– Researchers have deciphered text from four ancient Mesopotamian tablets dated around 4000 years old belonging to the former people of Mesopotamia.
– The tablets were discovered over 100 years ago in what is now Iraq, and were stored in the British Museum. They have now been translated.
– The tablets contain ominous prophecies and warnings about future events, not predictions of peace. They describe kings dying, regions being destroyed, armies falling and locust attacks.
– The Mesopotamian people believed events in the sky like eclipses were messages from the gods, and would try to interpret them to predict future events.
– The tablets likely would have been used by the king’s advisors to interpret omens in the sky and try to foresee what might happen. They would match sky observations to their texts of celestial omens.
– While some predictions may have coincided with real events, many were likely just based on theories and coincidences rather than proven predictions. The studies’ authors provided context on how omens were interpreted in ancient Mesopotamian culture.
Source: mensjournal
