Mesopotamia, Ancient Civilization

MESOPOTAMIA, ANCIENT CIVILIZATION. Mesopotamia is the country where the oldest civilization in the world arose, which lasted approx. 25 centuries, from the time of the creation of writing and ending with the conquest of Babylon by the Persians in 539 BC.

GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.

“Mesopotamia” means “Land between the rivers” (between the Euphrates and the Tigris). Now, Mesopotamia is understood mainly as a valley in the lower reaches of these rivers, and lands are added to it east of the Tigris and west of the Euphrates. In general, this region coincides with the territory of modern Iraq, with the exception of mountainous regions along the borders of this country with Iran and Turkey.

Most of the elongated valley, especially the whole of Lower Mesopotamia, was covered for a long time by sediments brought by both rivers from the Armenian Highlands. Over time, fertile alluvial soils began to attract the population of other regions. Since ancient times, farmers have learned to compensate for scarce rainfall by creating irrigation facilities. The absence of stone and wood gave impetus to the development of trade with lands rich in these natural resources. The Tigris and Euphrates turned out to be convenient waterways connecting the Persian Gulf region with Anatolia and the Mediterranean. The geographical position and natural conditions allowed the valley to become a center of attraction for peoples and an area for the development of trade.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS.

The first information of Europeans about Mesopotamia goes back to such classical authors of antiquity as the historian Herodotus (5th century BC) and the geographer Strabo (turn of AD). Later, the Bible contributed to interest in the location of the Garden of Eden, the Tower of Babel and the most famous cities of Mesopotamia. In the Middle Ages, notes about the journey of Benjamin Tudelsky (12th century) appeared, containing a description of the location of ancient Nineveh on the banks of the Tigris opposite Mosul, which flourished in those days. In the 17th century the first attempts were made to copy tablets with texts (as it turned out later, from Ur and Babylon) written in cuneiform characters, which later became known as cuneiform. But systematic large-scale studies with careful measurements and descriptions of the surviving fragments of monuments fall on the beginning of the 19th century; in particular, such works were undertaken by the English traveler and politician Clodis James Rich. Soon the visual examination of the surface of the monuments gave way to excavations of cities.

During the excavations carried out in the middle of the 19th century. near Mosul, amazing Assyrian monuments were discovered. The French expedition led by Paul Emile Botta, after unsuccessful excavations in 1842 on the Kuyunjik hill (part of ancient Nineveh) in 1843, continued to work in Khorsabad (ancient Dur-Sharrukin), the majestic but short-lived capital of Assyria under Sargon II. Great successes were achieved by a British expedition led by Sir Austin Henry Layard, who, since 1845, excavated two other Assyrian capitals – Nineveh and Kalah (modern Nimrud).

The excavations sparked a growing interest in Mesopotamian archeology and, most importantly, led to the final decipherment of Akkadian (Babylonian and Assyrian) cuneiform writing. The beginning was laid in 1802 by the German scientist Georg Friedrich Grotefend, who was trying to read the ancient Iranian text on a trilingual inscription from Iran. It was an alphabetic cuneiform script with a relatively small number of characters, and the language was a dialect of the well-known Old Persian. The second column of the text was written in Elamite in a syllabic script containing 111 characters. The writing system in the third column was even more difficult to understand, as it contained several hundred characters representing both syllables and words. The language coincided with the language of the inscriptions found in Mesopotamia, i.e. with Assyro-Babylonian (Akkadian). The numerous difficulties that arose when trying to read these inscriptions did not stop the British diplomat Sir Henry Rawlinson, who was trying to decipher the signs. Findings of new inscriptions at Dur-Sharrukin, Nineveh and other places ensured the success of his research. In 1857, four Assyriologists meeting in London (Rawlinson was among them) received copies of the newly discovered Akkadian text. When their translations were compared, it turned out that they coincided in all major positions.

The first success in deciphering the Akkadian writing system – the most common, centuries-old and complex of all cuneiform systems – led to the suggestion that these texts could certify the veracity of biblical texts. Because of this, interest in the plates has greatly increased. The main goal was not the discovery of things, artistic or written monuments, but the restoration of the appearance of bygone civilizations in all their connections and details. Much in this respect has been done by the German archaeological school, whose main achievements were the excavations under the direction of Robert Koldewey in Babylon (1899-1917) and Walter André in Ashur (1903-1914). Meanwhile, the French were doing similar work in the south, primarily in Tello (ancient Lagash), in the heart of ancient Sumer, and the Americans in Nippur.

In the 20th century, between the world wars, many new monuments were explored. Among the major discoveries of this period are the Anglo-American excavations at Ur, probably made especially famous by the finds in the so-called Royal Necropolis, with its incredibly rich, if often cruel, evidence of Sumerian life in the 3rd millennium BC; German excavations in Varka (ancient Uruk, biblical Erech); the beginning of French excavations at Mari on the Middle Euphrates; the work of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago at Tell Asmar (ancient Eshnunna), as well as at Khafaj and Khorsabad, where the French began excavations almost a century earlier; excavations by the American School of Oriental Research (Baghdad) at Nuzi (jointly with Harvard University) and at Tepe Gavre (jointly with the University of Pennsylvania). After World War II, the Iraqi government began independent excavations, mainly in the south of the country.

PREHISTORY AND HISTORY

ETHNIC GROUPS.

Mesopotamia from ancient times was supposed to attract both temporary and permanent settlers – from the mountains in the northeast and north, from the steppes in the west and south, from the sea in the southeast.

Before the advent of writing c. 3000 BC it is difficult to judge the ethnic map of the area, although archeology provides abundant evidence that all of Mesopotamia, including the alluvial valley of the south, was inhabited long before writing arose. Evidence of earlier cultural stages is fragmentary, and their validity, as one immerses oneself in antiquity, becomes more and more doubtful. Archaeological finds do not allow us to determine their belonging to one or another ethnic group. Bone remains, sculptural or pictorial images cannot serve as reliable sources for identifying the population of Mesopotamia in the pre-literate era.

We know that in historical times all of Mesopotamia was inhabited by peoples who spoke the languages ​​of the Semitic family. These languages ​​were spoken by the Akkadians in the 3rd millennium BC, by the Babylonians who succeeded them (two groups that originally lived in Lower Mesopotamia), and also by the Assyrians of Central Mesopotamia. All these three peoples are united according to the linguistic principle (which turned out to be the most acceptable) under the name “Akkadians”. The Akkadian element has played an important role throughout the long history of Mesopotamia.

Another Semitic people who left a noticeable mark in this country were the Amorites, who gradually began to penetrate into Mesopotamia at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. Soon they created several strong dynasties, among them the I Babylonian, whose most famous ruler was Hammurabi. At the end of the II millennium BC. another Semitic people appeared, the Arameans, who for five centuries posed a constant threat to the western borders of Assyria. One branch of the Aramaeans, the Chaldeans, came to play such an important role in the south that Chaldea became synonymous with later Babylonia. Aramaic eventually spread as a common language throughout the ancient Near East, from Persia and Anatolia to Syria, Palestine, and even Egypt. It was Aramaic that became the language of administration and commerce.

The Arameans, like the Amorites, came to Mesopotamia through Syria, but they came, in all probability, from Northern Arabia. It is also possible that the Akkadians, the first of the known peoples of Mesopotamia, used this route earlier. There were no Semites among the autochthonous population of the valley, which is established for Lower Mesopotamia, where the Sumerians were the predecessors of the Akkadians. Outside Sumer, in Central Mesopotamia and further north, traces of other ethnic groups have been found.

The Sumerians represent in many respects one of the most significant and at the same time mysterious peoples in the history of mankind. They laid the foundation for the civilization of Mesopotamia. The Sumerians left the most important trace in the culture of Mesopotamia – in religion and literature, legislation and administration, science and technology. The world owes the invention of writing to the Sumerians. By the end of the III millennium BC. the Sumerians lost their ethnic and political significance.

Among the most famous peoples who played an important role in the ancient history of Mesopotamia, the most ancient and at the same time constant neighbors of the Sumerians were the Elamites. They lived in the southwest of Iran, their main city was Susa. From the time of the early Sumerians until the fall of Assyria, the Elamites occupied a prominent political and economic place in Mesopotamian history. The middle column of a trilingual inscription from Persia is written in their language. However, it is unlikely that they were able to penetrate far into Mesopotamia, since signs of their habitation have not been found even in Central Mesopotamia.

The Kassites are the next important ethnic group, immigrants from Iran, the founders of the dynasty that replaced the I Babylonian. They lived in the south until the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC, but in the texts of the 3rd millennium BC. are not mentioned. Classical authors mention them under the name of the Cossians, at that time they already lived in Iran, from where, apparently, they came to Babylonia. The surviving traces of the Kassite language are too scarce to be attributed to any language family.

The Hurrians played an important role in interregional relations. Mentions of their appearance in the north of Central Mesopotamia date back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. By the middle of the II millennium BC. they densely populated the region of modern Kirkuk (here information about them was found in the cities of Arrapha and Nuzi), the valley of the Middle Euphrates and the eastern part of Anatolia; Hurrian colonies arose in Syria and Palestine. Initially, this ethnic group probably lived in the Lake Van region next to the pre-Indo-European population of Armenia, the Urartians related to the Hurrians. From the central part of Upper Mesopotamia, the Hurrians in ancient times could easily penetrate into the neighboring regions of the valley. Perhaps the Hurrians are the main, and it is possible that the original ethnic element of pre-Semitic Assyria.

Further to the west lived various Anatolian ethnic groups; some of them, such as the Hattians, were probably an autochthonous population, others, in particular the Luwians and the Hittites, were the remnants of the migration wave of the Indo-Europeans.

PREHISTORIC CULTURES.

The most important feature of the information about prehistoric Mesopotamia and its surrounding lands is that it is based on a continuous succession of evidence that, layer by layer, leads to the beginning of written history. Mesopotamia demonstrates not only how and why the actual historical period arises, but also what happened in the critical previous period. Man discovered a direct link between sowing and reaping ca. 12 thousand years ago. The period of hunting and gathering was replaced by regular food production. Temporary settlements, especially in fertile valleys, were replaced by long-term settlements in which their inhabitants lived for generations. Such settlements, which can be excavated layer by layer, make it possible to reconstruct the dynamics of development in prehistoric times and trace the progress in the field of material culture step by step.

The Near East is dotted with traces of early agricultural settlements. One of the oldest villages found in the foothills of Kurdistan. The settlement of Jarmo, east of Kirkuk, is an example of primitive farming practices. The next stage is represented in Hassun near Mosul with architectural structures and pottery.

The Hassunan stage was replaced by the rapidly developing Khalaf stage, which received its name from a settlement on the Kabur, one of the largest tributaries of the Euphrates. The art of pottery production has reached a high level of development in terms of the variety of forms, the quality of the firing of the vessels, the thoroughness of the finishing and the sophistication of the multi-colored ornament. Construction technology has also taken a step forward. Figurines of people and animals were made from clay and stone. People wore not only beads and pendants, but also stamps. The Khalaf culture is of particular interest due to the vastness of the territory in which it was distributed, from Lake Van and northern Syria to the central part of Mesopotamia, the environs of modern Kirkuk.

By the end of the Khalaf stage, probably from the east, carriers of another culture appeared, which over time spread across the western part of Asia from the deep regions of Iran to the Mediterranean coast. This culture – Obeid (Ubeid), got its name from a small hill in Lower Mesopotamia near the ancient city of Ur. During this period, significant changes occur in many areas, especially in architecture, as evidenced by the buildings at Eridu in southern Mesopotamia and at Tepe Gavre in the north. Since that time, the south has become the center of the development of metallurgy, the emergence and development of cylinder seals, the emergence of markets and the creation of writing. All these were heralds of the beginning of a new historical era.

The traditional vocabulary of historical Mesopotamia in terms of geographical names and cultural terms has developed on the basis of various languages. Many toponyms have survived to our time. Among them are the names of the Tigris and Euphrates and most of the ancient cities. The words “carpenter” and “chair”, used in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages, still function in the Semitic languages ​​to this day. The names of some plants – cassia, cumin, crocus, hyssop, myrtle, nard, saffron and others – date back to the prehistoric stage and demonstrate a striking cultural continuity.

HISTORICAL PERIOD.

Perhaps the most significant thing about the history of Mesopotamia is that its beginning coincides with the beginning of world history. The first written documents belong to the Sumerians. It follows that history in the proper sense began in Sumer and may have been created by the Sumerians.

However, writing did not become the only determining factor in the beginning of a new era. The most important achievement was the development of metallurgy to the point where society had to create new technologies in order to continue its existence. The deposits of copper ores were far away, so the need to obtain this vital metal led to the expansion of geographical horizons and a change in the very pace of life.

Historical Mesopotamia existed for almost twenty-five centuries, from the beginning of writing to the conquest of Babylonia by the Persians. But even after that, foreign domination could not destroy the cultural independence of the country.

THE ERA OF THE DOMINATION OF THE SUMERIANS.

During the first three quarters of the III millennium BC. The leading place in the history of Mesopotamia was occupied by the South. In the geologically youngest part of the valley, along the coast of the Persian Gulf and in the adjoining regions, the Sumerians dominated, and upstream, in the later Akkad, the Semites predominated, although traces of earlier settlers are found here. The main cities of Sumer were Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Umma and Nippur. The city of Kish became the center of Akkad. The struggle for dominance took the form of rivalry between Kish and other Sumerian cities. Uruk’s decisive victory over Kish, a feat attributed to the semi-legendary ruler Gilgamesh, marks the rise of the Sumerians as a major political force and a decisive cultural factor in the region.

Later the center of power moved to Ur, Lagash and other places. During this period, called the Early Dynastic period, the main elements of the civilization of Mesopotamia were formed.

DYNASTY OF AKKAD.

Although Kish had previously submitted to the expansion of the Sumerian culture, his political resistance put an end to the dominance of the Sumerians in the country. The ethnic core of the resistance was formed by local Semites led by Sargon (c. 2300 BC), whose throne name, Sharrukin, in Akkadian meant “lawful king”. To break with the past, Sargon moved his capital from Kish to Akkad. The whole country from then on became known as Akkad, and the language of the victors was called Akkadian; it continued to exist in the form of the Babylonian and Assyrian dialects as the state throughout the further history of Mesopotamia.

Having consolidated their power over Sumer and Akkad, the new rulers turned to neighboring regions. Elam, Ashur, Nineveh and even regions in neighboring Syria and Eastern Anatolia were subordinated. The old system of a confederation of independent states gave way to an empire that had a system of central authority. With the armies of Sargon and his famous grandson Naram-Suen, cuneiform writing, the Akkadian language and other elements of the Sumero-Akkadian civilization spread.

THE ROLE OF THE AMORITES.

The Akkadian empire ceased to exist by the end of the 3rd millennium BC, becoming a victim of unrestrained expansion and barbarian invasions from the north and west. About a century later, the vacuum was filled, and under Gudea of ​​Lagash and the rulers of the III dynasty of Ur, a renaissance began. But the attempt to restore the former greatness of Sumer was doomed to failure. Meanwhile, new groups appeared on the horizon, which soon mixed with the local population to create Babylonia in place of Sumer and Akkad, and in the north – a new state formation, Assyria. These widespread aliens are known as the Amorites.

Wherever the Amorites settled, they became devoted followers and protectors of local traditions. After the Elamites put an end to the III dynasty of Ur (20th century BC), the Amorites gradually began to gain strength in the states of Issin, Larsa, Eshnunna. They were able to establish their own dynasty in the central part of Akkad with its capital in the previously little-known city of Babylon. This capital became the cultural center of the region for the entire existence of the Mesopotamian civilization. The first dynasty of Babylon, identified with good reason as the Amorites, ruled for exactly three hundred years, from the 19th to the 16th centuries. BC. The sixth king was the famous Hammurabi, who gradually gained control over the entire territory of Mesopotamia. See also BABYLON AND ASSYRIA.

FOREIGN INVASION.

The Amorite dynasty lost control over Babylonia, which it held for a long time, after the capital around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. was plundered by the Hittite king Mursilis I. This served as a signal for other invaders, the Kassites. At this time, Assyria fell under the rule of Mitanni, a state founded by the Aryans, but inhabited mainly by the Hurrians. Foreign incursions were the result of extensive ethnic movements that occurred in Anatolia, Syria and Palestine. Mesopotamia suffered the least from them. The Kassites held power for several centuries, but soon adopted the Babylonian language and traditions. The revival of Assyria was even more rapid and complete. From the 14th century BC. Assyria was in decline. For a long time, Ashur felt the strength to enter into rivalry with Babylon. The most striking event in the dramatic reign of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (late 13th century BC) was his conquest of the southern capital.

This meant the beginning of a fierce and long struggle between the two powerful states of Mesopotamia. Babylonia could not compete with Assyria in the military field, but felt its cultural superiority over the “northern upstarts.” Assyria, for its part, deeply resented these accusations of barbarism. There is no doubt that the historical and cultural traditions of Babylonia have always been a powerful reserve in the struggle waged by this state. Thus, having captured Babylon, Tukulti-Ninurta immediately assumed the ancient title of king of Sumer and Akkad – a thousand years after it was established. This was his own calculation – to add splendor to the traditional title of the king of Assyria.

THE RISE AND FALL OF ASSYRIA.

The center of gravity of the further historical development of Mesopotamia, with the exception of the last decades of its independent history, was in Assyria. The very first sign of this process was expansion, first into Iran and Armenia, then into Anatolia, Syria and Palestine, and finally into Egypt. The Assyrian capital moved from Ashur to Kalah, then to Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad), and finally to Nineveh. Prominent rulers of Assyria include Ashurnatsirapal II (c. 883–859 BC), Tiglapalasar III (c. 745–727 BC), perhaps the most powerful of them all, and the glorious successive rulers, Sargon II (c. 721–705 BC), Sennacherib (c. 704–681 BC), Assargadon (c. 680–669 BC) and Ashurbanipal (c. 668–626 BC) AD). The life of the last three kings was greatly influenced by the wife of Sennacherib – Nakiya-Zakutu, probably one of the most influential queens in history.

A powerful political and military state arose as a result of military campaigns in the remote mountainous regions of Iran and Armenia and as a result of the struggle against the stubbornly resisting cities of the Aramaeans, Phoenicians, Israelites, Jews, Egyptians and many other peoples. All this required not only great military efforts, but also economic and political organization, and finally, the ability to control an ever-growing number of heterogeneous subjects. To this end, the Assyrians practiced the deportation of the conquered population. So, after the conquest of the Israeli city of Samaria in 722-721 BC. its population was resettled in the most remote provinces of Assyria, and its place was taken by people who were also driven from various regions and did not have ethnic roots here.

Babylonia languished under the Assyrian yoke for a long time, unable to throw it off, but never lost hope of liberation. In the same position was neighboring Elam. At this time, the Medes, after a long period of formation of their state, conquered Elam and established power over Iran. They offered help to Babylonia in the fight against Assyria, weakened by constant attacks from the north. Nineveh fell in 612 BC, and the conquerors divided the defeated empire. The northern provinces went to the Medes, the southern provinces to the Babylonians, who by that time were called the Chaldeans.

The Chaldeans, heirs to the traditions of the south, enjoyed a brief prosperity, especially under Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 605–562 BC). The main danger came from Egypt, which saw in the Chaldeans, who had fortified themselves in Syria and Palestine, a constant threat to their borders. In the course of the rivalry between two powerful empires, an independent tiny Judea (the southern kingdom of the Jews) suddenly acquired great strategic importance. The outcome of the battle turned out to be favorable for Nebuchadnezzar, who took Jerusalem a second time in 587 BC.

However, the kingdom of the Chaldeans was not destined to have a long life. The Persian armies of Cyrus the Great at that time wrested power over Iran from the Medes, captured Babylon in 539 BC. and thus opened a new chapter in world history. Cyrus himself was keenly aware of the unrequited debt that his country owed to Mesopotamia. Later, when the era of Persian rule was replaced by the era of Hellenism, Alexander the Great, the leader of the Macedonian conquerors, wanted to make Babylon the capital of his new empire.

CULTURE

SATERIAL CULTURE.

Ceramics gradually improved in terms of manufacturing techniques, variety of shapes and ornaments, this can be traced from the ancient Jarmo culture through other prehistoric cultures up to the emergence of a single technology for the production of stone and metal vessels. Now it is impossible to say what important discoveries in the field of ceramics were brought to Mesopotamia from outside. A significant development was the introduction of the closed kiln, which allowed the craftsman to achieve a higher temperature and more easily control it, and as a result to obtain dishes of high quality in shape and finish. Such ovens were first discovered at Tepe Gavre, north of present-day Mosul. In the same settlement, the oldest known samples of carefully made seals-stamps were found.

Mesopotamia created the oldest known structures of monumental architecture in the north – in Tepe Gavre, in the south – in Eridu. The high technical level of this time can be judged by the aqueduct in Jervan, approx. 50 km, through which water entered Nineveh.

Mesopotamian craftsmen brought metal work to the level of high art. This can be judged by items made of precious metals, remarkable samples of which, dating back to the early dynastic period, were found in burials in Ur, and a silver vase of the Lagash ruler Entemena is also known.

Sculpture in Mesopotamia reached a high level of development even in prehistoric times. Cylinder seals with indented images are known, and rolling them on clay made it possible to obtain convex impressions. Reliefs on the Naram-Suen stela, carefully executed portrait sculptures of the ruler of Lagash Gudea and other monuments are examples of a large form of the ancient era. Mesopotamian sculpture reached its highest development in the 1st millennium BC. in Assyria, when colossal figures and exquisite reliefs were created with images of animals, in particular, galloping horses, wild donkeys struck by hunters, and dying lionesses. In the same period, magnificent reliefs depicting individual episodes of hostilities were sculpted.

Little is known about the development of painting. Murals could not survive due to moisture and soil conditions, but surviving examples from various eras show that this type of art was widespread. Magnificent examples of painted ceramics were found, in particular, in Ashur. They testify that their creators preferred bright colors.

ECONOMY.

The economy of Mesopotamia was determined by the natural conditions of the region. The fertile soils of the valley gave rich harvests. The South specialized in date palm cultivation. The vast pastures of the nearby mountains made it possible to keep large herds of sheep and goats. On the other hand, the country felt a shortage of stone, metal, wood, raw materials for the manufacture of dyes and other vital materials. The surplus of some goods and the lack of others led to the development of trade relations.

RELIGION.

The religion of Mesopotamia in all its major moments was created by the Sumerians. Over time, the Akkadian names of the gods began to replace the Sumerian ones, and the personifications of the elements gave way to star deities. Local gods could also lead the pantheon of a particular region, as happened with Marduk in Babylon or Ashur in the Assyrian capital. But the religious system as a whole, the view of the world and the changes taking place in it differed little from the initial ideas of the Sumerians.

None of the Mesopotamian deities was the exclusive source of power, none had supreme power. The fullness of power belonged to the assembly of the gods, who, according to tradition, elected the leader and approved all important decisions. Nothing was set forever or taken for granted. But the instability of the cosmos led to intrigues among the gods, and therefore promised danger and gave rise to anxiety among mortals.

At the same time, there was always the possibility that things would turn out for the better if the person behaved correctly. The temple tower (ziggurat) was the place where the celestials stayed. She symbolized the human desire to establish a connection between heaven and earth. As a rule, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia relied little on the goodwill of the gods. They tried to propitiate them by performing increasingly complex rites.

STATE AUTHORITY AND LEGISLATION.

Since the Sumerian society and the later societies of Mesopotamia saw themselves as a kind of self-governing community of gods, power could not be absolutist. Royal decisions had to be approved by collective bodies, a meeting of elders and warriors. In addition, the mortal ruler was a servant of the gods and was responsible for the administration of their laws.

The mortal king was rather a confidant, but not an autocrat. Above him there was an impersonal law established by the gods, and he limited the ruler no less than the humblest subject

. Evidence for the effectiveness of laws in Mesopotamia is numerous and dates from different eras. Since the king was a servant of the law, and not its creator or source, he had to be guided by codes of laws containing both traditional regulations and amendments to laws. Extensive vaults, usually referred to as codices, testify to the fact that in general terms such a system had already developed by the 3rd millennium BC. Among the surviving codes are the laws of the founder of the III dynasty of Ur Ur-Nammu, the Sumerian laws and the laws of Eshnunna (north-eastern part of Akkad). All of them precede the famous laws of Hammurabi. Later periods include the Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian collections.

WRITING AND SCIENCE.

The supreme authority of the law was a characteristic feature of the Mesopotamian historical period and may even precede it, but the effectiveness of legislative activity is associated with the use of written evidence and documents. There is reason to believe that the invention of the written language of the ancient Sumerians was led primarily by concern for private and communal rights. Already the earliest texts known to us testify to the need to fix everything, whether it be objects necessary for a temple exchange, or gifts intended for a deity. Such documents were certified by an imprint of a cylinder seal.

The most ancient writing was pictographic, and its signs depicted objects of the surrounding world – animals, plants, etc. The signs formed groups, each of which, consisting, for example, of images of animals, plants or objects, was composed in a certain sequence. Over time, the lists acquired the character of a kind of reference book on zoology, botany, mineralogy, etc. Since the Sumerian contribution to the development of the local civilization was perceived as very significant, and after the establishment of the Akkadian dynasty, colloquial Sumerian became of little use, the Akkadians did everything in their power to preserve the Sumerian language. Efforts in this direction did not stop with the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur and continued into Amorite times. As a result, word lists, numerous Sumero-Akkadian dictionaries, and grammar studies were created.

There were many other cultural phenomena that were systematized thanks to writing. Among them, a special place is occupied by omens, through which people tried to know their future through various signs, such as the shape of the liver of a sacrificed sheep or the location of the stars. The list of omens helped the priest to predict the consequences of certain phenomena. Compilation of lists of the most common legal terms and formulas was also widespread. In mathematics and astronomy, the ancient Mesopotamians also made significant advances. According to modern scholars, the system of Egyptian mathematics was crude and primitive compared to the Babylonian; it is believed that even Greek mathematics learned much from the achievements of earlier Mesopotamian. A highly developed area was the so-called. “Chaldean (i.e. Babylonian) astronomy”.

LITERATURE.

The most famous poetic work is the Babylonian epic about the creation of the world. But the most ancient work, the legend of Gilgamesh, seems much more attractive.

The characters of the world of animals and plants that appeared in fables were very loved by the people, just like proverbs. Sometimes a philosophical note slips through literature, especially in works devoted to the theme of innocent suffering, but the attention of the authors is focused not so much on suffering as on the miracle of liberation from it.

INFLUENCE OF MESOPOTAMIA CIVILIZATION.

The first significant evidence of the penetration of the achievements of Mesopotamian culture into other areas dates back to the 3rd millennium BC, at the time of the emergence of the Akkadian empire. Another evidence is that in the capital of the Elamite state of Susa (southwestern Iran), they used not only cuneiform writing, but also the Akkadian language and the administrative system adopted in Mesopotamia. At the same time, the leader of the barbarians, Lullubey, erected a stele with an inscription in Akkadian to the northeast of Akkad. The Hurrian ruler of Central Mesopotamia adapted cuneiform to write texts in his own language. The texts adopted by the Hurrians and most of the information contained in them were preserved and passed on to the Anatolian Hittites.

A similar situation develops during the reign of Hammurabi. From this time legal and historical texts in Akkadian have come down, which were reproduced in the Amorite-Hurrian center of Alalakh, in northern Syria; this is indicative of Babylonian influence in a region that was not under Mesopotamian control. The same cultural unity, but on an even larger scale, took place in the conditions of political fragmentation in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. By this time, in Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, and even Egypt, cuneiform and Akkadian were used as a means of interethnic communication. Moreover, various languages, among them Hurrian and Hittite, readily adopted cuneiform writing. In the 1st millennium BC Cuneiform began to be used for records in other languages, in particular, in Urartian Old Persian.

Along with writing, ideas also spread as a medium. This concerned primarily the concepts of jurisprudence, public administration, religious thought and such types of literature as proverbs, fables, myths and epics. Akkadian fragments of the story of Gilgamesh reached as far away as the Hittite capital of Hattusa (modern Bogazkoy) in northern Central Turkey or Megiddo (in Israel). Translations of the epic into the Hurrian and Hittite languages ​​are known.

The spread of Mesopotamian literature was connected not only with the borrowing of cuneiform. Its examples reached Greece, where there were fables about animals that reproduced the Akkadian prototypes almost word for word. Parts of Hesiod ‘s Theogony go back to Hittite, Hurrian, and ultimately Babylonian origins. The similarity between the beginning of the Odyssey and the first lines of the Epic of Gilgamesh is not a coincidence either.

Many close links are found between the opening chapters of the biblical Genesis and early Mesopotamian texts. The clearest examples of these connections are, in particular, the order of events of the Creation of the world, the peculiarities of the geography of Eden, the story of the Tower of Babel, and especially the story of the flood, the harbinger of which is contained in the eleventh tablet of the legend of Gilgamesh.

The Hittites, from the time of their arrival in Anatolia, made extensive use of cuneiform, using it to write texts not only in their own, but also in Akkadian. In addition, they were indebted to the inhabitants of Mesopotamia for the basics of legislation, as a result of which their own code of laws was created. Similarly, in the Syrian city-state of Ugarit, the local West Semitic dialect and alphabetic script were used to record various literary works, including epic and religious writings. When it came to legislation and public administration, the Ugarit scribes resorted to the Akkadian language and the traditional syllabary. The famous stele of Hammurabi was not found on the ruins of Babylon, but in the distant Elamite capital, in Susa, where this heavy object was delivered as a valuable trophy. No less striking evidence of the influence of Mesopotamia is found in the Bible. The Jewish and Christian religions have invariably opposed the spiritual direction that was formed in Mesopotamia, but the legislation and forms of government discussed in the Bible owe to the influence of Mesopotamian prototypes. Like many of their neighbors, the Jews were subject to legislative and social regulations that were generally characteristic of the countries of the Fertile Crescent and largely dated back to Mesopotamian.

RULERS OF MESOPOTAMIA

Below is a summary of the most significant rulers of Mesopotamia.

Urukagina

(c. 2500 BC), ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash. Before he reigned in Lagash, the people suffered from excessive taxes levied by greedy palace officials. The practice included illegal confiscations of private property. The reform of Urukagina was to abolish all these abuses, to restore justice and grant freedom to the people of Lagash.

LUGALZAGESI

(c. 2500 BC), son of the ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Umma, who created the short-lived empire of the Sumerians. He defeated the Lagash ruler Urukagina and subjugated the rest of the Sumerian city-states. In the campaigns he conquered the lands north and west of Sumer and reached the coast of Syria. The reign of Lugalzagesi lasted 25 years, his capital was the Sumerian city-state of Uruk. He was eventually defeated by Sargon I of Akkad. The Sumerians regained political power over their country only two centuries later, under the 3rd Dynasty of Ur.

Sargon I

(c. 2400 BC), creator of the first lasting empire known in world history, which he himself ruled for 56 years. Semites and Sumerians lived side by side for a long time, but political hegemony belonged mainly to the Sumerians. The accession of Sargon marked the first major breakthrough of the Akkadians into the political arena of Mesopotamia. Sargon, a court official in Kish, first became the ruler of this city, then conquered the south of Mesopotamia and defeated Lugalzagesi. Sargon united the city-states of Sumer, after which he turned his eyes to the east and captured Elam. In addition, he carried out aggressive campaigns in the country of the Amorites (Northern Syria), Asia Minor and, possibly, Cyprus.

NARAM-SUEN

(c. 2320 BC), grandson of Sargon I of Akkad, who acquired almost the same fame as his famous grandfather. Ruled the empire for 37 years. At the beginning of his reign, he suppressed a powerful uprising, the center of which was in Kish. Naram-Suen led military campaigns in Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, Assyria, the Zagros mountains northeast of Babylonia (the famous stele of Naram-Suen glorifies his victory over the local inhabitants of the mountains), in Elam. Perhaps he fought with one of the Egyptian pharaohs of the VI dynasty.

GUDEA

(c. 2200 BC), ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, a contemporary of Ur-Nammu and Shulgi, the first two kings of the III dynasty of Ur. Gudea, one of the most famous Sumerian rulers, left behind numerous texts. The most interesting of them is the hymn, which describes the construction of the temple of the god Ningirsu. For this major construction, Gudea brought materials from Syria and Anatolia. Numerous sculptures depict him seated with a plan of the temple on his knees. Under the successors of Gudea, power over Lagash passed to Ur.

RIM-SIN

(reigned c. 1878–1817 BC), king of the South Babylonian city of Larsa, one of the strongest opponents of Hammurabi. The Elamite Rim-Sin subjugated the cities of southern Babylonia, including Issin, the seat of a rival dynasty. After 61 years of reign, he was defeated and captured by Hammurabi, who by this time had been on the throne for 31 years.

SHAMSHI-ADAD I

(ruled c. 1868–1836 BC), king of Assyria, older contemporary of Hammurabi. Information about this king is drawn mainly from the royal archives in Mari, a provincial center on the Euphrates, which was subordinate to the Assyrians. The death of Shamshi-Adad, one of the main rivals of Hammurabi in the struggle for power in Mesopotamia, greatly facilitated the expansion of Babylonian power to the northern regions.

HAMMURABI

(reigned 1848-1806 BC, according to one of the systems of chronology), the most famous of the kings of the 1st Babylonian dynasty. In addition to the famous code of laws, many private and official letters, as well as business and legal documents, have been preserved. The inscriptions contain information about political events and military actions. From them we learn that in the seventh year of Hammurabi’s reign, Uruk and Issin were taken from Rim-Sin, his main rival and ruler of the powerful city of Lars. Between the eleventh and thirteenth years of Hammurabi’s reign, the power of Hammurabi was finally strengthened. In the future, he made aggressive campaigns to the east, west, north and south and defeated all opponents. As a result, by the fortieth year of his reign, he led an empire that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the upper Euphrates.

TUKULTI-NINURTA I

(reigned 1243–1207 BC), king of Assyria, conqueror of Babylon. Around 1350 BC Assyria was liberated from Mitanni rule by Ashshuruballit and began to gain more and more political and military power. Tukulti-Ninurta was the last of the kings (including Ireba-Adad, Ashshuruballit, Adadnerari I, Salmanasar I), under whom the power of Assyria continued to grow. Tukulti-Ninurta defeated the Kassite ruler of Babylon, Kashtilash IV, for the first time subjugating the ancient center of Sumero-Babylonian culture to Assyria. When trying to capture Mitanni, a state located between the eastern mountains and the Upper Euphrates, met with opposition from the Hittites.

TIGLAT-PALASAR I

(reigned 1112–1074 BC), Assyrian king who tried to restore the power of the country, which it had enjoyed during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta and his predecessors. During his reign, the main threat to Assyria was the Arameans, who invaded the territories in the upper Euphrates. Tiglathpalasar also undertook several campaigns against the country of Nairi, located north of Assyria, in the vicinity of Lake Van. In the south, he defeated Babylon, the traditional rival of Assyria.

ASSHURNASIRPAL II

(reigned 883–859 BC), energetic and cruel king who restored the power of Assyria. He delivered devastating blows to the Aramaic states located in the area between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Ashurnasirpal became the next Assyrian king after Tiglathpalasar I, who went to the Mediterranean coast. Under him, the Assyrian Empire began to take shape. The conquered territories were divided into provinces, and those into smaller administrative units. Ashurnasirpal moved the capital from Ashur to the north, to Kalakh (Nimrud).

SHALMANASER III

(reigned 858-824 BC; 858 was considered the year of the beginning of his reign, although in reality he could ascend the throne a few days or months before the new year. These days or months were considered the time of the reign of his predecessor). Shalmaneser III, son of Ashurnasirpal II, continued to subdue the Aramaic tribes to the west of Assyria, in particular, the warlike tribe of Bit-Adini. Using their captured capital, Til-Barsib, as a stronghold, Shalmaneser pushed west into northern Syria and Cilicia and attempted to conquer them several times. In 854 BC at Karakar on the Oronte River, the combined forces of twelve leaders, among whom were Benhadad of Damascus and Ahab of Israel, repelled the attack of the troops of Shalmaneser III. The strengthening of the kingdom of Urartu to the north of Assyria, near Lake Van, made it impossible to continue expansion in this direction.

TIGLAT-PALASER III

(reigned c. 745–727 BC), one of the greatest Assyrian kings and the true builder of the Assyrian empire. He removed three obstacles that stood in the way of establishing Assyrian dominance in the region. Firstly, he defeated Sarduri II and annexed most of the territory of Urartu; secondly, he proclaimed himself king of Babylon (under the name of Pulu), subjugating the Aramaic leaders, who actually ruled Babylon; finally, he decisively crushed the resistance of the Syrian and Palestinian states and reduced most of them to the level of a province or tributaries. As a method of management, he widely used the deportation of peoples.

Sargon II

(reigned 721–705 BC), king of Assyria Although Sargon did not belong to the royal family, he became a worthy successor to the great Tiglath-pileser III (Salmaneser V, his son, ruled for a very short time, in 726-722 BC). The problems that Sargon had to solve were basically the same that faced Tiglath-Pileser: a strong Urartu in the north, an independent spirit that reigned in the Syrian states in the west, the unwillingness of Aramaic Babylon to submit to the Assyrians. Sargon began to solve these problems with the capture of the capital of Urartu Tushpa in 714 BC. Then in 721 BC. he conquered the fortified Syrian city of Samaria and deported its population. In 717 BC he took possession of another Syrian outpost, Karchemysh. In 709 BC, after a short stay in the captivity of Marduk-apal-iddina, Sargon proclaimed himself king of Babylon. During the reign of Sargon II, the Cimmerians and Medes appeared on the arena of the history of the Near East.

SINACHERIB

(reigned 704–681 BC), son of Sargon II, king of Assyria who destroyed Babylon. His military campaigns were aimed at the conquest of Syria and Palestine, as well as the conquest of Babylon. He was a contemporary of the Jewish king Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah. Besieged Jerusalem, but could not take it. After several trips to Babylon and Elam, and most importantly, after the murder of one of his sons, whom he appointed ruler of Babylon, Sennacherib destroyed this city and took the statue of its main god Marduk to Assyria.

ASARHADDON

(reigned 680–669 BC), son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. He did not share his father’s hatred of Babylon and rebuilt the city and even the temple of Marduk. The main act of Esarhaddon was the conquest of Egypt. In 671 BC he defeated the Nubian pharaoh of Egypt, Taharqa, and destroyed Memphis. However, the main danger came from the northeast, where the Medes were intensifying, and the Cimmerians and Scythians could break through the territory of the weakening Urartu into Assyria. Esarhaddon was unable to resist this onslaught, which soon changed the entire face of the Middle East.

ASSHURBANIPAL

(reigned 668–626 BC), son of Esarhaddon and last great king of Assyria. Despite the success of military campaigns against Egypt, Babylon and Elam, he was unable to resist the growing power of the Persian state. The entire northern border of the Assyrian Empire was under the rule of the Cimmerians, Medes and Persians. Perhaps Ashurbanipal’s most significant contribution to history was the creation of a library in which he collected priceless documents from all periods of Mesopotamian history. In 614 BC Ashur was captured and plundered by the Medes, and in 612 BC. The Medes and Babylonians destroyed Nineveh.

NABOPALASAR

(reigned 625–605 BC), the first king of the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) dynasty. In alliance with the Median king Cyaxares, he participated in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire. One of his main deeds is the restoration of the Babylonian temples and the cult of the main god of Babylon, Marduk.

NEBUCHADONOSOR II

(reigned 604–562 BC), second king of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty. He became famous for his victory over the Egyptians at the Battle of Karchemysh (in the south of modern Turkey) in the last year of his father’s reign. In 596 BC captured Jerusalem and captured the Jewish king Hezekiah. In 586 BC recaptured Jerusalem and put an end to the existence of an independent kingdom of Judah. Unlike the Assyrian kings, the rulers of the Neo-Babylonian Empire left few documents testifying to political events and military enterprises. Their texts are mostly about construction activities or glorify deities.

NABONID.

(reigned 555–538 BC), last king of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. Perhaps, in order to create an alliance against the Persians with the Aramaic tribes, he moved his capital to the Arabian desert, to Tayma. He left his son Belshazzar to rule Babylon. The veneration of the moon god Sin by Nabonidus caused opposition from the priests of Marduk in Babylon. In 538 BC Cyrus II occupied Babylon. Nabonidus surrendered to him in the city of Borsippa near Babylon.

MESOPOTAM DEITIES AND MYTHOLOGICAL BEINGS

ADAD.

The god of storms, in Sumer was known as Ishkur, the Arameans called him Hadad. As a deity of thunder, he was usually depicted with lightning in his hand. Since agriculture in Mesopotamia was irrigated, Adad, who controlled the rains and annual floods, occupied an important place in the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. He and his wife Shala were especially revered in Assyria. Temples of Adad existed in many major cities of Babylonia.

ADAPA.

the main character of the myth of human mortality. Adapa is a demigod-half-man, the creation of the god Ea, one of the “seven wise men” (abgals). According to the myth Adapa, the son of the god Ey (Enki), ruled in the city of Eredu (r) and fished, supplying fish to his native city and his father’s sanctuary.

ANU(M).

An Akkadian form of the name of the Sumerian god An, meaning “sky”. The supreme deity of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. He is the “father of the gods”, his domain is the sky. According to the Babylonian creation hymn Enuma Elish, Anu is descended from Apsu (the original fresh water) and Tiamat (the sea). Although Anu was worshiped throughout Mesopotamia, he was especially revered in Uruk (biblical Erech) and Dere. Anu’s wife was the goddess Antu. His sacred number is 6.

ASSHUR.

the main god of Assyria, as Marduk is the main god of Babylonia. Ashur was the deity of the city that bore his name from ancient times, and was considered the main god of the Assyrian Empire. The temples of Ashur were called, in particular, E-shara (“House of omnipotence”) and E-hursag-gal-kurkura (“House of the great mountain of the earth”). “Great Mountain” is one of the epithets of Enlil, which passed to Ashur when he became the main god of Assyria.

DAGAN.

West Semitic (Canaanite-Amorite, later also Philistine) god; patron of agriculture or fishing; apparently, initially God is the giver of food.

EA.

one of the three great Sumerian gods, “lord of the earth”, the god of magic and wisdom.

ENLIL.

along with Anu and Enki, one of the gods of the main triad of the Sumerian pantheon.

ENMERCAR.

legendary king of Uruk and hero of Sumerian myth.

ETANA.

the legendary thirteenth king of the city of Kish.

GILFAMESH.

the mythical ruler of the city of Uruk and one of the most popular heroes of Mesopotamian folklore, the son of the goddess Ninsun and a demon.

ISHTAR.

the goddess of love and war, the most significant goddess of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. Her Sumerian name is Inanna (“lady of heaven”). She is the sister of the sun god Shamash and the daughter of the moon god Sin. Identified with the planet Venus. Her symbol is a star in a circle. As a goddess of war, she was often depicted sitting on a lion. As the goddess of physical love, she was the patroness of temple harlots. She was also considered a merciful mother, standing up for people before the gods. In the history of Mesopotamia in different cities she was revered under different names. One of the main centers of the Ishtar cult was Uruk.

MARDUK.

chief god of Babylon. The temple of Marduk was called E-sag-il. The temple tower, the ziggurat, served as the basis for the creation of the biblical legend of the Tower of Babel. In fact, it was called E-temen-an-ki (“House of the foundation of heaven and earth”). Marduk was the god of the planet Jupiter and the main god of Babylon, in connection with which he absorbed the features and functions of other gods of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. In the Neo-Babylonian time, in connection with the development of monotheistic ideas, other deities began to be considered as manifestations of various aspects of the “character” of Marduk. The wife of Marduk is Tsarpanitu.

NABU.

god of the planet Mercury, son of Marduk and divine patron of scribes. Its symbol was “style”, a reed rod used to mark cuneiform characters on unbaked clay tablets for writing texts. In Old Babylonian times it was known under the name of Nabium; his veneration reached its highest point in the neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire. The names Nabopolassar (Nabu-apla-ushur), Nebuchadnezzar (Nabu-kudurri-ushur) and Nabonidus (Nabu-na’id) contain the name of the god Nabu. The main city of his cult was Borsippa near Babylon, where his temple of E-zid (“House of Firmness”) was located. His wife was the goddess Tashmetum.

NERGAL.

in Sumerian-Akkadian mythology, the god is the lord of the underworld, the husband of the goddess of the underworld, Ereshkigal. According to the Sumerian tradition, the son of Enlil and Ninlil, according to Akkadian – Enlil and the mother goddess Beleth-ili.

NINGIRSU.

the god of the Sumerian city of Lagash, “the lord of agriculture.” He keeps order in the fields and canals.

NINHURSAG.

mother goddess in Sumerian mythology, also known as Ninmah (“Great Lady”) and Nintu (“Lady giving birth”).

NINURTA.

Sumerian god of the hurricane, as well as war and hunting. As the god of war, he was highly revered in Assyria. His cult especially flourished in the city of Kalhu.

SHAMASH.

Sumerian-Akkadian sun god. The Sumerian name is Utu, the son of the moon god Naina (Akkadian Sin), brother of Ishtar; sometimes his brother is called Marduk.

SYN.

Sumerian-Akkadian deity of the moon. The main center of the cult of Sin was the city of Ur.

TAMMUS.

Sumerian-Akkadian god of vegetation. His Sumerian name is Dumuzi-abzu (“True son of Apsu”) or Dumuzi, from which the Hebrew form of the name Tammuz is derived. The cult of Tammuz, revered under the West Semitic name Adonai (“My Lord”) or under the Greek Adonis, was widespread in the Mediterranean. According to the surviving myths, Tammuz died, descended into the world of the dead, was resurrected and ascended to earth, and then ascended to heaven. During his absence, the land remained barren and the flocks fell. Because of the proximity of this god with the natural world, fields and animals, he was also called the “Shepherd”.