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
My book 😎 https://lnk.to/BetweenTwoRivers
Pinned
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...
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)
I would die for this pig
Here’s an adorable pig-shaped rattle from ancient Ur
December 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I would die for this pig
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
It's not a pig. It's a capybara.
December 9, 2025 at 6:16 PM
It's not a pig. It's a capybara.
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
it's sonic the clayhog
Here’s an adorable pig-shaped rattle from ancient Ur
December 9, 2025 at 5:30 PM
it's sonic the clayhog
A rattle from ancient Mesopotamia, shaped like a pie crust or shell from the late third or early second millennium BCE. X-ray images show three pellets inside.
Quite a number of rattles have been unearthed in the region, some even shaped like animals.
📷 Dr K Wagensonner
Quite a number of rattles have been unearthed in the region, some even shaped like animals.
📷 Dr K Wagensonner
December 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
A rattle from ancient Mesopotamia, shaped like a pie crust or shell from the late third or early second millennium BCE. X-ray images show three pellets inside.
Quite a number of rattles have been unearthed in the region, some even shaped like animals.
📷 Dr K Wagensonner
Quite a number of rattles have been unearthed in the region, some even shaped like animals.
📷 Dr K Wagensonner
Hello again 😎
December 9, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Hello again 😎
This was such a fun conversation, and we covered so much. Buying onions in 2000 BCE, the earliest named author, the courage of an enslaved mother, the legendary Gilgamesh.
Hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to listen! 🙏🏽
Hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to listen! 🙏🏽
The audio-only version of Legends and Lectures with Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid is now available on all platforms:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezsM...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezsM...
Memes and Mesopotamia
YouTube video by Michelle Franklin | Legends and Lectures
www.youtube.com
December 8, 2025 at 6:26 AM
This was such a fun conversation, and we covered so much. Buying onions in 2000 BCE, the earliest named author, the courage of an enslaved mother, the legendary Gilgamesh.
Hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to listen! 🙏🏽
Hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to listen! 🙏🏽
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
LEGEND AND LECTURES welcomes the LEGENDARY @moudhy.bsky.social, to talk about her book of the year BETWEEN TWO RIVERS, all about Ancient Mesopotamia!
Thank you to Dr Moudhy for talking to us about onion sellers, Ekidu, and the internet's boy Ea Nasir!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x19S...
Thank you to Dr Moudhy for talking to us about onion sellers, Ekidu, and the internet's boy Ea Nasir!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x19S...
Ancient Mesopotamia with Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid
YouTube video by Michelle Franklin | Legends and Lectures
www.youtube.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:57 PM
LEGEND AND LECTURES welcomes the LEGENDARY @moudhy.bsky.social, to talk about her book of the year BETWEEN TWO RIVERS, all about Ancient Mesopotamia!
Thank you to Dr Moudhy for talking to us about onion sellers, Ekidu, and the internet's boy Ea Nasir!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x19S...
Thank you to Dr Moudhy for talking to us about onion sellers, Ekidu, and the internet's boy Ea Nasir!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x19S...
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
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.
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 🧡
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
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 🧡
He has cartrophen injections and oral pain meds as needed. Liberalla off the table unfortunately. He’s just the best dog 🧡
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
Imaging digging up the archeological remains of an archeological museum.
December 6, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Imaging digging up the archeological remains of an archeological museum.
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
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/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
December 5, 2025 at 2:06 PM
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/...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
let the year-end memes begin
December 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM
let the year-end memes begin
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
"As I said in the previous tablet..."
December 4, 2025 at 10:32 AM
"As I said in the previous tablet..."
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
Mubarak Moudhy! Did you see that you were also featured here?
www.historyextra.com/magazine/his...
www.historyextra.com/magazine/his...
Best history books 2025: BBC History Magazine’s Books of the Year
In the roster of laudable history books published in 2025, authors tackled topics as diverse as Gaza, Indian partition, extinction, medieval and Stuart monarchs – even historians themselves. Here, a p...
www.historyextra.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Mubarak Moudhy! Did you see that you were also featured here?
www.historyextra.com/magazine/his...
www.historyextra.com/magazine/his...
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
The cover of my book was designed by utterly brilliant Holly Ovenden whose work is versatile and gorgeous www.hollyovenden.com
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
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...
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
Pretty good books on this list.
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
#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
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
#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
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
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”
“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
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”
“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”
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
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
Podcast: Green Crime: a new book from criminal psychologist @drjuliashaw.bsky.social both thrilling, informative & actually full of hope.
To prevent the crimes that destroy the life-supporting systems of the planet, we must understand the mind-set of the criminals
sound.orf.at/podcast/fm4/...
To prevent the crimes that destroy the life-supporting systems of the planet, we must understand the mind-set of the criminals
sound.orf.at/podcast/fm4/...
FM4 Interview Podcast - FM4 Interview with Dr. Julia Shaw on Green Crime
This week a major UN conference called CITES is looking at how to protect vulnerable species. Dr. Julia Shaw, has some ideas. Julia is a criminal psychologist and has hosted true crime podcasts on th...
sound.orf.at
December 4, 2025 at 9:23 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
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
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
Your annual reminder that under no circumstances should you find someone who looks at you the way my dog looks at treats 🙏🏽
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
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...
New from @sarahlazare.bsky.social in partnership with @workdaymagazine.bsky.social
inthesetimes.com/article/they...
December 3, 2025 at 2:56 PM
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...
New from @sarahlazare.bsky.social in partnership with @workdaymagazine.bsky.social
inthesetimes.com/article/they...
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
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❣️
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
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!
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
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...
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
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...
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...
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
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
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 :)
and Feminist Pedagogy for Library Instruction by Maria T. Accardi :)
December 3, 2025 at 11:27 AM
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!!
Reposted by Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her)
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...
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
Entirely deserved, for one of the best people and writers I know!