Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
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moudhy.bsky.social
Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
@moudhy.bsky.social
Assyriologist at Wolfson College (Oxford), writer plagued by self-doubt, lover of dead languages. I think we should all be doing what we can to save the planet.

My book 😎 https://lnk.to/BetweenTwoRivers
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Happy Publication Day to me! 🎉😱🥹🧿

Between Two Rivers: Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History is officially out!

It’s a history of the region through objects found in an ancient museum in Princess Ennigaldi-Nanna’s palace, and I hope you all like it 💛 lnk.to/BetweenTwoRi...
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
Loved reading @moudhy.bsky.social :s "Between two rivers". An especially nice surprise was to find mention of a chance encounter w. Irving Finkel, who is the reason why I have been reading up on Mesopotamian history in my downtime.
December 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Does anyone have advice for helping an elderly Lab with arthritis (who is beyond things like stem cell treatment) with pain management? Anecdotal suggestions also welcome 🙏🏽

He has cartrophen injections and oral pain meds as needed. Liberalla off the table unfortunately. He’s just the best dog 🧡
December 6, 2025 at 8:08 PM
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Imaging digging up the archeological remains of an archeological museum.
December 6, 2025 at 3:54 PM
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Breaking news for you Proto-Elamite fans: our team just had a new article come out in the journal Near Eastern Archaeology (88.4) on our recent progress towards deciphering "one of the few remaining undeciphered scripts from the ancient world".

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
December 5, 2025 at 2:06 PM
let the year-end memes begin
December 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM
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"As I said in the previous tablet..."
December 4, 2025 at 10:32 AM
The cover of my book was designed by utterly brilliant Holly Ovenden whose work is versatile and gorgeous www.hollyovenden.com
I know we are not supposed to judge a book by its cover but the cover of your book is BEAUTIFUL! kudos to the designer behind it
December 4, 2025 at 10:33 AM
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Pretty good books on this list.
A bit speechless, beyond grateful, and incredibly honoured to have been included on this list with some truly amazing science writers.

Thank you, Andrew Robinson, whom I cannot find on BlueSky 🙏🏽 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Spineless creatures, possibly the world’s oldest beer receipt and more: 2025’s best Books in brief
Bibliophile Andrew Robinson reveals 10 essential science reads from the past year.
www.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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#artcalendar day 1:

Mudāwama مداومة
Persistence, constancy through circumstances that may be less than easy.

A piece from the archives (2012!) in acrylic, ink, and metal leaf on paper.
shorturl.at/4drDH
December 1, 2025 at 11:16 AM
I love family metaphors in ancient letters, like this one from ~2300 BCE written by Abbaya to a superior named Dudua.

“Why are you not my father?” Abbaya demands. He then asks why he hasn’t been trusted with a transaction, so the question could mean something like “why are you being a bad boss”
December 4, 2025 at 10:25 AM
If someone broke into your house, set stuff on fire, sprayed chemicals into the air, and poisoned your water, it would be a crime.

But corporations and individuals do this to our planet—our home—with impunity.

@drjuliashaw.bsky.social reframes this as criminal, and I can’t wait to read her book
December 4, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Your annual reminder that under no circumstances should you find someone who looks at you the way my dog looks at treats 🙏🏽
December 4, 2025 at 9:07 AM
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Generations of Navajo miners were sent underground to extract uranium for America’s weapons and energy programs. Many were never told the risks. Many never made it out alive.

New from @sarahlazare.bsky.social in partnership with @workdaymagazine.bsky.social

inthesetimes.com/article/they...
December 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
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I enjoyed this book so much because I think it did exactly what Dr al-Rashid says she intended - conveyed her love of this topic in such a beautiful way for anyone to engage with. Get it someone for Christmas!
I wrote Between Two Rivers to share something I love in a way that anyone — whatever their work, prior knowledge, or exhaustion levels — could enjoy.

So many writers have done this for me on topics I’d never have time for a deep dive on (trees, the ocean, eels), and I wanted to do this for others❣️
December 3, 2025 at 9:25 AM
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I just remembered I wrote a review of this fab book! Wow, it has been a long six months... 🤦🏼‍♀️

Anyway, here is the longer version of why I loved Between Two Rivers by @moudhy.bsky.social and why you should consider buying it as a Christmas gift for someone!

www.workingclassicists.com/zine/book-re...
Book Review: Between Two Rivers — Working Classicists
Author Rhiannon Garth Jones has just finished Between Two Rivers, Moudhy Al-Rashid’s book about Mesopotamia, and has been absolutely entranced by what’s between two covers.
www.workingclassicists.com
December 3, 2025 at 10:40 AM
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I can’t thank you both enough for reigniting my childhood love of ancient history 🙏🏻 and informing my current work in info literacy & knowledge production!!
I can’t recommend the work of @ahpodany.bsky.social more highly.

I LOVED Weavers, Scribes, and Kings. Such a window onto individual lives from so long ago
Between Two Rivers by Moudhy Al-Rashid and Weavers, Scribes, and Kings by Amanda H. Podany

and Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction by Maria T. Accardi :)
December 3, 2025 at 11:27 AM
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Entirely deserved, for one of the best people and writers I know!
A bit speechless, beyond grateful, and incredibly honoured to have been included on this list with some truly amazing science writers.

Thank you, Andrew Robinson, whom I cannot find on BlueSky 🙏🏽 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Spineless creatures, possibly the world’s oldest beer receipt and more: 2025’s best Books in brief
Bibliophile Andrew Robinson reveals 10 essential science reads from the past year.
www.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 11:46 AM
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thinking about the generosity of community ❤️
I wrote Between Two Rivers to share something I love in a way that anyone — whatever their work, prior knowledge, or exhaustion levels — could enjoy.

So many writers have done this for me on topics I’d never have time for a deep dive on (trees, the ocean, eels), and I wanted to do this for others❣️
December 3, 2025 at 11:59 AM
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One of my favorite books I’ve read this year. It falls into the “we’re not so different” category of history writing, and is full of personal reflections and connections to the ancient sources, but without losing their historical context.

Highly recommend. Great gift idea, very readable.
I wrote Between Two Rivers to share something I love in a way that anyone — whatever their work, prior knowledge, or exhaustion levels — could enjoy.

So many writers have done this for me on topics I’d never have time for a deep dive on (trees, the ocean, eels), and I wanted to do this for others❣️
December 3, 2025 at 12:01 PM
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Such a good book (and a perfect Christmas present for your friends/family who are into that sort of thing)
I wrote Between Two Rivers to share something I love in a way that anyone — whatever their work, prior knowledge, or exhaustion levels — could enjoy.

So many writers have done this for me on topics I’d never have time for a deep dive on (trees, the ocean, eels), and I wanted to do this for others❣️
December 3, 2025 at 12:10 PM
I can’t recommend the work of @ahpodany.bsky.social more highly.

I LOVED Weavers, Scribes, and Kings. Such a window onto individual lives from so long ago
Between Two Rivers by Moudhy Al-Rashid and Weavers, Scribes, and Kings by Amanda H. Podany

and Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction by Maria T. Accardi :)
December 3, 2025 at 9:13 AM
A bit speechless, beyond grateful, and incredibly honoured to have been included on this list with some truly amazing science writers.

Thank you, Andrew Robinson, whom I cannot find on BlueSky 🙏🏽 www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Spineless creatures, possibly the world’s oldest beer receipt and more: 2025’s best Books in brief
Bibliophile Andrew Robinson reveals 10 essential science reads from the past year.
www.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:12 AM
Okay so you already know this but don’t know what to do?

It feels too big to make a difference?

Can we please get some community sourced wisdom on what we do to pull at the threads of this system which is killing our planet?

I’ll start: join a campaign. There is strength in numbers!
When the Earth warmed by 4C over 10,000 years 76% of all animals on the planet died.

We’re on track for 4C of heating in our children’s lifetimes.

Living through the most dangerous moment in our species history, & most people have no idea.

We’re being distracted to death.
December 3, 2025 at 8:56 AM
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Congrats to both @anthrofuentes.bsky.social for #SexIsASpectrum and @moudhy.bsky.social for #BetweenTwoRivers, both brilliant books I was lucky enough to read early, and definitely recommended for 🎄🎁📚
December 2, 2025 at 5:48 PM