The birth of agriculture was a pivotal moment in human history that allowed the earliest civilizations to arise in the Fertile Crescent. By Jan van der CrabbenFounder and CEOWorld History Encyclopedia Introduction The ancient Near East, and the historical regions of the Fertile Crescent and Mesopotamia in particular, are generally seen as the birthplace of agriculture. In the 4th millennium BCE,[…]
He is portrayed in unflattering light in the Bible, most notably in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Jeremiah. Introduction Nebuchadnezzar II (r. 605/604-562 BCE) was the greatest King of ancient Babylon during the period of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (626-539 BCE), succeeding its founder, his father, Nabopolassar (r. 626-605 BCE). Nabopolassar had defeated the Assyrians with the help[…]
It was the king’s responsibility to make laws and enforce justice in society. By Sara E. ColeCuratorial Assistant, Antiquities DepartmentJ. Paul Getty Museum In ancient Mesopotamia, being king meant many things. Kings were not just rulers of their kingdoms and empires; they were also expected to be religious leaders, warriors, hunters, scholars, lawmakers, and builders. All[…]
The Kushites were expelled from Egypt by the Assyrians, but their kingdom flourished in Sudan for another thousand years. By The British Museum Introduction The first settlers in northern Sudan date back 300,000 years. It is home to the oldest sub-Saharan African kingdom, the kingdom of Kush (about 2500–1500 B.C.E.). This culture produced some of[…]
Described as fiercely independent by contemporary Greco-Roman accounts, the Nabataeans were annexed into the Roman Empire. Introduction The Nabataeans, also Nabateans were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Levant.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu (present-day Petra, Jordan)[1]—gave the name Nabatene to the Arabian borderland that stretched from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. The Nabataeans were one of several nomadic Bedouin tribes[…]
Back in the times of the early bronze era or approximately 2000 BCE (long before things such as cars, telephones, internet, video games, Intertops Casino bonus) was the empire known as Assyria. The Assyrian Empire was the largest empire of its time and lasted for almost fourteen hundred years. All in all, a long time to[…]
Ancient Anatolia is described as a melting pot of civilizations and cultures, a bridge between Asia and Europe, a fusion of East and West. By Nicholas Kropacek Introduction Göbekli Tepe is the world’s oldest example of monumental architecture; a ‘temple’ built at the end of the last Ice Age, 12,000 years ago. It was discovered in 1995 CE when, just[…]
Many of the most common aspects of daily life, as well as theological paradigms and political systems, developed first in Mesopotamia. Introduction Mesopotamia is the ancient Greek name (meaning “the land between two rivers”, the Tigris and Euphrates) for the region corresponding to modern-day Iraq and parts of Iran, Syria, and Turkey. It is considered[…]
Marriage in ancient Mesopotamia was of vital importance to the society for the continuation of the family line and social stability. Introduction Medical texts from ancient Mesopotamia provide prescriptions and practices for curing all manner of ailments, wounds, and diseases. There was one malady, however, which had no cure: passionate love. From a medical text[…]
Beer was extremely popular in ancient Mesopotamia. Sipped through straws, it was enjoyed by people from all walks of life. Introduction People have been gathering over a beer for thousands of years. As an archaeologist, I can tell you the history of beer stretches deep into the human past – and the history of bars[…]
Ruins in the Town of Ur, Southern Iraq / Photo by M.Lubinski, Wikimedia Commons Among its peaks of prosperity were the 26th century BC. By Dr. Marc Van De Mieroop Professor of History Columbia University Ur was indeed given kingship, but it was not given an eternal reign. From time immemorial since the land was founded,[…]
Ruins in the Town of Ur, Southern Iraq / Photo by M.Lubinski, Flickr, Creative Commons Ur was an established city by 3800 BCE continually inhabited until 450 BCE. By Dr. Joshua J. Mark / 04.28.2011 Professor of Philosophy Marist College Introduction Ur was a city in the region of Sumer, southern Mesopotamia, in what is modern-day Iraq. According to biblical tradition, the[…]
A map illustrating the various political states within the Fertile Crescent c. 1450 BCE / Image by Свифт/Svift, Wikimedia Commons Virtually every area of human knowledge was advanced by these people. By Dr. Joshua J. Mark / 03.28.2018 Professor of Philosophy Marist College Introduction The Fertile Crescent, often called the “Cradle of Civilization”, is the region in the Middle East[…]
The “Burney Relief,” which is believed to represent either Ishtar, the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, or her older sister Ereshkigal, Queen of the underworld (c. 19th or 18th century BC) / BabelStone Sex was central to life in ancient Mesopotamia, reflected even in their mythology. By Dr. Louise Pryke / 04.22.2018 Lecturer, Languages and Literature of Ancient Israel Macquarie University[…]
Left: Sumerian medical clay tablet – Medical clay tablet from Nippur dated to about 2200 BC is considered the oldest known Sumerian medical book. 2200 BC. Source: Samuel N. Kramer, History begins at Sumer; Right: Treatment of a patient. Medicine in the ancient Near East prior to 1000 BCE was a well-developed profession by the[…]
Kudurru of Nabû-kudurrī-uṣur granting LAK-ti Marduk freedom from taxation for services rendered during his invasion of Elam / Wikimedia Commons Kingship in Israel and other ancient Near Eastern societies is a major focus of modern scholarship and has produced fascinating results. By Dr. Cian Power Researcher in Ancient Near Eastern Studies Harvard University History of[…]
Cylinder seals were impression stamps, often quite intricate in design, used throughout Mesopotamia. By Dr. Joshua J. Mark / 12.02.2015 Professor of Philosophy Marist College Introduction Among the most interesting and revealing artifacts discovered from ancient Mesopotamia are the objects known as cylinder seals. These fairly small items may be seen today in museum exhibits around[…]
A close-up view of the Babylonian map of the World. This partially broken clay tablet contains both cuneiform inscriptions and a unique map of the Mesopotamian world. Probably from Sippar, Mesopotamia, Iraq. 700-500 BCE. / Photo by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, British Museum, Wikimedia Commons Mesopotamia was never a single, unified civilization, not even under the Akkadian Empire of Sargon[…]
In this seal, a seated vegetation goddess is greeted by three other deities. / Walters Art Museum, Wikimedia Commons In ancient Mesopotamia the gods infused every aspect of daily life and this, of course, extended to health care. By Dr. Joshua J. Mark / 05.21.2014 Professor of Philosophy Marist College Intrroduction An Arab folio on which is[…]
Cylinder Seal with Griffins, Humans and a Winged Disk / Walters Art Museum, Wikimedia Commons The religions of the ancient world in the Near East and Mediterranean regions developed according to an inner logic of questioning growing out of the historical experience of peoples who were in more or less continuous interaction. By Dr. Eugene[…]
Detail of a relief at Persepolis showing a procession of subject peoples bringing gifts characteristic of their homelands as tribute for the Persian king A great transformation in human life took place in ancient Mesopotamia with the rise of the city of Uruk. By Dr. Margarete Van Ess Professor of Near Eastern Archaeology Deutsches Archäologisches[…]
Sumer, in southernmost Mesopotamia, was the first true city in the world, some time not very much before 2100 BCE. By Dr. Paul Kriwaczek British Historian Eridu Leave the modern traffic, the bicycles, the cars and delivery lorries fuming along St Giles’ and Beaumont Street in Oxford, and pass through the Ashmolean Museum’s rather overblown[…]
Upper part of a gypsum statue of a Sumerian woman. The hands are folds in worship. The eyes would have been inlaid. A sheepskin garment is wrapped on the left shoulder. Early Dynastic Period, c. 2400 BCE. / Photo by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, British Museum, Wikimedia Commons Do we have any evidence of actual[…]
Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 06.19.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Rise of Babylon The Emergence of the First Babylonian Dynasty After the collapse of the Akkadians, the Babylonian Empire flourished under Hammurabi, who conquered many surrounding peoples and empires, in addition to developing an extensive code of law and establishing Babylon as a “holy city” of[…]
The first civilizations formed in river valleys, and were characterized by a caste system and a strong government that controlled water access and resources. Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 06.19.2018 Historian Breminate Editor-in-Chief River Valley Civilizations The First Civilizations The Nile River and Delta: Most of the Ancient Egyptian settlements occurred along the northern part[…]
Creative Commons By Dr. Michael Fowler / 06.12.2015 Maxine S. and Jesse W. Beams Professor of Physics , Physics Education,Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics University of Virginia The Earliest Written Language Sumer and Babylonia, located in present-day Iraq, were probably the first peoples to have a written language, beginning in Sumer in about 3100 BC. The language[…]
A relief at the ancient Persian city of Persepolis (now in modern Iran), including inscriptions in cuneiform, the world’s oldest form of writing. Diego Delso/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA Cuneiform was used for over 3,000 years in the Ancient Near East, but was only decoded in the 19th century. The writing form is still revealing amazing stories, from literature to mathematics. By Dr. Louise Pryke / 10.05.2017 Lecturer,[…]
Ishtar (on right) comes to Sargon, who would later become one of the great kings of Mesopotamia. Edwin J. Prittie, The story of the greatest nations, 1913 Love, it is said, is a battlefield, and it was no more so than for the first goddess of love andwar, Ishtar. By Dr. Louise Pryke / 05.07.2017 Lecturer, Languages and Literature of Ancient Israel Macquarie University As singer[…]
Gilgamesh explores what it means to be human, and questions the meaning of life and love. Wikimedia Commons The themes of the world’s most ancient epic are still remarkably relevant to modern readers. By Dr. Louise Pryke / 05.07.2017 Lecturer, Languages and Literature of Ancient Israel Macquarie University “Forget death and seek life!” With these encouraging words, Gilgamesh, the star of the eponymous 4000-year-old[…]