Ancient Mesopotamia

Made from Study Guide

Akkad

region north of Sumer; first empire under Sargon

Ashurbanipal

Assyrian king; built great library at Nineveh in which the first tablets recording the Epic of Gilgamesh were found.

Babylon

major city of Mesopotamia; capital under Hammurabi

Babylonian Exile

period when Jewish leaders were exiled to Babylon

Bahrain / Dilmun

island possibly identified with the Garden of Eden

Base-60 System

Mesopotamian math system; basis for 60 minutes/hour

Book of Kings

biblical text describing Assyrian attack on Judea

City-State

independent city with its own government and farmland

Code of Hammurabi

early written law code emphasizing justice

Code of Lipit-Ishtar

earlier Mesopotamian law code

Code of Ur-Nammu

earliest surviving law code

Cuneiform

wedge-shaped writing on clay tablets

Dead Sea Scrolls

ancient Jewish manuscripts found near Qumran

Dilmun

ancient Mesopotamian paradise, possibly real-world Bahrain

Enheduana

priestess and poet, daughter of Sargon

Eye for an Eye (Lex Talionis)

law of equal retribution

Gilgamesh

legendary king of Uruk

Hammurabi

Babylonian king who unified Mesopotamia

Inanna

Sumerian goddess of love and war, patron of Uruk

Judea

ancient kingdom attacked by Assyrian

Leonard Woolley

archaeologist who excavated Ur

Lugal / Ensi

Sumerian terms for ruler or "big man"

Moabite Stone (also "Mesha Stele")

inscription confirming biblical events

Mesopotamia

"land between the rivers," cradle of civilization

Nineveh

Assyrian capital, site of Ashurbanipal's library

Qumran

site where Dead Sea Scrolls were found

Royal Tombs of Ur

graves showing wealth and mass burial rituals

Sargon the Great

founder of the Akkadian Empire

Sumer

earliest known civilization

Ur

important Sumerian city; site of royal tombs

Uruk

one of the first major cities; associated with Inanna

Ziggurat

stepped temple tower at city center

Agriculture and Irrigation

Controlled flooding allowed stable food supply

Biblical Archaeology

Studies artifacts to understand/confirm the world of the Bible. Finds like the Moabite Stone support historical context.

City-State Independence

Each Sumerian city ruled itself before empires

Codified Law

Written laws brought order and consistency to justice

Complex Societies

key characteristics include, Social stratification Specialization of labor Urban centers Centralized government Food surplus Advanced technology Interconnected systems

Cultural Exchange

Trade spread ideas and goods across the Near East

Empire-Building

Akkad and Babylon unified multiple regions under one rule

Mathematics and Writing

Base-60 math and cuneiform influenced later cultures

Religion and Government

Temples and rulers shared power and purpose

Scientific Observation

Priests used astronomy and omens for prediction

Social Hierarchy

Clear divisions between classes and occupations

The "Eden" Theory

Film suggests Dilmun (Bahrain) inspired Eden legend

c. 4100-1750 BCE

Rise and flourishing of Sumerian city-states (Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Eridu, Kish)

c. 3200 BCE

Invention of cuneiform writing in Sumer for temple and trade records

c. 2600 BCE

Construction of major ziggurats; urban centers dominate southern Mesopotamia

c. 2334-2279 BCE

Reign of Sargon the Great; founding of the Akkadian Empire (first empire)

c. 2300 BCE

Enheduana, daughter of Sargon, writes hymns to Inanna—world's first named author

c. 2150 BCE

Collapse of the Akkadian Empire; regional kingdoms re-emerge

c. 2100 BCE

Code of Ur-Nammu issued at Ur—the earliest known law code

c. 1930 BCE

Code of Lipit-Ishtar established at Isin

c. 1792-1750 BCE

Reign of Hammurabi; Code of Hammurabi carved on basalt stele

c. 1750 BCE

Old Babylonian Empire dominates Mesopotamia after Hammurabi's conquests

c. 1200-900 BCE

Assyrian kingdoms grow powerful in northern Mesopotamia

c. 900-612 BCE

Expansion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire; Nineveh becomes capital

701 BCE

Assyrian attack on Judea under Sennacherib (recorded in Book of Kings and Assyrian annals)

612 BCE

Fall of Nineveh; Assyrian Empire collapses

612-539 BCE

Rise of the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) Empire under Nabopolassar and Nebuchadnezzar II; Babylon becomes the dominant power in Mesopotamia

586 BCE

Babylonian Exile begins after destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II

9th century BCE

Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele) created; confirms biblical events