Taha Baqir
Doctor Taha Baqir طه باقر | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1912 |
| Died | 28 February 1984 (aged 71–72) |
| Resting place | Najaf, Iraq |
| Nationality | Iraqi |
| Occupation(s) | Assyriologist, author, historian, linguist, academic |
| Years active | 1938–1983 |
| Organization(s) | Iraqi Department of Antiquities, Iraqi National Museum, University of Baghdad, Iraqi Academy of Sciences |
| Known for | Discovering the 4000-year-old Laws of Eshnunna |
| Notable work | Akkadian to Arabic translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh |
Taha Baqir (Arabic: طه باقر Taha Baqir) (born 1912 in Babylon, Ottoman Iraq – 28 February 1984) was an Iraqi Assyriologist, 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 Babylonian 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.