Lionel Casson, 94, scholar on ancient maritime history Jul 26, 2009
By piecing together findings from archeological digs, references from literary texts, and even epitaphs relating to libraries, he offered a succinct view of the development of reading, writing, and book collecting in Mesopotamia, Greece, and the Roman Empire. He sprinkled the book with amusing asides, including all-time best-seller-list assessments. (Boston Globe)
Drought in Iraq Threatens Grain and... Jul 21, 2009
Living on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Sumerians developed one of the world's first irrigation systems in ancient Mesopotamia (Greek: "land between two rivers"). The two rivers flow from the mountains of Turkey through Syria and Iraq to the Persian Gulf. (Suite101.com)
Louvre: Worlds largest museum Jul 17, 2009
For you are housed in the worlds largest museum, a time travellers treasure trove, where Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Europe converge. My generous hosts, Montres Breguet SA, planned a two-hour guided tour of the museums most coveted exhibits before settling in for an underground banquet at the Francois Mitterand-commissioned all-glass Pyramide bang in the middle o 00004000 f the palaces courtyard hey, wasnt this the place where Professor Robert Langdon, played ever-so deftly... (India Times)
Middle Eastern Odyssey, part 1 (217) Jul 13, 2009
Although writing was initially invented in Mesopotamia, it was in Syria that the writing was adapted to the alphabet upon which all alphabets are based. Damascus. (Lihue Garden Island, HA)
Gerson: Remembering first moon walk Jul 10, 2009
My own faith - Judaism - took hold in the world, because Abraham was willing to be a pioneer, to leave the comfortable confines of his native Mesopotamia and to make his way into a new unchartered land, Israel, where he could begin a new monotheistic religion. He was willing to answer God's call: "Go forth from your country, from your family, from your father's house, unto the Land that I will show you." (Genesis 12:1). (Athens Banner-Herald)
5 nuggets of knowledge about gardening Jul 8, 2009
Around 8500 B.C., man was growing cereal grains in Mesopotamia and legumes were being cultivated about the same time in the Fertile Crescent in the Near and Middle East. The real world location of the Garden of Eden, which describes the biblical creation myth in the book of Genesis, is of course, a matter of controversy and speculation. (Gaylord Herald Times, MI)
James Howard Kunstler on Michael Jackson as America Jul 2, 2009
The Man in the Mirror - Clusterfuck Nation. Clusterfuck Nation Comment on Current Events by the Author of "The Long Emergency". (Harper's Magazine)
Fort commander lauds achievements of the Armys Military Intelligence Corps Jun 28, 2009
Knowing they were on the ropes, another al-Qaida group, called al-Qaida in Mesopotamia, assassinated a leader of the Awakening, a movement of Iraqis who wanted the Osama bin Laden-affiliated al-Qaida gone, the general said. Intelligence officer Capt. Andrew D Antoni was able to identify the assassins with the information provided to the Iraqi government, who took the culprits into custody to face Iraqi justice, he said. (Sierra Vista Herald, AZ)
In Iran, One Woman's Death May Have Many Consequences Jun 22, 2009
In the seventh century, Hussein and a band of fewer than 100 people, including women and children, took on the mighty Umayyad dynasty in Karbala, an ancient city in Mesopotamia now in modern-day Iraq. They knew they would be massacred. (Time.com)
FAMILIAR FACE: Iraq's Milutinovic feels 'super' about his latest challenge Jun 18, 2009
For Milutinovic, a strong showing by the "Lions of Mesopotamia" in the Confederations Cup could lead to a sixth World Cup, as a flurry of coach hiring tends to precede each tournament. This article originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Soccer America magazine. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- Soccer)
WORLD SOCCER:Iraq's Asian Cup triumph seems a world away Jun 17, 2009
The Lions of Mesopotamia, a rare beacon of national unity and pride that brought Shia, Sunni and Kurd together, was a homeless tribe, playing to near-empty, shabbily kept stadiums in Dubai or Aleppo or Amman ... In a country so devoid of good news and inclusive institutions to be proud of, the Lions of Mesopotamia reminded a nation on the brink of imploding the importance of unity. (SportsIllustrated.CNN -- Soccer)
Ancient Near East Trade Patterns Jun 6, 2009
Mesopotamian and Egyptian Commerce Began with Civilization ... The emergence of regular trade practices in the Ancient Near East can be traced to the first civilizations that formed early communities, eventually becoming the city-states of Mesopotamia ... Early Mesopotamian Trade. (Suite101.com)
40 years of life skills honored May 29, 2009
Cooperative learning and collaborative teaching strategies have given her students the opportunity to learn not just script writing, grammar, fractions, Mesopotamia, and geology, and not just from books. She has made fourth grade fun, and filled with real life experience. (Lexington Minuteman, MA)
Oldest Evidence Of Leprosy Found In India May 27, 2009
The mature phase of the Indus Civilization during the latter half of the third millennium B.C., was a period of social complexity characterized by urbanization, a system of writing, standardized weights and measures, monumental architecture, and trade networks that stretched to Mesopotamia and beyond. The presence of leprosy in India toward the end of this period indicates that M. leprae existed in South Asia at least 4000 years ago. (Science Daily)
Hangovers: 5 Things You Didn't Kn... May 26, 2009
Take those ancient Assyrians throwing ragers along the Tigris in Mesopotamia. They thought they could manage or treat their post-party blues with a concoction featuring myrrh and the ground-up beaks of birds. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Solomon and the defining of Israel May 15, 2009
They moved the Israelite patriarchs from Mesopotamia to Palestine to Egypt to Mount Sinai and into the Promised Land. They gave patriarchs personalities and roles in what would become sacred history. (Wasilla Frontiersman, AK)
Nonfiction review: 'The Rape of Mesopotamia' May 13, 2009
Nonfiction review: 'The Rape of Mesopotamia ... Nonfiction review: 'The Rape of Mesopotamia ... The Rape of Mesopotamia. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
River delta areas can provide clue to environmental changes, Texas A&M prof says May 12, 2009
Much of the sediment from rivers forms into what are called large river delta-front estuaries, or LDEs, and human activity in some of these can be traced back more than 5,000 years ago to some of the first cities in Mesopotamia, along the Nile and in regions of China. The knowledge learned from these delta areas tell about the history of the region from how the land was used or not used through time, the authors say. (EurekAlert!)
Britain bruised by its Basra adventure May 5, 2009
During World War I (1914-18) in Mesopotamia; in 1941 during World War II; and after the Gulf War of 1991. History has just repeated itself. (Asia Times Online)
David and moving God to Jerusalem May 1, 2009
A single shadowy figure from ancient Mesopotamia named Abraham decided to give wholehearted commitment to a God named Jehovah. According to the Bible, by command of Jehovah, Abraham went out not knowing where he was going. (Wasilla Frontiersman, AK)
Indus Valley code is cracked - maybe Apr 30, 2009
Unlike its river valley contemporaries in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and China, very little is known about the Indus Valley civilization, largely because its "script" is yet to be deciphered, even though ruins were excavated 130 years ago ... The paper, titled "'Entropic Evidence for Linguistic Structure in the Indus Script, featured the findings of Indian-born researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai [1]. It claims computer... (Asia Times Online)
The Contradictions between the Creationist Movements Apr 29, 2009
I learned that Earth was created in 4004 B.C., about the same time that the Mesopotamians invented beer ( That s on the secular timeline, I was told) ... the basis of the cosmology of the ancient Hebrews, derived from the earlier Babylonian cosmology during the Jewish captivity in Mesopotamia. (Scientific American)
Torture whitewash from The Dark Side Apr 28, 2009
As he recently told CNN, "My general sense ... is that we accomplished nearly everything we set out to do." Paraphrasing Tacitus, that's quite an accomplishment - to destroy the cradle of civilization in Mesopotamia and call it. victory. (Asia Times Online)
Lauinger is named first Donnelley research fellow Apr 17, 2009
In his second project, Lauinger will examine unstudied tablets that document the administration of a Mesopotamian city in the years immediately preceding its conquest by the reign of Hammurabi author of the famous legal code in Babylonia ... Adab was an important urban center in Mesopotamia from the Early Dynastic to Old Babylonian period. (Univeristy of Chicago Chronicle, IL)
Garden Of Eden Battling Severe Drought Apr 16, 2009
The marsh restoration programs depend on adequate water flow in the Tigris and the Euphrates, the two rivers that gave Iraq its ancient name of Mesopotamia - Greek for "land between the rivers.". But the recent drought has caused the levels of those two rivers to fall. (CBS News -- World)
Athens, the Acropolis, and the Part... Apr 8, 2009
Unlike the temples of Egypt and the ziggurats of Mesopotamia, Grecian temples were the homes of the gods. In Athens, the great Parthenon, built in both Doric and Ionic style, was the home of Athena. (Suite101.com)
Knossos and the Minoan Civilization Apr 7, 2009
Scholars have pointed out that the king followed the Mesopotamian model of ruler-priest. Yet, unlike Egypt or Mesopotamia, no great temple structures existed in Crete and there was no extended priestly class. (Suite101.com)
Afghanistan Is Not Iraq Apr 2, 2009
The Pashtun base of the Taliban is tribal, but they have a lesser presence in local history than the Iraqi Sunnis that usurped power in Mesopotamia. The Taliban embody monolithic radicalism in the Wahhabi style, rooted in the Deobandi school of fundamentalism, and consider all Muslims who fail to share their ideology to be unbelievers deserving liquidation. (CBS News)
Hieroglyphics and the Rosetta Stone Apr 1, 2009
Although certain similarities to Mesopotamian cuneiform writing may exist, archaeologists like Aiden Dodson at Bristol University believe that the idea of writing might have come from Mesopotamia, but that Egypt developed its hieroglyphs independent of the ancient Near East. Hieroglyphs began as pictograms, simple depictions such as a boat or a tree that told a simple story. (Suite101.com)
The Rites of War Apr 1, 2009
Young jihadists think of themselves as medieval Muslim knights, while young American soldiers refer to Iraqis as Indians as though Mesopotamia were the Wild West. It is not simply that Western or U.S. military units are forced to fight the enemy s war, in the enemy s battle environment, writes Vlahos. (The American Conservative)
Shoring up the world Mar 29, 2009
History tells of many such works the great walls of Jerusalem built by Nehemiah during Biblical times, the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia built between 2500BCE and 2100BCE, and the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, finished around 2560BCE. And they are all handmade, with nary a single machine. These ancient achievements have greatly inspired Dr Nehemiah Lee since young. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Competing visions stall Turkish dam project Mar 17, 2009
The affected area along the northern stretch of the Fertile Crescent in upper Mesopotamia covers more than 75,000 square kilometers, or 29,000 square miles. Poverty and illiteracy run high in largely rural eastern Turkey, and when the governing Justice and Development Party recently sent refrigerators and washing machines to voters in nearby Tunceli province in advance of elections, some Turks complained that the people needed jobs more than free appliances. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
Lesson from history Mar 16, 2009
In fact, this insurgency was in 1920, the uprising against the British occupation of what was then still Mesopotamia. The diplomat was Gertrude Bell, an energetic and passionate Arab expert who literally drew Iraq's borders. (BBC News -- Africa)
The web we weave Mar 15, 2009
Welcome to The Brisbane Times. Search brisbanetimes. (The Age, Australia -- Opinion)
* City in Tuscany clings to its ancient menu Mar 15, 2009
Lucca is very closed, said Rogda Gok, a native of Turkey and the co-owner of Mesopotamia, a kebab restaurant, in the heart of the historical center. In Istanbul theres other food, like German and Italian; its no problem, she said. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Sports)
Iraqi Shiites rally for populist candidate Mar 14, 2009
The Coalition of the State of Law, which was loyal to al-Maliki, and the Hope of Mesopotamia won more than 8 percent each and were allotted a combined 18 seats on the 27-member Karbala provincial council. In most of the southern Shiite heartland, al-Maliki's allies won the largest share of votes in a victory seen as a reward for government operations that restored security in much of the area. (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
Read Article » Mar 13, 2009
A walled city in Tuscany clings to its ancient menu - International Herald Tribune. FOOD FIGHT A prohibition on ethnic restaurants in the historical center of an Italian town has set off a tug of war between the romantic Italy of the popular imagination and the more complex reality. (International Herald Tribune)
A futile search for 'moderate' Taliban Mar 11, 2009
If identified and reached out to - so believe the architects of the forthcoming Afghan "surge" - they will become the Afghan parallel to the Sahwas of Mesopotamia. Note that Obama specified that it would be the "American military who would reach out to these moderate elements"; meaning they will be dealt with from a lower level rather than from a full-fledged diplomatic perspective. (Asia Times Online)
Obama ready to 'work with' Taliban Mar 9, 2009
In a conversation on board Air Force One on Friday, Obama pointed to the success in peeling Iraqi insurgents away from more hard-core elements of the al-Qaida in Mesopotamia, a strategy that many credit as much as the increase of American forces with turning the war around in the last two years. There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region,'' he said. (India Times, India)
The Christian case against the death penalty Mar 6, 2009
It is the story of a Mesopotamian named Noah and his experience of a great flood that was sent by God ... All of the Bible patriarchs trace their history back to Mesopotamia, an area that covers the valleys of two great rivers, the Tigrus and the Euphrates, modern Iraq ... The stories of Mesopotamia became their stories. (Wasilla Frontiersman, AK)
Chinese collector puts in fake bids for bronzes Mar 3, 2009
"I can't speak to the legalities of this collector's actions, but it is a brilliant move that is likely to be copycatted and has thrown a wrench in the market," said Lawrence Rothfield, author of the forthcoming book The Rape of Mesopotamia: Behind the Looting of the Iraq Museum and professor at the University of Chicago's Cultural Policy Center. "But it is important to recognize that dealers and museums have made it easier for countries to demand repatriation of artifacts stolen many decades... (USA Today -- News)
A Hotel in Babylon Feb 26, 2009
"Well, you can make a case that Iraq, as Mesopotamia, is the source of history, at least Western history," I replied. "I mean, as in recorded history? Literacy? Records on clay tablets recording goat and sheep trades kept by Mesopotamian city states?" I tapped the newspaper -- which, given the war, featured a headline reporting a string of terror bombings in and around Baghdad ... "Sumer and Ur, home of Abraham ... Ninevah ... Mesopotamia -- perhaps the southern marshes -- as the source of the... (Townhall.com)
The Epic of Gilgamesh: Two Sides of... Feb 26, 2009
Inscribed on stone tablets a thousand years before the Iliad and the Bible, the epic poem was found in fragments in Ancient Mesopotamia. Many scholars believe that it is a series of Sumerian legends and poems. (Suite101.com)
Curry: Spices of Life Feb 25, 2009
Even though curry is generally categorised as an Indian dish these days, the earliest known recipe for meat in spicy sauce with bread was discovered near Babylon in Mesopotamia, on a tablet printed in cuneiform text. This was way back in 1700 BC, and the dish was probably used as an offering to the god Marduk. (Suite101.com)
New & Recommended Feb 22, 2009
Land of Marvels By Barry Unsworth A deft historical novel set in 1914 Mesopotamia (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, $26). Selected from books recently reviewed in the Globe. (Boston Globe)
The Agricultural Revolution Feb 20, 2009
Daniel Snell, commenting on this contribution, states that the productivity of Mesopotamian agriculture appears to have been extremely high, compared to premodern European standards ... As in Egypt and Mesopotamia, the great rivers provided food, transportation, and fertile land to exploit agricultural endeavors. (Suite101.com)
