Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
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)
