We’re exploring themes from the current Getty Villa exhibition "Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins"!⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ The many surviving records in cuneiform (the script used to write Mesopotamian languages) give us insights into the biographies of specific individuals, from kings and queens to priestesses and scribes.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ For example, this gold plaque in the shape of a beard was a dedication given to the god Shara by queen Bara-irnum. Bara-irnum lived in the third millennium B.C., and the plaque lists her genealogy as a descendant of the royal family of the city of Umma in Sumer. Government and religion were closely intertwined in ancient Mesopotamia, and kings and queens were expected to give lavish offerings to the gods.⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ Want to learn more about people who lived in ancient Mesopotamia — like the priestess Enheduanna (the first author known by name, whose composition appears in the second image) or king Hammurabi of Babylon (creator of the ancient world’s most famous code of laws, which you ...