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I love that we got a spoiler alert for literally the oldest piece of literature in the world.

Fun fact: the Name "Iraq/Irak"(العراق) is the Arabicized name for the name of the sumerian city of Uruk(عوروق/اوروك) And the name Iraq give the same meaning as the greek word Mesopotamia

Man, you have got next level of understanding and comprehension of religious ideas and practices. Your every content is a master piece. However I am wonder to see the limited number of subscribers as I think you should have millions of subscribers. By the way I wish you luck

You just made me happy for providing 44min of Ancient Mesopotamia's religion in this episode. Thanks!

34:25 "And prayer atones for guilt." Sounds like an Ancient way of saying that dutiful introspection is the way to a peaceful life. Our Ancient ancestors definitely had a wisdom beyond what most modern people would think. I love some spiritual brain-food and your channel always delivers top quality material.

Very interesting and clearly presented. I appreciate your comments on the differences between non-Abrahamic mythology and the linear, “one-version-fits-all” approach taken by the current dominant Western religions.

Always happy to see popular channels provide in-depth information on Mesopotamia, something that was severely lacking in most of our education despite it being a foundational civilization. Also glad to see sources like Van De Mieroop, and excited to check out Tzvi. Very good job all :)

This is my 1st time watching you. Very good. Thank you so much. I'm American Indian and I am SO FASCINATED that many tribal creation stories are similar. Animism, yet celebrating the Great Spirit/Father or the Great Mother.

I really respect this guys unbiased approach to ancient Mesopotamia. You just see so many videos where they fill in all the gaps with conspiracy theorys. It's appreciated that he states that where these gaps are in their culture and mythology. He also states the facts how there commonly known amongst historians and anthropologist. You've earned yourself a new fan! Great work 👏

This is excellent timing. Just had my first session of my first history class in college on ancient Mesopotamia and one of my favorite youtubers makes such an excellent video on the topic. Thank you so much, love your channel

This was a great refresher course for me. I had taken for granted how long ago I learned all of this. It was nice to be sort of reintroduced to the Mesopotamian deities. I spend most of my time being on the fence about whether or not these gods are technically extraterrestrials or ultraterrestrials or just ancient deities.

History and the myths of the antiquities captivates me. And your channel with quality contents is a treat. Have you ever conaidered about making a video on Totems?☺️ would love to see you making it.

Filip: This was quite an overview of a super complex topic. Every sentence in your video could be expanded into hours of academic research. It was an excellent summary and introduction at the same time. I took several courses on Mesopotamia for my MA in ANE; hence I have a background in the material. I have one minor objection, the use of the Yazılıkaya relief from Hattusa. AFAIK, there is no connection between the Hittite and Mesopotamian gods. An image of Oannes would be a good addition. Congratulation on a tour de force presentation!

This culture is extremely interesting to me and I'm happy I found you, thanks! I wish we knew more about cultures that are even older, like Gobekli Tepi, and how the same types of construction and symbolism are connected all over the ancient world. I think it's interesting the Sumerians understood the role of sperm and eggs, when people after them didn't.

25:57 correction Gilgamesh doesn't realize that achieving immortality is impossible. It is very much possible within the context of the story he is just thwarted in his endeavour. And then he comes to a realization that the true immortality lies in being a good king and being remembered as such.

This was my favorite video of the channel so far, and probably the most sober and inspiring account on the mysteries of the mesopotamia, I really loved this. Thank you so much for your work, clarity and generosity

Have you ever thought about doing a video on the Christian mystic Hildegard von Bingen? If you hadn't heard of her I suggest you check it out, not only was she an influential medieval mystic and visionary (thus the nickname Sibyl of the Rhine), she was also a very influential musician who composed many pieces inspired by her visions. She is also considered to be one of the few female Doctors of the Church within Catholicism.

I have been waiting for this one. Mesopotamia is one of my obsessions and the religion in particular. Wish I had this video when I was learning for the first time. Great work man you never disappoint.

So much interesting stuff, but I have to say I think one of the most fascinating aspects is how prosaic the origin story of humanity is in their mythology. A lot of religions try to romanticize human beings as having some sort of grand purpose to the divinity of said religion, but in this case it was popularly understood that humans were created to be servants, like a roomba or something.

I love all the videos you make,so I am sure this one will be as good as all the previous ones

Really great stuff. Thank you. It’s amazing that such substantial information is available for the public.

Thank you for this clear, educational video and all the work you do, it's very helpful! Please do more videos on this topic, I'm fascinated! *!*

A truly wonderful, uplifting history lesson, thank you! Your mastery of the material, clarity of expostion and richness of graphical content put your channel in a league of its own. I hope you will consider future episodes tracing the diffusion of ancient Sumerian theology, mathematics and astronomy/astrology throughout the region and indeed around the world. They are with us still. It's wonderful that you are bridging the past and the present with such probitive elegance and clear respect for our ongoing spiritual search on Earth. Bravo!

Wonderful episode. You cleared up a few things for me about the Mesopotamian religion that hadn't been clear to me before. Thank you!

Fantastic overview! I love the design of your lecture, with pictures, useful source material, as well as scholarly quotes. Thank you for compiling this information and sharing it online!

24:33 a very interesting explanation I have seen for the similarities between the Mesopotamian flood story (Atrahasis) and the biblical one was that Noah's Ark was supposed to be an alternative telling Atrahasis (which would have been well known at the time) to serve as a version of the story that would have key differences that would help promote the religion and explain the differing theological positions and points for example: -in Atrahasis there are various gods (in Noah's Ark there is only one) -in Atrahasis the flood happened because the humans were annoying to the gods while in Noah's Ark one it happens as just retribution for the humans being bad -in Atrahasis the humans were saved because of an opposing god while Noah's Ark god takes action to save some of his creations -in Atrahasis at the end of the story the humans are cursed while in Noah's Ark god enters a covenant with the humans great video by the way :)

My great grandmother used to bake bread in the sun as an offering to Shamash, even after our family eventually converted to Christianity.

Great pace, great content. Very educational. Thank you.

I am so grateful for this video. I am writing philosophical fiction and this video has given me precisely the correct food for thought to impart into the story I am writing now, which includes a lot of religious world building. Your work, along with that of your friends on other channels is invaluable to us who are lost in thought and attempted understanding so thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope to become a patron some day soon.

Been waiting for this episode for a very long time next should be the role and influence of ancient Egyptian religions and beliefs on today's world religions namely the ibrahmic religions

Please continue with Mesopotamian religion! You're the first to throughly go over what the area believed with absolute respect to the science backing it all up. Thank you so very much.

I love your videos, I always learn more about things I thought I knew a lot about.

So helpful to understand the religious mindset of ancient people! Thank you!

That was fascinating and informative. Very well done. Thank you!

I love this presentation. Different religions , show to me anyways. What it means being human. The mysterious of life, trying to explain life, questions on what is morality. Subjects that may never be resolved, buts that’s okay.

Very fine video. Well researched and presented. I enjoy your scholastic offerings very much.

Love it ❤ thanks for the great content!

I think this is a great introduction to this huge and complex topic :)

Fascinating stuff as usual. Great work!

Another excellent presentation from Let's Talk Religion. Very informative.

Superb! Thanks so much. Endlessly interesting. I love that you refer to these religions as cults. Very accurate I think...pretty much with all religions.

It would be very interesting if you could do an episode on the old stone age animistic religions that proceeded polytheism or the trsnsation period between animism and religions with Gods that we know from written history. What human needs and environments made people give up animistic religions and take up polytheism in almost all places in the old world? And was polytheism an idea that one civilization came up with and others influenced by or was it a natural evolution that every region went through independently?

I now have a much better understanding of these amazing people and their God's. Thank you very much for putting this together for us...

Fantastic episode Filip! Thank you so much for covering this. I have been enthralled by Mesopotamian religion for some time, it's pretty amazing stuff. You mentioned briefly witchcraft, and this is something I have also been trying to research myself. I wonder how intertwined, if at all, some of these very ancient belief systems like the Mesopotamian peoples had were with what we now call witchcraft. I've always viewed witchcraft as more or less one of the earliest roots of what would later become "religion". A kind of folk religion even. Do you think this could have been something of a source or seed for some of the older belief systems, like that of the Mesopotamian peoples?

Great presentation as usual, Filip: your talent for synthesising complex issues in short and yet articulate videos, stands out every time.

You're a gem bro!!!!! Long live Enlil, Anu, Inanna and all the ancient Gods of Mesopotamia.

What a fantastic presenter and superb content.

Thank you for sharing your research and understanding of this topic. Ancient Mesopotamia culture and religion have always been fascinating to me, and there is a lot of misinformation out there regarding it. You did an excellent job at explaining it!

Good video. If anyone is interested the Fall of Civilizations pod cast has several in depth historiographies on ancient civilizations.

I recommend anyone who wants to learn more about this to look for Irving Finkel's lectures, there's a lot of them available on youtube, they're a delight to listen to partially because Dr. Finkel is hilarious and insightful in equal measures. I particularly recommend his lecture on exorcism and necromancy in Akkadian culture, its just fascinating

so fascinating. such necessary knowledge. fantastic video, love all the images. incredible!

Very interesting indeed. Thank you. I found very interesting the correlation between the word marine and the name Mariam. Is it possible they derive from the same root? So many mysteries in this world

In Gobekli Tepe, in Anatolia, there's evidence that the settlements had been sites of worship before they were made permanent, and perhaps before the people who used it were primarily agricultural. When I hear that Mesopotamian cities grew from their centers of worship, it makes me wonder if the area was used ritually even before the establishment of a proper Mesopotamian civilization or the farming groups that preceded it.

This video is just amazing! I have a muslim background and for the whole video things ringed bells in my head like i have heard this somewhere. This video is so interesting, it helped me understand more how the ideas people believed in and still believe in came to life.

Another great video filip. Thank you for presenting about ancient Mesopotamia. because i always interested in ancient Mesopotamia.

Amazing as usual with precise and focused session. I don’t know if you have read the book by Fustel de Coulange “the ancient city” . Has a theory about the origin of religion, it starts with all religions but ends up with the Greeks.

If you practice different religions, to see what you experience, I found it beneficial for seeing patterns emerge. And storytelling is like a nuemonic that unfolds wisdom to true seekers. 🚫⏳🥳🎁

If you continue on this mode, you surely be an authority in this field.

Very clearly explained - thank you

This is amazing. Have you done a video on Hinduism? I'm just finishing up the Mahabharata, and here is a religion that is so complicated, the gods mentioned in the book are confused about it. Be interesting to see a video on this intricate religion.

I would love a time trip back to when Sumar was at its height.

Wonderful job. Absolutely brilliant.

Sublime as always, thanks a lot for your videos

Absolutely great episode. I hope you do more on astrology and Mesopotamia.

Interesting topic might be to expand on this and discuss in further detail the religion of the Babylonians at the time of Alexander’s entrance and conquest, a further detail on the religion of Alexander at that time, and then a section on the Hellenization of the Babylonian system, impact, syncretism, etc.

Thank you for your colossal research and work, there is so much to take in ...

Very interesting and well done! Thanks for the information

entirely fascinating, and so well researched and clearly delivered, thank you

I really admire your work

Thank you! Assyriology isn’t covered enough

Thank you for filling many holes in my knowledge of Mesopotamia.

So, essentially, according to the oldest civilization known to man, the human race is a genetically engineered slave race, created for the sole purpose of providing labor for the gods. That is a fascinating, if not controversial take on the creation of humanity.

Look forward to a deeper dive into this subject, coming from your wonderfully pragmatic approach 🙏💖

Brilliant 👏! This looks like family 👪 ❤️ Firstly I loved your tone all the way through - even in the middle of such beautiful poetry I had to laugh at the lonely traveller (merchant) out in the open at night who prayed to his God though his God was even asleep 😴 💤 🙏 ❤️ ♥️ I got the feeling that to honour the gods was really to show dedication to the 'state' that had been created in their shade and protection that of course was built by humans and long before the 'egigi' (?) The 'freedom' to follow a different line of the pantheon on a domestic level gives a modern dare I say Catholic and/or Anglican ( at least in Christianity ) flavour where Saints and the like can take on the meaning of an exhalted personal talisman - and something to announce ones reputation before you. The imagery is superb and has so much movement and life as compared to the hieroglyphics of Egypt. That alone makes me think a great deal was lost to later civilisations much as likely happened twixt the pre-Mayan pre-Inca and the Aztecs etc. I am getting old myself and can't possibly relate to my extended family all that I would like to on the relatively rare occasions we are gathered together for. Sadly something lovely will be lost. But I would be emmanently glad and satisfied if someone had a general grasp of the salient features of my generation as you just gave for the many generations you just honoured. Thank you sooo much for making religion sensible. Now I can easily dispense with the dogma and the dispicable deeds the call to salvation or of a righteous struggle where surely untrammelled progress is indicated. You have given a great picture of how religion mediates the mass of population with all the power (man hours) and productive strength and magnificence it can be put to with the exhalted personal powers invested in a ruler or head of state - someone's ear is in need of pulling even at the most settled of times. As above (in the palace) so below (in the home) - the people get to see that the ruler rules because of the rules. Great work, absolutely great 👍

Great video! Hopefully you'll dive deeper into this culture!

I've been looking for a sane religion/ middle Eastern archaeology based channel. This is the first video I've seen so far,, I like what I'm seeing.

Excellent video on a complex topic, thank you!

I’m absolutely ecstatic. I have been so interested in these cultures and you are my favorite historian for this type of information. Thank you my friend!! All the Abrahamic religions bases.

Great video! Thanks for doing the research.

How did the Mesopotamians influence Greek philosophy? I'd love to watch a video about that.

Great video thank you. Very well delivered

Please keep up the Great Work! 👍

BRAVO! Astounding video! I was grppied and hoping video wouldnt end. Your knowledge is fabulous, and the summary was fascinating!!!

Wow Filip the Atrahasis poem gave me the chills!! Really makes me think of the possible overpopulation that resulted from humans switching from hunter gathering to farming and also the young driers flood hypothesis!

Fascinating to know that it is as much close to Hinduism as possible but still so vastly different!!

Dude mich Respect for your Channel and your Open minded approach .

23:11 I like the idea that humans were invented just because the gods needed non-union labor

The creation myth sounds something like the origin story of Humans from the Assassins Creed series. Speaking of which, why did Ubisoft modeled the Isu after the Mesopotamia gods? Even the characters fit this mythology better than any other. Their way, good video and I love Mesopotamia religion, it feels very humble and the gods sound like very believable rulers of a people rather than just a bunch of spoiled brats like the Olympians.

Please do a video on Mesopotamian witchcraft. There is so little info on this subject, and every book I have picked up is some goofy necronomicon and/or Satanic fantasy mess. You are unmatched in depth and presentation.

It's interesting how often we see religious imperialism throughout history, but it totally makes sense. Babylon made their God Marduk the leader of the God's as a way of enforcing their supremacy over other city's. The obvious political nature of this change can be seen in how Marduk just appears after Babylon takes over. The Greeks did something similar by trying to claim that their God's and the God's of other cultures were the same just with different names as a way of infusing Greek cultural supremacy into their subjects. Then the Romans, then the Christians. It's a tale as old as civilization itself.

It's sunday and I'm currently at the last 3 hours of my Wendys shift, doing the dishes and listening to this to pass time. Love it!

Another Great Work...it would be interesting to investigate possible connections between Abrahmam and their myths....

Yet another excellent video, especially because it elucidates to the modern audience about the priceless, archaic Mesopotamian religion (even though, according to Professor Amanda Podery) there was no word for "religion" in either Sumerian or Akkadian since every facet of their daily life was intrinsically and indisputably intertwined with the gods. Might I suggest that you consider making a mini-video about the "adventures or misadventures" of the goddess Inanna (in Akkadian Ishtar), given that she goes everywhere and interferes with several episodes of Mesopotamian mythology (especially her trip to the Underworld, and her failed seduction of Gilgamesh)? Incidentally, you might be interested in checking this 6 minutes long video pertaining to a Sumerian song with Lyre "The Exaltation of Inanna" was composed by the fabulous High Priestess Enheduanna (daughter of Sargon of Akkad). trshow.info/watch/PSoLHfnr5Gc/video.html

I would certainly be interested in a deeper dive into the Mesopotamian culture and history. I would like to learn more about the Babylonian priesthood and the symbols used in their art. For me it is about the book of Revelation. It's a part of history that is given very little attention. And yet it is the cradle of civilization. It is where Abraham began. And so much more. Thank you

Awesome video! Currently reading "The 12th Planet" by Zecharia Sitchin. Puts a lot of things into perspective

Since I have been deeply interested in Ancient Mesopotamia for the past seven to eight years, I would like to congratulate you on the solid contents of this video. However, according to Amanda H. Podany, Professor of History at California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, there was no word for "religion" in Sumerian, Akkadian, and (possibly) Elamite, since the gods were so intrinsically connected to every aspect of humanity's daily life that they could not conceptualize a "specific terminology," associated to their rituals and worship of their favorite divine entities. In fact, Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Elamites did not consider the gods of other peoples illegitimate, rather, if they encountered foreigners worshiping strange deities, they simply assumed that such entities, albeit new and strange, represented gods of which they were yet unaware. After all, there was just one Sun and one Moon, and every civilization had a different name for such divinities; and if they were to travel to a foreign city, they would endeavor to worship the local gods along with their very own... In Assyria, Aššur (Ashur) was so powerful that most of the other gods were viewed as his manifestation; the only other gods, especially in Nineveh, which were adored were Ishtar (the goddess of love, war, and - yes - "prostitution") along with Ninurta, who also represented a combat-related divine being... Moreover, every woman - including princesses - was expected to go to the Ishtar Temple in Nineveh to offer herself to any male who visited the premises to secure sexual services, at least once in her life! (I know, it is unbelievable but true). Finally, during the New Year Festival in Babylon, which you have correctly described, the king was expected to "hold the hand" of Marduk's statue, which later would be transported (for the duration of the weeklong festivities) to a temporary (vacation-like) site. BRAVO! P.S. Might I suggest that you consider checking "the Myth of Adapa," which explains why humans were not granted immortality... It's fascinating! www.britannica.com/topic/Adapa

thanks so much for this! Super interesting topic and episode.

Thank you so much for this intriguing and beautiful video! 😍

What a wonderful episode! Thank you for your generosity in sharing your knowledge and learning. Your content is intensely nourishing. I give thanks to the gods, new and old, for your channel. A precious gem.