history of Mesopotamia

Table of Contents

Introduction
Mesopotamia to the end of the Old Babylonian period
- The origins of Mesopotamian history
  - The background
    - The character and influence of ancient Mesopotamia
    - The achievements of ancient Mesopotamia
    - The classical and medieval views of Mesopotamia; its rediscovery in modern times
    - Modern archaeological excavations
  - The emergence of Mesopotamian civilization
    - The emergence of cultures
    - Mesopotamian protohistory
- Sumerian civilization
  - The Sumerians to the end of the Early Dynastic period
    - Literary and other historical sources
    - First historical personalities
    - Emergent city-states
    - Territorial states
  - Sumer and Akkad from 2350 to 2000 bce
    - Sargon’s reign
    - Ascendancy of Akkad
    - The end of the dynasty
  - The 3rd dynasty of Ur
    - Administration
    - Ethnic, geographic, and intellectual constituents
    - Ur III in decline
- The Old Babylonian period
  - Isin and Larsa
    - Political fragmentation
    - Literary texts and increasing decentralization
  - Early history of Assyria
  - The Old Babylonian empire
    - Political fortunes
    - Babylonian law
    - Babylonian literature
  - The Hurrians
Mesopotamia to the end of the Achaemenian period
- The Kassites, the Mitanni, and the rise of Assyria
  - The Kassites in Babylonia
  - The Hurrian and Mitanni kingdoms
  - The rise of Assyria
- Assyria and Babylonia at the end of the 2nd millennium
  - Babylonia under the 2nd dynasty of Isin
  - Assyria between 1200 and 1000 bce
- Assyria and Babylonia from c. 1000 to c. 750 bce
  - Assyria and Babylonia until Ashurnasirpal II
  - Shalmaneser III and Shamshi-Adad V of Assyria
  - Adad-nirari III and his successors
- The Neo-Assyrian Empire (746–609)
  - Tiglath-pileser III and Shalmaneser V
  - Sargon II (721–705) and Marduk-apal-iddina of Babylonia
  - Sennacherib
  - Esarhaddon
  - Ashurbanipal (668–627) and Shamash-shum-ukin (668–648)
  - Decline of the Assyrian empire
- The Neo-Babylonian Empire
  - Nebuchadrezzar II
  - The last kings of Babylonia
- Mesopotamia under the Persians
Mesopotamia from c. 320 bce to c. 620 ce
- The Seleucid period
- The Parthian period
- The Sasanian period

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Sites associated with ancient Mesopotamian history

The rise and fall of ancient Mesopotamia

Babylonian seal

Ur-Nanshe of Lagash

bronze head of a king from Nineveh

Code of Hammurabi

relief of a spirit holding a poppy flower

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Mesopotamia in the Seleucid and Parthian periods

For Students

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Mesopotamia summary

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Videos

The rise and fall of ancient Mesopotamia

The rise and fall of ancient Mesopotamia

An overview of Mesopotamia.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Mysteries of ancient Babylon

Mysteries of ancient Babylon

Overview of the ancient metropolis of Babylon, with its vast walls and (according...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Sites associated with ancient Mesopotamian history

Sites associated with ancient Mesopotamian history

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

ziggurat at Ur

ziggurat at Ur

Ziggurat at Ur (modern Tall al-Muqayyar, Iraq).

© Simon11uk—iStock/Getty Images

Babylonian seal

Babylonian seal

Impression from a cylinder seal from Babylonia, 8th century bce;...

Courtesy of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City

Ur-Nanshe of Lagash

Ur-Nanshe of Lagash

Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash, detail of a limestone relief, c. 2500 bce;...

© Photos.com/Jupiterimages

bronze head of a king from Nineveh

bronze head of a king from Nineveh

Bronze head of a king, perhaps Sargon of Akkad, from Nineveh (now in Iraq), Akkadian...

© DEA Picture Library—De Agostini/Getty Images

Code of Hammurabi

Code of Hammurabi

Diorite stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi, 18th century bce.

Art Media/Heritage-Images/age fotostock

relief of a spirit holding a poppy flower

relief of a spirit holding a poppy flower

Spirit holding a poppy flower, detail of a relief from the palace of Sargon II; now...

© Photos.com/Jupiterimages

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Winged bull with a human head, guardian figure (lamassu) from the palace...

Trjames

Mesopotamia in the Seleucid and Parthian periods

Mesopotamia in the Seleucid and Parthian periods

Mesopotamia in the Seleucid and Parthian periods.

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Sumerian cuneiform tablet

Sumerian cuneiform tablet

Sumerian cuneiform tablet, probably from Erech (Uruk), Mesopotamia, c. 3100–2900...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gift, 1988, 1988.433.1, www.metmuseum.org

Babylonia and Assyria

Babylonia and Assyria

The earliest cities for which there exist records appeared around the mouths of the...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ancient symbols for 1 and 10

Ancient symbols for 1 and 10

Examples of ancient symbols for the numbers 1 and 10.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Winged bull with a human head, guardian figure (lamassu) from the gate of...

Rama, CC-BY-SA-2.0-FR

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