Athar al-rafedain

The research includes a study of three unpublished cuneiform texts from the Ur III period which are about the ration kept in the Iraqi Museum. These texts came by confiscations as a result of illegal excavations. According to the date of months’ formula, these texts belong to a site locates south of Iraq called (Iri-sagrig) - a city that was subject to vandalism and theft and a large number of its antiquities including thousands of texts were smuggled abroad. The texts of the study dated the reign of the two Sumerian kings; they are: Amar-Sin and Shu-Sin (2046 –2028 B.C) from the Ur III period.

This research aims to study the linguistic root (kfr) in Semitic languages as a comparative semantic lexical study and its development according to its textual context. The research highlights the real and figurative meaning of this root and to unmask the different meanings derived from it through different ages. Also, the research conducts a linguistic comparative study between them and also to look for concordances and variations.
All this is going to be accomplished based on specialized language dictionaries, extrapolating written texts in a number of ancient basic Semitic texts in order to reveal the many connotations. The research pays special attention to the religious or lawful meaning to the linguistic root after the revelation of the glorious Quran.

The people who undertook the implementation of architectural projects of the Sargon dynasty kings and we mean by this the craftsmen and professions who were assigned for the tasks of work and building these projects. These people were mentioned in many of administrative letters which were exchanged between the kings of the Sargon dynasty and the officials of the Assyrian kingdom. Among the tasks and functions that were mentioned in those texts: provincial governors, priests, architects, builders, sculptors and carpenters whom were brought from the parts of the kingdom and its distant provinces to prepare the necessary labor in the construction of these projects especially the cities. In addition, we have also tackled the most prominent obstacles facing the administrative entity in the Assyrian Kingdom regarding the use of these people in the implementation of these projects.

Due to the significance of cuneiform texts of ancient Iraq, the researcher selected three Neo Economic Sumerian (unpublished) texts. These texts were amongst a collection that were confiscated. They belonged to the Iraqi Museum in which were kept. The confiscated texts (as commonly known) are of an unknown source because they did not come through archeological excavations. This makes it difficult to determine their dates and original place of find.
Following a thorough examination of these texts, including careful reading and analysis of the engraved terms, the researcher found that they belong to the Ur III Dynasty (2112-2004 B.C) Period. This conclusion is based on the texts’ historic formula, proper names included, as well as the type, size and form of writing.
The first text (IM.206906) that involves writings about remaining barley seeds and be placed in the Ninth Year of King Šu-Sin (2037-2029 B.C) during the last year of his reign. The second text (IM. 204400) involves giving amount of barley as a share to the soldiers. As for the third text (IM. 204697), it involves distributing pieces of farms and lands to a number of employees and administrators.

The palace of King Adad-nārāri III (810-783 BC) occupied the western part of the center of Kalḫu (Nimrud) which is bordered from the north by the palace of King Ašur-naṣer-apli II and from the lower south side by the southwestern palace of the King of Ašur-aḫi-idina. This king built the palace for his mother queen Sammu-Ramat (Semiramis). The palace was excavated by the British School in 1953 headed by Max Mallowan.
In 1993, the Iraqi Department of Antiquities formed an excavation body headed by the researcher and worked in it for four weeks. Some building units were discovered including a room on the eastern side built with perfection and on its walls are thick clay daub mud coated with white color, on which drawings with plant elements were implemented some of which are in the form of pomegranates of multiple colors. It was also noted that the lower parts of the walls were coated with a thin layer of bitumen. In the eastern wall found a group of building mud-bricks constructed in an upright form in two levels and in the form of a half arch that includes inside it an entrance closed with mud-brick. It is believed that this room was used as a bathroom with evidence of the presence of a stream constructed with slopping towards the eastern side and continues to the outside of the room. The floor of this room was paved with bricks that some of it was removed. Excavations also discovered other rooms paved with bricks and others were empty from pavement. Two thresholds of blue alabaster were discovered one, of which is the entrance to the southern room and the other between the third and fourth rooms and on their its walls are cuneiform writings mentioning the name of King Adad-nārāri III and his titles and some of his achievements.

The funeral contents discovered in the ancient graves and cemeteries are considered an important source of the archaeological finds in different ages and one of the information sources that shows the ancient religious beliefs concerning the death and the life after death. Their importance lies in the detailed information they provide about the ancient beliefs related to death and the life after death and also the information about the ancient Iraqi populations and the level of the religious, cultural, economic and political development and progress. These contents also help to identify the types of vessels and tools they used in their daily life and explaining the purpose of their presence inside those graves. The research focused on the funeral contents that were discovered in the graves and cemeteries of Tell Hanas to be the subject of this research as they are the most important archaeological finds in Makhul area as the research topic because these finds are the most important ones discovered in Makhul area. The current research is limited to the funeral contents found in Tell Hanas graves and cemeteries, which is one of the most essential sites in Makhul that belong to the middle Assyrian age (1500-911) B.C as this site is characterized with numerous graves and cemeteries with numerous funeral contents. Also, the importance of this age lies in that it is an essential site of settlement in the middle Assyrian age which is characterized with the several of its four lower layers. After that, it was abandoned for a long time and then it was resettled in the Parthian era (138 B.C – 226 AD). The migration and historical abandonment of this location for a long time and for certain reason, some of which might be political, or may be this location was afflicted with a plague that made the people avoid residing in it. Moreover, the research involved a brief discussion about the importance of the funeral contents and the purpose behind their presence inside the graves of Tell Hanas site and the excavations in it. It also involved a detailed explanation of the funeral contents that were discovered in this site depending on the results of the archaeological excavation and their sketches.

The natural environment in the countries of the ancient Maghreb had a clear impact on the population inhabited in those areas in terms of social life and relations between them as well as relations with their neighbors in addition to its clear impact on the practice of industries and crafts especially the practice of agriculture and grazing. These countries are distinguished of great varieties in their geographical landmarks starting from Libya in the east passing through Tunisia and Algeria and ending with the Far Maghreb. The most important characteristic of its terrain and natural environment is the mountain ranges especially the Atlas Mountains which extend from the Far Maghreb to Tunisia in the north through Algeria. As for Libya، the most famous heights is the green mountain and to the south of these countries the desert was formed which continues to along the Sothern line of these countries which were once a green forest area and a passage for migration to and from the countries of the ancient Maghreb before the drought period. This research aims to present an illustration of the natural environment of the Maghreb countries and their division starting from the coastal plains، mountain ranges and plateaus، and ending with the desert areas. The research will also present the topography of each of these countries separately and showing the views of some researchers and their theories in the geography of this country.

The study of the stucco (gypsum board) decorative elements of the city of Samarra revealed that it included three artistic styles that were classified and named by archaeologists and specialists as follows: (the first style, the second style, and the third style). Each of these styles has its own decoration’s elements that marked their appearance. Others continued to appear in two styles or the three styles although these decorations were influenced by local and foreign arts and took many decorative elements from them; but they were characterized by their own Islamic character and the elements were quickly taken from their natural form.
The reliance on the classification and division of the three models of the city of Samarra was based on technical foundations followed by specialists, accompanied by the temporal aspect which was the accurate criterion in their arrangement despite the fact that convergence and overlap between them to some extent in time.

The pottery of the city of Balad (Aski Mosul) was distinguished by its many types in terms of manufacture and use. Many types of it appeared that simulate the purpose for which it was made. It includes two basic types; that is, the non-glazed pottery and the glazed pottery in which the second type is a development of the first type made by the pottery cupboard. This is evident from the technology of its soft shape and texture and its beautiful appearance which is evident on most of the discovered models that have been studied. The archaeological excavations have provided us from the city of Balad (Aski Mosul), which took about twelve years, only about (30%) of the total area of the archaeological city was excavated. These excavations provided us with samples of how to use the method of glazing in painting almost free of impurities and also characterized by its delicateness and lack of thickness. Excavations of this type also revealed to us several models like jars, dishes, and pots. It gave us an idea of the progress and distinction of the pottery makers in the city from the rest of the Islamic cities as this city was unique in terms of accuracy of the sizes, the accuracy of the thickness, the multiplicity of colors, and the use. Some of these potteries had historical roots that date back to ancient times preceding the Islamic era. Some of them had their own industrial style which made the city unique and distinguished from the rest of the Islamic cities.

The column is considered as one of the important architectural elements in most of the archaeological and heritage buildings. The column is one of the ceiling levers and is used to raise ceilings of all kinds whether they are flat ceilings, domes, or gables and almost every building has it. It has been used since ancient times in buildings built by man as an architectural element in most cases and was used as a decorative element sometimes to decorate the facades of buildings and inside rooms and halls.
The research referred back to the Holy Qur’an and some of its verses in which the column was mentioned and its interpretations were mentioned and the use of linguistic dictionaries and Arabic historical and archaeological sources that dealt with this term (column) in Iraqi and Greek architecture to give a clear picture of the origin and development of this element and its importance in Iraqi architecture throughout historical ages and the impact This element in the heritage architecture in Iraq.

The great development that we see today in the field of mental sciences was not the result of recent experiments and research. It was rather that most of these sciences including medicine date back in their roots to ancient civilizations that paid attention to their upbringing and development as a product of this era or the previous era and it was one of the important elements of the advancement of the realities and sophistication of these societies.
Ophthalmology, the topic of this paper, was and still is an important branch of medicine. Through which we will learn the nature of this type of medicine in ancient civilizations including: the ancient Egyptian civilization, the Iraqi civilization, the Greek civilization, the Indian civilization and the Persian civilization. The research concluded to mentioning ophthalmology in the pre-Islamic era.
For the sake of completing this paper, it was necessary for the researcher to visit many resources and main references and assistance.

In the district of Soran, North-east of the city of Erbil, there are many archaeological sites that date back to different periods that start from the Stone Ages to the Kurdish princedom of Soran in Ruwanduz in the nineteenth century AD. These archaeological sites are located in valleys, on plains, and in the mountainous areas between Erbil and Rawanduz as well as to the gorges and mountain passes between the two areas. As for the caravans that travel through the passes of Gal-i-Ali-Beg and the Alana Valley in which they connect them with the Splik pass. The strait and water springs of Sreshma were in a pivotal location that is visited frequently by all commercial caravans as well as by the armies of military campaigns through the ages.
In this research paper, after presenting an overview of the Sereshma treasure, which consists of hundreds of Seleucid coins of the Tetradrachm type discovered near a water spring in the strait. The research focuses on the selected coins of King Demetrius Soter and their artistic and written characteristics.

Urban areas or cities emerged around 3500 B.C. The first of these urban areas were Warka, Ur and Lagash in Mesopotamia. Five centuries later, cities appeared in Egypt such as Memphis and Thebes 3100 B.C., and their appearance continued in India, china and other places. By the first century until the third century A.D., which is the period in question of this research paper, some of these ancient cities continued to be inhabited and some of them disappeared while others were newly created. As far as concern Iraq, there are a number of sources of information regarding urban areas in it especially the writings of Greek and Roman historians. But what is remarkable is that one of these sources comes from the residents of the area themselves and is written in their national language at that time in which it is represented by the Syriac sources. We will try to evaluate the Syriac sources that we have received from that period and try to answer questions such as: how many early Syriac sources are available? How much the information is rich as far as concern the urban areas? And do these sources draw an integrated urban picture of Iraq and the world in the period under study?

The topic of this study deals with the publication of a confiscated cuneiform text kept in the Iraqi Museum from Ur III period. It dates back to the reign of King Šulgi, and it is very likely that it is from the texts of the city of Drehem based on a collection of texts that were recently studied between 2022-2023 including our text where the number of those studied is about (200) cuneiform tablets out of more than (700) cuneiform tablets that entered the Iraqi Museum between (2020-2021) Most of them date back to King Šulgi. Our cuneiform text (IM.239595) is the text of a cuneiform inscription of a royal gift seal (IN-NA-BA) dedicated by King Šulgi (2094-2047 BCE) to his daughter Šāt-Kukuti who is mentioned for the first time of her explicit lineage; that is to her father King Šulgi.

The article discusses a Post-Assyrian foundation deposit containing a complete pottery lamp which was found during the Iraqi-Italian excavations by the SBAH and the University of Bologna in the Lower Town of eastern Nineveh.