Gilgamesh1

04/12/23

Gilgamesh

Dr. Mary Ann Clark

Iraq: Home of Gilgamesh

GeographyPeopleReligionLanguages

Iraq: Home of Gilgamesh

GeographyLocation: Middle

East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait

Area: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho

Iraq: Home of Gilgamesh

Geography Climate: mostly desert; mild to

cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq

Terrain: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Iraq: Home of Gilgamesh

GeographyPeople

Population: 26,074,906 (July 2005 est.)

Ethnic groups: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%,Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%

Iraq: Home of Gilgamesh

GeographyPeopleReligion

Religions: Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%),Christian or other 3%

Iraq: Home of Gilgamesh

GeographyPeopleReligionLanguages

Languages: Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian

Ancient Mesopotamia

Uruk

Oldest & most important ancient cities

About 140 miles SSE of contemporary Baghdad

Modern name of Iraq derived from Uruk

Culture

ReligionClothingTrade & CommerceWriting (Cuneiform)

Religion

Pantheon of deities (God and Goddesses)

Every city had its own patron deityPeople sang hymns, said prayers,

made offerings at the temples (ziggurats)

Gods looked and acted like very powerful people

Religion

Temple to local deityLarge pyramid-

shaped structuresConnected heaven

and earth

Ziggurat at Ur

Clothing

Made from natural fibers: wool or flax

Men generally bare-chested with skirt-like garments

Women wore long gown, left right arm & shoulder bare

Both men & women wore jewelry

Trade & Commerce

Ancient Mesopotamia was a center of trade and commerce

People traded among themselves and with their neighbors

Irrigation by producing an excess of crops made trade possible

Temples were centers of trade & commerce

Cuneiform

Earliest system of writing

Formed by stylus on clay tablets

Important tablets baked to preserve them

Achievements

Ishtar’s GateLegend of Gilgamesh, the God-King

Ishtar Gate

Main gate to Nebuchadnezzar II’s Babylon

Built around 575 BCE

Decorated with glazed brick reliefs

Ishtar’s Gate

Reconstructed from original materials

Staatliche Museen (State Museum), Berlin, Dept. of the Near East

Ishtar Gate: Dragon

Ishtar Gate: Lion

Gilgamesh

Historical king of Uruk Lived ~2700 BCE Son of Lugalbanda and

Nunsun, a goddess Legends important to

the self-identity of Mesopotamian peoples

Special Note

“Harlot” is probably a misrepresentation of Shamhat’s profession

She was a temple priestess, who offers her sexual services in the hieros gamos (sacred marriage ritual)