Ancient Mesopotamia

What is a civilization?

Civilizations are complex societies with organized communities and governments. They also have distinct art, languages, and religions. Humans around the world started developing civilizations around 8000 BCE. Many of the first civilizations were based on agriculture, or farming crops.

Why did many early civilizations begin along rivers?

Humans living in ancient civilizations needed river water to grow their crops. Here are some of the crops that Mesopotamians grew: barley, wheat, dates

The year 3500 BCE was around 5,500 years ago! Around that time, the Sumerians started building towns in Mesopotamia.

What are BCE and CE?

BCE and CE are ways to mark years on the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is the main calendar used around the world. BCE stands for "Before Common Era" and CE stands for "Common Era." In the Gregorian calendar, the Common Era begins on 1 CE. Dates that occurred before 1 CE are labeled BCE.

How do you count with BCE and CE?

The year 3500 BCE was 3,500 years before the Common Era. In other words, it was 3,500 years before the year 1 CE. Today, we are in the year 2020 CE. That's about 2,000 years after 1 CE.

To figure out how many years ago 3500 BCE was from today, add the time before 1 CE and the time after 1 CE:

around 3,500 years + around 2,000 years = around 5,500 years

Why is the Gregorian calendar divided into two parts?

Christians believe that Jesus Christ was born around 1 CE. So, they decided to divide the calendar into years before and after the birth of Jesus Christ. Instead of CE and BCE, they use AD and BC. AD stands for anno Domini, which means "in the year of the Lord." BC means "before Christ."

The people in the Sumerian cities were polytheists.

Sumerian gods

The Sumerians prayed to many gods. The Sumerian gods represented human actions and parts of nature. Here are some examples:

• Anu was the god of the sky. He was also one of the most important gods.

• Nabu was the god of writing.

• Shamash was the god of the sun, truth, and justice.

• Inanna was the goddess, or female god, of love and war.

• Nanna, or Sin, was god of the moon.

Patron gods

Each Sumerian city had one god that the people believed was their city's protector. For example, Inanna was the goddess of the city of Uruk. Although cities had one patron, or protector god, the people there still prayed to other gods, too.

The Sumerians were some of the first people to invent a writing system. At first, they used pictographs, or pictures, to represent objects. However, it was difficult to use these pictographs to represent complex ideas.

Over time, the Sumerians developed cuneiform (kyoo-NEE-uh-form). Cuneiform uses a set of wedge-shaped symbols. Each shape stands for a syllable or an idea. Sumerians could combine their cuneiform symbols to make any word in their language!

Sumerians used cuneiform to write about both simple and complex topics. They recorded their ideas, sales, laws, and even homework on clay tablets. Sumerian children went to an edubba, or writing school, to learn how to write cuneiform properly.

The Sumerians invented the first lunar calendar. The Sumerians used a lunar calendar made up of 12 months. The length of each month was based on the phases of the moon. But the phases of the moon do not determine the seasons. The seasons are tied to the solar year, or the time it takes for the earth to revolve around the sun. The solar year is longer than the lunar year.

So, the lunar year did not match up with the seasonal cycle. To keep up with the seasons, the Sumerians had to add a month. Every three years, the Sumerians added an extra month to their calendar. That way, they could catch back up to the solar year.

How did the Sumerians first use the wheel?

Before Sumerians invented a wheel for wagons, they invented the pottery wheel. Pottery wheels are flat, circular disks that help potters turn wet clay into pots. Pottery wheels are still popular today for making items out of clay.

The Sumerians were skilled inventors. Some historians believe the Sumerians also invented the first sailboat and plow!

The Sumerian cities often fought against each other for power. But in 2300 BCE, the ruler of one city became more powerful than the others. His name was Sargon.

Sargon, king of Akkad, . . . defeated Uruk and tore down its wall. In the battle with the people of Uruk he was victorious . . . Sargon, king of Akkad, . . . was victorious in the battle with the people of Ur. He defeated their city and tore down its wall. He defeated the city of E-Ninmar and tore down its wall, and defeated its entire territory as far as the sea . . .Sargon, king of Kish, was victorious in 34 campaigns and dismantled all the cities as far as the shore of the sea.

Uruk: a Sumerian city

victorious: the winner

campaigns: military operations

dismantled: took apart

Who was King Sargon?

Sargon was king around 2300 BCE. Here is one of the legends about King Sargon's birth:

Sargon's mother was a priestess. Priestesses weren't allowed to have children, so Sargon's mother had to hide Sargon. She placed Sargon in a basket made of reeds and sent him to float along a river.

A royal servant found baby Sargon in the river. The servant took Sargon back to his own home and made him his son. The legend says that when Sargon was a child, the goddess Ishtar favored him. She helped him become king.

Many historians compare the legend of Sargon with the story of Moses in the Hebrew Bible:

Moses's mother feared for the safety of baby Moses. So, she hid Moses in a papyrus basket and sent the basket down the Nile River. The daughter of the king of Egypt found Moses in the river. She sent an enslaved woman to get him from the river. The king's daughter named the baby Moses, which means "I drew him from the water."

papyrus: a grass-like plant that grows in Egypt

King Sargon turned the Sumerian cities into an empire. King Sargon united the Sumerian cities into one empire. King Sargon's empire was called the Akkadian Empire. Most historians consider it to be the first empire ever.

The lost city of Akkad

The Akkadian Empire's capital was the city of Akkad. Archaeologists still haven't found the city! Some believe that it's along the Euphrates River, near the present-day city of Baghdad, Iraq.

Sargon's family ruled the Akkadian Empire for around 200 years.

King Sargon had to control his large empire. But it was too big for him to rule directly. So, Sargon took steps to make sure each city would follow his rules. King Sargon also tried to unite the cities through his daughter, Enheduanna. He sent Enheduanna to be a priestess in the city of Ur. As a leader in Ur, Enheduanna could make sure that the city stayed loyal to King Sargon.

Enheduanna, the first poet

Enheduanna was an important priestess for Sin, the patron god of the city of Ur. Enheduanna is remembered for the many poems she wrote to the gods. Some historians believe she may be the first known poet in the world! Here is a part of one of Enheduanna's poems for the goddess Inanna:

Your queen Inanna . . . that singular woman, the unique one, who speaks hateful words to the wicked, who moves among the stars, who goes against rebel lands, and at twilight makes the land beautiful, all on her own, great daughter of Sin, pure Inanna . . .

One lasting piece of the Akkadian empire was the Akkadian language. The Akkadian language became the most widespread written language for over 1,000 years. Historians and archaeologists would use primary sources to determine whether Akkadian was a popular language. A primary source is an object or document from the actual time period being studied.

• a letter written in Akkadian between the leaders of other empires at the time. This letter is between an Egyptian queen and a Mitanni King. The Egyptians lived in North Africa, and the Mitanni lived in present-day Turkey. Although the two leaders had their own languages, they still wrote to each other in Akkadian. This letter helps show that Akkadian was a widely used language.

• tax reports written in Akkadian found at many different sites. Because the tax reports were found in many places, Akkadian must have been widely used.

• an ancient school lesson written in Akkadian. Akkadian children went to school to learn the Akkadian language. Since Akkadian was taught in schools, it was probably a widespread language.

The Akkadian Empire lasted for around 200 years. Until recently, historians weren't sure why the Akkadian Empire ended.

In the 1990s, archaeologists and other scientists studied the soil of ancient Mesopotamia. The soil showed that a drought hit Mesopotamia around 2200 BCE. Because of the drought, people in northern Mesopotamia moved into southern Akkadian cities. There they hoped to find more water and food.

But the people in the south couldn't grow enough food for everyone. The newcomers and original city inhabitants fought for resources. The fighting and lack of food led to the end of the empire.

How does climate affect society?

The drought around 2200 BCE caused a shortage of water and food in the Akkadian Empire. Other empires at the time faced similar shortages. Many historians believe that the same drought that ended the Akkadian Empire might have also ended the Egyptian Old Kingdom! Even today, droughts force people to share limited resources and test how well governments can help their people.

How do we know about ancient climate changes?

Until the 1990s, scientists and historians didn't know that a drought helped to end the Akkadian Empire.

Modern scientists who study ancient climate changes are known as paleoclimatologists. Today, paleoclimatologists use information from tree rings, ice caps, ancient soil layers, and plant remains to learn about environmental changes in the past.

Much of what we know about Sumerian and Akkadian societies comes from archaeologists. Archaeologists are people who study ancient materials to learn more about ancient civilizations.

Studying the Sumerian and Akkadian civilizations can be difficult for archaeologists.

• Ancient objects can be destroyed by heat, water, or natural disasters. Over time, heat and moisture can damage ancient objects. Ancient objects can also be destroyed by natural disasters, such as earthquakes. Archaeologists have to be careful with the objects they find because they are often fragile.

• Today, some places in Mesopotamia are too dangerous for research projects. Today, people are fighting wars in some parts of Mesopotamia. Some areas of Mesopotamia are especially dangerous for archaeologists. Those areas are controlled by violent groups that don't want people to learn about ancient Mesopotamian cultures.

• New civilizations often destroy important objects from old civilizations. Sometimes, new civilizations destroy ancient objects on purpose. They don't want people to know the history of the old civilization. Other new civilizations destroy objects by accident. For example, they start making new buildings on top of ground that contains ancient objects.

By 2100 BCE, Mesopotamia went back to being ruled by independent cities. But soon, new empires gained power. Each fought to control the productive land of the Fertile Crescent.

Around 1792 BCE, the Babylonian Empire took control of Mesopotamia. The Babylonian leader was named King Hammurabi (hah-mur-RAH-bee). King Hammurabi is most famous for making a code of law for his empire.

Did King Hammurabi make the first code of law?

King Hammurabi's code of law was not the first one in the world. Before the Babylonian Empire even began, some Sumerian cities already had their own written law codes. For example, King Ur-Namma of the city of Ur had a law code as early as 2100 BCE.

Why is King Hammurabi's law code important?

King Hammurabi's law code was one of the earliest written law systems in the world. The laws covered many situations that could come up in ancient Babylonian communities, such as punishments for stealing and rules for adoption. Because the law code was so detailed, historians use it to learn about life in the Babylonian Empire.

Today, the United States Capitol Building has a large portrait of King Hammurabi inside. The portrait is meant to show that King Hammurabi's ideas contributed to the development of American law.

King Hammurabi's laws were inscribed, or written, on a tall stone monument. Read part of Hammurabi's law code. T

Let the oppressed . . . come and stand before this my image . . . Let him read the inscription, and understand my . . . words . . . he will find out what is just, and his heart will be glad.

To the end of time let the kings of the world follow the just words inscribed on my monument. Let no king change or erase the inscription. . . . May the kings who listen to my words be blessed with empires as large as mine . . .

As for the kings who do not listen to my words, may their destinies be cursed . . . and their very existence forgotten.

the oppressed: people who aren't being treated fairly

inscription: written words

just: fair

Justice for an empire

King Hammurabi's laws were inscribed on a stele, or tall stone monument, for his whole empire to see. King Hammurabi hoped that anyone who was treated unfairly would see the laws and use them to get justice.

Laws from the gods

The top of the stele shows the king receiving his laws from Shamash. Shamash was the Mesopotamian sun god. He was also considered the god of justice and goodness. Why do you think King Hammurabi would want people to believe his laws came from Shamash?

If a man put out the eye of another man, his eye shall be put out.

If [a man] put out the eye of a man's slave . . . he shall pay half of [the slave's] value.

If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.

If [a man] knock out the teeth of a freed man, he shall pay one-third of a gold mina.

freed man: a person who used to be enslaved

mina: a unit of weight for measuring money, about 1 pound

In King Hammurabi's law code, punishment depended on the rank of the people involved. For example, if a man harmed an enslaved person, the punishment was less harsh than if he had harmed someone who was not enslaved. So, Hammurabi's laws did not treat everyone equally.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"

Today, many people summarize Hammurabi's code as "an eye for an eye" and "a tooth for a tooth." However, that wasn't always the case. These quotations leave out the importance of rank in determining punishments.

Compare Hammurabi's laws about men to his laws about women.

If a man hits another man of equal rank, he shall pay one gold mina.

If a man hits a woman so that she loses her unborn baby, he shall pay her ten shekels.

If a man hits a woman and the woman dies, the man's daughter shall be put to death.

shekel: a type of Middle Eastern money, about 1/60 of a mina

Women's rights in Babylon

Although Hammurabi's law code did not treat men and women equally, it still gave women some rights that were not common at the time. For example, if a husband did not treat his wife fairly, she could go to court. If she could prove that she was not being treated well, she was allowed to divorce her husband and go back to live with her family instead. Sometimes, she was even allowed to remarry.

To the Babylonians, the first Sumerians were already considered ancient. The first Sumerian cities existed over 1,500 years before the Babylonian Empire began. That is the same amount of time between our society today and the end of the Roman Empire! People in the Babylonian Empire knew about the Sumerians through famous works such as The Epic of Gilgamesh.

What happens in The Epic of Gilgamesh?

The Epic of Gilgamesh is about an ancient Sumerian King named Gilgamesh (GILL-guh-mesh). In the story, Gilgamesh is not a wise king. So, the Sumerian gods create a strong man named Enkidu (EHN-kee-doo) to go and kill him. But instead, Gilgamesh and Enkidu become friends! They go on adventures together, traveling through forests, slaying a lion, and killing monsters.

But in the middle of the epic, Enkidu is killed. Gilgamesh is upset and scared because he finally realizes that someday he will die, too. Gilgamesh decides to go on a journey to figure out a way to live forever. On his journey, he realizes that living forever is impossible. He returns to his city and decides that being a good king is the best way to make his fame last forever.

In ancient Mesopotamia, many people told creation myths, or stories about human origins. Often, these myths involved many gods. Read this Babylonian creation myth. Then answer the question below.

When Marduk heard the words of the gods, his heart made him come up with a plan. Marduk opened his mouth and spoke . . ."My blood will I take and bone will I make. I will make man. He shall inhabit the earth. He shall be charged with the service of the gods, and build their shrines . . ."

Marduk: the most important Babylonian god

shrines: holy places where people worship a god

The importance of Marduk

Marduk was the patron god of the city of Babylon. When the Babylonian Empire took control of Mesopotamia, Marduk became even more important. He was even mentioned in King Hammurabi's law code:

By the command of Shamash, the great judge of heaven and earth, let righteousness go forth in the land. By the order of Marduk let no destruction befall my monument.

Let the oppressed . . . say, "Hammurabi is a ruler, who is like a father to his [people], who respects the words of Marduk . . . who makes Marduk happy, who . . . has established order in the land."

Who were the Kassites?

The Kassites came from mountains east of Mesopotamia. Under Kassite rule, Babylonian culture flourished. The Kassites ruled Mesopotamia for more than 400 years, from around 1595 BCE to 1158 BCE!

Kassite inventions

The Kassites invented a small stone stele called a kudurru. Kassite rulers used kudurrus to record giving gifts to their friends and family. Kudurrus often included pictures of the Babylonian gods.

The kudurru in this picture records the Kassite king Meli-Shipak giving a gift of land to his daughter Hunnubat-Nannaya. In the picture, the king introduces his daughter to the Babylonian goddess Nannaya, who is sitting on the far left. The star, moon, and sun in the picture represent the goddess Ishtar, the god Nanna, and the god Shamash.

After the Babylonians, the next major empire to unite Mesopotamia was the Assyrian Empire.The first Assyrians had their capital at the city of Ashur.

Ancient Ashur

The city of Ashur was home to the Assyrian people. Established around 3000 BCE, the city was the religious capital of their empire. The patron god of the city was also called Ashur.

World Heritage Site

Today, the ruins of Ashur are considered a World Heritage Site. A World Heritage Site is a natural or human-made place with special historical or cultural value to humankind. The United Nations has agreed that these sites should be protected.

The Assyrian Empire was famous for its military.

The Assyrian army had horses. People who ride horses in an army are called cavalry (KA-vuhl-ree).

The Assyrian army used machines to attack cities. Assyrian battering rams were machines made of wood and iron. They were used to break down city walls.

The Assyrian army had bows and arrows. Assyrian archers, or people who fight with bows and arrows.

Much of what historians know about Assyrian kings comes from writings and art. For example, stories about King Sargon II (SAHR-gahn) were carved into the walls of his palace. Read part of the writing from Sargon II's palace walls.

Palace of Sargon, the great king, the mighty king, king of the world, king of Assyria, governor of Babylon, the king of Sumer and Akkad, beloved of the great gods, to whom Ashur, Nabu, and Marduk entrusted an incomparable rule . . .

beloved:favorite

entrusted:put into the care of a person

incomparable:better than any other

Often, historians only have information about Assyrian battles written from the Assyrian point of view. For one battle near the city of Jerusalem, however, historians have information from both sides.

King Ashurbanipal (AH-shur-BAHN-eh-pal) ruled from around 668 to 627 BCE. Like many past Assyrian kings, King Ashurbanipal was famous for his successful military battles. But he was also famous for his love of writing, math, and astronomy. He loved to collect information and relics from all over his empire. In his capital at the city of Nineveh, he even built one of the first libraries in the world.

Take a look inside!

Archaeologists have discovered around 30,000 clay tablets in the ruins of King Ashurbanipal's library. The library was mostly meant for the king and his officials.

The tablets from the library contain information on medicine, astronomy, magic, and foreign affairs. The library also had famous texts from all over Mesopotamia. For example, it had a copy of The Epic of Gilgamesh and Hammurabi's code.

History under attack

King Ashurbanipal's library and palace were located in Nineveh. Nineveh still exists today in present-day Iraq, but parts of the ancient city were destroyed by a violent group called ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The gate in this image was one of the gates into the ancient city of Nineveh. But in 2016, many Nineveh gates were destroyed by ISIS.

After King Ashurbanipal died, three kings argued over who would be the next king of the Assyrian Empire. Their arguing weakened the empire. The kings were more focused on fighting each other than defending the empire. Then, around 612 BCE, the Babylonians and Medes became allies. Allies are people or groups that agree to help each other. The Babylonians and the Medes worked together to attack and destroy the Assyrian capital of Nineveh.

What happened to the Assyrians?

The Assyrians lost control of Mesopotamia, but the Assyrian people and culture still exist. While many still live in the Middle East, around 80,000 Assyrian people now live in the United States.

Where are the Assyrians today?

The Assyrians lost control of Mesopotamia, but the Assyrian people and culture still exist. While many still live in the Middle East, around 80,000 Assyrian people live in the United States, with most communities concentrated in Illinois, Michigan, and California.

The Babylonian King Nabopolassar (NAH-boh-puh-LAH-sehr) helped defeat the Assyrian Empire. King Nabopolassar set up his own empire in Babylon. He wanted to make his empire just like the Old Babylonian Empire. Historians call his empire the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

What else were the Neo-Babylonians called?

The Neo-Babylonian Empire is also called the Chaldean (kal-DEE-uhn) Empire. The Chaldeans were an ethnic group that lived in Babylon. Some of their members became kings of Babylon. The first king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Nabopolassar, was of Chaldean heritage.

The Neo-Babylonians often wrote in the Akkadian language. However, another language called Aramaic had also become popular. Unlike Akkadian, which was written on clay, Aramaic was written on papyrus. Papyrus is a type of paper made from a grass-like plant that grows in Egypt.

Throughout history, many groups of people have fought to control Mesopotamia.

• • • to prove their gods were the most powerful. Many Mesopotamian empires prayed to the same group of gods. However, they often thought one god was more important than the others. Sometimes they would fight each other to try to prove it.

    • to control the water and resources of Mesopotamia. More territory meant access to more resources. More resources meant having enough food, water, and land for everyone.

    • to trade with other people in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Trading was a way to get goods, such as cloth and spices, from one place to another. But trading was difficult and required access to land and water. People would try to conquer land to gain access to those things.

    • to make their cities the strongest. Often groups conquered new land to gain more resources for their people. More resources helped cities grow stronger.