Sumerian Religion: Did you mean...?

Ancient Mesopotamian government was based on the understanding that human beings were created to help and serve the gods. The high priest, king, assembly of elders, governors, and any other officials were recognized as stewards chosen by...

The upper register shows a naked priest followed by three worshippers. The priest pours an unknown liquid offering from a spouted vessel into a stemmed dish or stand, in front of a horned god figure. In the lower register, there are three...

A votive plaque of white marble. The lower part shows two men carrying a large jar (probably filled with beer) and another man in front of them seems to steer an animal from behind, perhaps a cow or horse. At the upper part there are two...

The woman wears a garment which was probably made of a sheep skin. The garment was wrapped over the left shoulder only. There are long strands of wool hanging below the lower thighs. The women's eyes might well have been inlaid with stone...

This limestone plaque was excavated by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in the early 1930s, 1st season. It depicts three scenes in three registers. The upper register shows a banquet scene with musicians. The middle register...

This bituminous stone plaque was found in fragments. It was excavated by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in the early 1930s; the different fragments were collected during the 1st and 3rd seasons. It depicts processions...

The Matter of Aratta is the modern-day title for a collection of four poems – Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta, Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana, Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave, and Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird – concerning the rivalry between...

Elam was a region in the Near East corresponding to the modern-day provinces of Ilam and Khuzestan in southern Iran (though it also included part of modern-day southern Iraq) whose civilization spanned thousands of years from c. 3200 - c...

This limestone plaque depicts two figures in relief. Cuneiform inscriptions appear at the upper part. It was excavated by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago in the early 1930s, 3rd season. The plaque dates back to the Early...

The Gutians were a West Asiatic people who are thought to have lived around the Zagros Mountains in a region referred to as Gutium. They had no written language and all that is known of them comes from their enemies, including the Akkadians...