About the origins of sports in Iraq

Sajjad Ali Mohsen
Under the supervision of Lect. Dr. Ali Khazal Jawad Al-Kalabi

The practice of sports across the civilizational roles in ancient Iraq is a historical fact, as evidence and monuments still preserve what the ancient Iraqis recorded on the walls of caves and caverns and their tombs and in their temples, and the educational purpose of sports in their era cannot be denied and that they were trained with endless sports and hardships, such that no one was allowed to eat his breakfast before he had traveled distances at work. Some sources also explained that the sports that were practiced by boys and students and the difference in their practice from what was practiced by professionals and soldiers, which gives an important indication to demonstrate that sports were a means of education for them, and some historians mentioned that the school in ancient Iraq ((the house of education)) was linked to the temple.
Possibility of playing games in the ancient Iraqi school: Evidence indicates that the ancient Iraqis practiced many sports and games, including swimming, hunting, running, jumping, and dancing. The remains also recorded the existence of forms of ball games, and games with balls and sticks, but we cannot assert that they are the origins of modern ball games. They also practiced wrestling, shooting, boxing, and fencing. To differentiate these duels from their military counterparts, the ancient Iraqi artist recorded the athlete practicing these duels wearing leather belts around his wrist in boxing, similar to the function of gloves. Also, the swords with which they dueled had pointed ends (as a safety factor), similar to the fly in modern sports swords. Some foreign authors have written about physical education in ancient Iraq, indicating that it was not part of any educational system, but was simply a tool for using daily work activities. The development of some social systems and institutions clearly affects the patterns of physical activities in which people of all classes participate, whether by guidance or by testing. Hunting was the influential sport of the upper class, whether hunting wild animals with a bow and arrow or with spears, or hunting sea birds, fish, or even hippopotamuses.