Did you know...?
Mud brick was the most common building material in Mesopotamia, until the advent of modern concrete. Baked bricks were only used for major projects such as the arch at Ctesiphon, just outside Baghdad, part of a palace built by Sasanian kings in the sixth century AD.
~ from Ancient History -Mesopotamia@bbc.co.uk [Routledge:London] 2003 (p. 217)
Right, the new groups! Two groups that are widely different, two groups that explore universes that could hardly be more apart from each other. Yet there's at least two things they have in common: they are both Mesopotamian groups, and they're both pretty ambitious, each in their own way.
Dar Al Islam is the first group at AW that focuses on the Islamic world, both past and present: politics, religion, history, culture are all discussed there. But it's not just academic we're talking about: let's here it from the leader of the group himself,
Salah al Din Saba:
Dar al-Islam is a new group in Mesopotamia that seeks to research all aspects of Arab and Islamic history, from the birth of Islam to the Umayyads, Mamluks, and Ottomans. Dar al-Islam is also in the planning stages of a roleplay section, so that we can all write together and understand the various aspects of life in the World of Islam throughout history.
Now, let's turn to the other new group:
Gods of War. For someone like me who has little to no clue about SG-1, all those weird names and the threads close to the public may at first make you think of a sect. But you couldn't be further from the truth. As member
Kendal Caledonii (who plays Egyptian god of war Montu) explains:
We're an alliance of aliens (known as The Olympians) trying to make the universe safe for AncientWorlders by conquering it! Seriously, the members are playing an offsite game called Stargate Wars and those threads are closed to non-members because we discuss our strategy there and don't want offsite members of other SGW alliances to eavesdrop! If you enjoy either of the Stargate television programs, come join us.
Goldfest is already heading our way.....
In October we'll be holding the first Goldfest during which four worlds unite to bring you entertainment, challenges and history all rolled in one. Actually, I've heard something bewitched and bewildered may be heading our way.... Take this chance to make history (Ok, ok, not
History, but still.... ) and help us make this fest a really golden one: contact the Meso scribes for more details.
They're coming....
He's handsome, clever, sexy...and he knows it. His companion is constantly complaining, being a pain and...he also knows it. They've been through incredible adventures that defy imagination, they were on a timeless quest before coming into town.
Be there for their arrival, or you'll regret it....
Mesopotamia Treasures: The Hanging Gardens
Discover each month one of the treasures of our world. By Aya Etana.
Who hasn't heard about the wonderful gift that the King Nebuchadnezzar II made to his homesick wife, Amyitis (although some claim that Semiramis, the Assyrian queen, was the real creator of the gardens)? The Hanging Gardens were built during the 6th century BC. Various artificial terraces were created, plants and threes added to create a luxurious environment. Its dimensions were amazing: the walls were 56 miles long, 80 feet thick and 320 feet (!) high. Despite its name, the Hanging Gardens didn't really hang. An inexact translation, transformed "kremastos" or "pensilis" - "overhanging"- into "hanging".
Besides it's creation, one of the most interesting details is the irrigation system. The terraces were watered from the Eufrates by a complex mechanical system with hydraulic pumps that raised the water up to a general reservoir.
A Greek source tells us: "
The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns... Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels... These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches... This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the heads of the spectators".
In the beginning of the 20th century, some archaeological diggings were made to try to find the gardens. They are many doubts about their location and only the presence of an hydraulic pump in the north-east of the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace seems to indicate that maybe one of the wonders of the ancient world was laying there, under the desert sand.
Sources:
Wikipedia: Hanging Gardens
Unmuseum
Hanging Gardens
Hill Wonders
Nippur's library
Reading suggestion of the month: History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine "Firsts" in Recorded History by Samuel N. Kramer.
Link of the month: Gateways to Babylon
