Moudhy Al-Rashid

Thousands of years ago, in a part of the world we now call ancient Mesopotamia, people began writing things down for the very first time. In Between Two Rivers, historian Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid reveals the breathtakingly intimate, raw and relatable moments they left behind, like a dog's paw prints as it accidentally stepped into fresh clay, or the adorable, messy writing of preschoolers. We brush hands with an enslaved person negotiating their freedom, an astronomer tracing the movement of the planets, and a working mother struggling with 'the juggle' in 1900 BCE.Together, these fragments illuminate not just the history of Mesopotamia, but the story of how history was made.

Mesopotamia saw the first cities, devised the original writing system, sowed the early seeds of agriculture, and developed myths, medicine, and astronomy that all went on to influence societies around the world. However, the significance of this ancient civilization goes far beyond its technological inventions: These were the people who began the human tradition of recording their own histories.With each chapter focusing on a new artifact, historian Moudhy Al-Rashid takes us on a personal tour of ancient life: the brick that was the basis of Mesopotamian architecture; the classroom tablets that shed light on the timeless anxieties of student life; the stone obelisk that spoke to the vast socioeconomic gulfs. Ancient Mesopotamians wanted a witness to their lives, and thousands of years later, Al-Rashid shares their stories.

A fresh and fascinating new history of ancient Mesopotamia and the birth of history.