Follow the records of Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria. Explore ancient cities, everyday life and the texts that continue to shape questions today.
Ur, Uruk and Nippur; temples, kingship, law and daily life.
Cuneiform, mathematics, medicine and astronomy.
Gilgamesh, flood traditions, gods and cosmology.
Anunnaki and Apkallu: ancient textual references alongside clearly labeled later interpretations.
Begin with a catalogued object, its photograph or transliteration, and the translator’s context. Record the date, language, damaged passages and any competing readings. A modern retelling is a starting point for a question, not a substitute for the original record.
Browse the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative
Read Oxford’s introduction to the CDLI
Compare the setting, characters and purpose of flood narratives. Similar themes invite investigation; they do not by themselves prove that every account describes the same event.
Explore the CDLI Flood Tablet resource
Chapter pathway: Chapter 17 — Lessons from the Past.
What does the source actually say? Which claims come from its ancient setting, and which were added by a later interpreter?