Sylvia Rose
Striped Hyena - Bronze Age Wild
The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is widespread during Neolithic and Bronze Age times, with fossils going back three million years. The...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 64 min read
Pomegranate - Food of the Ancients
Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is one of the seven ancient foods of the southern Mediterranean. Figs are also part of the group. Read:...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 45 min read
Rise of the Phoenicians - Early Years
The Phoenicians rise from semi-nomadic hunter gatherers who settle the coasts of today's Lebanon to become the foremost merchant and...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 44 min read
Assyrians: Reign of Tukulti-Ninurta I
Tukulti-Ninurta I (r. 1243 - 1207 BCE) rules during the Middle Assyrian Empire. His father Shalmaneser I has subdued the Hurrian Empire...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 34 min read
Bronze Age Trade of Mesopotamia
In the ancient world, trade unites countries, spreads knowledge and formalizes safe travel routes. In Mesopotamia a local trade network...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 35 min read
Nungal (Manungal) Prison Goddess
Nungal (Manungal) is a goddess of prisons in Mesopotamia. She can be empathetic or merciless. She's especially popular in the Ur III...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 24 min read
Humbaba: Giant Mountain Forest Man
Humbaba (Ḫumbaba, Ḫuwawa) features in the Mesopotamian poem Epic of Gilgamesh, which is often copied at scribe schools. A huge mountain...
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Sylvia Rose
Jan 23 min read
Kassite Empire: Rise of the Kassites
Babylonia comes under control of the Kassite Empire in the aftermath of the 1531 BCE sack of Babylon by the Hittites to the north. The...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 31, 20233 min read
Gatumdug: Sumerian Goddess of Lagash
Gatumdug is an ancient Sumerian goddess and patron deity of the busy city state of Lagash, Mesopotamia. Read: Cult of the Fire God -...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 31, 20233 min read
Lagash: Vibrant Bronze Age City State
Lagash (Lagaš) would be a modern wonder in the ancient world, a brilliant hub of trade, commerce and the meeting of minds. Inhabited...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 31, 20234 min read
Ishum: Night Watchman & Fire God
The God Ishum is the sukkal or divine attendant of Nergal, Lord of the Underworld, death and disease. Like many deified sukkals, Ishum...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 30, 20233 min read
Ninlil - Sumerian Matriarch Goddess
Ninlil is Queen of the Gods and wife of Creator God Enlil. A senior matriarch of the Mesopotamian pantheon, Ninlil holds a position of...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 29, 20235 min read
Taurus Mountains: Bronze Age Bounty
The Taurus Mountains rise from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean to overlook the Anatolian plateau and lush highlands above and the...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 29, 20233 min read
Scorpion Men of Babylonia
Scorpion men (Akkadian: girtablullû, aqrabuamelu) make an appearance in various Akkadian language myths. They include the Enûma Elish...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 25, 20235 min read
Disease Demons & Doctors: Ancient Mesopotamia
Incense burns smoky over hot coals. Voices rise in prayers, incantations and songs. Noise, wailing, howling, clapping, stamping, bells,...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 22, 20234 min read
Kish: Glory Days in Ancient Babylonia
A Mesopotamian urban center, Kish is occupied for thousands of years. At about 12 km (7.5 mi) from Babylon Iraq, Kish is built upon the...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 20, 20234 min read
Ancient Arabia - Stone Age to Bronze
The earliest signs of human presence on the Arabian peninsula appear c. 8000 BCE, before the Stone Age. The Earth is warming up after the...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 17, 20233 min read
Asag - Horrific Disease Demon of Kur
Asag (Azag, Asakku) is a demon so horrific his very presence makes fish boil alive in rivers and lakes. In the Sumerian poem Lugal-e he's...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 17, 20233 min read
Gallu (Galla) Demons of Ancient Kur
In Kur, the Mesopotamian Underworld, Goddess Ereskigal presides. She lives in a luxurious palace, attended by servants, scribes, her...
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Sylvia Rose
Dec 16, 20234 min read
Belet-Seri: Underworld Scribe Goddess
In the Mesopotmanian Underworld of Kur, the Goddess Ereshkigal holds court. Beginning c. 2900 BCE, her popular worship lasts over two...
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