a little history of the world: sunday, monday… (3)
A short history of the world: the day of the sun, the day of the moon, ......（3）
they also found round seals and inscribed clay tablets in those tombs.
They also found round stamps and clay tablets with inscriptions in those tombs.
however, the inscriptions were not in hieroglyphs, but in a totally different script that was, if anything, even harder to decipher.
However, the inscriptions were not written in hieroglyphs, but in a completely different script, which, if anything, was more difficult to decipher.
this was because pictures had been replaced by neatly incised single strokes ending in a small **or wedge.
This is because the drawings are replaced by neatly aligned strokes that end in a small triangle or wedge.
the script is called cuneiform, meaning wedge-shaped.
This type of writing is called cuneiform, which means cuneiform.
books made of papyrus were unknown to the mesopotamians.
The Mesopotamians did not know about books made of papyrus.
they inscribed these signs into tablets of soft clay, which they then baked hard in ovens.
They carved the symbols on a soft clay board and then baked them hard in the oven.
huge numbers of these ancient tablets h**e been found, some recounting long and wonderful stories, such as that of the hero gilgamesh and his battles with monsters and dragons.
A large number of such ancient clay tablets have been found, some of which tell long and wonderful stories, such as the hero Gilgamesh and his battles with monsters and dragons.
on other tablets kings boast of their deeds: the temples they h**e built for all eternity, and all the nations they h**e conquered.
On other clay tablets, kings boasted of their deeds: the temples they had built for eternity, and all the nations they had conquered.
there are also tablets on which merchants recorded their business dealings – contracts, receipts and inventories of goods – and thanks to these we know that, even before the babylonians and assyrians, the ancient sumerians were already great traders.
There are also clay tablets that record merchants' business dealings—contracts, receipts, and lists of goods—and thanks to these, we know that the ancient Sumerians were great merchants even before the Babylonians and Assyrians.
their merchants could calculate with ease, and plainly knew the difference between what was lawful and what was not.
Their merchants are able to calculate easily and know exactly what is legal and what is illegal.
one of the first babylonian kings to rule over the whole region left a long and important inscription, engr**ed in stone.
One of the first Babylonian kings to rule over the region left a long but important inscription carved into stone.
it is the oldest law-book in the world, and is known as the code of hammurabi.
It is the oldest legal code in the world and is known as the Code of Hammurabi.
his name may sound as if it comes out of a storybook, but there is nothing fanciful about his laws – they are strict and just.
His name sounds as if it came out of a fairy tale, but his laws are not illusory - they are strict and just.
so it is worth remembering when king hammurabi lived: around 1700 bc, that is some 3,700 years ago.
Therefore, it is worth remembering the era in which King Hammurabi lived: about 1700 BC, that is, about 3700 years ago.
the babylonians, and the assyrians after them, were disciplined and hardworking, but they didn’t paint cheerful pictures like the egyptians.
The Babylonians and the Assyrians who came after them were disciplined and hard-working people, but they did not paint a picture of happiness like the Egyptians.
most of their statues and reliefs show kings out hunting, or inspecting kneeling captives bound in chains, or foreign tribes-people fleeing before the wheels of their chariots, and warriors attacking fortresses.
Most of their statues and reliefs show kings going out hunting, or checking on the prostrated captives of chain**, or foreign tribesmen fleeing at the wheels of their chariots, and warriors attacking forts.
the kings look forbidding, and h**e long black ringlets and rippling beards.
With their jet-black curls and wavy beards, the kings looked intimidating.
they are also sometimes shown **sacrifices to baal, the sun god, or to the moon goddess ishtar or astarte.
They can also sometimes be seen offering sacrifices to the gods, such as Baal, the sun goddess, Ishtar, or Astarti, the moon goddess.