Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid

Not trying to be as complete, for example, as they were in the previous millennium and trying to kind of use different ways of understanding the world to connect different elements of it. So it's really interesting innovation.

I would say written astronomy begins in ancient Mesopotamia. For all we know, people were doing really advanced mathematical astronomy before writing. But from what we know from the sources, I would say the earliest texts in astronomy come from ancient Mesopotamia. And some of the observations they make about the planets, the moon, lunar cycles, eclipse cycles, happen really, really early.

I would say written astronomy begins in ancient Mesopotamia. For all we know, people were doing really advanced mathematical astronomy before writing. But from what we know from the sources, I would say the earliest texts in astronomy come from ancient Mesopotamia. And some of the observations they make about the planets, the moon, lunar cycles, eclipse cycles, happen really, really early.

I would say written astronomy begins in ancient Mesopotamia. For all we know, people were doing really advanced mathematical astronomy before writing. But from what we know from the sources, I would say the earliest texts in astronomy come from ancient Mesopotamia. And some of the observations they make about the planets, the moon, lunar cycles, eclipse cycles, happen really, really early.

There's a text from the dawn of writing from around 3000 BCE in which someone is recording transactions related to a festival for the goddess Inanna. The goddess Inanna was the goddess of fertility and later Ishtar, fertility and war. And she's associated with the planet Venus. And so they refer to the planets often by the name of the deity that's associated with it.

There's a text from the dawn of writing from around 3000 BCE in which someone is recording transactions related to a festival for the goddess Inanna. The goddess Inanna was the goddess of fertility and later Ishtar, fertility and war. And she's associated with the planet Venus. And so they refer to the planets often by the name of the deity that's associated with it.

There's a text from the dawn of writing from around 3000 BCE in which someone is recording transactions related to a festival for the goddess Inanna. The goddess Inanna was the goddess of fertility and later Ishtar, fertility and war. And she's associated with the planet Venus. And so they refer to the planets often by the name of the deity that's associated with it.

And there's a reference in this text that to the morning and evening Inanna, and that's an indication that they were making so many observations of the planet Venus that they knew that when it was visible in the morning, it was Venus, and that when it was visible in the evening, it was also Venus, and that these weren't two different stars being observed.

And there's a reference in this text that to the morning and evening Inanna, and that's an indication that they were making so many observations of the planet Venus that they knew that when it was visible in the morning, it was Venus, and that when it was visible in the evening, it was also Venus, and that these weren't two different stars being observed.

And there's a reference in this text that to the morning and evening Inanna, and that's an indication that they were making so many observations of the planet Venus that they knew that when it was visible in the morning, it was Venus, and that when it was visible in the evening, it was also Venus, and that these weren't two different stars being observed.

They really had this observational program in place from very early on, even if it doesn't really get fleshed out properly until about 1800 BCE onward, and then really, really drilled down in the first millennium BCE.

They really had this observational program in place from very early on, even if it doesn't really get fleshed out properly until about 1800 BCE onward, and then really, really drilled down in the first millennium BCE.

They really had this observational program in place from very early on, even if it doesn't really get fleshed out properly until about 1800 BCE onward, and then really, really drilled down in the first millennium BCE.

Yes. So this text comes from Uruk, I believe. I hope I'm not misremembering. So we're talking about what is now southern Iraq, or if you're referring to how the region is referred to in antiquity, southern Mesopotamia, which basically refers to the land between the rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. So it is a place that was home to many civilizations and cultures in antiquity.

Yes. So this text comes from Uruk, I believe. I hope I'm not misremembering. So we're talking about what is now southern Iraq, or if you're referring to how the region is referred to in antiquity, southern Mesopotamia, which basically refers to the land between the rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. So it is a place that was home to many civilizations and cultures in antiquity.

Yes. So this text comes from Uruk, I believe. I hope I'm not misremembering. So we're talking about what is now southern Iraq, or if you're referring to how the region is referred to in antiquity, southern Mesopotamia, which basically refers to the land between the rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. So it is a place that was home to many civilizations and cultures in antiquity.

And for this text, it would have been most likely the Sumerian speakers who were writing this down. But then later astronomy, we started to move into other civilizations like the Assyrians and Babylonians, Assyrians in the north and Babylonians in the south, barring some periods in which the Assyrians just took over everything.

And for this text, it would have been most likely the Sumerian speakers who were writing this down. But then later astronomy, we started to move into other civilizations like the Assyrians and Babylonians, Assyrians in the north and Babylonians in the south, barring some periods in which the Assyrians just took over everything.

And for this text, it would have been most likely the Sumerian speakers who were writing this down. But then later astronomy, we started to move into other civilizations like the Assyrians and Babylonians, Assyrians in the north and Babylonians in the south, barring some periods in which the Assyrians just took over everything.

Yeah, that's a great question. And thankfully, the answer is yes, because it's so many thousands of years of history and so many sort of changes of the guard, so to speak, that it really is hard to keep track of all the political upheaval. But in terms of scholarship, one thing that all of these cultures and civilizations shared was the use of the cuneiform writing system.