Take Class 12 Tuition from the Best Tutors
Search in
The principal languages of ancient Mesopotamia were Sumerian, Akkadian (Babylonian + Assyrian), Amorite, and - later - Aramaic. They have come down to us in the "cuneiform" (i.e. wedge-shaped) script, deciphered by Henry Rawlinson and other scholars in the 1850s. The subject which studies Mesopotamian languages and the sources written in them is called Assyriology.
Mesopotamian languages in the cuneiform script are mostly written on clay tablets, though they could also be carved on stone (example here). Being incredibly durable, clay tablets have been recovered in thousands at archaeological sites from the Mediterranean to Bahrain to Iran. More are found by the year.
As well as records of daily life and administration, they include religious, mathematical, musical and astronomical texts, the earliest known laws, and a rich literature that includes the Epic of Gilgamesh and the oldest versions of the Flood Story also known from the Bible.
As the world's first fully urban society, ancient Mesopotamia is of paramount interest to world archaeology, and its art, architecture and technology were the rival, and indeed often the precursors, of Egypt's. Mesopotamia was open on all sides to its neighbours, and its influence can be traced from India to Greece: the Pharaoh's scribes used cuneiform script to correspond with the Great Kings of the Hittites in Turkey, at Ugarit on the Syrian coast the forerunners of the Phoenicians kept their legal and commercial records on cuneiform tablets in Akkadian, and later the Biblical and Classical worlds grew up in the shadow of these ancient cultures to the east (and sometimes under their direct political domination).
Sumerian is an "agglutinating" language with no known relatives. It was spoken in South Iraq until it died out, probably around 2000 BC, giving way to Akkadian; but it survived as a scholarly and liturgical language, much like mediaeval Latin, until the very end of cuneiform in the late 1st millennium BC.
In the absence of related languages, Sumerian has had to be learned through the filter of Babylonian and Assyrian. There are still many disagreements about what words mean, and how the verb behaves, but our knowledge of it is growing by the year. There is still no full dictionary of Sumerian, though the Sumerian-French lexicon recently posted online by the Swiss scholar Pascal Attinger is very useful.
There is no learner's grammar of Sumerian that can straightforwardly be recommended. Non-specialists may find the excellent grammar of third-millennium BC Sumerian by the Dutch scholar Bram Jagersma heavy-going
read lessNow ask question in any of the 1000+ Categories, and get Answers from Tutors and Trainers on UrbanPro.com
Ask a QuestionRecommended Articles
Meet Mohammad Wazid, a skilled trainer for...
Mohammad Wazid is a certified professional tutor for class 11 students. He has 6 years of teaching experience which he couples with an energetic attitude and a vision of making any subject easy for the students. Over the years he has developed skills with a capability of understanding the requirements of the students. This...
Meet Swati, a Hindi Tutor from Bangalore
Swati is a renowned Hindi tutor with 7 years of experience in teaching. She conducts classes for various students ranging from class 6- class 12 and also BA students. Having pursued her education at Madras University where she did her Masters in Hindi, Swati knows her way around students. She believes that each student...
Meet Radhe Shyam Burman, an MBA Tutor from...
Radhe Shyam is a highly skilled accounts and finance trainer with 8 years of experience in teaching. Accounting is challenging for many students and that’s where Radhe Shyam’s expertise comes into play. He helps his students not only in understanding the subject but also advises them on how to overcome the fear of accounts...
Meet Urmila, an MBBS tutor from Bangalore
Urmila is a passionate teacher with over 8 years of experience in teaching. She is currently pursuing her Ph. D. She provides classes for Class 11, Class 12, MBBS and Medical tuition. Urmila began her career in teaching long before she became a teacher. She used to provide classes for foreign national students in her college...
Looking for Class 12 Tuition ?
Learn from the Best Tutors on UrbanPro
Are you a Tutor or Training Institute?
Join UrbanPro Today to find students near youThe best tutors for Class 12 Tuition Classes are on UrbanPro
The best Tutors for Class 12 Tuition Classes are on UrbanPro