Hi! I've recently read a bit about Mesopotamian history and one thing that particularly struck me is that Akkadian has a vast body of literature comparable (at least in terms of range) to that of Latin: poetry, epics, annals, chronicles, mythology, philosophical texts etc...

Why is the language and its literature so understudied compared to Latin or Ancient Greek?

I've been thinking it might be due to the difficulty of reading its script or to the fact that Mesopotamian civilization might feel more distant from us than the Greco-Roman world.

On the other hand, classical literature experienced a resurgence during the Renaissance after many of its works were rediscovered. Why hasn't there been a comparable Renaissance in the 19th or 20th century after the discovery of literary works from Mesopotamia?

I'm interested in hearing your thoughts. Thanks in advance.

Sung in Akkadian · Lyrics extracted from incantations inscribed on ancient Mesopotamian amulets of Pazuzu

These incantations, more than two thousand years old, call upon Pazuzu, the wandering Mesopotamian wind demon, to turn his power against other demons and protect the wearer and their home.

Source: band Nemuer's BandCamp

Relating to the question of the origin of the Sumerian. Have archaeologists never found Sumerian graves and by these being able to extract DNA to determine where in the world the Sumerians might have come from? 🧬

I got the wikipedia link here

Despite little known about the people of Mannaea, it is considerably my favourite Mesopotamian kingdom of all time.

From what I know, Mannaea likes horses :D. In the article made by the Penn Museum, the town of Hasanlu (a Mannaean settlement) is documented to have the largest collection of horse paraphernalia, which were made using fine quality material and were beautifully crafted, so it could be that horse were very valued in their culture.

Their fate in history is almost forgotten as they left no writing behind if it weren't for the 2 neighbouring kingdoms Assyria and Urartu to be writing about them. When Babylon and Medes revolted against the Assyrian domination, Mannaea fought alongside Assyria. Due to years of civil wars, Assyria began to weaken and eventually fall, which also cause Mannaea to be defeated and be controlled by the Medes. (Urartu also fall later on)

My spark to read and research more of history are not the same no more, but I'd like to know what others think of my favourite kingdom of Mannaea.

Nobody ever talks about Elam. I figured it might be cause they were just a culture less evolved than the Sumerian civilization, like the ones to the north, but Elam also pioneered writing with proto-elamite.

So what's the story there? Did they not get further than that? Is it just cause because we have less preserved Elamite sources?

Alguém nesse sub é fã da cidade de akkad e tem informações de como está a procura de akkad em 2026 não vi muitas notícias sobre isso ?

“A hymn to Nisaba

This hymn describes the great goddess Nisaba as patron deity of scribes and
accountants. She carries a lapis lazuli tablet, the colour of the night sky, from
which she reads the future through celestial omens.”

“She carries a lapis lazuli tablet, the colour of the night sky” why is the tablet of this particular colour and why does a scribe goddess of corn read omens out of the night sky?