Early Mesopotamian Civilizations

Mesopotamia
The Worlds First Civilization
Boutkhil Guemide
University Mohammed Boudiaf, M’sila
Algeria

What is a civilization?
Civilizations are complex societies.
They have cities, organized
governments, art, religion, class
divisions, and a writing system.

Public
Works
Specialization
Of Labor
Arts
Architecture
Writing &
Record
Keeping
Social
Classes
Religion
Cities &
Government
Civilization

Mesopotamia
 Mesopotamia: The worlds first civilization.
 Mesopotamia: 'between two rivers’
 It was an ancient region located in the
eastern Mediterranean bounded in the northeast by the
Zagros Mountains and in the southeast by the Arabian
Plateau, corresponding to today’s Iraq, mostly, but also
parts of modern-day Iran, Syria and Turkey.
 The 'two rivers' of the name referred to the Tigris and the
Euphrates rivers and the land was known as 'Al-Jazirah'
(the island) by the Arabs.
 The Fertile Crescent: Mesopotamian civilization began.
 The two rivers that allowed Mesopotamia to succeed were
the Tigris and Euphrates.

The fertile crescent
In the spring, the rivers
often flooded, leaving
behind rich soil for
farming. The problem
was that the flooding
was very unpredictable.
It might flood one year,
but not the next. Every
year, farmers worried
about their crops.

Mesopotamia: A brief history
 Mesopotamia is one of the ancient civilization of
the Middle East.
 This civilization was characterized by its presence
at the Tigris and Euphrates, which played a large
role in the emergence of this civilization.
 The presence of these two rivers has helped
stabilize people and their civilization.
 Many kingdoms ruled the land of Mesopotamia

Sumer
The first major civilization in Mesopotamia
was in a region called Sumer.

People of Mesopotamia
• In Mesopotamia, Mesopotamia has settled various peoples:
• 1 - Sumerians: They were located around the common course of the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers starting from the estuary at the Arabian
Gulf and on the western side of the Euphrates River in the direction of
the north and the researchers have no reliable information on whether
the Sumerians originally resident of this region.
• 2 - The Sumyans (Aramians & Aromians) : They lived in the north of
the area where the Sumerians lived and their area was known as
Akad.
• 3 - The Assyrians: They lived north of Akad in four cities irrigated by
the waters of the Tigris River and its tributaries, namely Assyria, Arbla,
Kalkh, Nineveh and Assyrians are a mix of those who came to the
region from the South and from non-Semitic tribes came from the West
and the Kurds.

Kingdoms of Mesopotamia
• Kingdom of the Sumerians
• Kingdom of the Akkadians
• Kingdom of the Babylonians
• Kingdom of the Assyrians

•Empires in Mesopotamia fought for control
over the land and water.
•Kingdoms in the region - Sumerians,
Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and
Persians.

3000 BC 2340 – 2100 BC 1792-1750 BC 900 BC – 600 BC
Sumer Akkad Babylon Assyria
600 – 539 BC
Chaldean Babylon Persia
559 – 330 BC

The Kingdom of Sumerians is one of the
kingdoms that was established in Iraq.
This Kingdom established a great civilization
known as the slave civilization.
The Kingdom extended its territory until it
reached Bahrain (the ancient island of Delmon).
The period of Sumerian rule was divided into
three eras:
The 1st dynasties (2800- 2700 BC).
The 2nd Dynasties (2700- 2600 BC).
The 3rd Dynasties (2600- 2400 BC).

•Dates back to 3,000
BC. Oldest of the
civilizations.
•Key cities were Ur,
Eridu, and Uruk.
•Cities formed city-
states that acted like
an independent nation.
Above:

City-states
Each Sumerian city and the land
around it became a separate city-state.
Each city-state had its own
government and was not part of any
larger unit.

•Each City-
state -
surrounded by
walls. Defense
towers posted
every 30-35 ft.
•Sun-dried
bricks used to
form buildings
and houses.
Capital city in
the East and
sun-dried bricks.

•Vicious weather
patterns- floods,
heavy rain,
scorching winds,
famine and drought.
•Floods of the Tigris
and Euphrates were
unpredictable.

•Early civilization
will create irrigation
and drainage
ditches.
•Serious efforts to
control the flow of
the rivers.
•Enables them to
grow crops
regularly.
Sumerian farmers irrigate
and work the fields.

Irrigation
Over time, the farmers learned to build
dams and channels to control the
seasonal floods. They also built walls,
waterways, and ditches to bring water
to their fields. This way of watering
crops is called irrigation. Irrigation
allowed the farmers to grow plenty of
food and support a large population.

•Economy was
primarily based on
farming.
•Trade and Industry –
imported copper, tin,
and timber. Exported
fish, wool, barley and
wheat.
•Traded by land and
sea.
Sumerian farmer and
tradesman on a raft.

Food in Sumer
The Sumerians grew several kinds of
crops. The most valuable one was barley,
which was used to make flour and bread.
Dates were also very valuable to the
Sumerians. They were eaten once ripe or
else they were dried for future
consumption. Dates also made an
excellent wine.

•Polytheistic – the
belief in many gods.
•Priests and
priestesses were
powerful and may have
been the 1st rulers.
•Gods owned the cities.
Over 3,000 gods.
Statues of

In Sumerian religions, the gods created man to
serve him and work the fields.

•Believed the gods
ruled the cities.
•Theocracy – a
government by divine
authority. (Rule by
god).
•Left-Marduk, the god of
the city of Babylon.

•Their religion was very
gloomy.
•The gods were
unpredictable, like their
weather.
•Upon death, they would go
to a terrible underworld or
“land of no return.”Image of

•Ziggurat – temple set
atop a stepped tower.
•Temple was the
center of the city and
its economic and
political life.
•This was the most
important building in
the city.
The Ziggurat or Temple of
Ur in Ancient Sumer.
This temple was the central
focus of life in the city of
Ur.

Above: Artist’s rendering of the city of Ur. In the background,
you can see the temple or ziggurat. Courtesy of Wikipedia
Commons.

King
Nobles
Commoners
Slaves
90% -
Temple
officials,
Farmers,
merchants,
craftsmen
and
fishermen.
Royals and
Priests –
Officials and
Families.
Slaves –
work on
buildings,
grind
grain,
weave
cloth.
Nobles and
Slaves make
up less than
10% of the
total pop.

Social Classes in Sumer
Upper class - kings, priests, warriors,
and government officials.
Middle class - artisans, merchants,
farmers, and fishers. These people
made up the largest group.
Lower class - enslaved people who
worked on farms or in the temples.

•Kings were divine.
•Led armies.
• Oversaw the building of public works
and structures.
•Organized irrigation projects.

•Priests kept
calendars, time, and
reported on
harvesting and
planting.
•Scribes wrote careful
records of natural
events on the earth
and in the skies.Statue of a priest of
Sumer.

•Men who recorded all
aspects of Sumerian
life.
•Educated, copyists,
teachers and jurists.
•Upper class,
successful, leaders of
cities, temples and
armies.
Sumerian scribe above.

•1st written
language was the
wedge-shaped
writing of the
Sumerians called
cuneiform.
•Scribes wrote on
clay tablets with a
reed stylus.Wedge-shaped Sumerian
writing or cuneiform
above.

Writing
The most
important
invention of the
Sumerians was
writing.
The writing of the
Sumerians was
called cuneiform.

Shelves of a tablet library in Babylon.

•Epic of Gilgamesh –
1st Epic poem.
•Oldest poem in the
history of the world.
•Sumerian tales
about a hero named
Gilgamesh.

TheEpic of Gilgamesh
The most famous piece of literature from
Sumer is the Epic of Gilgamesh.
An epic is a long poem that tells the story
of a hero. The hero Gilgamesh is a king
who travels around the world with a
friend and performs great deeds. When
his friend dies, Gilgamesh searches for a
way to live forever.

Sumerian Inventions
wagon wheel
plow
sailboat
number system based on 60
geometry
12 month calendar

•1st system of writing
– cuneiform.
•Invented the wagon
wheel.
•Invented the potter’s
wheel.
•1st to make copper
tools.

•Sundial to keep
time.
•Astronomy –chart
constellations.
•Math – number
system based on 60.
(60 minute hour).

•Geometry –
measure fields
and plan
buildings.
•Designed the
arch and the
dome.
Ishtar Gate

 About 2400 B.C., the power of Sumer started to fade.
 New kingdoms began to develop in Mesopotamia as conquerors
moved in from nearby areas.
 The Akkadian Empire: The first ancient Semitic-speaking empire
of Mesopotamia,
 The city of Akkad.
 The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one
rule.
 The Akkadian Empire exercised influence across Mesopotamia,
the Levant, and Anatolia, sending military expeditions as far south
as Dilmun and Magan.
 The Akkadian Empire reached its political peak between the 24th
and 22nd centuries BC, following the conquests by its
founder Sargon of Akkad.
 Under Sargon and his successors, the Akkadian language was
briefly imposed on neighboring conquered states such
as Elam and Gutium.

Sargon
In about 2340 B.C., Sargon
conquered all of Mesopotamia
creating the Akkadian empire.
An empire is a group of many
different lands under one ruler.
Sargon’s empire lasted for more
than 200 years before falling to
invaders.

 Sargon of Akkad (Sharru-kin):
"legitimate king", "lion king"
 The title had been taken on gaining
power after defeating and capturing
Lugal-zage-si in the Battle of Uruk
and conquered his empire.
 Sargon was claimed to be the son of
La'ibum or Itti-Bel, a humble
gardener, and possibly a hierodule,
or priestess to Ishtar or Inanna.

Timeline of rulers
Ruler Time in BC
Sargon 2334– 2279
Rimush 2278– 2270
Manishtushu 2269– 2255
Naram-Sin 2254– 2218
Shar-Kali-Sharri 2217– 2193
Interregnum 2192– 2190
Dudu 2189– 2169
Shu-turul 2168– 2154

 Sargon appeared in the city of Kish about (2350 BC) and was able to seize power
and soon formed an army and opened the neighboring cities of Kish. He also fought
fierce battles against Lugal-zage-si King of Uruk and bet him.
 He was able to subject other Sumerian cities to his rule in 2340 BC and the Fertile
Crescent was subdued: Anatolia, Elam, and the Arabian Gulf were subjugated to the
Middle East under his rule. Thus, forming a great empire with its capital city of
Akkad.
 Sargon: The King of Four Quarters of the Earth
 He also boasted of having subjugated the "four quarters" — the lands surrounding
Akkad to the north (Assyria), the south (Sumer), the east (Elam), and of the earliest
historiographic texts (ABC 19, 20) suggest he rebuilt the city of Bthe west (Martu).
 He used the name of the king in the legal contracts with the names of the gods and
made the judges as appointed staff by King,
 He unified the country’s calendar: In the past, each city had its own calendar.
 Sargon made other important political measures:
 He was the first to grant his followers lands for their help.
 Appointed the rulers of cities and states and abolished the system of inheritance to
adopt these positions.
 The governors of cities under the reign of his grandson Neram-Sin were called the
king’s servants.
 Sargon may have been the first to organize the regular army and made important
changes in weapons and combat methods.
 Eliminated the use of heavy weapons on battlefields and used light weapons,
instead

The Akkadian expansion led to multiple results,
including:
Taking control of the various sources of raw
materials necessary for any economic or
cultural development.
Ensuring security and overcoming the
disadvantages of the conflicts arising
between the previous cities and to protect
foreign trade routes.
Assuring direct contact between different
peoples in the whole of the ancient Middle
East as a way of interaction and cultural
development.

Trade extended from the silver mines of Anatolia to the lapis
lazuli mines in modern Afghanistan, the cedars of Lebanon and
the copper of Magan.
This consolidation of the city-states of Sumer and Akkad reflected
the growing economic and political power of Mesopotamia.
The empire's breadbasket was the rain-fed agricultural system
A chain of fortresses was built to control the imperial wheat
production.
Images of Sargon were erected on the shores of the
Mediterranean, in token of his victories, and cities and palaces were
built at home with the spoils of the conquered lands.
Sargon appointed one of his daughter priestess of the moon god in
Ur.
She took the name of Enheduanna and was succeeded by
Enmenanna, a daughter of Naram-Sin.
Enheduanna must have been a very gifted woman; two hymns by
her have been preserved, and she is also said to have been
instrumental in starting a collection of songs dedicated to the temples
of Babylonia.

Sargon had crushed opposition even at old age.
These difficulties broke out again in the reign of his
sons, where revolts broke out during the nine-year
reign of Rimush (2278– 2270 BC), who fought hard
to retain the empire, and was successful until he
was assassinated by some of his own courtiers.
Rimush's elder brother, Manishtushu (2269– 2255
BC) succeeded him. The latter seems to have
fought a sea battle against 32 kings who had
gathered against him and took control over their
pre-Arab country, consisting of modern-day United
Arab Emirates and Oman.
Despite the success, like his brother he seems to
have been assassinated in a palace conspiracy

Naram-Sin Naram-Sin (2254– 2218 BC), due to vast military conquests, assumed the
imperial title "King Naram-Sin, king of the four quarters", the four quarters as a
reference to the entire world.
 He was also for the first time addressed as "the god of Agade" (Akkad). He
also faced revolts at the start of his reign,but quickly crushed them
 To better police Syria, he built a royal residence at Tell Brak, a crossroads at
the heart of the Khabur River basin of the Jezirah.
 Naram-Sin campaigned against Magan, which also revolted, where he
instated garrisons to protect the main roads.
 The chief threat seemed to be coming from the northern Zagros Mountains,
the Lulubis and the Gutians. A campaign against the Lullubi led to the carving
of the "Victory Stele of Naram-Suen",
 Naram-Sin of Akkad even ventured into Anatolia, battling the Hittite
and Hurrian kings Pamba of Hatti, Zipani of Kanesh, and 15 others. This
newfound Akkadian wealth may have been based upon benign climatic
conditions, huge agricultural surpluses and the confiscation of the wealth of
other peoples

Culture
During the Akkadian period, the Akkadian language became
the lingua franca of the Middle East, and was officially used for
administration.
The spread of Akkadian stretched from Syria to Elam.
Akkadian texts later found their way to far-off places,
from Egypt and Anatolia, to Persia.
During the 3rd millennium BC, there developed a very intimate
cultural symbiosis between the Sumerians and the Akkadians,
which included widespread bilingualism.
 The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian (and vice versa) is
evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a massive scale,
to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence.
 Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as a spoken language
somewhere around 2000 BC, but Sumerian continued to be
used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary, and scientific language
in Mesopotamia until the 1st century AD

Economy
 The population of Akkad was entirely dependent upon the agricultural systems of the region,
which seem to have had two principal centres: the irrigated farmlands of southern Iraq and
the rain-fed agriculture of northern Iraq.
 Southern Iraq during Akkadian period seemed to have been approaching its modern rainfall
level of less than 20 mm per year, with the result that agriculture was totally dependent upon
irrigation.
 The economy was highly planned: Grain was cleaned, and rations of grain and oil were
distributed in standardized vessels made by the city's potters. Taxes were paid in produce
and labor on public walls, including city walls, temples, irrigation canals and waterways,
producing huge agricultural surpluses.
 Urban populations there had peaked and demographic pressures were high, contributing to
the rise of militarism apparent immediately. Warfare between city states had led to a
population decline, from which Akkad provided a temporary respite.
 It was this high degree of agricultural productivity in the south that enabled the growth of the
highest population densities in the world at this time, giving Akkad its military advantage.
 Harvest was in the late spring and during the dry summer months. Nomadic Amorites from
the northwest would pasture their flocks of sheep and goats to graze on the stubble and be
watered from the river and irrigation canals.
 For this privilege, they would have to pay a tax in wool, meat, milk, and cheese to the
temples, who would distribute these products to the priesthood.
 Akkad had a surplus of agricultural products but was short of almost everything else,
particularly metal ores, timber and building stone, all of which had to be imported. The
spread of the Akkadian state as far as the "silver mountain", the "cedars" of Lebanon, and
the copper deposits of Magan, was largely motivated by the goal of securing control over

Achievements
The empire was bound together by roads, along which
there was a regular postal service.
Clay seals which replaced of stamps bore the names
of Sargon and his son.
A cadastral survey,
The first collection of astronomical observations and
terrestrial omens was made for a library established by
Sargon.
The earliest "year names", whereby each year of a
king's reign was named after a significant event
performed by that king, date from Sargon's reign.
Lists of these "year names" henceforth became a
calendrical system used in most independent
Mesopotamian city-states.

Collapse
 The empire of Akkad fell, perhaps in the 22nd century BC,
 Shu-Durul appears to have restored some centralized authority, however, he was
unable to prevent the empire eventually collapsing outright from the invasion of
barbarian peoples from the Zagros Mountains known as the Gutians.
 One explanation for the end of the Akkadian empire is simply that the Akkadian
dynasty could not maintain its political supremacy over other independently
powerful city-states
 Harvey Weiss has shown that “… . At 2200 BC, a marked increase in aridity and
wind circulation, subsequent to a volcanic eruption, induced a considerable
degradation of land- use conditions. After four centuries of urban life, this abrupt
climatic change evidently caused abandonment …, regional desertion, and collapse
of the Akkadian empire … in southern Mesopotamia. Synchronous collapse in
adjacent regions suggests that the impact of the abrupt climatic change was
extensive".
 Peter B. deMenocal, has shown "there was an influence of the North Atlantic
Oscillation on the stream flow of the Tigris and Euphrates at this time, which led to
the collapse of the Akkadian Empire: “Water levels within the Tigris and Euphrates
fell 1.5 metres beneath the level of 2600 BC, and although they stabilised for a time
during the following Ur III period, rivalries between pastoralists and farmers
increased.
 This collapse of rain-fed agriculture in the Upper Country meant the loss to
southern Mesopotamia of the agrarian subsidies which had kept the Akkadian

 Babylon is the most famous city from
ancient Mesopotamia whose ruins lie in modern-day Iraq 59
miles (94 kilometres) southwest of Baghdad.
 The name is thought to derive from bav-il or bav-ilim which, in
the Akkadian language of the time, meant ‘Gate of God’ or `Gate
of the Gods’ and `Babylon’ coming from Greek. The city owes its
fame (or infamy) to the many references the Bible makes to it;
all of which are unfavourable.
 Babylon is featured in the story of The Tower of Babel
 Follwed by the collapse of the Sumerian "Ur-III" dynasty at the
hands of the Elamites in 2002 BC, the Amorites, a
foreign Northwest Semitic-speaking people, began to migrate
into southern Mesopotamia from the northern Levant, gradually
gaining control over most of southern Mesopotamia, where they
formed a series of small kingdoms, while the Assyrians
reasserted their independence in the north.
 The states of the south were unable to stem the Amorite
advance.

The king of Babylon, Hammurabi, conquered Akkad and Sumer
and became ruler of a great new empire.
Hammurabi began to conquer other city-states in the area. Within
a few years, Hammurabi had conquered all of Mesopotamia
including much of the Assyrian lands to the north.
The city began its rise to power in 1792 BC when King Hammurabi
took the throne. He was a powerful and capable leader who wanted
to rule more than just the city of Babylon
Hammurabi: An Amorite prince ascended to the throne upon
the abdication of his father, King Sin-Muballit, and fairly quickly
transformed the city into one of the most powerful and influential in
all of Mesopotamia.
As ruler, he brought about many changes.
He improved irrigation systems by building and repairing canals.
He changed religion by raising the god of Babylon above all other
gods.
When the people began to worship this god as well as their own
local god, they became more united.
Hammurabi also reorganized the tax system and began a

The City of Babylon
 Under Hammurabi's rule, the city of Babylon became the most
powerful city in the world.
 Located on the banks of the Euphrates River, the city was a
major trade hub bringing together new ideas and products.
 Babylon also became the largest city in the world at the time
with as many as 200,000 people living there at its peak.
 At the center of the city was a large temple called a ziggurat.
 The city was also famous for its gardens, palaces, towers, and
artwork.
 The city was also the cultural center of the empire. It was here
that art, science, music, mathematics, astronomy, and literature
were able to flourish.
 The people of Babylon took as their own many parts of the
culture, or way of life, of the people they had conquered. For
example, they took over the language of the city-states. They
also worshiped the same Sumerian gods that the Akkadians
had worshiped, but they gave those gods Babylonian names.

Hammurabi
Hammurabi is best known for his law code, or
collection of laws.
Law 5: If a judge makes an error through his own
fault when trying a case, he must pay a fine, be
removed from the judge’s bench, and never judge
another case.
Law 195: If a son strikes his father, the son’s
hands shall be cut off.

 The reform, or improvement, for which Hammurabi became best known was a code
of law. Each city-state had its own code.
 Hammurabi took what he believed were the best laws from each code.
 He put these together and then issued one code by which everyone in the empire
was to live.
 Hammurabi wanted to make sure that his code was carried out fairly and justly. To
do this, he appointed royal judges: Judges who were not honest and witnesses who
did not tell the truth were punished.
 Hammurabi’s code covered almost everything in daily life.
 A person was believed innocent until proven guilty. Once proven guilty, a person
was punished.
 Punishments ranged from fines to death.
 There were no prison sentences.
 Members of the upper class generally were punished more severely than members
of the middle or lower classes.
 During Hammurabi’s rule, Babylon became an important trade center: Babylonians
exchanged their surplus products for money or for goods.
 People from other parts of the world came to trade, some from as far away as India
and China.
 These traders paid gold and silver for the goods made by Babylonians.
 Hammurabi ruled for more than 40 years. His reign, or period of power, is known as
the Golden Age of Babylon.
 After his death, however, the Babylonian Empire declined, and Mesopotamia was
again divided into a number of small city-states.

Babylonian culture
Art and architecture
 In Babylonia, an abundance of clay, and lack of stone, led to greater use of mudbrick;
 Babylonian temples were massive structures of crude brick which were supported by buttresses.
 The use of brick led to the early development of the pilaster and column, and of frescoes and enameled
tiles.
 The walls were brilliantly coloured, and sometimes plated with zinc or gold, as well as with tiles.
Astronomy
 Tablets dating back to the Babylonian period document the application of mathematics to the variation in
the length of daylight over a solar year.
 Centuries of Babylonian observations of celestial phenomena are recorded in the series of cuneiform
script tablets.
 The oldest rectangular astrolabe dates back to Babylonia c. 1100 BC.
 Medicine: Medical diagnosis and prognosis
 The Babylonians introduced the concepts of diagnosis, prognosis, physical examination,
and prescriptions.
 The Diagnostic Handbook: The methods of therapy and etiology and the use
of empiricism, logic and rationality in diagnosis, prognosis and therapy.
 The text contains a list of medical symptoms and often detailed empirical observations along with logical
rules used in combining observed symptoms on the body of a patient with its diagnosis and prognosis
 The symptoms and diseases of a patient were treated through therapeutic means such
as bandages, creams and pills. If a patient could not be cured physically, the Babylonian physicians often
relied on exorcism to cleanse the patient from any curses.
Literature
 There were libraries in most towns and temples; an old Sumerian proverb averred that "he who would
excel in the school of the scribes must rise with the dawn".
 Women as well as men learned to read and write.
 A considerable amount of Babylonian literature was translated from Sumerian originals, and the language
of religion and law long continued to be written in the old language of Sumer.

The Assyrian Empire
The kingdom of Assyria emerged as a major regional
power in the second millennium BCE
It was in the early first millenium B.C. that it expanded
into a huge empire, covering much of the Middle East.
For 300 years, from 900 to 600 B.C., the Assyrian
Empire expanded, conquered and ruled the Middle
East, including Mesopotamia, Egypt, the eastern coast
of the Mediterranean, and parts of today’s Turkey, Iran,
and Iraq.
Since around 1250 B.C., the Assyrians had started
using war chariots and iron weapons, which were far
superior to bronze weapons.
These tools and tactics made the Assyrian army the
most powerful military force of its time, both doctrinally

Assyria: The Assyrian Empire, a major Semitic-
speaking Mesopotamian empire of the ancient Middle East and
the Levant.
It existed as a state from perhaps as early as the 25th century BC
in the form of the Assur city-state, until its collapse between 612
BC and 609 BC, spanning the Early to Middle Bronze Age through
to the late Iron Age.
Centered on the Tigris in Upper Mesopotamia (modern
northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and the
northwestern fringes of Iran), Making up a substantial part of the
greater Mesopotamian "cradle of civilization", which
included Sumer, the Akkadian Empire, and Babylonia,
Assyria was at the height of technological, scientific and cultural
achievements for its time.
At its peak, the Assyrian empire stretched from Cyprus and
the East Mediterranean to Iran, and from what is
now Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, to the Arabian
Peninsula, Egypt and eastern Libya.
Assyria is named after its original capital, the ancient city of Aššur,

The Assyrians were one of the
major peoples to live in
Mesopotamia during ancient times.
They lived in northern
Mesopotamia near the start of the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Modern-day scholars often divide
Assyrian history into three periods:
the Old Assyrian, Middle Assyrian,
and Neo-Assyrian periods.

Timeline of Assyrian kings
911-891 BCE King Adad-nirari II
883-859 BCE King Ashurnasirpal II
858-824 BCE King Shalmaneser III
744-727 BCE King Tiglathpileser III
722-705 BCE King Sargon II
705-681 BCE King Sennacherib
681-669 BCE King Esarhaddon
669-627 BCE King Ashurbanipal

Geographical Location
 The ancient kingdom of Assyria was located in present-day northern
Iraq.
 It bordered eastern Syria and southeastern Asia Minor.
 It covered the most northerly portion of the Mesopotamian plain, with
the river Tigris flowing through it.
 The climate of northern Mesopotamia is colder than in southern
Mesopotamia, and the levels of rainfall higher.
 Irrigation is not essential to farming, though, as with agriculture in
many parts of the world, it does allow more intensive farming than
would otherwise be the case.
 Assyrian society developed some distinct features of its own.
 Its exposed position– bordering as it did lands of warlike mountain
peoples and desert tribesmen– meant that its people developed a
strong military tradition.
 This enabled them to survive periods of invasion, and then to
conquer the largest empire world history had yet seen.
 At its height this empire stretched from Egypt to the Persian Gulf,
taking in the areas covered by the modern countries of Israel,

The First Rise
The Assyrians first rose to power when the Akkadian Empire fell. The
Babylonians had control of southern Mesopotamia and the Assyrians had
the north. One of their strongest leaders during this time was King Shamshi-
Adad. Under Shamshi-Adad the empire expanded to control much of the
north and the Assyrians grew wealthy. However, after Shamshi-Adad's
death in 1781 BC, the Assyrians grew weak and soon fell under control of
the Babylonian Empire.
Second Rise
The Assyrians once again rose to power from 1360 BC to 1074 BC. This
time they conquered all of Mesopotamia and expanded the empire to
include much of the Middle East including Egypt, Babylonia, Israel, and
Cypress. They reached their peak under the rule of King Tiglath-Pileser I.
The neo-Assyrian Empire
The final, and perhaps strongest, of the Assyrian Empires ruled from 744
BC to 612 BC. During this time Assyria had a string of powerful and capable
rulers such as Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Ashurbanipal.
These leaders built the empire into one of the most powerful empires in the
world. They conquered much of the Middle East and Egypt.

Government and administration
Assyria was a monarchy; the king was the divinely-
appointed, all-powerful ruler of the Assyrian people.
His titles claimed universal sovereignty: “Great King, Mighty
King, King of the Universe, King of the country of Ashur”.
Like all previous Mesopotamian monarchs, the king of
Assyria was the national god’s appointed representative on
Earth.
He was the chief lawmaker, the chief administrator, and
above all, the commander-in-chief of the Assyrian army.
The king was surrounded by a large court of ministers,
officials and servants
His chief ministers included a chief of the army and a
chancellor
Up to the mid-8th century the Assyrian homeland was
surrounded by an expanding swathe of territory in
Mesopotamia, Syria, eastern Anatolia and western Iran– a
significant chunk of the Middle East– composed of vassal

 Assyria’s imperial power was based squarely on its army: The
Assyrian army was one of the first major military force in world
history to benefit from iron armor and weapons.
 Their army was able to be composed of much larger bodies of
infantry and cavalry.
 The cavalry were now largely made up of soldiers riding on
horses, and warriors riding in chariots became less important in
the army.
 The Assyrians learnt this new style of cavalry warfare from the
Cimmerians and Scythians, the horse-riding nomads from
steppes of central Asia.
 Before the mid-8th century, the army was essentially a citizen
army, composed of ordinary Assyrian farmers performing their
military service.
This system continued into later times, but was now supplemented
by a standing army of foreign troops, made up of contingents from
conquered peoples.
These soldiers served for many years at a time; they were able to
attain a higher level of experience and training, and, free from the

Aramaic was an easy language to learn,
and also had an alphabetic script, closely
related to Phoenician and Hebrew.
As for the Assyrians, they too also began to
speak Aramaic.
The ruling class may have continued to
speak Akkadian to some extent, and they
certainly used its cuneiform script in
government and administration.
Aramaic made headway even in these
exalted circles, and in 752 BCE it was
made an official language of administration

Religion
The Assyrians shared much of the religions of
Mesopotamian.
This involved the worship of many gods,
though with the god Ashur, the national god of
Assyria.
Like all Mesopotamians, the Assyrians had a
deep and all-embracing belief in signs and
omens.
The gods, they felt, were always wishing to
communicate their wishes to men, and did so
through the movements of sun, moon or stars,
the flight of birds, the state of chicken livers
and so on.

Society
 All the categories had defined rights in Assyrian law;
 The Assyrian royal family headed the landed
aristocracy which had dominated Assyrian society
 The towns and cities will have had the usual
population of craftsmen and workers, but they also
had an elite group of leading citizens, made up of
priests, scribes, merchants and leading craftsmen.
 Highly increased births: Assyria encouraged the
multiplication of the offspring with their laws and moral
laws
 As for all military countries, abortion was a crime
punishable by death.
 The woman who aborted herself, and even the
woman who died trying to abort herself, was crushed

Economy
 The Assyrian land is rich and fertile, and includes two large
areas: the Erbil Plain and the Nineveh Plain. To this day,
these areas are still characterized by crop production
 Domestication of animals, agriculture, and pottery,
 As for the Assyrians, they were distinguished by those corn-
rich fields, and Erbil became one of the oldest permanent
agricultural settlements.
 Iron came into wide use.
 Farmers began to make farming more productive, by
replacing or supplementing their implements of wood, bone or
stone and started using iron tools.
 However, although the coming of iron would undoubtedly
have a huge impact on agriculture and the economy, the
generally poor character of the Assyrian level points to
impoverishment, or at best stagnation.
 Clearly, the tribute exacted from the provinces was so high

Architecture
Assyrian architecture, like that of Babylonia, was
influenced by Sumero-Akkadian styles, but early on
developed its own distinctive style.
Palaces sported colourful wall decorations, and
seal-cutting developed apace.
During the 13th to 10th centuries BC, picture tales
appeared as a new art form: a continuous series of
images carved on square stone steles.
These show events such as warfare or hunting.
These and the excellent cut seals show that
Assyrian art was beginning to surpass that of
Babylon.
Architecture saw the introduction of a new style
of ziggurat, with two towers and colorful enameled

Arts and Sciences
Assyrian art preserved to the present day predominantly dates to the Neo-
Assyrian period.
Art depicting battle scenes, and occasionally the impaling of whole villages in
glory detail, was intended to show the power of the emperor, and was generally
made for propaganda purposes.
These stone reliefs lined the walls in the royal palaces where
foreigners were received by the king. Other stone reliefs depict the king with
different deities and conducting religious ceremonies. Many stone reliefs were
discovered in the royal palaces at Nimrud and Khorsabad.
Assyrian sculpture reached a high level of refinement in the Neo-Assyrian
period. One prominent example is the winged bull lamassu or shedu that guard
the entrances to the king's court. These were apotropaic meaning they were
intended to ward off evil.
Although works of precious gems and metals usually do not survive the
ravages of time, some fine pieces of Assyrian jewelry were found in royal
tombs at Nimrud.
A small minority believe that it is evidence for the existence of
ancient Assyrian telescopes, which could explain the great accuracy of
Assyrian astronomy.
The Assyrians were also innovative in military technology, with the use of
heavy cavalry, sappers and siege engines.

The Library of Nineveh
The last great Assyrian king, Ashurbanipal,
constructed a great library at the city of
Nineveh.
He collected clay tablets from all over
Mesopotamia: The stories of Gilgamesh, the
Code of Hammurabi, and more.
Much of our knowledge of the Ancient
civilizations of Mesopotamia comes from the
remains of this library.
According to the British Museum in London,
just over 30,000 tablets have been recovered.
These tablets make up around 10,000 different
texts.

Early Mesopotamian Civilizations

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Early Mesopotamian Civilizations