This is a handy glossary of all the terms used on Thin End of the Wedge. Personal names are sorted as though each one is GIVEN NAME plus SURNAME. Elements such as “al-” and “de” are included as part of SURNAME. I’ve explained each term very briefly here. For more detail, I’ve given you two options. Clicking on the term itself [this feature is coming soon] takes you to the page on this site where that term is explained. Clicking on the links after the term takes you to Wikipedia. The quality of the information there is patchy, unfortunately. You should treat it with care. It usually gives you the gist OK. Some of the details might be unreliable, though.
‘antiq: THING: modern name for cuneiform tablets used by people living near the site of the site of Tell Abu Antiq.
Abbasid period: TIME: early Islamic period, named after a dynasty based in Iraq. C. 750-1258. EPISODE 3
Abi-eshuh: PERSON: Ruler of Babylon during the early second millennium BC. EPISODE 5
Basima Jalil Abed: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Abu Habbah: PLACE: site of ancient Sippar. EPISODE 16
Abu Tbeirah: PLACE: site on southern Iraq. Remains of a Sumerian town. EPISODE 10, EPISODE 22
ACAWAI-CS: THING: Annotated Corpus of Ancient West Asian Imagery-Cylinder Seals. Project run by Elisa Rossberger. EPISODE 9
Selim Adalı: PERSON: Turkish assyriologist. Guest on EPISODE 16
Abdulkarim Abdullah Ahmed: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Akkad: PLACE: northern part of southern Iraq
Alad: CREATURE: a demon, usually benevolent. EPISODE 4
Khalid al-A’dami: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Abdel-Hadi al-Fouadi: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Qusay Kamal Al-Din Al-Ahmadi: PERSON: President of the University of Mosul. EPISODE 13
Aliph: THING: organisation to protect cultural heritage in conflict zones. EPISODE 24
Al-Muhannawiyah: PLACE: modern town near Tell Abu Antiq. EPISODE 5
Farouk Al-Rawi: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 28
Ammi-ditana: PERSON: Ruler of Babylon during the early second millennium BC. EPISODE 5
Anatolians: GROUP: name given to the people who lived in what is now Turkey. EPISODE 12
Anbar: REGION: province in western Iraq. EPISODE 22
Anshan: PLACE: capital of the highlands of Elam. In the Zagros mountains. EPISODE 30
Anthropocene: TIME: proposed era to describe the time when human activity has significantly impacted the planet. EPISODE 13
Anzu: CREATURE: Monster with an eagle’s body and a lion’s head. Personification of thunder. EPISODE 7
Araldite 2020: THING: An epoxy resin that can be used to glue fragments of objects to each other. EPISODE 18
Archaic: TIME: 3200-2900 BC
ArcGIS: THING: software for working with maps. EPISODE 22
archaeomusicology: THING: the study of ancient music. EPISODE 3
Ardat lili: CREATURE: a demon, malevolent. EPISODE 4
Hannah Arendt: PERSON: American political theorist. EPISODE 15
Abdul Majid Arfaee: PERSON: Iranian assyriologist. EPISODE 8
Arhanitum: DEITY: goddess worshipped at Tell Harmal. EPISODE 1
Abdul Salam Arif: PERSON: ex-President of Iraq. EPISODE 28
Asag: CREATURE: demon. EPISODE 4
Asalluhi: DEITY: another name for the god Marduk. EPISODE 4
ashipu: THING: “exorcist”. A type of doctor who drive off demons and helped treat the problems they caused. EPISODE 4, EPISODE 4
Ashur/Assur: PLACE: city in northern Iraq. EPISODE 4. EPISODE 12. EPISODE 16, EPISODE 17, EPISODE 19, EPISODE 20, EPISODE 21
Ashurbanipal: PERSON: King of Assyria in 7th century BC. EPISODE 17, EPISODE 21, EPISODE 30
Assyria: PLACE: northern Iraq
Asu: THING: healthcare professional who specialised in physical remedies. EPISODE 4
Atrahasis: PERSON: mythical hero of the flood myth. EPISODE 4
Atra(m)hasis Epic: THING: literary text about the flood and the creation of Man. EPISODE 9
Annie Attia: PERSON: French ophthalmologist and assyriologist. EPISODE 17
Avestan: THING: a language used in ancient Persia (for the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism). EPISODE 8
Dia Azzawi: PERSON: Iraqi artist. EPISODE 28
BabMed: THING: Project investigating Babylonian medicine. EPISODE 17
Babylon: PLACE: city in Iraq
Babylonia: PLACE: area in central/southern Iraq
Bagastan: PLACE: ancient name for Behistun. EPISODE 8
Bagastanon: PLACE: ancient Greek name for Behistun. EPISODE 8
Zainab Bahrani: PERSON: Iraqi art historian. EPISODE 28
Heather Baker: PERSON: British archaeologist and assyriologist. Guest on EPISODE 23
balbale: THING: type of Sumerian musical work. EPISODE 3
Taha Baqir: PERSON: Iraqi archaeologist and assyriologist. EPISODE 1, EPISODE 28
Gojko Barjamovic: PERSON: Danish assyriologist. Guest on EPISODE 12
Basra: PLACE: city in southern Iraq. Home to a new museum. EPISODE 6
Bel-gashir: DEITY: local god of Tell Harmal
Behistun: PLACE: site of a monument commemorating the victories of Darius the Great. The trilingual inscription provided the key to the decipherment of cuneiform. EPISODE 8
Gertrude Bell: PERSON: British traveller, political officer. Played a key role in the British mandate administration in Iraq in 1920s. EPISODE 6
Bedri Bey: PERSON: Ottoman government representative in Iraq in the late 19th century. EPISODE 16
Osman Hamdi Bey: PERSON: Director of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. EPISODE 16
BIN SHAR DADME: THING: “The son of the king of all the habitations”. Name given to the god Ninurta. EPISODE 7
Bisitun: PLACE: alternate name for Behistun. “Place without columns”. EPISODE 8
Bisutun: PLACE: alternate name for Behistun. EPISODE 8
Bit Yakin: GROUP: Chaldean tribe. EPISODE 30
Böhl collection: THING: De Liagre Böhl collection. Collection in Leiden of objects from the ancient Middle East. Curated by the Netherlands Institute for the Near East, Leiden University. EPISODE 18
brightness: THING: Property of colour. How light or dark something is. EPISODE 19
British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI): THING: charity focusing on research and education on Iraq. EPISODE 6
Bull of Heaven: CREATURE: a mythological creature sent to punish Gilgamesh. EPISODE 28
bultu latku: THING: “tested cures” in Mesopotamian medicine. EPISODE 17
calotype: early type of photograph. EPISODE 24
Carchemish: PLACE: site on Turkish/Syrian border. EPISODE 13
catchline: THING: a line of text telling the reader which tablet to read next. EPISODE 21
Dinçer Cefer: PERSON: Curator in the cuneiform archive of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. EPISODE 16
Centre de recherche et de restauration des musées de France: THING: “The Centre for Research and Restoration of the Museums of France”. The French national research centre responsible for the documentation and conservation of museum collections. EPISODE 24
Charax (Spasinou): PLACE: city in southern Iraq. EPISODE 22
Muazzez İlmiye Çığ: PERSON: author of Turkish translation of the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 16
colatoria: THING: room where corpses would be placed for drying before final burial. Used in Italy until 19th century. EPISODE 10
Collège de France: THING: prestigious teaching and research establishment in Paris. EPISODE 24
Paul Collins: PERSON: museum curator at the Ashmolean, UK. Guest on EPISODE 6
colophon: THING: scribal note added at the end of a tablet. EPISODE 21
Corona: THING: satellite images deriving from a US reconnaissance programme in the 1950s. EPISODE 22
Cosmoloid H 80: THING: a micro-crystalline wax that can be used to glue fragments of objects to each other. EPISODE 18
cuneiform: THING: writing system used in the ancient Middle East
Dani: GROUP: A people in New Guinea. EPISODE 19
Darius the Great: PERSON: ruler of the Persian “Achaemenid” empire. Reigned 522-486 BC. Under Darius, Persian rule stretched from India as far west as Eastern Europe,engulfing the ancient Middle East. EPISODE 8
Rients de Boer: PERSON: guest on EPISODE 5
Maria de Jong Ellis: PERSON: American assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Andrea Deagon: PERSON: classicist. EPISODE 28
Dilmun: PLACE: port on the Persian Gulf, in what is today Bahrain. EPISODE 12, EPISODE 30
Din-sharri: PLACE: Akkadian name for the Elamite city of Dun-sunki. EPISODE 30
The Diviners Manual: THING: an ancient handbook explaining the diviner’s craft. EPISODE 21
Diwaniyah: PLACE: area in southern Iraq. EPISODE 5
Diyala: PLACE: region in central Iraq. Location of Eshnunna. EPISODE 1, EPISODE 22
DUB NAM TAR: THING: Sumerian “Tablet of Destinies”. See Tablet of Destinies. EPISODE 7
Richard Dumbrill: PERSON: guest on EPISODE 3
Dun-sunki: PLACE: Elamite city. Also named Din-sharri in Akkadian. EPISODE 30
Dur-Abi-Hara: PLACE: Elamite city. Renamed Dur-Nabu by the Assyrians. Also known as Hara(n). EPISODE 30
Dur-Nabu: PLACE: Assyrian name for the Elamite city of Dur-Abi-Hara. EPISODE 30
Teoman Duralı: PERSON: author of Turkish translation of the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 16
Ea: DEITY: associated with the fourth string in Babylonian. Akkadian name of Enki. EPISODE 3, EPISODE 28
Tiffany Earley-Spadoni: PERSON: American historian. Guest on EPISODE 34
Early Dynastic: TIME: 2900-2300 BC
earth pigments: THING: pigments that you can get from rocks and stones and clay. EPISODE 19
Ebla: PLACE: site in Syria. EPISODE 13
Ecbatana: PLACE: important city in ancient Iran. Capital of the Median empire. Key centre in the Persian empire. Modern Hamadan. EPISODE 8
EDUU: THING: EU-funded project aiming to enhance Iraqi Cultural Heritage. EPISODE 13
Åse Eg: PERSON: Danish designer. EPISODE 28
Egyptian blue: THING: A synthetically produced blue pigment. Made by melting silica, alkali, and copper. EPISODE 19
Ekur-zakir: PERSON: a well-known temple exorcist from Uruk. EPISODE 21
Elam: PLACE: ancient western Iran. The eastern neighbour of Mesopotamia. Its territory included the provinces of Khuzestan, Luristan, and Fars. EPISODE 30
Electronic Babylonian Literature project: THING: project aimed at reconstructing Babylonian literature. EPISODE 16, EPISODE 21
El Muhattap: THING: small Turkish collection of cuneiform texts from Sippar. EPISODE 16
Emar: PLACE: city on the middle Euphrates, in what is today Syria. EPISODE 12
Karen Emmerich: PERSON: comparative literature specialist. EPISODE 28
Emulsifier: THING: Substance used to give paint volume. EPISODE 19
Enki: DEITY: Sumerian god of wisdom. Source of knowledge of how to fight demons. Sumerian name of Ea. EPISODE 4
Enki-mansum: PERSON: fictional character in Sumerian literature. EPISODE 2
Enkidu: PERSON: fictional wild man created as a match for Gilgamesh. EPISODE 28
Enlil: DEITY: Chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon. Holder of the Tablet of Destinies. EPISODE 7, EPISODE 28
Enlil-iqisha: PLACE: Assyrian name for the Elamite city of Samuna. EPISODE 30
Eridu: PLACE: city in southern Iraq. EPISODE 22
Eshnunna: PLACE: city in central Iraq. Kingdom during the Old Babylonian period. EPISODE 1
Eti: THING: old Turkish name for the Hittites. A famous food brand in Turkey. EPISODE 16
Euclid’s Elements: THING: mathematical text from Egypt during a period of Greek rule, c. 300 BC. EPISODE 11
Euphrates: RIVER: one of the two main rivers in Iraq. EPISODE 22, EPISODE 30
Anmar Abdul Fadhil: PERSON: Iraqi Assyriologist at the University of Baghdad. EPISODE 18
Saad Salman Fahad: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1
First Dynasty of Babylon: THING: The dynasty based in Babylon, ruling in the early second millennium BC. Including Hammurabi.
Sally Freedman: PERSON: American assyriologist. EPISODE 21
Paul Garelli: PERSON: French assyriologist. EPISODE 12
Gaumata: PERSON: a magus (a member of a priestly caste) who impersonated a dead prince (called Bardiya or Smerdis) to try and claim the Persian throne in 522 BC. Defeated by Darius. EPISODE 8
Tasli Geçit: PLACE: site in Turkey. EPISODE 13
Mark Geller: PERSON: British assyriologist. EPISODE 17
Andrew George: PERSON: British assyriologist. Author of a translation of the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 28
Ilgi Gerçek: PERSON: Turkish assyriologist. Guest on EPISODE 16
Gilgamesh: PERSON: legendary ruler of Uruk. Hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh. EPISODE 1. EPISODE 2. EPISODE 28
Girine-ishag: PERSON: “his foot is beautiful”. Fictional scribe in a Sumerian debate poem. Shame about his hand. Or was it his behaviour that was beautiful? EPISODE 2
Girsu: PLACE: city in southern Iraq. EPISODE 22
GISH HUR: THING: Sumerian term referring to the plans for the world. See Tablet of Destinies. EPISODE 7
Albrecht Goetze: PERSON: German-American assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Carlos Gonçalves: PERSON: Brazilian historian of science. Guest on EPISODE 11
Google Earth: THING: software presenting the earth using satellite images. EPISODE 22
Elynn Gorris: PERSON: Belgian cuneiform specialist. Guest in EPISODE 30
Grand Louvre: THING: project in 1980s and 1990s to enlarge the Louvre. EPISODE 24
Ariana Grande: PERSON: popular singer. EPISODE 15
The Great Transformation: THING: book by Karl Polanyi. EPISODE 20
Georg Friedrich Grotefend: PERSON: German philologist. Famous for his work deciphering cuneiform. EPISODE 8
Francoise Grillot-Susini: PERSON: French assyriologist. EPISODE 8
de Gruyter: PERSON: publishing company based in Germany. EPISODE 2
Gula: DEITY: goddess of healing. EPISODE 9
gum Arabic: THING: A natural gum typically made from tree sap. Used to control viscosity. EPISODE 19
Selim Halaf: PERSON: Director of Excavations, Iraq. EPISODE 13
hallulayah: THING: female demon. EPISODE 21
Hamilton: THING: Broadway musical. EPISODE 15
Hammurabi: PERSON: King of Babylon, 18th century BC
hamshu: THING: name of the fifth string in Babylonian. EPISODE 3
Hamurabi: THING: a pastry shop in Istanbul. hamur “dough” + abi “brother” https://hamurabi.com.tr. EPISODE 16
Hanunoo: THING: Language spoken in the Philippines. EPISODE 19
Hara(n): PLACE: Elamite city. Also named Dur-Abi-Hara in Akkadian. EPISODE 30
Tim Harrison: PERSON: Canadian archaeologist. EPISODE 13
Ridha al-Hashimi: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Hatra: PLACE: site in the Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. EPISODE 13
Hattusa: PLACE: capital of the Hittites. Turkey. EPISODE 16, EPISODE 17
Haya: DEITY: husband of Nisaba. EPISODE 1
hedgewitch: THING: someone who performs magic without formal training. EPISODE 4
Sophus Helle: PERSON: Danish assyriologist. EPISODE 28
heptatonic system: THING: a system of music that uses 7 notes. EPISODE 3
Michael Herles: PERSON: Honorary Research Fellow, LMU. EPISODE 25
heterophonic: THING: performance of music with simultaneous variation of a melodic line. EPISODE 3
Hilprecht collection: THING: Collection in Jena of objects from the ancient Middle East. EPISODE 18
Hippocratic corpus: THING: A collection of early Greek medical texts. EPISODE 17
David Hogarth: PERSON: British archaeologist. Former Keeper of the Ashmolean. EPISODE 6
hue: THING: Property of colour. Whether something is red or green, for example. EPISODE 19
Humbaba: CREATURE: guardian of the cedar forest in the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 4. EPISODE 28
humectant: THING: Substance used to keep paint moist. EPISODE 19
Laith Majid Hussein: PERSON: guest on EPISODE 3
Saddam Hussein: PERSON: ex-President of Iraq. EPISODE 28
ICAANE: THING: International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. EPISODE 25
ICONEA: THING: International Conference of Near Eastern Archaeomusicology. EPISODE 3
Idalu: PLACE: Elamite city. EPISODE 30
Ilkum: THING: corvee duty imposed by the kings of Babylon. EPISODE 5
Ipiq-Adad (II): PERSON: ruler of Eshnunna. Established the kingdom as a great power. EPISODE 1
Iraq Museum: THING: National museum of Iraq, in Baghdad. EPISODE 18
Ishtar-shum-eresh: PERSON: 7th century BC scribe who writes to the king of Assyria. EPISODE 21
Ishum: DEITY: a benevolent god. EPISODE 21
Ghareeb Iskander: PERSON: London-based Iraqi poet. EPISODE 28
Istanbul Sippar Project: THING: project to digitise the Sippar collections of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. EPISODE 16
Izeh plain: PLACE: location of the Elamite rock inscription at Kul-e Farah. EPISODE 30
Jacob Jawdat: PERSON: assyriologist/archaeologist in Iraq’s State Board of Antiquities and Heritage. Guest on EPISODE 5
jins/ajnas: THING: pitches used to make a maqam in Arabic music. EPISODE 3
Jericho: PLACE: site in West Bank Palestine. EPISODE 13
Enrique Jiménez: PERSON: Spanish assyriologist. EPISODE 16, EPISODE 18
Jonah: PERSON: biblical prophet. Said to have been buried at Nineveh. EPISODE 13
Jaafra Jotheri: PERSON: Iraqi geo-archaeologist. EPISODE 22
Judeans: GROUP: People from the kingdom of Judah.
Ahmed Jumaili: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 13
kaimakam: THING: an administrative region. EPISODE 13
Kanesh: PLACE: site of the main trading hub of the Old Assyrian network in Turkey. Ancient name for modern Kültepe. EPISODE 12, EPISODE 16, EPISODE 20
Kai Kaniuth: PERSON: Managing Director of the Department of Ancient and Modern Cultures, LMU. EPISODE 25
Yasmin Abdel Karim: PERSON: Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology, University of Mosul. EPISODE 13
Karun: PLACE: river in Iran. EPISODE 30
Kaskal: THING: academic journal. EPISODE 1
Kassites: GROUP: group based in western Iran. Ruling dynasty of Babylon in second millennium BC.
Adel Kazem: PERSON: Iraqi playwright. EPISODE 28
Kermanshah: PLACE: province in Iran. Home to Behistun. EPISODE 8
Khorsabad: PLACE: site of Assyrian capital, Dur-Sharrukin. EPISODE 14, EPISODE 24
Leonard William King: PERSON: British assyriologist. EPISODE 8
King Ghazi Landscape Museum: THING: new museum in the Diwaniyah region of Iraq. EPISODE 13
Kish: PLACE: city in central Iraq. EPISODE 5. EPISODE 6. EPISODE 10
Gina Konstantopoulos: PERSON: guest on EPISODE 4
Fikri Kulakoglu: PERSON: Turkish archaeologist. Excavator of Kültepe. EPISODE 12
Kültepe: PLACE: Modern name for ancient Kanesh. Near the city of Kayseri, in the Cappadocia region of Turkey. EPISODE 12
kur: THING: the Netherworld. EPISODE 4
Kujunjik: PLACE: mound at Nineveh. EPISODE 13
Kul-e Farah: PLACE: site of Elamite rock inscription by a local ruler called Hanni. EPISODE 30
Sevin Kutlu: PERSON: author of Turkish translation of the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 16
Lagash: PLACE: site in southern Iraq. EPISODE 7
lake pigments: THING: pigments that you can get from plant matter. EPISODE 19
lama: CREATURE: a demon, usually benevolent. EPISODE 4
lamashtu: CREATURE: a demon, malevolent. EPISODE 4
Late Babylonian: TIME: 539 BC-100 AD
T.E. Lawrence: PERSON: “Lawrence of Arabia”. British officer, author. EPISODE 6, EPISODE 13
Laws of Eshnunna: THING: set of laws. Older then Hammurabi’s famous laws
lexical lists: THING: lists of words used in scribal education. Bit like dictionaries
Liyan: PLACE: the only excavated Elamite port. Near modern Bushire, Iran. EPISODE 30
Seton Lloyd: PERSON: British archaeologist. EPISODE 1
Luhushshu: THING: a demon. EPISODE 21
Luristan: PLACE: province in western Iran. Source of “Luristan bronzes”, looted from 1920s. EPISODE 6, EPISODE 30
lyre: THING: musical instrument a bit like a harp. EPISODE 3
Madaktu: PLACE: Elamite city. EPISODE 30
Sait Maden: PERSON: author of Turkish translation of the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 16
Magan: PLACE: the area around modern Oman. A key trading partner in the Middle East. EPISODE 30
magus: THING: a member of a Persian priestly caste. EPISODE 8
Mahmiti: PLACE: Elamite harbour. EPISODE 30
Ahmad Hamid Majeed: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Florence Malbran-Labat: PERSON: French assyriologist. EPISODE 8
Malgium: PLACE: city in central Iraq. EPISODE 5
Max Mallowan: PERSON: British archaeologist. EPISODE 13
Mami: DEITY: goddess who mixes clay from the steppe with blood from a god to form the first human being. Character in Atra(m)hasis Epic. EPISODE 9
maqam: THING: system of melodic modes used in Arabic music. EPISODE 3
Marad: PLACE: city in southern Iraq. EPISODE 5
Nicolò Marchetti: PERSON: Italian archaeologist. Guest on EPISODE 13
Marduk: DEITY: chief deity of the Babylonian pantheon. Deity who helped exorcists fight demons. EPISODE 4, EPISODE 21
Mari: PLACE: city in eastern Syria. EPISODE 3
Jean-Luc Martinez: PERSON: President Director of the Musée du Louvre. EPISODE 24
mashmashu: THING: “exorcist”. Someone who drive off demons and helped treat the problems they caused. EPISODE 4, EPISODE 21
Paolo Matthiae: PERSON: Italian archaeologist. EPISODE 13, EPISODE 25
Jana Matuszak: : PERSON: guest on EPISODE 2
Maverick: THING: app offering high resolution satellite images. EPISODE 22
Barry McGuire: PERSON: folk singer. Singer of 1965 protest song “on the eve of destruction”. EPISODE 13
ME: THING: Sumerian term describing everything that makes up the civilised world. See Tablet of Destinies. EPISODE 7
melammu: THING: awe-inspiring aura of supernatural beings. EPISODE 28
Menshed Mutlaq Menshed: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Middle Assyrian: TIME: 1600-900 BC
Middle Babylonian: TIME: 1600-900 BC
milku: THING: Babylonian word meaning “advice”, such as offered to a ruler. EPISODE 28
Lin-Manuel Miranda: PERSON: Composer of Hamilton. EPISODE 15
Catherine Mittermayer: PERSON: Swiss assyriologist. EPISODE 21
Monument de Ninive: THING: lavish publication of the results of early French excavations. By Paul Emile Botta and Eugène Flandin (1849). EPISODE 15
Mosul: PLACE: city in northern Iraq. Location of ancient Nineveh. EPISODE 13, EPISODE 22
Mr. Murray: PERSON: Inspirational history teacher. EPISODE 15
Mr. Nicky’s World History Songs: THING: YouTube channel with history parody songs. EPISODE 15
Ahmad Kamil Muhammed: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1. EPISODE 5
musicology: THING: the study of music. EPISODE 3
Nabu-zuqup-kenu: PERSON: a well-known Assyrian scholar from Kalhu. EPISODE 21
Nagitu: PLACE: Elamite harbour. EPISODE 30
Nagitu raqqi: PLACE: probably a sabkha on the Elamite coast. EPISODE 30
Nagitu-di’bina: PLACE: fortified Aramean port under Neo-Elamite governance. EPISODE 30
Nahrein Network: THING: research project based at UCL. EPISODE 6
Hassan Nadhem: PERSON: Minister of Culture, Iraq, 2020. EPISODE 13
namburbu: THING: a ritual intended to avoid predicted misfortune. EPISODE 21
Nebi Yunus: PLACE: mound at Nineveh, thought to be the burial place of the prophet Jonah. EPISODE 13
Nebuchadnezzar (II): PERSON: ruler of Babylon in 7th century BC. EPISODE 5
Neo-Assyrian: TIME: 900-600 BC
Neo-Babylonian: TIME: 900-600 BC
Daniel Nicky: PERSON: “Mr Nicky”. American educator and musician. Guest on EPISODE 15
Carsten Niebuhr: PERSON: German scholar who worked for a Danish expedition exploring and documenting the Middle East. EPISODE 8
Nineveh: PLACE: ancient capital of Assyria. Located in Mosul. EPISODE 13, EPISODE 21, EPISODE 28
Nineveh Medical Encyclopaedia: THING: a systematic compendium of Assyrian medical texts. EPISODE 17
Ningirsu: DEITY: Deity of Lagash. EPISODE 7
Ninkuzu: PERSON: “the lady is wise”. Fictional female character in Sumerian debate poem “Two Women B”. EPISODE 2
Ninurta: DEITY: Warrior god. Son of Enlil. Defeated Anzu. EPISODE 7
Nippur: PLACE: city in southern Iraq. Religious centre of Sumer. EPISODE 2, EPISODE 3, EPISODE 16, EPISODE 23
Nisaba: DEITY: goddess of writing. EPISODE 1
nish tuhri: THING: “raising of the heel”. Interval in Babylonian music. EPISODE 3
nishu: THING: an excerpt of a text. EPISODE 21
Edwin Norris: PERSON: British assyriologist. EPISODE 8
ochre: THING: A natural clay earth pigment. Used to make reds and yellows. EPISODE 19
Old Akkadian: TIME: 2300-2100 BC
Old Assyrian: TIME: 2000-1600 BC
Old Assyrian Colony Period: TIME: around the 19th century BC, in northern Iraq
Old Babylonian: TIME: 2000-1600 BC
Old Persian: THING: an ancient language of Iran. Also the name for a type of cuneiform writing used by the Persians. EPISODE 8
ophthalmologist: THING: A type of doctor specialising in eye medicine. EPISODE 17
Oracc: THING: web portal offering free access to cuneiform texts and explanatory information. EPISODE 2
organology: THING: the study of musical instruments. EPISODE 3
Adelheid Otto: PERSON: professor for Near Eastern Archaeology at LMU, Munich. Guest on EPISODE 25
Ottoman period: TIME: period of Turkish rule of Iraq, 1534–1704 and 1831–1920. EPISODE 13
Ottoman Civil List: THING: Hazine-i Hassa (also called the Department of the Privy Purse in English) administered the investments and properties of the Ottoman emperor, which (during the reign of Abdülhamid II) included substantial lands around the vilayet of Baghdad, including Abu-Habbah/Sippar. Episode 16
Owning the Past: from Mesopotamia to Iraq: THING: temporary exhibition at the Ashmolean. EPISODE 6
Müge Özcan: PERSON: Curator in the cuneiform archive of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums. EPISODE 16
pandemonium: THING: a collective term for all the demons. EPISODE 4
Paraloid B 72: THING: A resin very common used for consolidation or bonding of archaeological objects. EPISODE 18
Saber Amiri Parian: PERSON: independent scholar based in Iran. Guest on EPISODE 8
pazuzu: CREATURE: a demon, benevolent. EPISODE 4
pentatonic system: THING: a system of music that uses 5 notes. EPISODE 3
Phoenicians: GROUP: culture originating on the eastern Mediterranean coast. EPISODE 24
Pi-Kasi: PLACE: city in southern Iraq. Ancient name of Tell Abu Antiq. EPISODE 5
pitu: THING: “opening”. Interval in Babylonian music. EPISODE 3
Sara Pizzimenti: PERSON: Italian archaeologist. EPISODE 13
Victor Place: PERSON: French archaeologist, excavator of Khorsabad. EPISODE 24
Le Plateau de Saclay: PLACE: cluster of important research institutions near Paris. EPISODE 24
Plato: PERSON: Greek philosopher. EPISODE 12
Karl Polanyi: PERSON: Austro-Hungarian economic historian. EPISODE 20
Polyvinyl Butyral 30: THING: a resin used to form strong bonds, to glue fragments of objects to each other. EPISODE 18
Harry Potter: PERSON: fictional wizard. EPISODE 28
Pre-Sargonic: TIME: 2300-2100 BC
Prostration Hemerology: THING: ancient text setting out ritual instructions for certain times of the year. EPISODE 16
pyxides: THING: plural of pyxis, a small box. EPISODE 13
qablitu: THING: “middle”. The middle interval in Babylonian music. EPISODE 3
qudmu: THING: name of the first string in Babylonian. EPISODE 3
Karen Radner: PERSON: Austrian assyriologist. EPISODE 16
Rahmaniyah: PLACE: village on the site of Nineveh. EPISODE 13
Muzaffer Ramazanoğlu: PERSON: author of Turkish translation of the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 16
Qais Rashid: PERSON: former Chair of SBAH, Iraq. EPISODE 13
Hormuzd Rassam: PERSON: Iraqi archaeologist. EPISODE 16
Henry Creswicke Rawlinson: PERSON: British assyriologist. Famous for his work deciphering cuneiform. EPISODE 8
Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale: THING: academic conference focused on the ancient Middle East. EPISODE 25
Rainer Marie Rilke: PERSON: Austrian poet. EPISODE 28
Eleanor Robson: PERSON: British historian. Professor at UCL. Director of Nahrein Network. EPISODE 6
Elisa Roẞberger: PERSON: German archaeologist. Guest on EPISODE 9.
RTI imaging: THING: Reflectance Transformation Imaging. Technique for displaying images of objects under varying lighting. EPISODE 16
Zaid Ghazi Saadallah: PERSON: director of Mosul museum. EPISODE 24
sabkha: THING: a coastal flatland. EPISODE 30
Mohammed Sabri: PERSON: Iraqi archaeologist. EPISODE 13
Khalid Salim: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 13
Samati: GROUP: Elamite tribe. EPISODE 30
Samsu-iluna: PERSON: Ruler of Babylon during the early second millennium BC. EPISODE 5
Samuna: PLACE: Elamite city. Renamed Enlil-iqisha by the Assyrians. Also known as Zamin. EPISODE 30
N.K. Sandars: PERSON: British archaeologist. EPISODE 16
Sanskrit: THING: a classical language of India. EPISODE 8
Sargon of Akkad: PERSON: ruler of Akkad and the Akkadian empire c. 2300 BC. EPISODE 10
Sargonic: TIME: 2300-2100 BC
Sassanian period: TIME: Period of rule by an Iranian dynasty, c. 224–651 AD. EPISODE 22
saturation: THING: Property of colour. How pure the hue is. EPISODE 19
SBAH: THING: the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Baghdad. EPISODE 22
Jean-Vincent Scheil: PERSON: French assyriologist. EPISODE 16
Michael Schmidt: PERSON: poet. EPISODE 28
Sealand Dynasty: THING: dynasty ruling in southern Iraq during the second millennium BC. EPISODE 5
sebettu: CREATURE: group of 7 chaotic demons. EPISODE 4
second degree equation: THING: a kind of equation containing an element that is squared. EPISODE 11
Seleucid period: TIME: c. 312–64 BC. Period of rule by a Greek dynasty
Sennacherib: PERSON: King of Assyria. EPISODE 13
sexagesimal system: THING: a way of counting using 60s (instead of 10s like the modern decimal system). EPISODE 11
Shahnameh: THING: national epic of Iran. Written by Ferdowsi around 1000 AD. EPISODE 8
shalshu qatnu: THING: name of the third string in Babylonian. EPISODE 3
Shamash: DEITY: sun god, god of justice. EPISODE 1
shari’ raisiyah: THING: “presidential road” in the north of Mosul. EPISODE 13
shedu: CREATURE: a demon, usually benevolent. EPISODE 4
Dahlia Shehata: PERSON: German assyriologist. Guest on EPISODE 7.
sherds (also: shards): THING: Fragments of pottery. EPISODE 18
Shuanna: SITE: area of the city of Babylon. EPISODE 23
Shumma Alu: THING: an omen collection for predicting the future based on things that happened during daily life. EPISODE 21
Shutruk-Nahhunte: PERSON: Elamite king in 12th century BC. EPISODE 30
Shutrukid: GROUP: Elamite dynasty c. 1200-970 BC. EPISODE 30
Sin-abushu: PERSON: ruler of Eshnunna. EPISODE 1
Sin-sharra-ishkun: PERSON: King of Assyria. EPISODE 13
sinter crust: THING: A chemical sediment that can form over a period of time on the surfaces of archaeological objects. EPISODE 18
Sippar: PLACE: city in northern Babylonia. EPISODE 12, EPISODE 16, EPISODE 17
Walid Siti: PERSON: Iraqi painter. EPISODE 28
Skunha: PERSON: Scythian ruler defeated by Darius. EPISODE 8
Smerdis: PERSON: Persian prince who was impersonated by the usurper, Gaumata. EPISODE 8
Standard Babylonian: THING: Literary style of Akkadian. Commonly used in the first millennium BC. EPISODE 7, EPISODE 28
Stephen Simmons: PERSON: American assyriologist. EPISODE 1
George Smith: PERSON: British assyriologist famous for discovering the Flood Story, part of the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 28
Morten Søndergaard: PERSON: Danish poet. EPISODE 28
Piotr Steinkeller: PERSON: American assyriologist. EPISODE 20
Michael Streck: PERSON: German assyriologist. EPISODE 12
Orhan Suda: PERSON: author of Turkish translation of the Gilgamesh Epic. EPISODE 16
Amir Suleiman: PERSON: Iraqi assyriologist. EPISODE 1, EPISODE 13
Sultantepe: PLACE: site in southern Turkey. EPISODE 7, EPISODE 17
Sumer: PLACE: southern part of southern Iraq
Sümeraslan: PERSON: “Lion (of) Sumer”. Surname of Ilgi Gerçek’s paternal grandmother. The name was acquired by her paternal great-grandfather, Ahmet Hamdi, who belonged to the Circassian community in Egypt that was resettled in various Ottoman territories in the 19th century. The name Sümer is common among the Circassian-Turkish communities, likely due to the idea—popular in the early Republic—that various Caucasian communities were related to the “Sumerians”). Episode 16
Susa: PLACE: important city in ancient Iran. Home to the Elamites. And one of the capitals of the Achaemenid Persian empire. EPISODE 7, EPISODE 8, EPISODE 30
Rayyane Tabet: PERSON: contemporary Lebanese artist. EPISODE 15
Tablet of Destinies: THING: A mythical tablet granting great power to whoever holds it. EPISODE 7
Taxonomy: THING: The science of naming, describing and classifying . EPISODE 17
Tell Abu Antiq: PLACE: site in southern Iraq. Modern name for Pi-Kasi. EPISODE 5
Tell Asmar: PLACE: site in central Iraq. EPISODE 5
Tell Deheila: PLACE: site in southern Iraq. EPISODE 22
Tell Harmal: PLACE: site in central Iraq. EPISODE 1
Tell Jeghayman: PLACE: site in southern Iraq. EPISODE 5
Tell Khaysh: PLACE: site in southern Iraq. EPISODE 5
Tell Masbah: PLACE: site in southern Iraq. EPISODE 5
Tell Zeghaytan: PLACE: site in southern Iraq. EPISODE 5
terracotta: THING: object of an artistic type, made of clay and fired. Most importantly, 3D figurines and relief plaques. EPISODE 9
Ali Hazeem Thanoon: PERSON: chief of the Mosul branch of SBAH, 2020. EPISODE 13
The Evil Mouth: THING: Sumerian literary composition. EPISODE 2
Thing: THING: public assembly among the Vikings. EPISODE 12
Reginald Campbell Thompson: PERSON: British archaeologist and assyriologist. EPISODE 8, EPISODE 13, EPISODE 17
Ingolf Thuesen: PERSON: professor of archaeology at the University of Copenhagen. EPISODE 25
Tigris: RIVER: one of the two main rivers in Iraq. EPISODE 22, EPISODE 30
Tikrit: CITY: city in northern Iraq. EPISODE 22
Tilmen Höyük: PLACE: site in Turkey. EPISODE 13
tone: THING: Property of colour. How much white or black a colour contains. EPISODE 19
trachoma: THING: An infectious eye disease. EPISODE 17
Meghan Trainor: PERSON: popular singer. EPISODE 15
Gabriel Tranchand: PERSON: photographer on the French expedition to Asssyria, 1840s. EPISODE 24
Aaron Tugendhaft: PERSON: guest on EPISODE 14
TUPPI SHIMATI: THING: Akkadian “Tablet of Destinies”. See Tablet of Destinies. EPISODE 7
Turukku: PLACE: area in northern Iraq. EPISODE 5
Two Women A: THING: Sumerian literary composition. EPISODE 2
Two Women B: THING: Sumerian literary composition. EPISODE 2
Ubaid period: TIME: A prehistoric period in Mesopotamia, c. 6500–3800 BC. EPISODE 22
UD GAL NUN: THING: Difficult group of Sumerian from the middle of the third millennium BC. EPISODE 7
udug: CREATURE: a demon, and general name for demon. Usually malevolent. EPISODE 4
Ugarit: PLACE: city on the Syrian coast. EPISODE 3, EPISODE 17
Umma: PLACE: city in southern Iraqi. EPISODE 20
Ur: PLACE: city in southern Iraq. EPISODE 5. EPISODE 6. EPISODE 10
Ur III: TIME: 2100-2000 BC
Urartu: PLACE: Armenia/eastern Turkey
Uruk: PLACE: city in southern Iraq. EPISODE 5, EPISODE 11, EPISODE 21, EPISODE 23, EPISODE 28
Uruk IV: TIME: c. 3400-3100 BC
Uruk-Warka collection: THING: Collection in Heidelberg of objects from the ancient Middle East. EPISODE 18
Utnapishtim: PERSON: fictional hero of the Babylonian Flood Story. EPISODE 28
Francois Vallat: PERSON: French assyriologist. EPISODE 8
Johannes (Jan) Jacobus van Dijk: PERSON: Dutch assyriologist. EPISODE 1
Vorderasiatisches Museum [Near East Museum]: THING: Museum in Berlin where a large collection of objects from the ancient Middle East are curated. EPISODE 18
waklum: Assyrian term for the chair of the assembly. EPISODE 12
West Point Military Academy: THING: United States Military Academy / West Point. US federal training facility for army officers. EPISODE 15
Franz Wiggermann: PERSON: Dutch assyriologist well-known for research on supernatural creatures. EPISODE 4
Woman Perfecting Evil: THING: Sumerian literary composition. EPISODE 2
Tony Wilkinson: PERSON: British archaeologist. Specialist in landscape archaeology. EPISODE 5, EPISODE 22
Sir Leonard Woolley: PERSON: British archaeologist. Famous as the excavator of Ur. EPISODE 12
Wrong Studio: THING: Danish design studio. EPISODE 28
Yahrurum shaplum: PLACE: “lower Yahrurum”. Ancient province in southern Iraq. Home to the city of Pi-Kasi. EPISODE 5
zaluzi: THING: type of Hurrian musical work. EPISODE 3
Zamin: PLACE: Elamite city. Also named Samuna in Akkadian. EPISODE 30
Zari: GROUP: Elamite tribe. EPISODE 30
Zipang: THING: group of storytellers bringing ancient Iraqi stories to life for modern audiences, in English, Arabic and Kurdish. EPISODE 2