Amanda Hills Podany
@ahpodany.bsky.social
Author of Weavers, Scribes, and Kings, Professor Emeritus of History at Cal Poly Pomona, Assyriologist, and occasional bass player
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Amanda Hills Podany
@ahpodany.bsky.social
· Nov 30
With many new followers, I thought I should introduce myself! I'm an ancient historian and author of 5 books, including Weavers, Scribes, and Kings (2022). It explores the Middle East from 3500-323 BCE, through the lives of real people--rich and poor, old and young, women and men. Audiobook as well!
A cuneiform letter between two kings:
I must say (this) now and vent my feelings....When you placed a request with me for two horses, I indeed had them conveyed to you. Yet you... sent me 20 pounds of tin.... The value of such horses is 10 pounds of silver. But you sent me just 20 pounds of tin!
I must say (this) now and vent my feelings....When you placed a request with me for two horses, I indeed had them conveyed to you. Yet you... sent me 20 pounds of tin.... The value of such horses is 10 pounds of silver. But you sent me just 20 pounds of tin!
January 3, 2026 at 6:28 AM
A cuneiform letter between two kings:
I must say (this) now and vent my feelings....When you placed a request with me for two horses, I indeed had them conveyed to you. Yet you... sent me 20 pounds of tin.... The value of such horses is 10 pounds of silver. But you sent me just 20 pounds of tin!
I must say (this) now and vent my feelings....When you placed a request with me for two horses, I indeed had them conveyed to you. Yet you... sent me 20 pounds of tin.... The value of such horses is 10 pounds of silver. But you sent me just 20 pounds of tin!
I had fun doing this podcast episode for The Ancients about Old Babylonian letters! We discussed messengers, scribes, and even a certain copper trader of dubious repute! #eanasir #cuneiform #Mesopotamia
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
The World's Oldest Letters
Podcast Episode · The Ancients · 11/27/2025 · 55m
podcasts.apple.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:40 PM
I had fun doing this podcast episode for The Ancients about Old Babylonian letters! We discussed messengers, scribes, and even a certain copper trader of dubious repute! #eanasir #cuneiform #Mesopotamia
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
This is fascinating! Semiyarka has been found to be an ancient city in Kazakhstan, specializing in production of tin-bronze, and contemporary with the Late Bronze Age kingdoms (Kassite Babylonia, Mittani, Hatti, New Kingdom Egypt, Mycenaean Greece, etc) in the Middle East and Mediterranean.
Archaeologists have unearthed a Bronze Age metropolis in the heart of the Eurasian steppe: an early form of city as complex as those of contemporary, more traditionally 'urban' civilisations, showing how steppe polities were just as sophisticated.
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
🆓 doi.org/10.15184/aqy...
🏺 #Archaeology
November 18, 2025 at 12:20 PM
This is fascinating! Semiyarka has been found to be an ancient city in Kazakhstan, specializing in production of tin-bronze, and contemporary with the Late Bronze Age kingdoms (Kassite Babylonia, Mittani, Hatti, New Kingdom Egypt, Mycenaean Greece, etc) in the Middle East and Mediterranean.
Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany
Your favorites, now available in paperback. From sweeping histories that span continents to deep dives into our digital lives, this season’s paperback releases offer something for every kind of reader.
US: oxford.ly/4m05rMw
UK: oxford.ly/4lW1eJL
US: oxford.ly/4m05rMw
UK: oxford.ly/4lW1eJL
September 9, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Your favorites, now available in paperback. From sweeping histories that span continents to deep dives into our digital lives, this season’s paperback releases offer something for every kind of reader.
US: oxford.ly/4m05rMw
UK: oxford.ly/4lW1eJL
US: oxford.ly/4m05rMw
UK: oxford.ly/4lW1eJL
Evidence for what seems to be an engineered flood in Mesopotamia c. 2350 BCE, which "illustrates how critical infrastructure for irrigation and transportation could be deliberately exploited to exacerbate the environmental and economic impacts of warfare." #Mesopotamia @paulczimmerman.bsky.social
Hot off the presses! Here’s a new article that I co-authored with my Lagash Archaeological Project colleagues on a geoarchaeological study of what we believe to be evidence of hydrological warfare in the Third Millennium BCE.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
The Flooding of Lagash (Iraq): Evidence for Urban Destruction Under Lugalzagesi, the King of Uruk and Umma
High-resolution remote sensing, magnetometry, and trench stratigraphy identify a significant flood event at Lagash (modern Tell al-Hiba) during the late Early Dynastic period (ca. 2400–2350 BC). Sate...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
August 26, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Evidence for what seems to be an engineered flood in Mesopotamia c. 2350 BCE, which "illustrates how critical infrastructure for irrigation and transportation could be deliberately exploited to exacerbate the environmental and economic impacts of warfare." #Mesopotamia @paulczimmerman.bsky.social
Almost 4,000 years before Beckett, two men were already waiting for Godot: '"I will go today" is what a herdsman says; "I will go tomorrow" is what a shepherd-boy says. "I will go" is "I will go", and the time passes.' (Sumerian proverb) #Mesopotamia #cuneiform #waitingforgodot, links in comment
August 16, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Almost 4,000 years before Beckett, two men were already waiting for Godot: '"I will go today" is what a herdsman says; "I will go tomorrow" is what a shepherd-boy says. "I will go" is "I will go", and the time passes.' (Sumerian proverb) #Mesopotamia #cuneiform #waitingforgodot, links in comment
Almost 4,000 years before Beckett, two men were already been waiting for Godot: '"I will go today" is what a herdsman says; "I will go tomorrow" is what a shepherd-boy says. "I will go" is "I will go", and the time passes.' (Sumerian proverb) #Mesopotamia #cuneiform #Godot, links in comment
August 16, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Almost 4,000 years before Beckett, two men were already been waiting for Godot: '"I will go today" is what a herdsman says; "I will go tomorrow" is what a shepherd-boy says. "I will go" is "I will go", and the time passes.' (Sumerian proverb) #Mesopotamia #cuneiform #Godot, links in comment
"The dog understands: 'Take it!' It does not understand: 'Put it down!'" True 3,900 years ago when a young Mesopotamian scribe copied the proverb onto a round school tablet; still true today! #cuneiform #Mesopotamia #dogs Tablet: BM U.17207.77, CDLI P346305; sculpture: Louvre AO 4349, CDLI P386356
August 13, 2025 at 11:17 PM
"The dog understands: 'Take it!' It does not understand: 'Put it down!'" True 3,900 years ago when a young Mesopotamian scribe copied the proverb onto a round school tablet; still true today! #cuneiform #Mesopotamia #dogs Tablet: BM U.17207.77, CDLI P346305; sculpture: Louvre AO 4349, CDLI P386356
Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany
What was life like for kings, priestesses, merchants, brickmakers, musicians, and weavers in the ancient Near East?
Discover their stories through the voices of real people who lived thousands of years ago. Now in paperback: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Discover their stories through the voices of real people who lived thousands of years ago. Now in paperback: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
July 25, 2025 at 3:48 PM
What was life like for kings, priestesses, merchants, brickmakers, musicians, and weavers in the ancient Near East?
Discover their stories through the voices of real people who lived thousands of years ago. Now in paperback: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Discover their stories through the voices of real people who lived thousands of years ago. Now in paperback: global.oup.com/academic/pro...
One of the earliest cities in southern Mesopotamia proves to have been home to a huge network of canals for about 5,000 years (though not all the canals were in use at the same time). This fascinating research was done by Jaafar Jotheri and colleagues.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Identifying the preserved network of irrigation canals in the Eridu region, southern Mesopotamia | Antiquity | Cambridge Core
Identifying the preserved network of irrigation canals in the Eridu region, southern Mesopotamia - Volume 99 Issue 405
www.cambridge.org
July 21, 2025 at 11:14 PM
One of the earliest cities in southern Mesopotamia proves to have been home to a huge network of canals for about 5,000 years (though not all the canals were in use at the same time). This fascinating research was done by Jaafar Jotheri and colleagues.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
These new documents from Girsu (written on clay, of course, not stone as the URL suggests) sound fascinating! The scribes "note absolutely everything down. If a sheep dies at the very edge of the empire, it will be noted. They are obsessed with bureaucracy.”
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
‘Spreadsheets of empire’: red tape goes back 4,000 years, say scientists after Iraq finds
Ancient Mesopotamian stone tablets show extraordinary detail and reach of government in cradle of world civilisations
www.theguardian.com
March 17, 2025 at 12:44 AM
These new documents from Girsu (written on clay, of course, not stone as the URL suggests) sound fascinating! The scribes "note absolutely everything down. If a sheep dies at the very edge of the empire, it will be noted. They are obsessed with bureaucracy.”
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Rishiya, the chief musician at Mari c. 1760s BCE, served under King Yasmah-Addu. Surprisingly, he was retained by Y-A's antagonist and successor, Zimri-Lim, even though Rishiya had neglected his allocated farmland, which had been taken away from him. He must have been a terrific musician!
March 15, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Rishiya, the chief musician at Mari c. 1760s BCE, served under King Yasmah-Addu. Surprisingly, he was retained by Y-A's antagonist and successor, Zimri-Lim, even though Rishiya had neglected his allocated farmland, which had been taken away from him. He must have been a terrific musician!
Research by my daughter @podanymd.bsky.social just published in @jama.com Network Open. Important work (and proud mom moment!)
Out now in @jama.com Network Open: We evaluated racial differences in ctDNA profiles and disparities in targeted treatment use and outcomes in metastatic breast cancer in a large multi-institution cohort. (1/5) jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...
Racial Differences in ctDNA Profiles and Therapy in Metastatic Breast Cancer
This cohort study evaluates whether genomic profiles and targeted treatment use differ between Black and White patients with metastatic breast cancer.
jamanetwork.com
February 28, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Research by my daughter @podanymd.bsky.social just published in @jama.com Network Open. Important work (and proud mom moment!)
Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany
“The possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility.”
where's Indiana Jones when you need him?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
where's Indiana Jones when you need him?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
Archaeologists discover first pharaoh’s tomb in Egypt in more than a century
Uncovering tomb of Thutmose II hailed as most significant discovery since Tutankhamun in 1922
www.theguardian.com
February 20, 2025 at 10:45 AM
“The possible existence of a second, and most likely intact, tomb of Thutmose II is an astonishing possibility.”
where's Indiana Jones when you need him?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
where's Indiana Jones when you need him?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...
Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany
New discovery: First discovery of a royal tomb since King Tutankhamun's was found over a century ago. A joint Egyptian-British archaeological team has uncovered the tomb of King Thutmose II, the last missing royal tomb of the 18th Dynasty.
english.ahram.org.eg/News/540638....
🏺 AncientEgyptBluesky
english.ahram.org.eg/News/540638....
🏺 AncientEgyptBluesky
February 18, 2025 at 9:41 PM
New discovery: First discovery of a royal tomb since King Tutankhamun's was found over a century ago. A joint Egyptian-British archaeological team has uncovered the tomb of King Thutmose II, the last missing royal tomb of the 18th Dynasty.
english.ahram.org.eg/News/540638....
🏺 AncientEgyptBluesky
english.ahram.org.eg/News/540638....
🏺 AncientEgyptBluesky
Sunrise at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever experienced; golden Roman columns glowing against the deep blue sky, serene and seemingly timeless. This new report on the damage to Palmyra in recent years is devastating.
phys.org/news/2025-02...
phys.org/news/2025-02...
Report documents devastation of ancient city of Palmyra, a World Heritage Site, after the fall of the Assad regime
Palmyra is one of the most famous sites in Syria for its extraordinary heritage and archaeological remains. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980, the city saw much of its heritage destroyed du...
phys.org
February 16, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Sunrise at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra was one of the most beautiful sights I've ever experienced; golden Roman columns glowing against the deep blue sky, serene and seemingly timeless. This new report on the damage to Palmyra in recent years is devastating.
phys.org/news/2025-02...
phys.org/news/2025-02...
Thanks so much, Megan @digital-hammurabi.bsky.social!
I really enjoyed our conversation! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0dX...
I really enjoyed our conversation! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0dX...
Going live on YouTube in 30 minutes to talk to Dr. Amanda Podany about the lives of ordinary people in Mesopotamia!
Always been curious about how people like you lived 4,000 years ago? Now's your chance to ask an expert your questions!
Always been curious about how people like you lived 4,000 years ago? Now's your chance to ask an expert your questions!
February 13, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Thanks so much, Megan @digital-hammurabi.bsky.social!
I really enjoyed our conversation! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0dX...
I really enjoyed our conversation! www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0dX...
From long ago in my non-Assyriological past: this photo showed up in the NY Times today, in an article about the excellent new Bangles biography, 'Eternal Flame'! (We were Those Girls then, playing at the Troubadour. I'm in the pink shirt.) www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/a...
Now, back to cuneiform!
Now, back to cuneiform!
February 10, 2025 at 8:08 PM
From long ago in my non-Assyriological past: this photo showed up in the NY Times today, in an article about the excellent new Bangles biography, 'Eternal Flame'! (We were Those Girls then, playing at the Troubadour. I'm in the pink shirt.) www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/a...
Now, back to cuneiform!
Now, back to cuneiform!
Little Ba'la-bia, her twin toddler brothers and baby sister, victims of famine, were sold by their desperate parents to a rich man in ancient Emar. These are the footprints of two of them, pressed into clay and sealed like contracts, when the children were taken away from home c. 2200 years ago.
February 9, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Little Ba'la-bia, her twin toddler brothers and baby sister, victims of famine, were sold by their desperate parents to a rich man in ancient Emar. These are the footprints of two of them, pressed into clay and sealed like contracts, when the children were taken away from home c. 2200 years ago.
Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany
“Do not bend your neck for that which cuts necks.”
A Sumerian proverb, as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.
A Sumerian proverb, as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.
February 7, 2025 at 1:31 PM
“Do not bend your neck for that which cuts necks.”
A Sumerian proverb, as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.
A Sumerian proverb, as relevant today as it was thousands of years ago.
Pottery sherds last forever and provide some of the many ways archaeologists and historians can shed light on the everyday lives of common people in the past.
Our #Nippur day off means catching up on notes and database, laundry, and never-ending pottery sorting. Pottery types allow us to determine relative chronology and to assess foodways and household diets. 🏺
February 7, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Pottery sherds last forever and provide some of the many ways archaeologists and historians can shed light on the everyday lives of common people in the past.
A glimpse of a past time: c. 2,700 years ago the Neo-Assyrian govt deported 977 people from Que. They're listed here: 334 men, 349 women, 172 boys, 121 girls. 45 were toddlers and 50 were nursing, some no doubt born en route. SAA 11 167: oracc.org/saao/P335907/, Weavers, Scribes, and Kings, 451-452.
February 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
A glimpse of a past time: c. 2,700 years ago the Neo-Assyrian govt deported 977 people from Que. They're listed here: 334 men, 349 women, 172 boys, 121 girls. 45 were toddlers and 50 were nursing, some no doubt born en route. SAA 11 167: oracc.org/saao/P335907/, Weavers, Scribes, and Kings, 451-452.
Finds at Kurd Qaburstan, Iraq by @tiffanyspadoni.bsky.social: "Animal bones found...suggest that residents enjoyed a varied diet, including domesticated meat and wild game. This level of dietary diversity is unexpected for non-elite populations in Mesopotamian cities...."
www.ucf.edu/news/ancient...
www.ucf.edu/news/ancient...
Ancient Artifacts Unearthed in Iraq Shed Light on Hidden History of Mesopotamia
Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, an associate professor of history at UCF, and a team of researchers made the new discoveries during field work at the Bronze Age site of Kurd Qaburstan. The research provides i...
www.ucf.edu
January 21, 2025 at 6:23 AM
Finds at Kurd Qaburstan, Iraq by @tiffanyspadoni.bsky.social: "Animal bones found...suggest that residents enjoyed a varied diet, including domesticated meat and wild game. This level of dietary diversity is unexpected for non-elite populations in Mesopotamian cities...."
www.ucf.edu/news/ancient...
www.ucf.edu/news/ancient...
"When I came to Babylon, for the messengers of Zimri-Lim (king of Mari) there were unending servings of pork, fish, fowl, and nuts, while I was totally ignored!" Here's hoping your festivities are happier than those of this ancient messenger! ARM 26 384, J. M. Sasson, From the Mari Archives, 88.
December 31, 2024 at 9:53 PM
"When I came to Babylon, for the messengers of Zimri-Lim (king of Mari) there were unending servings of pork, fish, fowl, and nuts, while I was totally ignored!" Here's hoping your festivities are happier than those of this ancient messenger! ARM 26 384, J. M. Sasson, From the Mari Archives, 88.
Reposted by Amanda Hills Podany
Always a treat to find my favorite name: Ilī-wēdêku. His name means "my god, I am alone".
Here, Mr. My-God-I-am-alone is witness to a marriage between Sin-iqišam and Ninlil-ninam in Nippur ca. 1830 BCE.
TMH 10, 1 (P503174): cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts/50...
Here, Mr. My-God-I-am-alone is witness to a marriage between Sin-iqišam and Ninlil-ninam in Nippur ca. 1830 BCE.
TMH 10, 1 (P503174): cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts/50...
December 16, 2024 at 9:13 PM
Always a treat to find my favorite name: Ilī-wēdêku. His name means "my god, I am alone".
Here, Mr. My-God-I-am-alone is witness to a marriage between Sin-iqišam and Ninlil-ninam in Nippur ca. 1830 BCE.
TMH 10, 1 (P503174): cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts/50...
Here, Mr. My-God-I-am-alone is witness to a marriage between Sin-iqišam and Ninlil-ninam in Nippur ca. 1830 BCE.
TMH 10, 1 (P503174): cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/artifacts/50...