The woman and mother in ancient Mesopotamian texts
Studia Academica Sumenensia, cilt.12, ss.10-27, 2025 (Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 12
- Basım Tarihi: 2025
- Dergi Adı: Studia Academica Sumenensia
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Scopus
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.10-27
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Ancient Mesopotamia, femininity, gender studies, maternal social role
- Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Motherhood is one of the most important and oldest female representations and social roles. However, it has not received sufficient attention in gender studies on ancient texts. In this study, the role of women as mothers in ancient Mesopotamia is discussed based on two different texts. The aim of the study is to reveal ancient perceptions around the representation of motherhood. In this context, two texts from the Old Babylonian and then Neo-Assyrian periods, approximately 1000 years apart, “Lu-di1ira’s message to his mother Sat-Ishtar” and “Assyrian elegy for a woman”, were analyzed using document analysis, a qualitative data collection and analysis method. According to the textual findings, it can be said that two different mother roles came to the fore in different ages of Mesopotamian civilizations. While the mother was glorified as an independent identity in Old Babylonia, she was a more submissive, fertile caregiver in Neo-Assyria.