IDRIMI the earliest political autobiography ever found
British Museum Collection
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6m 42s
Idrimi was a refugee who fled Aleppo in Syria about 3,500 years ago – the same Aleppo so often in the news today.
Later, as a much older man, Idrimi had this statue made of himself, with his life story written across the front, literally from head to foot. This extraordinary story is inscribed in the wedge-shaped cuneiform script of the ancient Middle East, and it is one of the earliest (and most interesting) political autobiographies ever found.
Cast: Jamie Fraser (Curator)
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