Mesopotamia

Erotic Old Babylonian plaques have stood as evidence for prostitution, sacred prostitution, and Sacred Marriage rites in Mesopotamia. None of these interpretations are correct. Erotic plaques, like other contemporary plaques, have apotropaic functions and are the products of folk religion. Erotic plaques employ images from folk stories of the goddess Inanna to ward off certain forms of evil.

In this study, the archaic counting systems of Mesopotamia as understood through the Neolithic tokens, numerical impressions, and proto-cuneiform notations were compared to the traditional number-words and counting methods of Polynesia as understood through contemporary and historical descriptions of vocabulary and behaviors. The comparison and associated analyses capitalized on the ability to understand well-known characteristics of Uruk-period numbers like object-specific counting, polyvalence, and context-dependence through historical observations of Polynesian counting methods and numerical language, evidence unavailable for ancient numbers. Similarities between the two number systems were then used to argue that archaic Mesopotamian numbers, like those of Polynesia, were highly elaborated and would have served as cognitively efficient tools for mental calculation. Their differences also show the importance of material technologies like tokens, impressions, and notations to developing mathematics. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 785793.

A popular critical theory suggests that the epilogue of Qohelet, which recommends
discipline and piety, is a later addition aimed at reconciling the unorthodox ideas of
the book with conservative views. While this hypothesis is well-established on the
basis of the text’s style and content, no external evidence to support it has ever been
suggested. This paper seeks to present an empirical model for this redactional theory
from a comparative point of view. It examines the development of the vanity theme in
Mesopotamian literature, and shows that the subversive ideas of vanity literature gave
rise, from the very beginning, to redactional activity focused on re-interpreting it in
light of traditional values. Several examples of this process of conservative redaction
are discussed, including Sumerian, Akkadian, and Akkadian-Biblical cases. The theory
that the final verses of Qohelet are a later interpolation thus gains credibility in light of
similar phenomena in Mesopotamian literature.

In diesem Buch finden sich die Tagungsberichte des jahrlichen Kongresses fur Altorientalistik. In dieser Folge, mit dem Thema »Text und Bild«, fallt die ungewohnlich hohe Anzahl von Farbbildern ins Auge. Ausnahmsweise wurde die Rencontre von zwei Universitaten organisiert: Bern und Geneva.

Tesi del Corso di laurea Magistrale in Archeologia Orientale, Sapienza, Roma.
The temple investigated is that of the goddess in the city of Mari during the second millennium BC. greater confirmation and careful research are taken into consideration objects of material culture, such as vases containing perfumed oils necessary for rituals, statues, seals and reliefs. The edible assets have been documented through epigraphic and paleobotanical research. In addition to this information, it is important to note the figure of the goddess Ištar and her perception in the context mentioned above. All these elements have provided fertile ground on which to carry out a complete research; what allowed to interpret the relationship between men and gods, moderated by the donation of food offerings.

Through architectural and engineering skills, humanity leaves its mark upon the earth. Urbanization started from Mesopotamia in west Asia where the Mesopotamian societies flourished. They evolved into various landscapes from the metal-rich highlands and elevations of southeastern Turkey to the Syrian deserts, from the woodmen of the Levant to the bogs of southern Iraq. Mesopotamian civilization, along with its architecture, survived more than three thousand years. The architecture of the Mesopotamian civilization is not only portentous in its outlook and proficient in planning, but it’s also considered rational and technical with respect to its environment.The civilization was very first of its kind, having technology and urban settlements that laid the foundation of future modern settlements. It considered the region's environment and climate as pivotal in the development of its culture and architecture.This study discusses how the people, consciously or unconsciously, shaped t...

The visual devices used by Tony Blair and George Bush to get themselves elected and maintain power, come not from modern times, but a world that is thousands of years old. How Art Made the World ventures back to the creation of Stonehenge and the reign of Alexander the Great to reveal how imagery became an indispensable weapon in every leader's political armoury.

This episode explores how art can be used as a persuasion device by those in power and when did we learn to use images, to create a powerful icon or symbol, this way?

The use of art as a tool for those in power, started at different times, in different cultures. Near Stonehenge the grave of the Amesbury Archer was discovered in 2002, the grave was different to those previously found near the site, as this one was not Roman, but much earlier, dating to when the first sarsen stones were erected. What made him interesting were his gold hair tresses, possibly the oldest dated gold objects in Britain, and the fact that he was a foreigner, from the region that is now Germany / Switzerland. The archer had completed an epic journey for the time, and the treasures in his grave show a man of status. Art for personal adornment, like these hair clasps, elevated him above his peers.

As time progressed, art became a political tool, kings competed for more dazzling adornments. As kingdoms got bigger the kings had to overcome communication issues. Darius the Great of Persia, ruled over 20 nations from Persepolis. As very few people could read, Darius had stone reliefs created that combined styles from all over the empire, the carvings showed each nation bring tributes to their king. This showed respect, and the carvings communicated that Darius admired and respected his people. Darius created a symbol for himself, that of the archer, symbolic to Persians of leadership and wisdom, central to the concept of kingship. Darius embossed this symbol on gold coins, which became the currency to trade within the empire.

Darius’ conqueror, Alexander the Great, took this concept further. From an early age, Alexander’s image was being made for him. In his fathers tomb, an Ivory head recognisable as Alexander’s was found, showing that his image had been made for him in advance of him becoming king. In Pompeii, a copy of an original Macedonian painting, shows Alexander the Great, fearless, fixated on his enemy and leading from the front. He is in the midst of battle with king Darius, shown fearful and panicking. Where Darius had used a symbol to communicate his power, Alexander used his face. On defeating the Persians, Alexander melted down all their coins replacing them with coins bearing his head. Tests have shown that people are more influenced by the image of the head and this technique has endured 2500 years and still used today.

This artistic power can be used for sinister purposes, to persuade us to see things a certain way or even deceive us. The earliest known use of this dates back to the Romans. In 40BC Rome was in crisis, the city state was split between royalists and republicans. You could tell people’s political allegiance by how they dressed. Octavian (Augustus) understood the power of art and used it to his advantage. He needed to persuade his opponents ,and used artists to create a less threatening image, one that won over the republicans. Although the image showed him as a powerful general, it didn’t show any military arms, and his gestures were more about humility than power. His armour breast plates show him accepting surrender of the Parthian Empire, with the gods looking on approvingly. The statue offered reassurance, but it was all a lie. While he portrayed himself as a peace maker, he was getting rid of the opposition; while he was preaching humility, he lived like corrupt royalty and while pretending to hand power to the people he reinstated himself as a king.

The leaders of past used paint and marble, today we use digital manipulation. But as humans we still remain vulnerable to the persuasive power of art.

Information about Mesopotamian history, culture, and religion is given. The work of the Epic of Gilgamesh and its connection with Mesopotamia are examined. Epic of Gilgamesh's work is analyzed and how it sheds light on past history is examined.

A recent analytical study by SEM–WDS was carried out on 226 glasses from the Late Bronze Age, analysing each of the glasses for a total of at least 22 elements, the largest such analytical study conducted on these glasses. The aim of the analysis was first to identify which elements were brought in with each of the raw materials and, second, to accurately characterize those raw materials. Since different glassmaking sites in Egypt and the Near East would probably use at least some local raw materials and these raw materials will vary slightly from site to site, this has potential for provenancing the glass. Analysis showed new patterns in the compositions of glass from the various sites and led to new conclusions about the supply of raw materials and personnel for the glass workshops. This forms the basis for further work by LA–ICPMS to be presented in part 2 of this paper.

Bodies make space speak. This graduate seminar investigates the relationship between bodily practice, social performance, and the production of architectural space. Critical literature on the human body, its gender and sexuality, its materiality, and everyday life have flourished in the recent decades, while discussions of architectural space, place and landscape came to the foreground. Drawing on this corpus of recent scholarship in the social sciences and humanities, we will work closely with architectural, art historical and archaeological case studies drawn from the ancient Near Eastern world, and consider the impact of such new paradigms on the field. Neolithic figurines, megalithic monuments, rock reliefs, cave paintings, funerary rituals, urban festivals and festive spaces with visual narrative programs will constitute some of the case studies. Discussions of embodiment, embodied subjectivity, agency of objects, animism of architectural spaces and landscapes, gendered representation of the body, gender performance, multi-sensorial experience of the everyday world, spectacles of the state and biopolitics will play a central role in the seminar. While reading theoretical scholarship on body, performance and space, we will also be studying closely select case studies of archaeological sites, bodies of material evidence drawn from athe ancient Middle Eastern world from prehistory to the late Iron Age.

Recent archaeological discoveries in the Halilrud valley (Kerman province, Iran), especially at the Site of Varamin and Konar Sandal of Jiroft,  brought to light a hitherto unknown culture, the so-called “Jiroft civilization,” which generally dates back to the third millennium BC. Jiroft became famous between 2002/2003 when thousands of confiscated burial goods, especially elaborated carved chlorite vessels, from a dozen looted necropolises of Halil Rud impacted the media. Consequently, many scholars paid attention to Jiroft; some stated that Jiroft could be the “the lost civilization” between Mesopotamia and Indus valley. Some referred to it as the core of the production and probability distribution of the already known chlorite artifacts, the so-called “intercultural style.” Moreover, some pinpointed the toponym of MarhaŠi to Jiroft. In this paper, we will attempt to examine the Jiroft or Marhashi Civilization from a historical perspective based on the Mesopotamian cuneiform texts and the archaeological evidence. Importantly, our research indicated that Jiroft and Southern Mesopotamia were closely linked before the first appearance of Marhashi in the cuneiform texts (during the time of the Akkadian Sargon).

Uruk, Auruk or Warka was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates 30 km (19 mi) east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.

Uruk is the type site for the Uruk period. Uruk played a leading role in the early urbanization of Sumer in the mid-4th millennium BC. By the final phase of the Uruk period around 3100 BCE, the city may have had 40,000 residents, with 80,000-90,000 people living in its environs, making it the largest urban area in the world at the time. The legendary king Gilgamesh, according to the chronology presented in the Sumerian king list, ruled Uruk in the 27th century BC. The city lost its prime importance around 2000 BC in the context of the struggle of Babylonia against Elam, but it remained inhabited throughout the Seleucid (312–63 BC) and Parthian (227 BC to 224 AD) periods until it was finally abandoned shortly before or after the Islamic conquest of 633–638.

William Kennett Loftus visited the site of Uruk in 1849, identifying it as "Erech", known as "the second city of Nimrod", and led the first excavations from 1850 to 1854.

The Arabic name of Babylonia, which eventually became the name of the present-day country, al-ʿIrāq, is thought to derive from the name Uruk via Aramaic (Erech) and possibly via Middle Persian (Erāq) transmission.
In Sumerian, the word uru could mean "city, town, village, district, circular area"

Todo lo que conocemos existe a partir del plano físico en el que habitamos. Aunque, más que un plano meramente físico donde desarrollamos nuestra vida, es un espacio imaginario por el cual comenzamos a definir nuestra cultura. Para todos, el concepto de cultura es una idea distinta, nos define la identidad desde muchas ópticas.

La adopción de la cultura se comienza a dar desde la forma en que interactuamos con el ambiente, proceso que, gradualmente, fue determinando los cimientos de lo que vendríamos considerando las primeras grandes civilizaciones de la antigüedad, menciona Chacobo que durante el período paleolítico se produjo un cambio en las estrategias adpatativas{sic} y en la capacidad organizativa. De este modo se incrementó rápidamente la habilidad de los seres humanos para reconocer las posiblidades{sic} del medio ambiente

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh interacts with three goddesses: Ninsun, his mother and a goddess renowned for her wisdom, Ishtar, the goddess of love and sexuality, and Siduri, a minor goddess of wisdom. This article will investigate Gilgamesh's interactions and relations with these goddesses. How do these goddesses reveal or present themselves to Gilgamesh? How do the goddesses communicate with Gilgamesh, and how does he interact with them? The manner in which these interactions take place in the Standard Version of the Epic will be compared to the same episodes in the earlier Old Babylonian Version of the Epic and the Sumerian narratives in order to identify changes across time. Finally, how do these interactions differ from the way in which Gilgamesh interacts with male gods in the Epic of Gilgamesh? These various interactions will be compared and analysed to reveal not only similarities and differences in the way Gilgamesh communicates with the goddesses in the Epic of Gilgamesh, but also crucial differences in the manner in which male and female deities reveal themselves and communicate with Gilgamesh.

O.P. Nieuwenhuyse, P.M.M.G. Akkermans, J. van der Plicht, A. Russell & A. Kaneda (2016). In: P. Biehl & O.P. Nieuwenhuyse (eds.). Climate and cultural change in prehistoric Europe and the Near East. Buffalo, NY: State University of New York Press, 67-93.

Oxford University Press 2017.

The concept of pharaonic Egypt as a unified, homogeneous, and isolated cultural entity is misleading. Ancient Egypt was a rich tapestry of social, religious, technological, and economic interconnections among numerous cultures from disparate lands. In fifteen chapters divided into five thematic groups, Pharaoh's Land and Beyond uniquely examines Egypt's relationship with its wider world. The first section details the geographical contexts of interconnections by examining ancient Egyptian exploration, maritime routes, and overland passages. In the next section, chapters address the human principals of association: peoples, with the attendant difficulties of differentiating ethnic identities from the record; diplomatic actors, with their complex balances and presentations of power; and the military, with its evolving role in pharaonic expansion. Natural events, from droughts and floods to illness and epidemics, also played significant roles in this ancient world, as examined in the third section. The final two sections explore the physical manifestations of interconnections between pharaonic Egypt and its neighbors, first in the form of material objects and second, in the powerful exchange of ideas. Whether through diffusion and borrowing of knowledge and technology, through the flow of words by script and literature, or through exchanges in the religious sphere, the pharaonic Egypt that we know today was constantly changing--and changing the cultures around it. This illustrious work represents the first synthesis of these cultural relationships, unbounded by time, geography, or mode.

The History of Art: A Global View is the first major art history survey textbook—written by a team of expert authors—with a global narrative in mind. A chronological organization and “Seeing Connections” features help readers make cross-cultural comparisons, while brief, modular chapters (with on-page definitions) offer instructors unparalleled flexibility. You can assign more than one chapter per week for a fully global course, or skip and reorder chapters, for a more focused syllabus.

This course presents a broad survey of historical forces at work over the past 6,000 years, examining the manners in which human societies have organized themselves along categories of race, ethnicity, class, and gender to meet the challenges of the increasing human population and its demands on natural resources: thus, it examines continuity and change in societies over time, in different places, and among various peoples.

The dawn of trade is abstractly similar to modern trade. As the then-known world widened, the connection of civilizations stretched apart. However, trade is what has kept society bound together. Iraq and ancient Mesopotamia are, cartographically, the same. Yet the exports of those two places are completely different. Compared to ancient Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq has a small variety of goods produced and exported. However, a particular export has always been traded in the region of Iraq: Bitumen. Bitumen and other ancient goods were traded over land and rivers. Trading has connected humanity culturally, and physically and has supported all nations throughout time.

Zakoni nastali u staroj Mesopotamiji predstavljaju najstarije poznate pisane izvore prava, od kojih je najstariji Zakon Ur-Nammu (oko 2100. godine pr.n.e), zatim Lipit Ištara (oko 1930. pr.n.e); Ešnune (oko 1770. pr.n.e) i Hammurabija (oko 1750. pr.n.e). Najobimniji i najrelevantiji za oblast krivičnog prava je poznati Hummurabijev zakon koji sadrži najveći broj krivičnih djela od navedenih zakona. U radu se izvršava izvođenje osnovnih načela i instituta prisutnih u pomenutim zakonima a koji imaju krivičnopravni karakter i kategorizacija istih u logičku cjelinu. S tim u vezi tretira se ukratko i procesni dio krivičnog prava ove stare civilizacije.

(Follow for Follow - Enjoy your read!!)

Aquarius - The New Light Vesture,
Aquarius - The World Brotherhood of the Rosycross,
Aquarius - Mighty Signs of God's Counsel,
Aquarius - The Liberating Path of the Rosycross,
Aquarius - The New Caduceus,
Called by the World Heart,
Dei Gloria Intacta, The Christian Initiation Mystery,
Elementary Philosophy of the Modern Rosycross,
Gnosis Rays of Light Past and Present,
Gnostic-Christian initiation with the Cathars,
Letters,
Mysteries and Symbols of the Soul,
Mysteries of Birth, Life and Death,
Rosicrucians through the Ages,
Seven Voices Speak,
Spiritual Christmas,
Spiritual Easter and Pentecost, PDF
The Alchemical Wedding of Christian Rosycross
The Alchemical Wedding of Christian Rosycross
The Alchemy of J.K. Rowling
The Brotherhood of Shamballa,
The Chinese Gnosis,
The Coming New Man,
The Confession of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood,
The Egyptian Arch Gnosis
The Gnosis in Present Day Manifestation,
The Gnostic Mysteries of the Pistis Sophia,
The Grail and the Rosycross,
The Great Revolution,
The Golden Rosycross,
The Light Vesture of the New Man,
The Living Word, PDF
The Lost Brother, PDF
The Mystery of the Beatitudes,
The Seal of Renewal,
The Universal Path,
The Universal Remedy,
Transfiguration,
What is Transfiguration?
Work in Service of Humanity
Unmasking

CONTENTS (OUT OF ORDER BELOW WILL UPDATE SOON)

ESOTERIC ANALYSIS OF THE CHYMISCHE HOCHZEIT, PART I Introduction . .. ... . . . . ... . .. . . . . ..3 FIRST DAY The evening OF Easter
The letter of invitation .......................................... ..
C.R.C. realises his own unworthiness .................. ..
C.R.C. 's dream ..................................................... ..
The redeeming cord .............................................. ..
C.R.C. 's preparation for the journey ..................... .
13 19 27 33 43 49 SECOND DAY 7 The four roads . . . . .. . .. . .. .. . . .. .. .. .. . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .
61 8 The encounter with the dove and the raven ....... .....
67 9 Stay away fr om here, you who are unworthy! . ......
77 I 0 The six lanterns . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 I I The temple of judgement (I) .............. .... ............. ... . 109 12 The temple of judgement (II) ................ .... ......... .... 118 13 The stream of the perfect number .......... ... ........ .. ... . 123 THIRD DAY 14 The balance and the judgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 131 15 The seven weights (I) .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 141 16 The seven weights (II) . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 146 17 The four roses ..... ... ... ............................. ............ ..... 153 18 The six sentences ................ ..... ....... ... .......... ....... ... . 159 19 The meals of judgement .. .................. .... ............ ..... 167 20 The place of judgement ...... ..... ..... ..... ... . ...... ... . .. ..... 177 21 The sentences are carried out (I) ............................
187 22 The sentences are carried out (II) ...... .... ........... .. .... 195 23 The unicorn, the lion and the dove . .. . .... ...... ..... .. . ...
203 24 The phoenix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . 21 0 25 Tbe eagle, the griffin and the falcon....................... 215 26 The astral criterion ................................................. 221 27 The royal library and the burial chamber .. ....... .. . ... 229 28 The clock and the globeThe need fo r astral PURIFATION  The inversely proportional polarisation The ten new powers of fulfilment