Millennia ago, in the Fertile Crescent, the land nestled between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in what is now present-day Iran, the ancient Mesopotamian civilization of Sumer arose. Sumerians ...

A newly published study challenges long-held assumptions about the origins of urban civilization in ancient Mesopotamia, suggesting that the rise of Sumer was driven by the dynamic interplay of rivers ...

Over 5,000 years ago, in the scorching heart of ancient Mesopotamia, the city of Uruk rose to become the largest and most advanced settlement in the world. Home to nearly 80,000 people, it boasted ...

The Sumerian takeoff -- Factors hindering our understanding of the Sumerian takeoff -- Modeling the dynamics of urban growth -- Early Mesopotamian urbanism : why? -- Early Mesopotamian urbanism : how?

Catalog of an exhibition held at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Villa, Malibu, from March 18-July 27, 2020. Translated and adapted from L'histoire commence en Mésopotamie, which was published ...

Explore Mesopotamia, a civilization that flourished for more than 3,000 years. Mesopotamians built the first complex urban societies; developed writing, literature, and law; and united vast regions ...

Assyrian cylinder seal from the late ninth to seventh centuries B.C.E., made of chalcedony and inscribed with a cultic scene. The image on the right shows the impression the seal would make. Gift of ...

Today, trans people face politicization of their lives and vilification from politicians, media and parts of broader society. But in some of history's earliest civilizations, gender-diverse people ...

The Great Ziggurat of Ur dedicated to the Moon god. Ziggurats were massive structure typical for Mesopotamia. Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurats. Woods ...