The ancient Mesopotamian underworld, most often known in Sumerian as Kur, Irkalla, Kukku, Arali, or Kigal and in Akkadian as Erṣetu, although it had many names in both languages, was a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground, where inhabitants were believed to continue "a shadowy version of life on earth". The only food or drink was dry dust, but family members of …

Mesopotamia (Ancient Greek: Μεσοποταμία Mesopotamíā; Arabic: بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن Bilād ar-Rāfidayn; Classical Syriac: ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Ārām-Nahrēn or ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, Bēṯ Nahrēn) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent.