“Surpassing all kings, powerful and tall
beyond all others, violent, splendid,
a wild bull of a man, unvanquished leader,
hero in the front lines, beloved of his soldiers –
fortress they called him, protector of the people,
raging flood that destroys all defenses…” – the Epic of Gilgamesh
George Smith’s 1872 discovery of the Mesopotamian Flood tablet won him widespread acclaim. Four years later, his ill-timed expedition to Nineveh would end in tragedy.
Series References and Further Reading:
In the Original Series: Sargon the Great episode (2, I think), you mentioned that Sargon's daughter compiled an Epic of Gilgamesh. In Rediscovered, it sounds like our earliest complete versions date from Amorite Babylon or even Neo-Assyria. I could research myself, of course, but I'm curious what your sources are and if you now think Sargon's reign is too early to have the epic written down.
Hi! In Episode 3 I mentioned that Sargon the Great's daughter, Enheduanna, was the first "named' author in history. She didn't compose anything about Gilgamesh, but is mainly known for writing 42 hymns to all the major cities/deities in her father's newly-won empire. There's a pretty good Wikipedia entry on her if you want to learn more. Take care – Scott C.
Hi Scott,
Was wondering if you were ever going to make a page that outlines the bibliography behind this series that you’ve built.
Thank you for doing this! Discovering and then rediscovering the ancient near east with you has been absolutely breathtaking, I hope one day there will be a world where we can visit Iraq and see the sites themselves. 🙂
Hi, thanks for the kind words! And yes, I hope we all get to travel to Iraq (and Syria, and Afghanistan) someday! Regarding your question, I’ve generated bibliographies for most previous series, though I’ve gotten a bit lazy about it recently (sorry about that). I can’t recall if I did it for “Thea”, and certainly not yet for “Carchemish.” A major source on the Bronze Age Hittites is Trevor Bryce’s “The Kingdom of the Hittites,” just like a major source for the upcoming episodes will be Trevor Bryce’s “The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms.” I also try to pull from George Roux’s “Ancient Iraq” and Marc Van de Mieroop’s “A History of the Ancient Near East.” Hopefully that will at least give you a start. Take care! – Scott