Episode #130- Was There a Real Gilgamesh? (Part II)

Our Fake History

PodcastOne

History, Education, Society & Culture

4.7 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 6 April 2021

⏱️ 65 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The search for a historical Gilgamesh is filled with red herrings. As Mesopotamia's best loved epic hero, images of Gilgamesh are littered throughout the ruins of the ancient cities of the Tigris and Euphrates. Ancient documents produced by Kings looking to bolster their image would claim that Gilgamesh was their "friend and brother". But despite these bits of historical misdirection, there is some evidence hinting at a real man behind the myth. Tune in and find out how distant radio stations, arty metaphors, Saddam Hussein's novel all play a role in the story. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Chris Howard from the Plug-Duer-Chris-Hard Podcast, and I'm taking the bingles over the Ravens in their game, January 8th.
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0:41.0	When I say the name Saddam Hussein, what words come to mind? Dictator, Narcissist, murderer, Stolen Esk, Strongman?
1:00.0	How many of you out there thought, student of history, patron of the arts, or novelist?
1:08.0	Yes, Iraq's former leader was many things, and believe it or not, he even tried his hand at writing fiction.
1:17.0	Now to be fair, Saddam Hussein's career as a novelist is kind of like Charles Manson's career as a folk singer.
1:25.0	The art is more than a little overshadowed by other aspects of their lives.
1:32.0	But the best known of Saddam Hussein's novels is a romantic piece of historical fiction called Zabiba and the King.
1:44.0	The novel was published anonymously in the year 2000 using the traditional Arabic anonymous nom de plume.
1:52.0	It was written by he who wrote it.
1:56.0	So technically, anyone could have written Zabiba and the King, but given the style of the text and the clearly pro-regime themes that run through it, it's pretty clear who the author was.
2:12.0	The CIA at least are convinced that Zabiba and the King was written by Saddam himself, or perhaps Saddam and a team of ghost writers.
2:22.0	What is it about? Well, I'm glad you asked. Zabiba and the King takes place in medieval Iraq, specifically into Crete, Saddam Hussein's hometown.
2:34.0	Zabiba is a beautiful but poor peasant woman who is terrorized by her cruel husband.
2:42.0	The husband and his gang of brigands are also plotting to overthrow the just and heroic King.
2:50.0	The loyal Zabiba alerts the King to the plot, but then tragically dies in battle against her husband's treasonous gang.
3:00.0	The King then hunts down those who dishonored the blameless Zabiba and gallantly avenges her death.
	...

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