Near East Kingdoms

Mesopotamia (Near East)

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Ancient Mesopotamia was the Near Eastern land between and around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, now for the most part incorporated into Iraq, western Iran, north-eastern Syria, and south-eastern Turkey. The name is Greek, meaning 'the land between the rivers'.

It was in southern Mesopotamia that Sumerian civilisation emerged during the fourth millennium BC. This was one of the first great civilisations (see feature link), probable inventor of the wheel (converted from a potter's wheel around 3500 BC) and of writing (developed during the late fourth millennium BC out of book-keeping requirements).

This civilisation emerged a little way ahead of that of Africa's ancient Egypt, and up to a millennium before that of the Indus Valley culture. It developed out of the end of the Pottery Neolithic across the Fertile Crescent, a period which had seen Neolithic Farmer practices spread far and wide across the Near East and beyond.

As irrigation improved so the more southerly reaches of the Euphrates could at last be occupied by humans and their animals. Southern Mesopotamia was subjected to permanent settlement, mainly pastoralists at first, herding sheep or goats.

Cultures around the edges of this progression included the Hassuna and Samarra which began this settlement process, and perhaps elements of the Hissar culture in the Iranian highlands were also involved. The subsequent Halaf and Ubaid cultures completed this development process.

By the late fourth millennium BC, Sumer of the Uruk IV period was divided into approximately a dozen city states which were independent of one another and which used local canals and boundary stones to mark their borders. Many early historical events in the region are found only in the Sumerian king list, which notates the rulers of the city states (and see feature link), but archaeology has also uncovered a wealth of detail.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from Mesopotamia: The Invention of the City, Gwendolyn Leick (Penguin Books, 2001), from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from Historical Atlas of the Ancient World, 4,000,000 to 500 BC, John Heywood (Barnes & Noble, 2000), from The Ancient Near East, c.3000-330 BC, Amélie Kuhrt (Routledge, 2000, Vol I & II), from Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East, Michael Road (Facts on File, 2000), from Mesopotamia: Assyrians, Sumerians, Babylonians, Enrico Ascalone (Dictionaries of Civilizations 1, University of California Press, 2007), from The Archaeology of Mesopotamia, S Lloyd (Revised Ed, London, 1984), from History of the Ancient Near East c.3000-323 BC, Marc van der Mieroop (Blackwell Publishing, 2004, 2007), from Europe Before History, Kristian Kristiansen, from Unger's Bible Dictionary, Merrill F Unger (1957), and from Easton's Bible Dictionary, Matthew George Easton (1897), and from External Links: Ancient Worlds, and Evolution of Sumerian kingship (Ancient World Magazine), and Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary Project (Published between 2003-2021, part of the Babylonian section of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology), and the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, and Ancient Mesopotamia - an overview (Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge), and Mesopotamia: Birthplace of civilisation, Michael Wood (The Guardian, 2010).)

3700 - 3300 BC

In the North Caucasus mountains of far south-eastern Europe, spectacularly ostentatious chiefs suddenly appear amongst what previously had been very ordinary small-scale farmers. They display gold-covered clothing, gold and silver staffs, and great quantities of bronze weapons which have been obtained from the newly-formed cities of 'Middle Uruk' Mesopotamia of the Uruk IV period (see feature link), through Anatolian middlemen.

A cylinder seal from the Uruk IV period, dated about 3500-3100 BC, depicting a bear or lion attacking buffaloes, with an attendant hero also depicted in the field

This is probably the first true contact between southern urban civilisations and the people of the steppe margins, taking place about 3700-3500 BC, and it forms the basis of the creation of Maikop culture.

Something less obvious to many is that cannabis may be travelling in the opposite direction to the gold and silver which is coming from the south - this time travelling from the Pontic-Caspian steppe to Mesopotamia and the early city states of Sumer. Greek kdnnabis and proto-Germanic *baniptx seem to be related to the Sumerian kuriibu.

Sumerian dies out as a widely spoken language after around 2000 BC, so the connection must be a very ancient one. The international trade of the late Uruk period (circa 3300-3100 BC) provides a suitable context for this specific trade.

This fragment of Early Bronze Age pottery was produced in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC, as the early city-building movement there began to accelerate towards large-scale city states and a recorded history

c.3300 - 3100 BC

The earliest civilisation flourishes in Sumer in southern Mesopotamia during the Uruk IV period. Making the most of new irrigation systems, the population expands rapidly and creates approximately a dozen city states.

However, in the north some settlements contract (Nineveh) or are abandoned entirely (Shakhi Kora) at the end of the Uruk IV period around 3100 BC.

c.2600 - 2200 BC

By this date, Sumerian civilisation in the south is at its height. Although their creation is later than those of Sumer, the early Akkaddian or Amorite city states of the north are less well attested, and many of them are only known from later writings (and see feature link).

This map shows the locations of early cultures on the Mesopotamian plains, focussing here on the spread of the various Ubaid phases in the sixth and fifth millennia BC, overlaid over the spread of preceding cultures

Those which can be identified by name include Apum, Ashnakkum, Nawar, and Urkesh in the Khabur region of what is now north-eastern Syria, plus Harran, Mari, and Terqa along the Euphrates, Kunara of the Lullubi in modern Kurdistan, and Arbel, Ashur, and Nineveh in the east (the early Assyrians). These states are in contact with each other through diplomatic and commercial means.

Some of these centres in northern, or upper, Mesopotamia - Mari, and Nawar - seem to be able to impose their will on surrounding states, but many of the details of their military actions are unknown.

c.2200 BC

Northern Mesopotamia is disrupted by invasions by barbarians from farther north or east - such as the Gutians - and by the cold, dry period in the Near East which lasts for three hundred years.

Some of the earliest cities, such as Sippar, Borsippa, and Kish in the north, and Ur, Uruk, and Eridu in the south, formed the endpoints of what became the complex Sumerian network of cities and canals (click or tap on map to view full sized)

This coincides with other big climatic changes elsewhere in the world, including a mega-drought in the Far East's Longshan culture and in the Near East. The latter sees the decline of Sumerian civilisation, the Akkadian empire, and Egypt's 'Old Kingdom', the start of Egypt's 'First Intermediate' period, and flooding in Bronze Age Britain.

c.2000s BC

Syrian states have maintained friendly relations with the south during the flourishing of Ur's 'Third Dynasty' in Sumer. However, following the fall of Ur around 2004 BC there is a reduction in the number and size of settlements in the north for reasons which are unknown.

Documentation suffers a gap of almost two centuries before the start of the archives at Mari. Much of the region enters a period of Amorite-dominated Mesopotamia.

The ruins of the once-vast city of Ur were excavated in 1922 by Sir Leonard Woolley, which is when the 'Royal Tombs' were discovered (External Link: Creative Commons Licence 4.0 International)

Mesopotamia (Bronze Age) (Near East)

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The fall of the Sumerian city of Ur and its 'Third Dynasty' around 2004 BC ended the final stages of Sumerian civilisation. Long migrating into the region and part of the problem which has caused Ur's decline, Amorites began to fill the void left by the collapse by assuming control of former Sumerian cities such as Mari, and by establishing powerful centralised kingdoms such as Babylonia.

Six years after Ur's conquest by Elam, that city was seized by the successor Amorite city state of Isin, which restored the temples. Ur remained a centre of learning throughout the 'Old Babylonian' period, while the small city state of Kazallu in Akkad shared in the spoils of the victory of about 2004 BC, temporarily rising to become a small regional power.

This is also the period in which the early Semitic-speaking Israelites supposedly became émigrés from southern Mesopotamia, after leaving the city of Ur during the reign of Hammurabi. If not so at the beginning, they soon led a confederation of tribes which initially settled on the coast of the Dead Sea to form one or more small kingdoms in Canaan.

While Babylon generally dominated the south, this period witnessed the first exclusively northern Mesopotamian empire in the form of the kingdom of 'Upper Mesopotamia'. This preceded the rise of Assyrian dominance in the region, although they did achieve temporary independence in Ashur after the fall of Ur, before being incorporated into this empire.

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c.1850 - 1776 BC

Northern Mesopotamia has fully recovered from the fall of Sumer, and a wave of newer small states or fully urbanised cities now becomes apparent, including Abattum, Andarig, Apum, Karana, Qattara, Razama, Shushara (Shemshara), and Terqa, making up a system of kingdoms whose rulers keep large palace archives of diplomatic correspondence showing how vital it is that they remain informed.

While southern Mesopotamia flourished during the third millennium BC, it took longer for the same effect to be felt in northern Mesopotamia, with the first larger cities and city states only really emerging towards the end of the millennium (click or tap on map to view full sized)

Areas of Syria and northern Mesopotamia are conquered around 1809 BC by the kingdom of 'Upper Mesopotamia'. After the death of the kingdom's founder about 1776 BC, it swiftly breaks up and the old order reasserts itself. Local rulers are constantly wary of the larger states which can make or break them, including Babylon, Elam, and Eshnunna.

c.1800? BC

Yahdun-Lim of Mari sends troops to join those of Yamkhad to fight against several hostile Syrian 'states', including Tuttul, defeating their armies and attacking their towns.

The other states which are allied to Tuttul and are defeated alongside it include the city of Samanum and the land of Ubrabu, and the city of Abattum and the land of Rabbum (all are Yaminite towns and regions which are located close by Terqa, under Mari's overall control, and headed by little more than tribal organisations).

Shamshi-Adad's soldiers, who had proven to be so successful in forming a short-lived but powerful regional empire to the east of the Euphrates which is generally known as the kingdom of 'Upper Mesopotamia', are shown in this Assyrian relief

c.1770s BC

Bahdi-Lim, an official of the court of Zimri-Lim of Mari in the city of Tuttul, records the arrival of Dagan's entry into the city, accompanied by two persons. One of these is a Yaminite chief called Dadi-hadun (assuming the Rabbeans to be the people of the land of Rabbum), and the other, Sumu-laba, may also be a chief (of the Uprapeans, assuming them to the the people of the land of Ubrabu).

c.1760s BC

The city state of Babylon suddenly expands under Hammurabi to conquer huge swathes of southern, central, and northern Mesopotamia, including many of the states mentioned above.

c.1730 - 1720 BC

The Kassites invade Mesopotamia, penetrating deep into the south. There they are defeated by the Sealand kings and are expelled from southern Mesopotamia. They retreat north to take over the near-abandoned city of Mari, also expanding into nearby Terqa.

Although some Kassites later took Babylonian names, the Kassites retained their traditional clan and tribal structure in contrast to the smaller family unit which was preferred by Babylonians

By now the intensive palace system of the high number of states in upper Mesopotamia has become unsustainable. Many cities are abandoned, perhaps due to a combination of popular opposition to the system and changes in rainfall patterns. The historical record for this region disappears.

c.1595 BC

Mursili's Hittites capture and destroy Alep on their way south to sack Babylon, ending the political situation which has characterised Syria and Mesopotamia for four centuries. Many states decline, such as Apum. The region enters a dark age which lasts for up to a century and-a-half in some areas. The power vacuum allows Hurrians to migrate westwards, and the Kassites to take control of Babylon.

Babylon began life as a modest town which had been seized from Kazallu, but was quickly fortified by the building of a city wall in the nineteenth century BC

c.1450 BC

The Hurrian state of Mitanni suddenly expands under Barattarna (or Parattarna) to encompass many northern Mesopotamian and Syrian cities. There is a popular rebellion within Alep which may be encouraged or orchestrated by Mitanni so that it can secure overlordship.

c.1360 BC

The resurgent Assyrians throw off their overlords, the Hittites, and establish firm control over the heartland of Assyria - the Tigris valley and the plains to the east, and from Ashur to the Taurus mountains in the north.

c.1200 BC

In the face of a general collapse of authority in Syria and a marked decline in northern Mesopotamia, including within Assyria, Aramaean tribes migrate into both regions and begin to attack and take over many cities. Some cities are abandoned in the face of these attacks, such as Qattara.

It was Ashurnasirpal II who undertook the expansion and recovery of Assyria following general social collapse and a short dark page period between about 1200-900 BC

This is also the period of Israelite settlement after the exodus from Egypt. At this time, there is general instability in the region: the Hittite empire is destroyed in Anatolia, and the Canaanites begin to be reduced to owning the shores of what is now Lebanon (eventually to become the sea traders known as the Phoenicians).

The Philistines and other Sea Peoples are first settling on the lower coast of the Levant, and various neo-Hittite city states are arising in northern Syria, many of which come into contact with the Israelites. The first millennium BC is a time of Mesopotamian Empires.

Mesopotamian Empires (Iron Age) (Near East)

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The first millennium BC was an age of empires in Mesopotamia. There was a succession of them which would continue to rule the region in one form or another throughout much of this period. At its start the entire Near East was recovering from the Bronze Age collapse of about 1200 BC, with drought and the loss of surviving crops resulting in massive social and cultural upheaval.

Food supplies had dwindled and the number of raids by habiru and other groups of peoples who banded together greatly increased in the lead-up to this process, by which time a flood of destabilisation had turned into a tsunami. The recovery took around two or three hundred years, by which time the Assyrians were rebuilding as one of the leading powers.

The usurping Sargonids formed the last great dynasty of Assyrian rulers. They extended the empire to its greatest extent, from the Caspian Sea to Cyprus, and from Anatolia to Egypt. Their direct successors were the Neo-Babylonians, followed by the Persians who came from the immediate east of the Iranian plateau.

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c.900 BC

From around this date, rich, well-organised 'kingdoms' or 'chiefdoms' develop in the Caucasus. They interact with civilisations to their south, in Anatolia and Mesopotamia, usually by raiding into their territory. Typical horse bits and cheek-pieces of an early Thraco-Cimmerian type are found by archaeologists in the same region of the Caucasus.

This image shows Cimmerians battling early Greeks - prior to the advent of accepted 'Classical' Greece - with the mounted Cimmerians warriors apparently being accompanied by their dogs

884 BC

As the post Bronze Age collapse dark age draws to a close, Assyria rises to become the dominant force in northern Mesopotamia and Syria.

714 - 713 BC

Much to the shock of Sargon of Assyria, while his main army is occupied in the east, Ambaris of Tabal allies himself with Midas of Phrygia and Rusa of Urartu (possibly immediately before the latter's suicide), as well as the local Tabalean rulers in an attempt to invade Que.

Sargon reacts quickly, invading Tabal and capturing Ambaris, his family and the nobles of his country, all of whom are taken to Assyria. Tabal is annexed as an Assyrian province.

Sargon is noted for using Cimmerians within his army on this campaign, possibly for their knowledge of the Urartuan hills as much as their ability as mounted warriors. Cimmerians have been raiding into Mesopotamia for decades.

This image shows Cimmerians battling early Greeks - prior to the advent of accepted 'Classical' Greece - with the mounted Cimmerians warriors apparently being accompanied by their dogs (republican Romans did much the same thing)

653 BC

Tugdamme of the Cimmerians begins to threaten the borders of the powerful Assyrian empire during the reign of Ashurbanipal. Assyrian inscriptions record him as being 'King of the Saka and Qutium'. This is very telling because it suggests that he rules not only over his own Cimmerian people (which is so obvious that it need not be mentioned), but also the Scythians.

The 'Qutium' in point would seem to be 'Gutium', homeland in the Zagros mountains between modern Iran and Iraq of the nomadic Gutians (often thought to be the precursors of the Kurds).

Clearly Tugdamme has already conquered territory very close to the heartland of the Assyrian empire, making it more possible that the Scythian masters of the Medes at this time are in fact the Cimmerians.

This map attempts to show the Scythian lands at their greatest extent, failing to extend northwards thanks to the Balts (click or tap on map to view full sized)

The 'Qutium' in point would seem to be 'Gutium', homeland in the Zagros mountains between modern Iran and Iraq of the nomadic Gutians (often thought to be the precursors of the Kurds).

Clearly Tugdamme has already conquered territory very close to the heartland of the Assyrian empire, making it more possible that the Scythian masters of the Medes at this time are in fact the Cimmerians.

Assyrian inscriptions also refer to Tugdamme as 'Sar Kissati' which translates as 'King of Kish' or 'King of the World'. Kish is an ancient and highly important city state in southern Mesopotamia, which suggests that Tugdamme now rules a vast area of land to the east and south of the Assyrians.

Ashurbanipal is illustrated during a lion hunt, almost a ritual in the Assyrian royal search for order amidst the seemingly everyday chaos of life

612 - 605 BC

Assyria falls and a resurgent Babylonia gains control of much of its former territory, including Syria, despite an attempt by Egypt to prevent this. In less than a century the entire region will fall to the Persians as Persian Mesopotamia.