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Definition
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia (from the Greek, meaning 'between two rivers’) was an ancient region located in the eastern Mediterranean bounded in the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian Plateau, corresponding to...

Definition
Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)
The Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia is the modern-day archaeological term for the era in Mesopotamian history – 2900-2334 BCE – during which some of the most significant cultural advances were made including the rise...

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Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
Daily life in ancient Mesopotamia cannot be described in the same way one would describe life in ancient Rome or Greece. Mesopotamia was never a single, unified civilization, not even under the Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great. Generally...

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Love, Sex, and Marriage in Ancient Mesopotamia
Medical texts from ancient Mesopotamia provide prescriptions and practices for curing all manner of ailments, wounds, and diseases. There was one malady, however, which had no cure: passionate love. From a medical text found in Ashurbanipal’s...

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Ten Ancient Mesopotamia Facts You Need to Know
Mesopotamia is the ancient Greek name (meaning “the land between two rivers”, the Tigris and Euphrates) for the region corresponding to modern-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey. It is considered the “cradle of...

Definition
Babylon
Babylon is the most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia whose ruins lie in modern-day Iraq 59 miles (94 kilometres) southwest of Baghdad. The name is thought to derive from bav-il or bav-ilim which, in the Akkadian language of the time...

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Cylinder Seals in Ancient Mesopotamia - Their History and Significance
Among the most interesting and revealing artifacts discovered from ancient Mesopotamia are the objects known as cylinder seals. These fairly small items may be seen today in museum exhibits around the world but, perhaps owing to their size...

Definition
Sumerians
The Sumerians were the people of southern Mesopotamia whose civilization flourished between c. 4100-1750 BCE. Their name comes from the region which is frequently – and incorrectly – referred to as a “country”. Sumer...

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Health Care in Ancient Mesopotamia
In ancient Mesopotamia, the gods infused every aspect of daily life and this, of course, extended to health care. The goddess Gula (also known as Ninkarrak and Ninisinna) presided over health and healing aided by her consort Pabilsag (who...

Definition
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were the fabled gardens which adorned the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, built by its greatest king Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605-562 BCE). One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, they are the only...