture….Furthermore, you will see an arrow at the bottom right corner of the sculpture, you can click on that to see the back of it (The War Side)… you can also see different magnificated portions of that side as well…The Peace Side represents the Sumerian Society and its three divisions of social classes (Upper, Middle, Lower)….The War Side represents the different classes of the Sumerian Army (Chariots, Soldiers, Warriors)….Here are pictures of the two sides…

The Peace Side

The War Side

This Article talks about the Mesopotamian Mythology: the different gods and goddesses, their relation to each other, and the specialty of each one. Since our civilization is the oldest one in the world, it always had a huge influence on other neighboring cultures, such as Persia, Phoenicia, and Greece… part of this influence was Mythology.The Greek Mythology (most famous in the world) greatly resembles ours in many different aspects, their philosophers have always founded their epics and stories on our Mesopotamian material, which is hundreds of years older… it was their source of inspiration.Below is a diagram, representing the (Family Tree) of the Mesopotamian deities. 1)
 
Blue color indicates a male god, and the red color indicates a female goddess. 2) Some have two names, the first one represents the Sumerian name, and the second one (in brackets) represents the Babylonian (Semitic) name.
Example: Utu (Shamash) Utu = Sumerian � Shamash = Babylonian (Semitic) 3) During the explanation, I will use only one name (the most popular)
According to the Mesopotamian
Mythology, at the very beginning there was only Abzu and Tiamat. Their union
resulted in the creation of the universe, and the existence of all the other
deities that followed. Both Abzu and Tiamat are considered supreme deities but
yet, they have no temples at all.Abzu: The Sweet water Ocean God. The father of all the other gods and
goddesses, and the creator of the universe. Husband of Tiamat, father of Anshar
and Kishar.
The name (Abzu/Apsu) is the original root word, from which the English word
(Abyss) comes from.Tiamat: The Salt water Ocean Goddess. The mother of all the other gods
and goddesses, and the creator of the universe. Wife of Abzu, mother of Anshar
and Kishar.
Tiamat is a huge and evil, serpent-like creature (snake or dragon), w hich was
later killed by Marduk, who became the national god of Babylonians.Here, Tiamat is depicted as an innocent mermaid
This picture is the most accurate representation about Tiamat… depicted as a
big snake-like creature.
Here, Tiamat is depicted as a dragon

Anshar and Kishar: Children of Abzu and Tiamat. Respectively, father and
mother of Anu and Antu.
Anu: The powerful Sky God, ruler of Heavens. Husband of Antu, father of
Enki and Enlil. The main temple for Anu is in the Sumerian city of Uruk.
Antu: The Sky Goddess. Wife of Anu, mother of Enki and Enlil.
Nintu: The Earth Goddess. Wife of Shulpae, mother of Ninurta.
Shulpae: The Earth God. Husband of Nintu, father of Ninurta.
Ninurta: The War God. Son of Nintu and Shulpae..
Ninurta has the face of an eagle and the body of a human, and he was also known
for his violent behavior and bad temper. Planet Saturn is his symbol.
Ninurta is shown here, with a face of an eagle and a body of a human being
(original)

Lugalbanda: King of Uruk. Husband of Ninsun, father of Gilgamesh.
Ninsun: The Sheep Goddess. Mother of Gilgamesh, from her first husband:
Lugalbanda. Also, mother of Tammuz and Geshtinanna, from her second husband:
Enki.
Gilgamesh: Shepherd-King of Uruk. Son of Lugalbanda and Ninsun.
Two thirds of Gilgamesh is divine (god) and one third is mortal (human). He was
the hero of the Epic named after him, and was responsible for the killing of
Nergal.


Enki: The powerful
Water and Wisdom God. Father of Marduk from his first wife: Ninki. Also, father
of Tammuz and Geshtinanna, from his second wife: Ninsun. The main temple for
Enki is in the Sumerian city of Eridu.Enki is believed to live in a watery nature, as shown here… He is inside the
square.
Enki is shown here, with the fish flowing into his body
Magnification of the previous picture
Drawing of the previous picture
Ninki: The Water Goddess. Wife of Enki, mother of Marduk.
Geshtinanna: Lady of Wine. Daughter of Enki and Ninsun, sister of Tammuz.
Tammuz: Shepherd-King of Uruk. Son of Enki and Ninsun, brother of
Geshtinanna.
He was a simple poor shepherd feeding his sheep in the fields, then he fell in
love with Ishtar and married her, but later he betrayed her and therefore, had
to be punished.
Enlil: The powerful Air God. Husband of Ninlil, father of Nanna. The main
temple for Enlil is in the Sumerian city of Nippur.
Ninlil: The Air Goddess. Wife of Enki, mother of Nanna.
Marduk: Son of Enki and Ninki. The main temple of Marduk is in Babylon.
Planet Jupiter is his symbol.



According to our history, Tiamat felt jealous from the others deities, and
decided to destroy the world. Nobody had enough courage to confront and
challenge her except Marduk. A great battle marked the conflict between Marduk
and Tiamat, the Good and the Evil. At the end, Marduk was victorious, he cut
Tiamat in two halves, one half formed the Earth and the other half formed the
Sky, and her two eyes created the two Rivers of Tigris and Euphrates. As a
result, Marduk was considered a hero and became the National God of Babylonians.
Marduk is shown here, trying to kill the evil Tiamat

A European/Western depiction of the battle between Marduk and Tiamat (imaginary)

The real Sumerian tablet featuring the battle of Marduk and Tiamat

Nanna: The Moon God.
Husband of Ningal, father of Shamash, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal. The main temple of
Nanna was in the Sumerian city of Ur. The Moon is his symbol.Ningal: Wife of Nanna, mother of Shamash, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal.Shamash: The Sun and Justice God, the provider of Law. Son of Nanna,
brother of Ishtar and Ereshkigal. The main temple of Shamash is in the Sumerian
city of Sippar. The Sun is his symbol.Shamash is shown on the right, sitting on his thrown… King Hammurabi is on the
left s ide, getting the law code from Shamash

Nergal: The evil God of the Underworld. Husband of Ereshkigal.
He has the face of a human being and the body of a bull, therefore, he is also
known as the Bull of Heaven. Nergal was later killed by Gilgamesh, according to
the Epic. Planet Mars is his symbol.
Nergal is shown here, with a face of a human and a body of a bull

A Western/European depiction of Nergal in a human form

Ereshkigal: The evil Goddess of the Underworld. Wife of Nergal, sister of
Shamash and Ishtar.
She rules the dark world of the death, and takes away the living souls of humans
beings. Ereshkigal was believed to be very jealous of her sister, Ishtar, who
had all the beauty, and importance… in addition to her love story with Tammuz.
Western/European depiction of Ereshkigal

The real Sumerian tablet featuring Ereshkigal… shown here standing on two
lions, with two owls in the background… reflects the evil and dark environment
of the Underworld.

Ishtar: The most important identity in the Mesopotamian Mythology.
Goddess of love, sex, and fertility. Daughter of Nanna, sister of Ereshkigal and
Shamash, wife of Tammuz. The main temple of Ishtar is in the Sumerian city of
Uruk. Planet Venus is her symbol.
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The real Sumerian tablet featuring Ishtar, standing on two goats… reflects the
peaceful nature of her

Ishtar is shown here with her scepture

In ancient times the land area now known as modern Iraq was almost equivalent to Mesopotamia, the land between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates (in Arabic, the Dijla and Furat, respectively), the Mesopotamian plain was called the Fertile Crescent. This region is known as the Cradle of Civilization; was the birthplace of the varied civilizations that moved us from prehistory to history. An advanced civilization flourished in this region long before that of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, for it was here in about 4000BC that the Sumerian culture flourished . The civilized life that emerged at Sumer was shaped by two conflicting factors: the unpredictability of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which at any time could unleash devastating floods that wiped out entire peoples, and the extreme richness of the river valleys, caused by centuries-old deposits of soil. Thus, while the river valleys of southern Mesopotamia attracted migrations of neighboring peoples and made possible, for the first time in history, the growing of surplus food, the volatility of the rivers necessitated a form of collective management to protect the marshy, low-lying land from flooding. As surplus production increased and as collective management became more advanced, a process of urbanization evolved and Sumerian civilization took root. The people of the Tigris and the Euphrates basin, the ancient Sumerians, using the fertile land and the abundant water supply of the area, developed sophisticated irrigation systems and created what was probably the first cereal agriculture as well as the earliest writing, cuneiform – a way of arranging impression stamped on clay by the wedge-like section of chopped-off reed stylus into wet clay. Through writing, the Sumerians were able to pass on complex agricultural techniques to successive generations; this led to marked improvements in agricultural production.Writing evolved to keep track of property. Clay envelopes marked with the owner’s rolled seal were used to hold tokens for goods, the tokens within recording a specific transaction. Later on, the envelope and tokens were discarded and symbols scratched into clay recorded transactions such as 2 bunches of wheat or 7 cows. As writing evolved, pictures gave way to lines pressed into clay with a wedge tip; this allowed a scribe to make many different types of strokes without changing his grip. By 3,000 BC, the script evolved into a full syllabic alphabet. The commerce of the times is recorded in great depth. Double entry accounting practices were found to be a part of the records. This remarkable innovation has been used to this day, as a standard for record keeping. It was the custom for all to pay for what they needed at a fair price. Royalty was not exception. The king may have had an edge on getting a “better deal”, but it wasn’t the law as it was in Egypt where the Pharaoh was the “living god” and as such, owned all things. It seems that everyone had the right to bargain fairly for his or her goods. Unlike their Egyptian neighbors, these people were believers in private property, and the kings were very much answerable to the citizens. In Egypt, all things, including the people and property, were owned by the pharaoh. Sumerians invented the wheel and the first plow in 3700 BC. Sumerians developed a math system based on the numeral 60, which is the basis of time in the modern world. Sumerian society was “Matriarchal” and women had a highly respected place in society. Banking originated in Mesopotamia (Babylonia) out of the activities of temples and palaces, which provided safe places for the storage of valuables. Initially deposits of grain were accepted and later other goods including cattle, agricultural implements, and precious metals. Another important Sumerian legacy was the recording of literature. Poetry and epic literature were produced. The most famous Sumerian epic and the one that has survived in the most nearly complete form is the epic of Gilgamesh. The story of Gilgamesh, who actually was king of the city-state of Uruk in approximately 2700 BC, is a moving story of the ruler’s deep sorrow at the death of his friend Enkidu, and of his consequent search for immortality. Other central themes of the story are a devastating flood and the tenuous nature of man’s existence, and ended by meeting a wise and ancient man who had survived a great flood by building an ark. Land was cultivated for the first time, early calendars were used and the first written alphabet was invented here. Its bountiful land, fresh waters, and varying climate contributed to the creation of deep-rooted civilization that had fostered humanity from its affluent fountain since thousand of years. Sumerian states were believed to be under the rule of a local god or goddess, and a bureaucratic system of the priesthood arose to oversee the ritualistic and complex religion. High Priests represented the gods on earth, one of their jobs being to discern the divine will. A favorite method of divination was reading sheep or goat entrails. The priests ruled from their ziggurats, high rising temples of sunbaked brick with outside staircases leading to the shrine on top. The Sumerian gods personified local elements and natural forces. The Sumerians worshiped anu, the supreme god of heaven, Enlil, god of water, and Ea, god of magic and creator of man. The Sumerians held the belief that a sacred ritual marriage between the ruler and Inanna, goddess of love and fertility brought rich harvests.Eventually, the Sumerians would have to battle another peoples, the Akkadians, who migrated up from the Arabian Peninsula. The Akkadians were a Semitic people, that is, they spoke a language drawn from a family of languages called Semitic languages; a Semitic languages include Hebrew, Arabic, Assyrian, and Babylonian (the term “Semite” is a modern designation taken from the Hebrew Scriptures; Shem was a son of Noah and the nations descended from Shem are the Semites). When the two peoples clashed, the Sumerians gradually lost control over the city-states they had so brilliantly created and fell under the hegemony of the Akkadian kingdom, which was based in Akkad (Sumerian Agade). This great capital of the largest empire humans had ever seen up until that point that was later to become Babylon, which was the commercial and cultural center of the Middle East for almost two thousand years.In 2340 BC, the great Akkadian military leader, Sargon, conquered Sumer and built an Akkadian empire stretching over most of the Sumerian city-states and extending as far away as Lebanon. Sargon based his empire in the city of Akkad, which became the basis of the name of his people.
But Sargon’s ambitious empire lasted for only a blink of an eye in the long time spans of Mesopotamian history. In 2125 BC, the Sumerian city of Ur in southern Mesopotamia rose up in revolt, and the Akkadian empire fell before a renewal of Sumerian city-states.
Mesopotamia is the suspected spot known as the “Garden of Eden.” Ur of the Chaldees, and that’s where Abraham came from, (that’s just north of the traditional site of the Garden of Eden, about twenty-five miles northeast of Eridu, at present Mughair), was a great and famous Sumerian city, dating from this time. Predating the Babylonian by about 2,000 years, was Noah, who lived in Fara, 100 miles southeast of Babylon (from Bab-ili, meaning “Gate of God”). The early Assyrians, some of the earliest people there, were known to be warriors, so the first wars were fought there, and the land has been full of wars ever since. The Assyrians were in the northern part of Mesopotamia and the Babylonians more in the middle and southern part.
Iraq War on Ancient Artifacts of Mesopotamia
When the Gulf War ended, looters smuggled thousands of artifacts out of Iraq. Many other priceless monuments from thousands of years old civilizations were left lying around to be destroyed carelessly and casually. With the new U.S. – Iraq war, the spectre looms of smart bombs hitting thousands upon thousands of archaeological treasure troves.   read more…