Table of Gods

Bappir was a barley bread closely associated with beer brewing in ancient Sumer. It’s mentioned in cuneiform sources, including the famous Hymn to Ninkasi, where it appears as a key ingredient in beer production. In fact, the Sumerian word bappir translates to “beer bread.”

Unlike ordinary bread, bappir seems to have been baked specifically for brewing. Since it was made from barley flour it must have been a dry and dense bread.

By the Neo-Assyrian period (around 1000 BC), bappir appears to fall out of use in beer brewing, suggesting changes in brewing techniques or ingredients.

It’s entirely possible that people also ate bappir, or breads similar to it. And we still don’t know exactly how it functioned in brewing, whether it acted as a starter, a flavoring element, or a combination of both.

What we can say is that bappir was, above all, a bread made for beer, and one of the earliest examples we have of food designed specifically for another food.

If you want to try the bappir we’ve recreated for my upcoming cookbook Table of Gods, visit tableofgods.com/bappir

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5 6

2 days ago | [YT] | 1,926

Table of Gods

The first depiction of a drum comes from ancient Mesopotamia. On the stela of king Ur-Nammu, dated to the 3rd millennium BC, two percussionists play the allum drum. As you can see, the drum is almost as large as a full grown man, and it seems like the man on the left has to hold it for the other man to play 🥁

The sound of this drum must have vibrated throughout the clay walls of the residential areas in the city of Ur. And I wonder if this drum is the predecessor to those played at modern Assyrian weddings?

If you’re interested in Mesopotamian history (and food), check out my upcoming book, Table of Gods, at tableofgods.com/yt

Skip the Carousel

1 2

1 week ago (edited) | [YT] | 1,678

Table of Gods

In 864 BC, King Ashurnasirpal II held history’s wildest party, inviting 69,574 guests to inaugurate his new capital, Kalhu.

For ten days, he provided his guests with food and drink. Here’s part of the menu from the party (listed on his banquet stele):

1,000 fat oxen, 1,000 calves, and sheep from the stable; 14,000 sheep belonging to the goddess Ishtar, my mistress; 200 oxen belonging to the goddess Ishtar; 1,000 sheep; 1,000 spring lambs; 500 ayalu-deer; 500 deer; 1,000 ducks; 500 usi-ducks; 500 geese; 1,000 wild geese; 1,000 garibu-birds; 10,000 pigeons; 10,000 wild pigeons; 10,000 small birds; 10,000 fish; 10,000 jerboa; 10,000 eggs; 10,000 loaves of bread; 10,000 jugs of beer; 10,000 skins of wine; 10,000 containers of grain and sesame; 1,000 boxes of greens; 300 containers of oil; 300 containers of malt; 300 containers of mixed raqgatu-plants; 100 containers of kudimmus; 100 containers of parched barley; 100 containers of ubuhjennu-grain; 100 containers of fine billatu; 100 containers of pomegranates; 100 containers of grapes; 100 containers of mixed zamrus; 100 containers of pistachios; 100 containers of onions; 100 containers of garlic; 100 containers of kunipbus; 100 bunches of turnips; 100 containers of binbinu-seeds; 100 containers of giddu; 100 containers of honey; 100 containers of ghee; 100 containers of roasted absu-seeds; 100 containers of roasted su'u-seeds; 100 containers of karkartu-plants; 100 containers of tiatu-plants; 100 containers of mustard; 100 containers of milk; 100 containers of cheese; 100 bowls of mizu-drink; 2,200 liters of shelled dukdu-nuts; 2,200 liters of shelled pistachios; 2,200 liters of habbaquu; 2,200 liters of dates; 2,200 liters of titip; 2,200 liters of cumin; 2,200 liters of sahunu; 2,200 liters of andahsu; 2,200 liters of sisanibu; 2,200 liters of simberu-fruit; 2,200 liters of hasi; 2,200 liters of fine oil; 2,200 liters of fine aromatics; 2,200 liters of nassabu-gourds; 2,200 liters of zinzimmu-onions; and 2,200 liters of olives.

If you’re interested in Mesopotamian history (and food), check out my upcoming book, Table of Gods, at tableofgods.com/yt

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5

1 week ago | [YT] | 3,539

Table of Gods

1. Queen Ku-Baba. She started her career as a beer brewer but later became ruler in Kish, and she is the only woman on the Sumerian King List.

2. Queen Puabi. Possibly the richest queen in the world during the 3rd millennium BC. She was buried with gold, precious stones, and expensive wine.

3. Queen Shibtu of Mari. Possibly the most influential woman in Mesopotamia during the 2nd millennium BC, Queen Shibtu ruled Mari with her husband Zimri-Lim until King Hammurabi destroyed the city and probably killed them both.

4. Queen Naqia. The only person King Esarhaddon fully trusted. Naqia was the king’s mother, his co-regent, and at times the sole regent of Assyria.

5. Semiramis, Shamiram, or Shammuramat. This Assyrian queen goes by many names for a reason. Shammuramat is the only Assyrian queen known to have seized the throne after her husband’s death, against Assyrian law. She did it to protect her son, who was too young to rule. Shammuramat was a formidable figure who personally led the Assyrian army on war campaigns until her son came of age.

If you’re interested in Mesopotamian history (and food), check out my upcoming book, Table of Gods, at tableofgods.com/yt

Reliefs of Ku-Baba, Puabi, and Naqia.

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,600

Table of Gods

200,000 followers! When I set out to write Table of Gods in 2019, I wanted to bring ancient Mesopotamia back to life and make its history accessible to people around the globe. This channel is an extension of that vision and will continue to be. But without you, it wouldn’t be possible. So, thank you for your support. I appreciate you 🙏

/Arim

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,966

Table of Gods

Mersu is one of history’s oldest desserts.

Its earliest mention comes from Ur during the Sumerian Renaissance around 2100 BC. It may be even older, however, as mersu is an Akkadian word derived from marasu, meaning “to mix.” Little is known about the dessert from this early period, though a clay tablet confirms it contained flour and ghee. Later tablets reveal that it could also include figs, raisins, apples, dates, pistachios, oil, beer, cumin, coriander—and believe it or not, onions and garlic.

But what did mersu look and taste like? Because it was sometimes called ninda mersu (ninda meaning “bread”), it may have been a sweetened loaf. Some scholars suggest a pudding; others, a cake.

What’s certain is that mersu took many forms and remained popular well into the Neo-Assyrian period—nearly 1,500 years after its first recorded appearance in Ur.

Our earliest attempts produced a cake. After many iterations, and after encountering a Sumerian proverb—“there’s no baked cake in the middle of the dough”—we settled on this version.

Get the recipe at tableofgods.com/mersu 🍪

Skip the Carousel

1 2

1 week ago | [YT] | 1,652

Table of Gods

Ever wondered why you greet people with your right hand?

The earliest depiction of a handshake comes from the Assyrian capital of Kalhu, carved in the 9th century BCE. The Assyrian king Shalmaneser III shakes hands with the Babylonian king Marduk-zakir-shumi to forge an alliance. Was Shalmaneser III the one who formalized this widely used gesture? Let me know what you think in the comments.

If you’re interested in Mesopotamian history (and food), check out my upcoming book, Table of Gods, at tableofgods.com/yt

Skip the Carousel

1 2

1 week ago | [YT] | 2,752

Table of Gods

What are your favorite inventions from ancient Mesopotamia?

Skip the Carousel

1 2 3 4 5 6

1 week ago | [YT] | 2,667

Table of Gods

Visiting King Sennacherib, ruler of the Assyrian Empire and builder of the Hanging Gardens of Nineveh (yes, the gardens were most likely in Nineveh, not Babylon—see "The Mystery of the Hanging Garden of Babylon" by Dr. Stephanie Dalley).

Skip the Carousel

1 2

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 2,119

Table of Gods

It’s not Egypt. Not Persia. Not Rome.

In the 7th century BC, this empire stretched from northeast Africa up through the Levant, including Cyprus and parts of Anatolia, Persia, and the Arabian Desert. What you’re looking at is the world’s first empire to span continents, and the largest of its time.

It was an empire that mass-produced iron weapons, employed engineers to construct siege towers, and mastered warfare at scale. But it was also an empire that built the first libraries, aqueducts, and spiral screws to irrigate lush gardens above ground level.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Assyrian Empire.

If you’re interested in Assyrian history (and food), check out my upcoming book, Table of Gods, at tableofgods.com

Skip the Carousel

1 2

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 1,828