Array
(
    [fullTitle] => THE REPATRIATION OF GILGAMESH DREAM TABLET: REBUILDING THE IRAQI RELIGIOUS LEGACY
    [abstract] => 
The Epic of Gilgamesh, a 3600-year 12-tablet collection, was looted from an Iraqi museum during the 1991 Gulf War, and fraudulently imported into the United States. In September, 2021, UNESCO facilitated its repatriation to Iraq, which is seen as an occasion to consolidate Iraq’s efforts to rebuild its legacy, since the Epic of Gilgamesh is of immense cultural, historical and religious value for Iraq The current study examines the Epic of Gilgamesh in the light of the ancient Sumerian and Akkadian traditions. This collection of tablets carries a great legacy of the contemporary Babylonian and Mesopotamian beliefs and socio-religious values, also evident in the use of cuneiform and clay tablets, being ancient forms of writings. The study made use of content analysis and historical and analytical approaches to retrieve data through a documentation research design. The study found that the Epic of Gilgamesh is not only a work of religious literature, but a treatise on civilization. On one hand it narrates the stories engrained in the Mesopotamian mythology, such as those of Ninsun, Shamash and Utnapishtim; on the other hand, owing to its content, literary style and tone, characterization and symbolism, this study would be a great contribution to relive the story of Gilgamesh from current literary, and socio-religious perspective and provide a comprehensive account of the legacy and inheritance that it brings in for the modern generation.

    [authors] => Array
        (
            [0] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Hasan Khalid Dabis
                    [affiliation] => College of Islamic Science / Ahl Al Bayt University / Kerbala / Iraq
                )

            [1] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Haady Abdilnibi Altememy
                    [affiliation] => college of Islamic Sciences/ The Islamic university in Najaf, Iraq 
                )

            [2] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Mohamed Hameed
                    [affiliation] => college of Law/ Al-Farahidi University /Baghdad/ Iraq
                )

            [3] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Hawraa Neima Kamal
                    [affiliation] => Anesthesia Techniques Department, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Babylon, Iraq 
                )

            [4] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Ali Dawod Ali
                    [affiliation] => Department of law/ Al-Nisour University College/ Baghdad/ Iraq
                )

            [5] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Saleem Al-Zerjawi
                    [affiliation] =>  Department of Dentistry, Al-Zahrawi University College, Karbala, Iraq
                )

            [6] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Hasan Mohammed Ali
                    [affiliation] => Department of Law, AlNoor University College, Nineveh, Iraq
                )

            [7] => Array
                (
                    [givenName] => Ali Mawlood Fadhil
                    [affiliation] => Al-Esraa University College, Baghdad, Iraq
                )

        )

    [keywords] => Array
        (
            [0] => Mythology, Babylonian, Mesopotamian, Assyrian, Epic, Tablets, Cuneiform
        )

    [doi] => 10.24204/ejpr.2021.4054
    [datePublished] => 2023-06-16
    [pdf] => https://www.philosophy-of-religion.eu/menuscript/index.php/ejpr/article/view/4054/version/1439/3062
)
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THE REPATRIATION OF GILGAMESH DREAM TABLET: REBUILDING THE IRAQI RELIGIOUS LEGACY

Hasan Khalid Dabis
College of Islamic Science / Ahl Al Bayt University / Kerbala / Iraq

Haady Abdilnibi Altememy
college of Islamic Sciences/ The Islamic university in Najaf, Iraq

Mohamed Hameed
college of Law/ Al-Farahidi University /Baghdad/ Iraq

Hawraa Neima Kamal
Anesthesia Techniques Department, Al-Mustaqbal University College, Babylon, Iraq

Ali Dawod Ali
Department of law/ Al-Nisour University College/ Baghdad/ Iraq

Saleem Al-Zerjawi
Department of Dentistry, Al-Zahrawi University College, Karbala, Iraq

Hasan Mohammed Ali
Department of Law, AlNoor University College, Nineveh, Iraq

Ali Mawlood Fadhil
Al-Esraa University College, Baghdad, Iraq

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.2021.4054

Abstract

The Epic of Gilgamesh, a 3600-year 12-tablet collection, was looted from an Iraqi museum during the 1991 Gulf War, and fraudulently imported into the United States. In September, 2021, UNESCO facilitated its repatriation to Iraq, which is seen as an occasion to consolidate Iraq’s efforts to rebuild its legacy, since the Epic of Gilgamesh is of immense cultural, historical and religious value for Iraq The current study examines the Epic of Gilgamesh in the light of the ancient Sumerian and Akkadian traditions. This collection of tablets carries a great legacy of the contemporary Babylonian and Mesopotamian beliefs and socio-religious values, also evident in the use of cuneiform and clay tablets, being ancient forms of writings. The study made use of content analysis and historical and analytical approaches to retrieve data through a documentation research design. The study found that the Epic of Gilgamesh is not only a work of religious literature, but a treatise on civilization. On one hand it narrates the stories engrained in the Mesopotamian mythology, such as those of Ninsun, Shamash and Utnapishtim; on the other hand, owing to its content, literary style and tone, characterization and symbolism, this study would be a great contribution to relive the story of Gilgamesh from current literary, and socio-religious perspective and provide a comprehensive account of the legacy and inheritance that it brings in for the modern generation.

Keywords: Mythology, Babylonian, Mesopotamian, Assyrian, Epic, Tablets, Cuneiform

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