Mesopotamian Kings

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh is a semi-mythic king of Uruk best known for the epic of Gilgamesh written 2150 BCE- 1400BCE. Gilgamesh was a demigod who had a long life. The Sumerian king list has his reign at 126 years. Gilgamesh's father was named Lugalbanda, and his mother was a goddess named Ninsun. Because of their divine heritage Gilgamesh was part human and part god, and had powers of no ordinary man, he was super strong, and super courageous. Gilgamesh was also the first superhero. In the epic of Gilgamesh he could fight any monster and win, the gods sent down Enkidu for him to fight, in the end no one could beat each other and they came out as best friends. There are some traits that most great kings have. All great kings did not have these traits, but he had some of them. Gilgamesh did not have many of these traits. Although he was a powerful leader he was not a great one. He had some good traits such as being a leader, and fighting off evil powers, but he was not a great leader. He tormented his people, subjected his people to harsh treatment, exhausted them in daily life and in combat, and he gave himself the right to sleep with an unmarried woman. (JD)

Sargon the Great

Sargon the Great was the first ruler of the Akkadian empire. Sargon the Great sadly never knew his father according to the cylinder seal that the Akkadians made. His name was known throughout mesopotamia, he came to be the greatest man who had ever lived. He ended up celebrating in the Persian empire. Believe it or not but building an empire is one thing but keeping it running is twice as hard, he proved himself to be capable of running an empire. That is some information about Sargon the Great. (RR)

Hammurabi

Hammurabi was the sixth king of the Amorite First Dynasty of Babylon, assumed the throne from his father, Sin-Muballit, and expanded the kingdom to conquer all of ancient Mesopotamia. The kingdom of Babylon comprised only the cities of Babylon, Kish, Sippar, and Borsippa when Hammurabi came to the throne but, through a succession of military campaigns, careful alliances made and broken when necessary, and political maneuvers, he held the entire region under Babylonian control by 1750 BCE.

His family was descended from the Amorites, a semi-nomadic tribe in western Syria, and his name reflects a mix of cultures: Hammu, which means “family” in Amorite, combined with rapi, meaning “great” in Akkadian, the everyday language of Babylon. in the 30th year of his reign, Hammurabi began to expand his kingdom up and down the Tigris and Euphrates river valley, overthrowing the kingdoms of Assyria, Larsa, Eshnunna and Mari until all of Mesopotamia was under his sway.

the most complete and perfect collection of Babylonian laws, developed during the reign of Hammurabi of the 1st ten years of Babylon. It consists of his legal decisions that were collected toward the end of his reign and inscribed on a diorite stela set up in Babylon’s temple of Marduk, the national god of Babylonia. These 282 case laws include economic provisions (prices, tariffs, trade, and commerce), family law (marriage and divorce), as well as criminal law (assault, theft) and civil law (slavery, debt). Penalties varied according to the status of the offenders and the circumstances of the offenses. (AB)

Ashurbanipal

Ashurbanipal was a great king. He was a great king because he ruled his royal subjects fairly but he was cruel to the people who he defeated. He became king in around 668 BCE. He fought lions and killed them. Only kings could kill lions in Mesopotamia because that was a sign that they were powerful and mighty. He would kill lions to show that he is powerful so people wouldn’t harm the city. The way he was cruel to the people who he defeated is that he would not only kill those who he thought were not loyal to him but he would throw salt in their crops so their crops would die. That might seem harsh but he did that only because those were his enemies and he wanted to keep his city safe.. Because he was so strict his army was able to conquer so many cities. Ashurbanipal was a great king.

Ashurbanipal was usually remembered for being the last great king of Assyria. He died 631 BC. There is something called The Library of Ashurbanipal in Iraq. It had all kinds of stories on clay tablets including The Epic of Gilgamesh! It is the first library ever! It was founded in the 7th century BCE. That’s a long time ago! Ashurbanipal was usually remembered for being the last great king of Assyria and you should read more about him. (AS)

Nebuchadnezzar

King Nebuchadnezzar is one of the great kings of Babylon. He founded the Hanging Gardens, one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. He made the Hanging Gardens for his wife because she was feeling homesick from her homeland in Persia. He also was the most powerful Babylonian King, he was able to conquer Jerusalem. Then Babylon was able to take and despoil Jerusalem, which was very good for Mesopotamia.

He ruled Babylon from 605 BC to 562 BC. His name, Nebuchadnezzar, means oh Nabu, and protecting my son. Then one day Nebuchadnezzar awoke from a frightening dream. Nebuchadnezzar told his magi to interpret his nightmare. He said if he could not tell him what it ment, he would execute all the astrologers, enchanters, sorcerers, and magicians in the kingdom. His dream was about a man who had his head made of gold, his breast and arms were made of silver, his belly and thighs were made of brass, he had legs of iron, and his feet and toes were clay with a bit of iron. The interpretation was that the statue represents a series of kingdoms, each less magnificent than the one before. (LM)

Sennacherib

Sennacherib is one of the 4 great kings of the Assyria Empire. He has done multiple great deeds like rebuilding Nineveh, the capital. He strengthened the walls, cut new streets, and replanned the water system. He brought water from the hills 50 miles away! He was named “he who cares for the welfare of Assyria”. But, to his enemies he was “the flame that consumes those who don't submit” Sennacherib made Assur-nadin-shum (his son) king of Babylon. But, after a while, Assur-nadin-shun was murdered and replaced by an Elamite nominee. In anger, Sennacherib raided Babylon. He raided many places like Ascalon or Sidon. One time, his army held around 45,000 princes, each in a dazzling golden chariot, 80,000 warriors , 60,000 swordsmen, and tens of thousands of cavalry! In January 691 B.C., his sons killed him at prayer. (LZ)

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