Ali Bnayan has been carefully engraving a clay tablet with cuneiform symbols, a writing technique developed in ancient southern Mesopotamia millennia ago and used in languages once spoken in the region.
The Iraqi Assyriologist has not only learnt to read Sumerian, one of the oldest written languages, but has practised its writing using a carved piece of reed to engrave nail-shaped signs into clay tablets.
Its alphabet has 600 letters.
Mr Bnayan, 26, has been working on translating Sumerian texts but also engraves tablets that serve as models to manufacture souvenirs in the Iraq Museum.
He says the cuneiform script is his life’s passion.
“In the beginning we need to prepare the clay. It relies on leavening and shaping, and then we have to leave it for a while so it starts to dry, so that it is suitable for cuneiform writing,” he told Reuters.
Mr Bnayan, who has a degree in archaeology and Assyriology, hopes to pursue his studies in cuneiform script to contribute to archaeological research in Iraq, where he said troves of clay tablets remain to be discovered.
“As far as cuneiform script is concerned, it is a script that was invented to record the Sumerian language and it is built on the use of symbols. It is different from the alphabet system, but uses symbols. The number of its symbols reaches about 600 or, to be precise, 598 cuneiform signs,” he said.
Last month, an illegally imported 3,500-year-old clay tablet looted from Iraq 30 years ago was returned to Baghdad from the US.
The cuneiform tablet depicts the story of a superhuman king from the Epic of Gilgamesh, an ancient poem. It measures about 15 by 13 centimetres and is written in the Akkadian language.
It is known to be one of the world’s oldest works of literature and was looted from an Iraqi museum in 1991 during the first Gulf War.
“The Gilgamesh (‘dream’) tablet of course is famous because it is among the first historic tablets that is looking for the secrets of immortality, and what the Gilgamesh tablet concluded was that immortality is not by living forever, but through good deeds that allow people to remember a person by,” he said.
Iraqi historical artefacts have been looted for decades.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Sheffield United 3
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Williams 72, Greenwood 77, Rashford 79
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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Nick March: Let's not be too choosy about our coronavirus vaccine
Damien McElroy: Vaccine passports a work in progress but essential
National Editorial: Digital passports will get the world moving again
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action
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The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?
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Samanth Subramanian: Imposing Hindi could undermine India's linguistic diversity
Phil Mercer: Aboriginal musicians are struggling to be heard
Gavin Esler: What we lose when we allow languages to die
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Ben Farmer: Imran Khan wins confidence vote after Senate embarrassment
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
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MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Suarez 27', Vidal 32', Dembele 35', Messi 78')
Sevilla 0
Red cards: Ronald Araujo, Ousmane Dembele (Barcelona)
