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Akkadian, a Semitic language, gradually replaced Sumerian as the primary spoken language in the area c. 2000 BC (the exact date is debated), [5] but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary, and scientific language in Akkadian-speaking Mesopotamian states such as Assyria and Babylonia until the 1st century AD.
Centuries after the fall of the Akkadian Empire, Akkadian, in its Assyrian and Babylonian varieties, was the native language of the Mesopotamian empires (Old Assyrian Empire, Babylonia, Middle Assyrian Empire) throughout the later Bronze Age, and became the lingua franca of much of the Ancient Near East by the time of the Bronze Age collapse c ...
Assyriology (from Greek Ἀσσυρίᾱ, Assyriā; and -λογία, -logia), also known as Cuneiform studies or Ancient Near East studies, [1] [2] is the archaeological, anthropological, historical, and linguistic study of the cultures that used cuneiform writing.
Ancient Mesopotamia – timeline, definition, and articles at World History Encyclopedia Mesopotamia – introduction to Mesopotamia from the British Museum By Nile and Tigris, a narrative of journeys in Egypt and Mesopotamia on behalf of the British museum between the years 1886 and 1913 , by Sir E. A. Wallis Budge , 1920 (a searchable ...
Map showing the extent of Mesopotamia. The Civilization of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in the Paleolithic period up to Late antiquity.This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing in the late 4th millennium BC, an increasing amount of historical sources.
Whether Iddin-Sin wrote the letter himself or dictated it to a scribe is not clear. The standard opening "Iddin-Sin sends the following message" suggests dictation [3] but the script used in the letter is somewhat clumsy, with the language used showing mistakes expected of an inexperienced writer and perhaps colloquial speech. [7]
[citation needed] The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian literature. [2]
The pre-and protohistory of southern Mesopotamia is divided into the Ubaid (c. 6500–3800 BC), Uruk (c. 4000 to 3100 BC) and Jemdet Nasr (c. 3100 to 2900 BC) periods. There is scholarly disagreement as to when the Sumerian presence began in the region, although it is generally assumed that the Sumerian language was used in southern Mesopotamia by the late Uruk period.