Ancient Mesopotamian religion puts the entrance of Kur, the Underworld, Great Earth or Dark Earth deep within a cavern of the Zagros Mountain system.
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The Zagros mountains run from southern Turkey, through Iran along the Persian Gulf. They form the border between Iran and Iraq.
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The Zagros chain is 1600 km (990 mi) long and has been inhabited since the Lower Paleolithic period. The earliest human fossils discovered in Zagros belong to Neanderthals up to 65,000 years ago.
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The first people are foragers, gatherers, fishers and hunters who follow the flow of seasons and natural events like herd migrations. They share the lands with Arabian leopard, striped hyena, Syrian brown bear, bezoar ibex and mountain gazelle.
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If tribes or clan groups settle it may be just until local resources are exhausted. On the Island of Cyprus pygmy hippos and dwarf elephants exist until humans arrive c. 10,000 BCE.
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They're easy hunting so humans eat them. They're identified by piles of bones near temporary settlements. Once the animals go extinct, the humans go elsewhere.
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Some people in the lowlands and valleys of the mountains cultivate grains and experiment with agriculture. They begin a more settled existence. Others retain their nomadic lifestyles today.
Human fossils are found in the deep caves of the Zagros Mountains. Funerary rites or burial are also performed in caves, where the link to the Underworld or Dark Earth is clear.
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In Mesopotamia Kur is the Underworld. The Underworld is populous but roomy, and deathly boring. A person who dies is brought into Kur. If the person doesn't want to go, the Galla (gallu) demons are specialists in persuasion.
The deceased is permitted into the audience rooms of the luxurious palace of Ereshkigal, Goddess Queen of Kur. She declares the person dead. This is duly noted by her royal scribe, Belet-Seri or Geshtinanna, as well as the person's cause of death.
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The deceased is then dismissed and sent to wander the wastelands of Kur. Demons dwell here too, such as the gallu demons, the vengeance demons, or the evil Udug.
Powerful disease demons such as hideous Asag and Namtar the disease demon sukkal, also hold court in Kur. Despite the desolation of the wasteland, some people live better than others.
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It all depends on the honor and/or grave goods their descendants give them. Family could pour libations down a tube leading to the person's earthly grave, and give offerings to help the deceased make the most of life after death.
Praises and songs of the deceased could reach the ears of the Underworld inhabitants, granting the subject of the praise more respect. Food might be offered, incense burned, supplications made by family and close friends.
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This satellite view shows the Zagros mountain range in western Iran along the Persian Gulf coast. The largest belt of water-soluble gypsum on Earth, running from Oman to Pakistan and Western India, is formed in the Zagros mountains.
The Zagros Mountains come into being with the collision of two tectonic plates, the Eurasian and Arabian. Most of the upheaval occurs during the Miocene period (about 25–5 million years ago), and the collision is still in progress today.
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Due to the ongoing forces of collision the Zagros Mountains are getting higher. Earth upheaval creates huge tunnels and caves, deep pools of groundwater and sacred places to fill a person with awe.
The oldest rocks of the Zagros range date back to the Precambrian era, or 541 million years ago. A widespread belt of maar volcanic activity curves alongside the Zagros.
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The mountains are mostly sedimentary limestone crushed and folded together. Extensive earth tremors or earthquakes in the Zagros region or other mountain ranges c. 1300 BCE and later are thought to contribute to the Bronze Age Collapse.
Qal'eh Hasan Ali is the volcanic arc running along the inland Zagros. Most volcanic activity was during the Quaternary Period (2.58 million years ago). Eruptions forming large craters happened between 5,000 and 50,000 years ago.
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This range is formed of volcanic and plutonic rock. Plutonic rock is created by slow cooling of magma underground. Plutonic often has larger crystals than volcanic rock, which is formed by faster cooling of lava on the earth's surface.
The volcanic regions are not highly eruptive, being the type to make maar craters, or volcanic crater lakes. Tephra or tuff (pyroclastic rock) forms the crater rim.
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Due to high heat and pressure some gemstones may form in or around volcanoes. Iran's six most precious gemstones are lapis lazuli, nephrite jade, agate, turquoise, green garnet and diamond.
Another reason for the slowly rising mountains is the subduction or thrust of Neo-Tethys oceanic floor beneath the Central Iran block. Today the highest peak of the Zagros Mountain Range is Dena at 4,409 m (14,465 ft).
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Salt domes and salt glaciers are a common feature of the Zagros Mountains. Often they're indicators of the presence of petroleum.
Scientists suggest the dissolution of ancient salt deposits causes changes in the chemistry of seawater, leading to long-term global cooling. Yes. Cooling.
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Oldest human fossils in the range date back to about 65,000 years ago, found in mountain caves. Specific burial sites or cemeteries are also found. Signs of agriculture date back to c. 9000 BCE.
From settlement of nomadic people arise the primary cities of Elam. Anshan grows in the south and Susa in the north.
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Mixed groups of Elamite and Iranian farmers and pastoralists populate the southern Zagros. This area is also significant as the future home of the Persians and the center of their empire.
Iran's main oilfields lie in the western central foothills of the Zagros mountain range, where layers of sedimentary rock give up their ancient reserves. Besides oil the area is packed with limestone rock containing large quantities of marine fossils.
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The Zagros mountains are home to several tribal groups. It's thought the Hurrians of the great Mitanni empire of the 24th century BCE originated among them.
Migrating into a region north of Elam and east of Amurru (Amorites), the Hurrians bring a tapestry of mythology along with them. The Underworld of Kur develops further in the ancient world with adoption of or synchronization with Babylonian, Hittite, Hatti, Ugaritic & Syrian, Elamite, Amorite and Levantine deities.
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There are many unique features of the Zagros Mountains. The fabled entrance to the Underworld has not been located, at least not by anyone who lives to tell about it. The great range of mountains with their rocky peaks, hidden caverns, shuddering lands and vents of smoke is just the place one might find the way to Kur.
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