TheCivilization of Mesopotamia ranges from the earliest human occupation in thePaleolithic period up toLate antiquity. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing in the late 4th millennium BC, an increasing amount of historical sources. Mesopotamia has been home to many of the oldest major civilizations, entering history from theEarly Bronze Age, for which reason it is often called acradle of civilization.
Area of theFertile Crescent, circa 7500 BC, with main archaeological sites of thePre-Pottery Neolithic period. At that time, the area of Mesopotamia proper was not yet settled by humans.
Mesopotamia (Ancient Greek:Μεσοποταμία,romanized: Mesopotamíā;Classical Syriac:ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ,lit. 'Bēṯ Nahrēn') means "Between the Rivers". The oldest known occurrence of the name Mesopotamia dates to the 4th century BC, when it was used to designate the area between theEuphrates and theTigris. The name was presumably translated from a term already current in the area—probably in Aramaic—and apparently was understood to mean the land lying "between the (Euphrates and Tigris) rivers", nowIraq.[1]
Later and in the broader sense, the historical region included not only the area of present-day Iraq, but also parts of present-dayIran,Syria andTurkey.[2][3][4][5][6][7] The neighbouring steppes to the west of the Euphrates and the western part of theZagros Mountains are also often included under the wider term Mesopotamia.[8][9][10] A further distinction is usually made between Upper or Northern Mesopotamia and Lower or Southern Mesopotamia.[11]
Upper Mesopotamia is the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris from their sources down toBaghdad.[8]Lower Mesopotamia is the area from Baghdad to thePersian Gulf.[11] In modern scientific usage, the term Mesopotamia often also has a chronological connotation. It is usually used to designate the area until theArabMuslim conquests in the 7th century AD, withArabic names like Syria, Jezirah and Iraq being used to describe the region after that date.[7][12][nb 1]
Two types of chronologies can be distinguished: arelative chronology and anabsolute chronology. The former establishes the order of phases, periods, cultures and reigns, whereas the latter establishes their absolute age expressed in years. In archaeology, relative chronologies are established by carefully excavatingarchaeological sites and reconstructing theirstratigraphy – the order in which layers were deposited. In general, newer remains are deposited on top of older material. Absolute chronologies are established by dating remains, or the layers in which they are found, through absolute dating methods. These methods includeradiocarbon dating,dendrochronology and the written record that can provide year names orcalendar dates.
By combining absolute and relative dating methods, a chronological framework has been built for Mesopotamia that still incorporates many uncertainties but that also continues to be refined.[13][14] In this framework, many prehistorical and early historical periods have been defined on the basis of material culture that is thought to be representative for each period. These periods are often named after the site at which the material was recognized for the first time, as is for example the case for theHalaf,Ubaid andJemdet Nasr periods.[13] When historical documents become widely available, periods tend to be named after the dominant dynasty or state; examples of this are theUr III andOld Babylonian periods.[15] While reigns of kings can be securely dated for the 1st millennium BC, there is an increasingly large error margin toward the 2nd and 3rd millennia BC.[14]
The chronology for much of the third and second millennia BC is subject to much debate. Based on different estimates for the length of periods for which still very few historical documents are available, so-called Ultra-long, Long,Middle, Short and Ultra-short Chronologies have been proposed by various scholars, varying by as much as 150 years in their dating of specific periods.[16][17] Despite problems with the Middle Chronology, this chronological framework continues to be used by many recent handbooks on the archaeology and history of the ancient Near East.[14][18][19][20][21] A study from 2001 published high-resolution radiocarbon dates from Turkey supporting dates for the 2nd millennium BC that are very close to those proposed by the Middle Chronology.[22][nb 2]
Overview ofGöbekli Tepe with modern roof to protect the site against the weather
The earlyNeolithic human occupation of Mesopotamia is, like the previous Epipaleolithic period, confined to the foothill zones of the Taurus and Zagros Mountains and the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys. One of the earliest settled site for hunter-gatherers isKörtik Tepe (10,400 BC). ThePre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period (10,000–8,700 BC) saw the introduction ofagriculture, while the oldest evidence for animaldomestication dates to the transition from the PPNA to thePre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB, 8700–6800 BC) at the end of the 9th millennium BC. This transition has been documented at sites likeAbu Hureyra andMureybet, which continued to be occupied from the Natufian well into the PPNB.[23][24] The so-far earliest monumental sculptures and circular stone buildings fromGöbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey date to the PPNA/Early PPNB and represent, according to the excavator, the communal efforts of a large community of hunter-gatherers.[25][26]
Inside the Shanidar Cave, where the remains of eight adults and two infantNeanderthals, dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago were found, northernIraq.
The development of Mesopotamia in the 7th–5th millennium BC was centered around theHassuna culture in the north, theHalaf culture in the northwest, theSamarra culture in central Mesopotamia and theUbaid culture in the southeast, which later expanded to encompass the whole region.
TheFertile Crescent was inhabited by several distinct, flourishing cultures between the end of the last ice age (c. 10,000 BC) and the beginning of history. One of the oldest knownNeolithic sites in Mesopotamia isJarmo, settled around 7000 BC and broadly contemporary withJericho (in theLevant) andÇatalhöyük (inAnatolia). It as well as other early Neolithic sites, such asSamarra andTell Halaf were in northern Mesopotamia; later settlements in southern Mesopotamia required complicatedirrigation methods. The first of these wasEridu, settled during theUbaid period culture by farmers who brought with them the Samarran culture from the north.
Pottery was decorated with abstract geometric patterns and ornaments, especially in theHalaf culture, also known for its clay fertility figurines, painted with lines. Clay was all around and the main material; often modelled figures were painted with black decoration. Carefully crafted and dyed pots, especially jugs and bowls, were traded. As dyes,iron oxide containing clays were diluted in different degrees or various minerals were mixed to produce different colours.
In South Mesopotamia the period is the earliest known period on thealluvial plain although it is likely earlier periods exist obscured under thealluvium.[29] In the south it has a very long duration between about 6500 and 3800 BC when it is replaced by theUruk period.[30]
Similar portrait of an Uruk King-Priest with a brimmed round hat and large beard, bare-chested with a straight skirt. Uruk, 3300-3000 BC.[33][34]
In North Mesopotamia the period runs only between about 5300 and 4300 BC.[30] It is preceded by theHalaf period and theHalaf-Ubaid Transitional period and succeeded by the Late Chalcolithic period. The new period is named Northern Ubaid to distinguish it from the proper Ubaid in southern Mesopotamia,[35] and two explanations were presented for the transformation. The first maintain an invasion and a replacement of the Halafians by the Ubaidians; however, there is no hiatus between the Halaf and northern Ubaid that excludes the invasion theory.[36][37] The most plausible theory is a Halafian adoption of the Ubaid culture.[36][35][37][38]
The late Uruk period (34th to 32nd centuries) saw the gradual emergence of thecuneiform script and corresponds to theEarly Bronze Age; it may also be called the "Protoliterate period".
The Jemdet Nasr period, named after thetype-siteJemdet Nasr, is generally dated to 3100–2900 BC.[40] It was first distinguished on the basis of distinctive painted monochrome and polychrome pottery with geometric and figurative designs.[41] The cuneiform writing system that had been developed during the preceding Uruk period was further refined. While the language in which these tablets were written cannot be identified with certainty for this period, it is thought to beSumerian. The texts deal with administrative matters like the rationing of foodstuffs or lists of objects or animals.[42] Settlements during this period were highly organized around a central building that controlled all aspects of society. The economy focused on local agricultural production and sheep-and-goatpastoralism. The homogeneity of the Jemdet Nasr period across a large area of southern Mesopotamia indicates intensive contacts and trade between settlements. This is strengthened by the find of a sealing at Jemdet Nasr that lists a number of cities that can be identified, includingUr,Uruk andLarsa.[43]
The entire Early Dynastic period is generally dated to 2900–2350 BC according to theMiddle Chronology, or 2800–2230 BC according to theShort Chronology.[44] TheSumerians were firmly established in Mesopotamia by the middle of the 4th millennium BC, in the archaeological Uruk period, although scholars dispute when they arrived.[45] It is hard to tell where the Sumerians might have come from because the Sumerian language is alanguage isolate, unrelated to any other known language. Theirmythology includes many references to the area of Mesopotamia but little clue regarding their place of origin, perhaps indicating that they had been there for a long time. TheSumerian language is identifiable from its initiallylogographicscript which arose last half of the 4th millennium BC.
By the 3rd millennium BC, theseurban centers had developed into increasingly complex societies. Irrigation and other means of exploiting food sources were being used to amass large surpluses. Huge building projects were being undertaken by rulers, and political organization was becoming ever more sophisticated. Throughout the millennium, the variouscity-statesKish, Uruk, Ur and Lagash vied for power and gained hegemony at various times.Nippur andGirsu were important religious centers, as was Eridu at this point. This was also the time ofGilgamesh, a semi-historical king of Uruk, and the subject of the famousEpic of Gilgamesh. By 2600 BC, the logographic script had developed into a decipherablecuneiformsyllabic script.
Chronology of the main dominations
The chronology of this era is particularly uncertain due to difficulties in our understanding of the text, our understanding of the material culture of the Early Dynastic period and a general lack ofradiocarbon dates for sites in Iraq. Also, the multitude of city-states makes for a confusing situation, as each has its own history. In the past, theSumerian King List was considered to be an important historical source, but recent scholarship has dismissed the utility of this text up to the point that it should not be used at all for the reconstruction of Early Dynastic political history.[46]
Enshakushanna of Uruk conquered all of Sumer, Akkad, andHamazi, followed byEannatum of Lagash who also conquered Sumer. His methods were force and intimidation (see theStele of the Vultures), and soon after his death, the cities rebelled and the empire again fell apart. Some time later,Lugal-Anne-Mundu ofAdab created the first, if short-lived, empire to extend west of Mesopotamia, at least according to historical accounts dated centuries later. The last native Sumerian to rule over most of Sumer beforeSargon of Akkad established supremacy wasLugal-Zage-Si.
Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate),[47] but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the 1st century AD.
Map of theAkkadian Empire (brown) and the directions in which military campaigns were conducted (yellow arrows)Map of theThird Dynasty of Ur (brown) and its sphere of influence (red)
The Akkadian period is generally dated to 2350–2170 BC according to theMiddle Chronology, or 2230–2050 BC according to theShort Chronology.[44] Around 2334 BC, Sargon became ruler ofAkkad in northernMesopotamia. He proceeded to conquer an area stretching from thePersian Gulf into modern-daySyria. The Akkadians were aSemitic people and theAkkadian language came into widespread use as thelingua franca during this period, but literacy remained in the Sumerian language. The Akkadians further developed the Sumerian irrigation system with the incorporation of largeweirs anddiversion dams into the design to facilitate the reservoirs and canals required to transport water vast distances.[48] The dynasty continued until around c. 2154 BC, and reached its zenith underNaram-Sin, who began the trend for rulers to claim divinity for themselves.
The Akkadian Empire lost power after the reign of Naram-Sin, and eventually was invaded by theGuti from theZagros Mountains. For half a century the Guti controlled Mesopotamia, especially the south, but they left few inscriptions, so they are not well understood. The Guti hold loosened on southern Mesopotamia, where the second dynasty of Lagash came into prominence. Its most famous ruler wasGudea, who left many statues of himself in temples across Sumer.
Eventually the Guti were overthrown byUtu-hengal of Uruk, and the various city-states again vied for power. Power over the area finally went to the city-state of Ur, whenUr-Nammu founded theUr III Empire (2112–2004 BC) and conquered the Sumerian region. Under his sonShulgi, state control over industry reached a level never again seen in the region. Shulgi may have devised theCode of Ur-Nammu, one of the earliest knownlaw codes (three centuries before the more famousCode of Hammurabi). Around 2000 BC, the power of Ur waned, and theAmorites came to occupy much of the area, although it was Sumer's long-standing rivals to the east, the Elamites, who finally overthrew Ur. In the north, Assyria remained free of Amorite control until the very end of the 19th century BC. This marked the end of city-states ruling empires in Mesopotamia, and the end of Sumerian dominance, but the succeeding rulers adopted much of Sumerian civilization as their own.
Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is positively known. TheAssyrian King List mentions rulers going back to the 23rd and 22nd century BC. The earliest king namedTudiya, who was a contemporary ofIbrium ofEbla, appears to have lived in the mid-23rd century BC, according to the king list. Tudiya concluded a treaty with Ibrium for the use of a trading post inthe Levant officially controlled by Ebla. Apart from this reference to trading activity, nothing further has yet been discovered about Tudiya. He was succeeded byAdamu and then a further thirteen rulers about all of whom nothing is yet known. These early kings from the 23rd to late 21st centuries BC, who are recorded askings who lived in tents were likely to have been semi nomadic pastoralist rulers, nominally independent but subject to the Akkadian Empire, who dominated the region and at some point during this period became fully urbanised and founded thecity state ofAshur.[49] A king namedUshpia (c. 2030 BC) is credited with dedicating temples toAshur in the home city of the god. In around 1975 BCPuzur-Ashur I founded a new dynasty, and his successors such asShalim-ahum,Ilushuma (1945–1906 BC),Erishum I (1905–1867 BC),Ikunum (1867–1860 BC),Sargon I,Naram-Sin andPuzur-Ashur II left inscriptions regarding the building of temples toAshur,Adad andIshtar in Assyria.Ilushuma in particular appears to have been a powerful king and the dominant ruler in the region, who made many raids into southernMesopotamia between 1945 BC and 1906 BC, attacking the independentSumero-Akkadian city states of the region such asIsin, and founding colonies inAsia Minor. This was to become a pattern throughout the history of ancient Mesopotamia with the future rivalry between Assyria and Babylonia. However, Babylonia did not exist at this time, but was founded in 1894 BC by anAmorite prince namedSumuabum during the reign of Erishum I.
The next two centuries or so, called theIsin-Larsa period, saw southern Mesopotamia dominated by the Amorite cities ofIsin andLarsa, as the two cities vied for dominance. This period also marked a growth in power in the north of Mesopotamia. AnAssyrian king namedIlushuma (1945–1906 BC) became a dominant figure in Mesopotamia, raiding the southern city states and founding colonies inAsia Minor.Eshnunna andMari, twoAmorite ruled states also became important in the north.
Babylonia was founded as an independent state by anAmorite chieftain namedSumuabum in 1894 BC. For over a century after its founding, it was a minor and relatively weak state, overshadowed by older and more powerful states such asIsin,Larsa,Assyria andElam. However,Hammurabi (1792 BC to 1750 BC), the Amorite ruler ofBabylon, turned Babylon into a major power and eventually conquered Mesopotamia and beyond. He is famous for hislaw code and conquests, but he is also famous due to the large amount of records that exist from the period of his reign. After the death of Hammurabi, the first Babylonian dynasty lasted for another century and a half, but his empire quickly unravelled, and Babylon once more became a small state. The Amorite dynasty ended in 1595 BC, when Babylonia fell to theHittite kingMursilis, after which theKassites took control.
Unlike the south of Mesopotamia, the native Akkadian kings of Assyria repelled Amorite advances during the 20th and 19th centuries BC. However this changed in 1813 BC when an Amorite king namedShamshi-Adad I usurped the throne of Assyria. Although claiming descendency from the native Assyrian kingUshpia, he was regarded as an interloper. Shamshi-Adad I created a regional empire in Assyria, maintaining and expanding the established colonies inAsia Minor andSyria. His sonIshme-Dagan I continued this process, however his successors were eventually conquered byHammurabi, a fellow Amorite from Babylon. The three Amorite kings succeeding Ishme-Dagan were vassals of Hammurabi, but after his death, a native Akkadian vice regentPuzur-Sin overthrew the Amorites of Babylon and a period of civil war with multiple claimants to the throne ensued, ending with the succession of kingAdasi c. 1720 BC.
The Middle Assyrian period begins c. 1720 BC with the ejection of Amorites and Babylonians from Assyria by a king calledAdasi. The nation remained relatively strong and stable, peace was made with the Kassite rulers of Babylonia, and Assyria was free from Hittite, Hurrian, Gutian, Elamite and Mitanni threat. However a period ofMitanni domination occurred from the mid-15th to early 14th centuries BC. This was ended byEriba-Adad I (1392 BC - 1366), and his successorAshur-uballit I completely overthrew theMitanni Empire and founded a powerfulAssyrian Empire that came to dominate Mesopotamia and much of the ancientNear East (includingBabylonia,Asia Minor,Iran, theLevant and parts of theCaucasus andArabia), with Assyrian armies campaigning from theMediterranean Sea to theCaspian, and from theCaucasus toArabia. The empire endured until 1076 BC with the death ofTiglath-Pileser I. During this period Assyria became a major power, overthrowing theMitanni Empire, annexing swathes ofHittite,Hurrian andAmorite land, sacking and dominatingBabylon,Canaan/Phoenicia and becoming a rival toEgypt.
Although the Hittites overthrew Babylon, another people, theKassites, took it as their capital (c. 1650–1155 BC (short chronology)). They have the distinction of being the longest lasting dynasty in Babylon, reigning for over four centuries. They left few records, so this period is unfortunately obscure. They are of unknown origin; what little we have of their language suggests it is alanguage isolate. Although Babylonia maintained its independence through this period, it was not a power in the Near East, and mostly sat out the large wars fought over theLevant betweenEgypt, theHittite Empire, andMitanni (see below), as well as independent peoples in the region.Assyria participated in these wars toward the end of the period, overthrowing theMitanni Empire and besting theHittites andPhrygians, but the Kassites in Babylon did not. They did, however, fight against their longstanding rival to the east, Elam (related by some linguists to theDravidian languages in modern India). Babylonia found itself under Assyrian and Elamite domination for much of the later Kassite period. In the end, theElamites conquered Babylon, bringing this period to an end.
TheHurrians were a people who settled in northwestern Mesopotamia and southeast Anatolia in 1600 BC. By 1450 BC they established a medium-sized empire under aMitanni ruling class, and temporarily made tributary vassals out of kings in the west, making them a major threat for thePharaoh in Egypt until their overthrow by Assyria. TheHurrian language is related to the laterUrartian, but there is no conclusive evidence these two languages are related to any others.
By 1300 BC the Hurrians had been reduced to their homelands inAsia Minor after their power was broken by the Assyrians and Hittites, and held the status of vassals to the "Hatti", theHittites, a westernIndo-European people (belonging to the linguistic "centum" group) who dominated most ofAsia Minor (modernTurkey) at this time from their capital ofHattusa. The Hittites came into conflict with the Assyrians from the mid-14th to the 13th centuries BC, losing territory to the Assyrian kings of the period. However they endured until being finally swept aside by thePhrygians, who conquered their homelands in Asia Minor. The Phrygians were prevented from moving south into Mesopotamia by the Assyrian kingTiglath-Pileser I. The Hittites fragmented into a number of smallNeo-Hittite states, which endured in the region for many centuries.
Records from the 12th and 11th centuries BC are sparse in Babylonia, which had been overrun with newSemitic settlers, namely theArameans,Chaldeans andSutu. Assyria however, remained a compact and strong nation, which continued to provide much written record. The 10th century BC is even worse for Babylonia, with very few inscriptions. Mesopotamia was not alone in this obscurity: the Hittite Empire fell at the beginning of this period and very few records are known from Egypt and Elam. This was a time of invasion and upheaval by many new people throughout the Near East, North Africa, The Caucasus, Mediterranean and Balkan regions.
The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 620 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellowAkkadian speakers and northern neighbours,Assyria. The Assyrians had managed to maintain Babylonian loyalty through the Neo-Assyrian period, whether through granting of increased privileges, or militarily, but that finally changed after 627 BC with the death of the last strong Assyrian ruler,Ashurbanipal, and Babylonia rebelled underNabopolassar aChaldean chieftain the following year. In alliance with kingCyaxares of the Medes, and with the help of theScythians andCimmerians the city ofNineveh was sacked in 612 BC, Assyria fell by 605 BC and the seat of empire was transferred to Babylonia for the first time sinceHammurabi.
After the death ofAshurbanipal in 627 BC, the Assyrian empire descended into a series of bitter civil wars, allowing its former vassals to free themselves.Cyaxares reorganized and modernized the Median Army, then joined with KingNabopolassar of Babylon. These allies, together with theScythians, overthrew the Assyrian Empire and destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC. After the final victory atCarchemish in 605 BC the Medes and Babylonians ruled Assyria. Babylon and Media fell underPersian rule in the 6th century BC (Cyrus the Great).
For two centuries of Achaemenid rule both Assyria and Babylonia flourished,Achaemenid Assyria in particular becoming a major source of manpower for the army and a breadbasket for the economy.MesopotamianAramaic remained thelingua franca of the Achaemenid Empire, much as it had done in Assyrian times. Mesopotamia fell toAlexander the Great in 330 BC, and remained underHellenistic rule for another two centuries, withSeleucia as capital from 305 BC. In the 1st century BC, Mesopotamia was in constant turmoil as the Seleucid Empire was weakened byParthia on one hand and theMithridatic Wars on the other. TheParthian Empire lasted for five centuries, into the 3rd century AD, when it was succeeded by theSassanids. After constant wars between Romans and first Parthians, later Sassanids; the western part of Mesopotamia was passed to theRoman Empire.Christianity as well asMandeism entered Mesopotamia from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD, and flourished, particularly in Assyria (Assuristan in Sassanid Persian), which became the center of theAssyrian Church of the East and a flourishing Syriac Christian tradition which remains to this day. A number of Neo-Assyrian kingdoms arose, in particularAdiabene. The Sassanid Empire and Byzantine Mesopotamia finally fell to theRashidun army underKhalid ibn al-Walid in the 630s. After theArab-Islamicconquest of the mid-7th century AD, Mesopotamia saw an influx of non nativeArabs and later alsoTurkic peoples. The city ofAssur was still occupied until the 14th century, and Assyrians possibly still formed the majority in northern Mesopotamia until the Middle Ages. Assyrians retain Eastern Rite Christianity whereas the Mandaeans retain their ancient gnostic religion and Mesopotamian Aramaic as a mother tongue and written script to this day. Among these peoples, the giving of traditional Mesopotamian names is still common.
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