Taha Baqir

Taha Baqir (Arabic: طه باقر‎ Taha Baqir) (born 1912 in Babylon, Iraq – 28 February 1984) was an Iraqi archaeologist, author, cuneiformist, linguist, historian, and former curator of the National Museum of Iraq.

Baqir is considered one of Iraq's most eminent archaeologists. Among the works he is remembered for are his Akkadian to Arabic translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh, his decipherment of Sumero-Akkadian mathematical tablets, his Akkadian law code discoveries, and his excavations of ancient Babylonian and Sumerian sites; including the ancient Sumerian city of Shaduppum in Baghdad.

Baqir was proficient in the four historical Iraqi languages (Arabic, Aramaic, Akkadian, Sumerian), as well as English, French, and German.

Career

Iraqi Department of Antiquities and Heritage