Dilmun: Ancient Gulf Land and Literary Setting

Mesopotamian records place Dilmun in the Gulf’s trading network, while UNESCO identifies Qal’at al-Bahrain as a prominent archaeological center of Dilmun. In EnkiEnkiMesopotamian deity associated with deep fresh water, wisdom and Eridu, known as Ea in Akkadian tradition. The earliest preserved written mention does not date his cult’s origin or identify Ubaid Eridu’s deity.Glossary · Click to read the explanation and Ninhursaga, Dilmun first appears in a literary image of a land lacking fresh water, before fields and quays become productive. The historical land and the poem’s imagery must be distinguished; identifying Dilmun’s center does not locate biblical EdenEden: The Setting of Genesis’s GardenThe place in which the garden of Genesis 2–3 is planted; the story describes rivers, trees and a human test, while its archaeological location and name’s derivation remain unsettled.Glossary · Click to read the explanation. ^[1][2][7]