After harboring it since the 1980s, Italy has returned a piece of Iraq’s history, marking another success in the nation’s attempts to retrieve all it lost in the war.
Across the world, there are a number of ancient relics and artifacts that tell us information about what the world was like many, many years ago. Often, these relics end up being taken from their homes and displayed in other countries.
One such artifact, a 2,800-year-old stone tablet, has recently been returned to Iraq after spending years in Italy. Now back in its home country, the artifact has been put on display for all to see.
The Artifact
The tablet itself is estimated to come from present-day northern Iraq. It is thought to have been carved between 858 and 823 BC, during the reign of Shalmaneser III, the Assyrian king who ruled the region at the time. It bears his insignia, as well as a bunch of ancient text.
The text that covers the face of the tablet is cuneiform, a language of wedge-shaped characters that can be seen on similar items from Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit. The language has also been referred to as Babylonian, which is one of the civilizations that used such cuneiform symbols.
After being returned to Iraq, the tablet was given over to The Iraq Museum.
How It Ended Up in Italy
It is not entirely clear to anyone how the object ended up in Italy. The tablet was first found there when it was seized by Italian police in the 1980s.
Iraqi Culture Minister Ahmed Badrani theorized that it was likely found during the archaeological excavations of the Mosul Dam. The dam is the largest in Iraq and it sits on the Tigris River. It opened in 1986 after extensive excavation in the region.
The History of Iraq
Iraq has long been referred to as the cradle of civilization. We can trace the very first alphabets and systems of writing as well as the very first systems of justice back to the region, with civilizations like the Sumerians and Babylonians developing such things earlier than anywhere else.
The present-day country is located in a very similar place to Ancient Mesopotamia, which has a history that reaches as far back as the Lower Paleolithic period, also known as the Old Stone Age. Also within the Iraqi border is the ancient land of Sumer, which is generally recognized to be the earliest civilization.
Iraq has been home to not only early language and literature, but significant early advancements in astronomy, mathematics, law, and philosophy — all while ruled and run by its indigenous people.
The land was, however, conquered in 539 BC by Cyrus The Great, the ‘King of Babylon’. After that, Iraq briefly belonged to the Greeks, the Parthians, the Romans, and then the Persians. In the 8th century, Iraq became the center of Islamic rule, with Baghdad named the capital. The city flourished, and once again Iraq was a center for culture, science, and intellectualism.
In more recent years, Iraq has been subject to the Iraq War (or Second Gulf War). This started after a US-led coalition invaded Iraq in order to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein. The war ended in 2011, and the current leaders of the country have since set out to return any and all lost artifacts to the nation in an effort to return the country to its status as a central point in the history of man and culture.
According to a member of the Iraqi state, Iraq has since managed to recover about 17,000 artifacts from the United States and 364 from Lebanon. They are still undergoing discussions with France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, and Jordan to retrieve further pieces of the nation’s history.
Between 2017 and 2022, it is estimated that a total of 30,000 pieces were recovered by the Iraqi government. The state, as of 2023, had committed itself to working with UNESCO to recover everything it could. There are also a number of items being held in Iraqi embassies and antiquity loan centers around the world until there is suitable storage and/or display space available in Iraq.
However, the general consensus is that this is not enough. A member of the state said: “What was recovered is small. There are pieces still sold in auctions in the US and Britain and in other countries. We need greater diplomatic efforts and international cooperation.”
Babylonian Alphabets and Cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system that was used from the Bronze Age right up until the beginning of what is known as the Common Era (CE). The language uses wide wedge-shaped figures. It is thought to have developed first for the Sumerian language.
In terms of deciphering the language, the first recorded decipherment came at the beginning of the 19th century. By the mid-19th century, the name Achaemenides, as well as consonants m, n, k, and z had been deciphered from the alphabet.
Other Iraqi Pieces of History
Due to Iraq’s ties to human history, there are a number of important and brilliant artifacts that belong to the country. One just has to take a stroll around the Iraq Museum or look around the website to understand this.
The Museum of Iraq, in Baghdad, is home to collections from over the span of 5,000 years. In it, there are displays dedicated to the ancient Sumerian, the Assyrian, and Babylonian civilizations.
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Migz
Millie Ramm
Millie has been writing since she was a child, and has spent more time with her nose in books than anywhere else. She has been ghostwriting novels and editing for the past few years, and when not working she is curled up with her cats, looking for her next read.
