Dr. Moudhy Al-Rashid

Yeah, and then similarly, the one for Jupiter, which is also bright, sometimes easy to confuse Jupiter and Venus if it's not a good viewing conditions, is Kakabupetsu, which means white star, because it looked, again, like a really bright white star.

Saturn, I think, is called Kayamanu, which means it has to do with steadiness, I think, because Saturn moves a bit more slowly because it's further away. And then there are also deities associated with the planets, just like in Greek. I mean, our names of the planets today are based on the names of deities, Jupiter being the kind of head of the Roman pantheon, for example.

Saturn, I think, is called Kayamanu, which means it has to do with steadiness, I think, because Saturn moves a bit more slowly because it's further away. And then there are also deities associated with the planets, just like in Greek. I mean, our names of the planets today are based on the names of deities, Jupiter being the kind of head of the Roman pantheon, for example.

Saturn, I think, is called Kayamanu, which means it has to do with steadiness, I think, because Saturn moves a bit more slowly because it's further away. And then there are also deities associated with the planets, just like in Greek. I mean, our names of the planets today are based on the names of deities, Jupiter being the kind of head of the Roman pantheon, for example.

And interestingly, the planet Jupiter in Mesopotamia in Babylonian Assyria was associated with the god Marduk, who was the head of the Babylonian pantheon as well, so that pantheon's Jupiter or Zeus, so to speak. Venus associated with Ishtar, who was Inanna in the earlier periods, but the goddess of love and war, Ishtar. Mars with the god of war, Nergal.

And interestingly, the planet Jupiter in Mesopotamia in Babylonian Assyria was associated with the god Marduk, who was the head of the Babylonian pantheon as well, so that pantheon's Jupiter or Zeus, so to speak. Venus associated with Ishtar, who was Inanna in the earlier periods, but the goddess of love and war, Ishtar. Mars with the god of war, Nergal.

And interestingly, the planet Jupiter in Mesopotamia in Babylonian Assyria was associated with the god Marduk, who was the head of the Babylonian pantheon as well, so that pantheon's Jupiter or Zeus, so to speak. Venus associated with Ishtar, who was Inanna in the earlier periods, but the goddess of love and war, Ishtar. Mars with the god of war, Nergal.

So there are some really interesting kind of overlap in the deities associated with the planets. And sometimes the planets are referred to by their kind of divine name, by the name of the deity associated with them.

So there are some really interesting kind of overlap in the deities associated with the planets. And sometimes the planets are referred to by their kind of divine name, by the name of the deity associated with them.

So there are some really interesting kind of overlap in the deities associated with the planets. And sometimes the planets are referred to by their kind of divine name, by the name of the deity associated with them.

I think yes and no. A lot of these texts exhort secrecy, so you must not share this with the uninitiated, for example, and there's a bit of gatekeeping there. So in that sense, there's a kind of prestige to it and a guardedness to this type of knowledge that requires quite a lot of training to be able to do it correctly, which makes perfect sense.

I think yes and no. A lot of these texts exhort secrecy, so you must not share this with the uninitiated, for example, and there's a bit of gatekeeping there. So in that sense, there's a kind of prestige to it and a guardedness to this type of knowledge that requires quite a lot of training to be able to do it correctly, which makes perfect sense.

I think yes and no. A lot of these texts exhort secrecy, so you must not share this with the uninitiated, for example, and there's a bit of gatekeeping there. So in that sense, there's a kind of prestige to it and a guardedness to this type of knowledge that requires quite a lot of training to be able to do it correctly, which makes perfect sense.

It's not straightforward to observe planetary motion and predict it and memorize a lot of these omens associated with those and know how to communicate with the king as well. But there's also evidence that some of them weren't treated particularly well.

It's not straightforward to observe planetary motion and predict it and memorize a lot of these omens associated with those and know how to communicate with the king as well. But there's also evidence that some of them weren't treated particularly well.

It's not straightforward to observe planetary motion and predict it and memorize a lot of these omens associated with those and know how to communicate with the king as well. But there's also evidence that some of them weren't treated particularly well.

For example, there are some letters in which astronomers are writing to the king saying, like, why am I doing this manual labor, which I'm supposed to do instead of paying tax? It means I can't teach the next generation of astronomers. I'm so busy doing all this stuff that I don't have time to do my thing, my astronomy stuff. You know, there are other letters from court scholars.

For example, there are some letters in which astronomers are writing to the king saying, like, why am I doing this manual labor, which I'm supposed to do instead of paying tax? It means I can't teach the next generation of astronomers. I'm so busy doing all this stuff that I don't have time to do my thing, my astronomy stuff. You know, there are other letters from court scholars.

For example, there are some letters in which astronomers are writing to the king saying, like, why am I doing this manual labor, which I'm supposed to do instead of paying tax? It means I can't teach the next generation of astronomers. I'm so busy doing all this stuff that I don't have time to do my thing, my astronomy stuff. You know, there are other letters from court scholars.

There's one named Urad Gula. He's a physician, so it's a slightly off topic, in which whatever he did, he fell out of favor with the king. And he and his father write multiple letters begging that he be reinstated because he can no longer afford to live and he's not being paid, you know, the way his father had been paid. In one of them, he writes that he's dying of a broken heart.