Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid

But they were learning Sumerian at school because it was important to learn this ancient, authentic old language, just like Latin was. Yeah, OK.

But they were learning Sumerian at school because it was important to learn this ancient, authentic old language, just like Latin was. Yeah, OK.

Exactly.

Exactly.

Yeah, there are lots actually. So it's a Semitic language. So it's related. I mean, in Iraq today, they speak, I mean, they speak lots of different languages, but they speak Arabic as well. And Arabic is also a Semitic language. So there's a lot of vocab overlap and some grammar overlap.

Yeah, there are lots actually. So it's a Semitic language. So it's related. I mean, in Iraq today, they speak, I mean, they speak lots of different languages, but they speak Arabic as well. And Arabic is also a Semitic language. So there's a lot of vocab overlap and some grammar overlap.

Yeah, I mean, I don't know, like, to what extent Aramaic borrows from Akkadian, but it was at one point simultaneous and people were bilingual in Aramaic and Akkadian. That was in the late period, wasn't it?

Yeah, I mean, I don't know, like, to what extent Aramaic borrows from Akkadian, but it was at one point simultaneous and people were bilingual in Aramaic and Akkadian. That was in the late period, wasn't it?

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. And there are even proverbs that are like, what good is a scribe who doesn't know Sumerian? And it's like, well, I guess that nobody wanted to really learn this. So they had to come up with proverbs to inspire them.

Yeah. And there are even proverbs that are like, what good is a scribe who doesn't know Sumerian? And it's like, well, I guess that nobody wanted to really learn this. So they had to come up with proverbs to inspire them.

So I think the easiest way to explain that is that in ancient Mesopotamia, supernatural things were real. The gods, goddesses, demons, ghosts, they were as part of the natural world as like a rock and a tree and a river. So they formed a kind of normal part of explanations for stuff happening in the world. So there was a really close connection between, in particular, the divine and the sciences.

So I think the easiest way to explain that is that in ancient Mesopotamia, supernatural things were real. The gods, goddesses, demons, ghosts, they were as part of the natural world as like a rock and a tree and a river. So they formed a kind of normal part of explanations for stuff happening in the world. So there was a really close connection between, in particular, the divine and the sciences.

I've got bad news. They did have a workaround, though. So they would get a substitute to be in the king's place for a couple of months. And then that person would live like a king and then be killed. Oh, really? Just to be absolutely sure. They'd swap in a peasant body double. Yeah, exactly. I know, it was brutal.

I've got bad news. They did have a workaround, though. So they would get a substitute to be in the king's place for a couple of months. And then that person would live like a king and then be killed. Oh, really? Just to be absolutely sure. They'd swap in a peasant body double. Yeah, exactly. I know, it was brutal.

You can imagine why it was so important for the observers, for the diviners and the scholars to get the signs right, because there was a lot that rode on these signs. Things that are happening in the natural world.

You can imagine why it was so important for the observers, for the diviners and the scholars to get the signs right, because there was a lot that rode on these signs. Things that are happening in the natural world.

And there were entire textbooks that were filled with omens to tell people how to interpret an eclipse or the position of Jupiter in a particular constellation or what the color of Mars in the sky might have been.

And there were entire textbooks that were filled with omens to tell people how to interpret an eclipse or the position of Jupiter in a particular constellation or what the color of Mars in the sky might have been.