~Mesopotamia

-one of earliest civilizations
-known as "cradle of civilization" or "the fertile crescent" in muggle world
-positioned between the Tigris and Euphrates
-We'll focus on the city-state of Sumer, located south of Akkad
-Sumerians among the first to create healing and defensive potions
-Extremely wild and magically potent
-When modern archaeologists found an amulet tainted with magic, they were in st Mungo's for 3 months
-Modern potions more diluted
-Magic was a sign of godliness
-Magical folk also believed this and were elevated to the position of gods and goddesses
-Gilgamesh, 5th king of Uruk, often described as 2/3 god and 1/3 man
-He was a wizard and reigned for 126 years
-Akim Malaam found remnants of an immortality potion currently being studied at the Iraqi Institute of Potioneering and Magical Medicine
-Gilgamesh is said to have fought the beast called a Huwawa (or the Humbaba).
-Ja’mam Biba: Muggle woman living in Babylon, wrote the Letter of Severance about how her teeth were pulled out and eyes gouged out by a wizard
-When Hammurabi Code was written, mass murder of wizards was common
-The people to the south of Sumer revered witches/wizards, the north feared and killed them

~Phoenicia

-Highly magical
-famous for prolific wealth, trading, and seafaring prowess, as well as the Phoenician Alphabet (descended from Proto-Canaanite Alphabet.)
-Nobody could crack the code of the Phoenician Alphabet until recently
-used magical woods for boats, known for maritime power and skilled traders
-In Egypt, spells were found dating back to Byblos
-One said, "rir-rir or wal lat ick nur geg"
-Would have been similar to Snake-Banishing Charm
-Phonecian spells done ritually and wandlessly
-Ancient wands powerful

~Indus River Valley

-The Indus were highly magical
-80% of their artifacts bear some magical trace or power
-Much concentrated
-Magic took more wild forms back then, but the Indus' was well attuned compared to today
-Magic can be traced all the way down to a bracelet carrying the Cheering Charm
-Indus spells much closer to modern day ones
-Caste system was just starting, magical people were on top
-In the topmost caste tiers, there are the priests, or B'ha-Rahi Brotherhood, which protected villages from Lahoo vampires
-Lashun (chieftian of B'ha Rhahi, aka Divine One) well known for extreme distaste of vampires - killed many, used garlic and wooden stakes
-Civil vampires unheard of
-Lashun was a wizard

~Assignments

-Mandatory quiz
-Start studying for midterms next week