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[[File:N-Mesopotamia and Syria english.svg|upright=1.5|thumb|right|Map showing the extent of Mesopotamia]]
The '''Civilization of Mesopotamia''' ranges from the earliest human occupation in the [[Paleolithic]] period up to [[Late antiquity]]. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing in the late 4th millennium BC, an increasing amount of historical sources. While in the [[Paleolithic]] and [[early Neolithic]] periods only parts of [[Upper Mesopotamia]] were occupied, the southern alluvium was settled during the late Neolithic period. Mesopotamia has been home to many of the oldest major civilizations, entering history from the [[Early Bronze Age]], for which reason it is often called a [[cradle of civilization]].

==Short outline of Mesopotamia==
{{Main|Mesopotamia|Geography of Mesopotamia}}
[[File:Fertile crescent Neolithic B circa 7500 BC.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Area of the [[Fertile Crescent]], circa 7500 BC, with main archaeological sites of the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic]] period.  At that time, the area of Mesopotamia proper was not yet settled by humans.]]
Mesopotamia ({{langx|grc|Μεσοποταμία|Mesopotamíā}}; {{langx|syc|ܒܝܬ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ||Bēṯ Nahrēn}}) means "Between the Rivers". The oldest known occurrence of the name Mesopotamia dates to the 4th century BC, when it was used to designate the area between the [[Euphrates]] and the [[Tigris]]. The name was presumably translated from a term already current in the area—probably in Aramaic—and apparently was understood to mean the land lying "between the (Euphrates and Tigris) rivers", now [[Iraq]].<ref name="finkelstein">{{harvnb|Finkelstein|1962|p=73}}</ref>

Later and in the broader sense, the historical region included not only the area of present-day Iraq, but also parts of present-day [[Iran]], [[Syria]] and [[Turkey]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=history of Mesopotamia {{!}} Definition, Civilization, Summary, Agriculture, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |last2= |last3= |first3= |last4= |last5= |last6= |last7= |last8= |first8= |last9= |date=1990-09-02 |title=How Mesopotamia Became Iraq (and Why It Matters) |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-02-bk-1977-story.html |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Michael |date=2010-11-10 |title=The Ancient World {{!}} Mesopotamia |url=http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2010/nov/10/ancient-world-mesopotamia |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Seymour |first=Michael |date=2004 |title=Ancient Mesopotamia and Modern Iraq in the British Press, 1980–2003 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/383004 |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=45 |issue=3 |pages=351–368 |doi=10.1086/383004 |jstor=10.1086/383004 |s2cid=224788984 |issn=0011-3204}}</ref>{{sfn|Miquel|Brice|Sourdel|Aubin|2011}}<ref name="fosterpolingerfoster20096">{{harvnb|Foster|Polinger Foster|2009|p=6}}</ref> The neighbouring steppes to the west of the Euphrates and the western part of the [[Zagros Mountains]] are also often included under the wider term Mesopotamia.<ref name="canard">{{harvnb|Canard|2011}}</ref><ref name="wilkinson2000">{{harvnb|Wilkinson|2000|pp=222–223}}</ref><ref name="matthews20035">{{harvnb|Matthews|2003|p=5}}</ref> A further distinction is usually made between Upper or Northern Mesopotamia and Lower or Southern Mesopotamia.<ref name="miqueletal">{{harvnb|Miquel|Brice|Sourdel|Aubin|2011}}</ref>

[[Upper Mesopotamia]] is the area between the Euphrates and the Tigris from their sources down to [[Baghdad]].<ref name="canard" /> [[Lower Mesopotamia]] is the area from Baghdad to the [[Persian Gulf]].<ref name="miqueletal" /> In modern scientific usage, the term Mesopotamia often also has a chronological connotation. It is usually used to designate the area until the [[Arab]] [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]] in the 7th century AD, with [[Arabic]] names like Syria, Jezirah and Iraq being used to describe the region after that date.<ref name="fosterpolingerfoster20096" /><ref>{{harvnb|Bahrani|1998}}</ref><ref group="nb">This page will use Mesopotamia in its widest geographical and chronological sense.</ref>

===Chronology and periodization===
{{further|Chronology of the ancient Near East|ASPRO chronology|Dating methodologies in archaeology}}
Two types of chronologies can be distinguished: a [[relative dating|relative chronology]] and an [[absolute dating|absolute chronology]]. The former establishes the order of phases, periods, cultures and reigns, whereas the latter establishes their absolute age expressed in years. In archaeology, relative chronologies are established by carefully excavating [[archaeological site]]s and reconstructing their [[Stratification (archaeology)|stratigraphy]] – the order in which layers were deposited. In general, newer remains are deposited on top of older material. Absolute chronologies are established by dating remains, or the layers in which they are found, through absolute dating methods. These methods include [[radiocarbon dating]] and the written record that can provide year names or [[calendar date]]s.

By combining absolute and relative dating methods, a chronological framework has been built for Mesopotamia that still incorporates many uncertainties but that also continues to be refined.<ref name=matthews20036566>{{harvnb|Matthews|2003|pp=65–66}}</ref><ref name=vandemieroop20074>{{harvnb|van de Mieroop|2007|p=4}}</ref> In this framework, many prehistorical and early historical periods have been defined on the basis of material culture that is thought to be representative for each period. These periods are often named after the site at which the material was recognized for the first time, as is for example the case for the [[Halaf culture|Halaf]], [[Ubaid period|Ubaid]] and [[Jemdet Nasr period]]s.<ref name=matthews20036566/> When historical documents become widely available, periods tend to be named after the dominant dynasty or state; examples of this are the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III]] and [[First Babylonian dynasty|Old Babylonian periods]].<ref name=vandemieroop20073>{{harvnb|van de Mieroop|2007|p=3}}</ref> While reigns of kings can be securely dated for the 1st millennium BC, there is an increasingly large error margin toward the 2nd and 3rd millennia BC.<ref name=vandemieroop20074/>

The chronology for much of the third and second millennia BC is subject to much debate. Based on different estimates for the length of periods for which still very few historical documents are available, so-called Ultra-long, Long, [[Middle Chronology|Middle]], Short and Ultra-short Chronologies have been proposed by various scholars, varying by as much as 150 years in their dating of specific periods.<ref>{{harvnb|Brinkman|1977}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Gasche|Armstrong|Cole|Gurzadyan|1998}}</ref> Despite problems with the Middle Chronology, this chronological framework continues to be used by many recent handbooks on the archaeology and history of the ancient Near East.<ref name=vandemieroop20074/><ref name=kuhrt12>{{harvnb|Kuhrt|1997|p=12}}</ref><ref name=potts1997xxix>{{harvnb|Potts|1999|p=xxix}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003|p=13}}</ref><ref name=sagonazimansky251>{{harvnb|Sagona|Zimansky|2009|p=251}}</ref> A study from 2001 published high-resolution radiocarbon dates from Turkey supporting dates for the 2nd millennium BC that are very close to those proposed by the Middle Chronology.<ref>{{harvnb|Manning|Kromer|Kuniholm|Newton|2001}}</ref><ref group="nb">This page will use the Middle Chronology.</ref>

==Prehistory==
{{Main|Prehistory of Mesopotamia}}

===Pre-Pottery Neolithic period===
[[File:Göbekli Tepe.jpg|thumb|right|Overview of [[Göbekli Tepe]] with modern roof to protect the site against the weather|alt=Roughly built stone walls surrounding T-shaped stone pillars under a modern steel walkway and roof in a hilly landscape]]
The early [[Neolithic]] human occupation of Mesopotamia is, like the previous Epipaleolithic period, confined to the foothill zones of the Taurus and Zagros Mountains and the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys. The [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic A]] (PPNA) period (10,000–8,700 BC) saw the introduction of [[agriculture]], while the oldest evidence for animal [[domestication]] dates to the transition from the PPNA to the [[Pre-Pottery Neolithic B]] (PPNB, 8700–6800 BC) at the end of the 9th millennium BC. This transition has been documented at sites like Abu Hureyra and Mureybet, which continued to be occupied from the Natufian well into the PPNB.<ref name=moore>{{harvnb|Moore|Hillman|Legge|2000}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Akkermans|Schwartz|2003}}</ref> The so-far earliest monumental sculptures and circular stone buildings from [[Göbekli Tepe]] in southeastern Turkey date to the PPNA/Early PPNB and represent, according to the excavator, the communal efforts of a large community of hunter-gatherers.<ref>{{harvnb|Schmidt|2003}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Banning|2011}}</ref>

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
File:Shanidar Cave - overview.jpg|Inside the Shanidar Cave, where the remains of eight adults and two infant [[Neanderthal]]s, dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago were found, northern [[Iraq]].
File:Skeletal remains of Shanidar II, c. 60,000 to 45,000 BCE. Iraq Museum.jpg|Skeletal remains of [[Shanidar Cave|Shanidar]] II, c. 60,000 to 45,000 BCE. [[Iraq Museum]]
File:Asikli Hoyuk sarah c murray 6176.jpg|Reconstitution of housing in [[Aşıklı Höyük]], Upper Mesopotamia, modern [[Turkey]].
File:Jar MET VS1985 356 16.jpg|Jar in calcite alabaster, Syria, late 8th millennium BC.
File:Mace head MET vs1985 356 24.jpg|Mace-head, late 8th millennium BC.
File:Alabaster pot Mid-Euphrates region 6500 BCE Louvre Museum.jpg|Alabaster pot Mid-Euphrates region, 6500 BC, Louvre Museum
File:Alabaster pot, Mid-Euphrates region 6500 BCE Louvre Museum.jpg|[[Alabaster]] pot, Mid-Euphrates region, 6500 BC, Louvre Museum
File:Seated female MET vs1985 356 32.jpg|Female statuette, 8th millennium BC, Syria.
</gallery>

===Chalcolithic period===
[[File:Mesopotamia 6000-4500.png|thumb|upright=1.3|The development of Mesopotamia in the 7th–5th millennium BC was centered around the [[Hassuna culture]] in the north, the [[Halaf culture]] in the northwest, the [[Samarra culture]] in central Mesopotamia and the [[Ubaid culture]] in the southeast, which later expanded to encompass the whole region.]]
The [[Fertile Crescent]] was inhabited by several distinct, flourishing cultures between the end of the last ice age (c. 10,000 BC) and the beginning of history. One of the oldest known [[Neolithic]] sites in Mesopotamia is [[Jarmo]], settled around 7000 BC and broadly contemporary with [[Jericho]] (in the [[Levant]]) and [[Çatalhöyük]] (in [[Anatolia]]). It as well as other early Neolithic sites, such as [[Samarra]] and [[Tell Halaf]] were in northern Mesopotamia; later settlements in southern Mesopotamia required complicated [[irrigation]] methods. The first of these was [[Eridu]], settled during the [[Ubaid period]] culture by farmers who brought with them the Samarran culture from the north.

====Halaf culture (Northwestern Mesopotamia)====
{{main|Halaf culture}}
Pottery was decorated with abstract geometric patterns and ornaments, especially in the [[Halaf culture]], also known for its clay fertility figurines, painted with lines. Clay was all around and the main material; often modelled figures were painted with black decoration. Carefully crafted and dyed pots, especially jugs and bowls,  were traded.  As dyes, [[iron oxide]] containing clays were diluted in different degrees or various minerals were mixed to produce different colours.

====Hassuna culture (Northern Mesopotamia)====
{{main|Hassuna culture}}
The [[Hassuna culture]] is a [[Neolithic]] [[archaeological culture]] in northern [[Mesopotamia]] dating to the early sixth millennium BC. It is named after the [[type site]] of [[Tell Hassuna]] in [[Iraq]]. Other sites where Hassuna material has been found include [[Tell Shemshara]].

====Samarra culture (Central Mesopotamia)====
{{main|Samarra culture}}
[[Image:Female Statuette Halaf Culture 6000-5100 BCE.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Female statuette, Samarra culture, 6000 BC]]
The [[Samarra culture]] is a [[Chalcolithic]] [[archaeological culture]] in northern [[Mesopotamia]] that is roughly dated to 5500–4800 BCE. It partially overlaps with the [[Hassuna culture|Hassuna]] and early [[Ubaid period|Ubaid]].

====Ubaid culture (Southern Mesopotamia)====
{{main|Ubaid culture}}
The [[Ubaid period]] (c. 6500–3800 BC)<ref>Carter, Robert A. and Philip, Graham  ''[http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/saoc/saoc63.html Beyond the Ubaid: Transformation and Integration in the Late Prehistoric Societies of the Middle East (Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization, Number 63)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115070526/http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/saoc/saoc63.html |date=2013-11-15 }}'' The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago (2010) {{ISBN|978-1-885923-66-0}} p. 2; "Radiometric data suggest that the whole Southern Mesopotamian Ubaid period, including Ubaid 0 and 5, is of immense duration, spanning nearly three millennia from about 6500 to 3800 B.C."</ref> is a [[prehistory|prehistoric]] period of [[Mesopotamia]]. The name derives from [[Tell al-'Ubaid]] in Southern Mesopotamia, where the earliest large excavation of Ubaid period material was conducted initially by [[Henry Hall (Egyptologist)|Henry Hall]] and later by [[Leonard Woolley]].<ref>Hall, Henry R. and Woolley, C. Leonard. 1927. ''Al-'Ubaid. Ur Excavations 1''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.</ref>

In South Mesopotamia the period is the earliest known period on the [[alluvial plain]] although it is likely earlier periods exist obscured under the [[Alluvium#Age|alluvium]].<ref>Adams, Robert MCC. and Wright, Henry T. 1989. 'Concluding Remarks' in Henrickson, Elizabeth and Thuesen, Ingolf (eds.) ''Upon This Foundation - The  ’Ubaid Reconsidered''. Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press. pp. 451-456.</ref> In the south it has a very long duration between about 6500 and 3800 BC when it is replaced by the [[Uruk period]].<ref name="CarterRobert">Carter, Robert A. and Philip, Graham. 2010. 'Deconstructing the Ubaid' in Carter, Robert A. and Philip, Graham (eds.) ''Beyond the Ubaid: Transformation and Integration in the Late Prehistoric Societies of the Middle East''. Chicago: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. p. 2.</ref>

====Northern expansion of Ubaid culture====
{{multiple image
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| image1   = Gebel el-Arak Knife ivory handle (front top part detail).jpg
| caption1 = Mesopotamian king as [[Master of Animals]] on the [[Gebel el-Arak Knife]], dated circa 3300-3200 BC, [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]], [[Egypt]]. This work of art suggests early [[Egypt-Mesopotamia relations]], showing the influence of Mesopotamia on [[Egypt]] at an early date, and the state of Mesopotamian royal iconography during the Uruk period. [[Louvre Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=668 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Cooper |first1=Jerrol S. |title=The Study of the Ancient Near East in the Twenty-first Century: The William Foxwell Albright Centennial Conference |date=1996 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |isbn=9780931464966 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3hc1Yp0VcjoC&pg=PA10 |pages=10–14|language=en}}</ref>
| image2   = Uruk King-Priest 3300 BCE portrait detail.jpg
| caption2 = Similar portrait of a probable Uruk King-Priest with a brimmed round hat and large beard, excavated in Uruk and dated to 3300 BC. [[Louvre Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Site officiel du musée du Louvre |url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=11232 |website=cartelfr.louvre.fr}}</ref>
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In North Mesopotamia the period runs only between about 5300 and 4300 BC.<ref name="CarterRobert" /> It is preceded by the [[Halaf period]] and the [[Halaf-Ubaid Transitional period]] and succeeded by the Late Chalcolithic period. The new period is named Northern Ubaid to distinguish it from the proper Ubaid in southern Mesopotamia,<ref name="suz">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bRUMQb_1uKcC&pg=PA190|title= Archaeologies of the Middle East: Critical Perspectives|author1=Susan Pollock |author2=Reinhard Bernbeck |page= 190|year= 2009|publisher= John Wiley & Sons|isbn= 9781405137232}}</ref> and two explanations were presented for the transformation. The first maintain an invasion and a replacement of the Halafians by the Ubaidians; however, there is no hiatus between the Halaf and northern Ubaid that excludes the invasion theory.<ref name="gorg" /><ref name="aker2">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA157|title= The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c.16,000-300 BC)|author=Peter M. M. G. Akkermans, Glenn M. Schwartz|page= 157|year= 2003|publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 9780521796668}}</ref> The most plausible theory is a Halafian adoption of the Ubaid culture.<ref name="gorg">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=klZX8B_RzzYC&pg=PT101|title= Ancient Iraq|author= Georges Roux|page= 101|year= 1992|publisher= Penguin Books Limited|isbn= 9780141938257}}</ref><ref name="suz" /><ref name="aker2" /><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jcOqDcDrNt4C&pg=PA128|title= Laser Ablation ICP-MS in Archaeological Research|author1=Robert J. Speakman |author2=Hector Neff |page= 128|year= 2005|publisher= UNM Press|isbn= 9780826332547}}</ref>

===Uruk period===
{{main|Uruk period}}
Named after the Sumerian city of [[Uruk]], this period saw the emergence of urban life in Mesopotamia.

Sumerian civilization took form in the [[Uruk period]] (4th millennium BC), continuing into the [[Jemdet Nasr period|Jemdet Nasr]] and [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic]] periods

.<ref>{{harvnb|Crawford|2004|p=75}}</ref>

The late Uruk period (34th to 32nd centuries) saw the gradual emergence of the [[cuneiform script]] and corresponds to the [[Early Bronze Age]]; it may also be called the "Protoliterate period".

==Third millennium BC==

===Jemdet Nasr period===
{{Main|Jemdet Nasr period}}
[[File:Cuneiform tablet- administrative account of barley distribution with cylinder seal impression of a male figure, hunting dogs, and boars MET DT847.jpg|thumb|upright|Administrative tablet in [[Proto-cuneiform]], [[Jemdet Nasr period]] 3100–2900 BC, probably from the city of Uruk.]]
The Jemdet Nasr period, named after the [[Type site|type-site]] [[Jemdet Nasr]], is generally dated to 3100–2900 BC.<ref>{{harvnb|Pollock|1999|p=2}}</ref> It was first distinguished on the basis of distinctive painted monochrome and polychrome pottery with geometric and figurative designs.<ref>{{harvnb|Matthews|2002|pp=20–21}}</ref> The cuneiform writing system that had been developed during the preceding Uruk period was further refined. While the language in which these tablets were written cannot be identified with certainty for this period, it is thought to be [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]]. The texts deal with administrative matters like the rationing of foodstuffs or lists of objects or animals.<ref>{{harvnb|Woods|2010|pp=36–45}}</ref> Settlements during this period were highly organized around a central building that controlled all aspects of society. The economy focused on local agricultural production and sheep-and-goat [[pastoralism]]. The homogeneity of the Jemdet Nasr period across a large area of southern Mesopotamia indicates intensive contacts and trade between settlements. This is strengthened by the find of a sealing at Jemdet Nasr that lists a number of cities that can be identified, including [[Ur]], [[Uruk]] and [[Larsa]].<ref>{{harvnb|Matthews|2002|pp=33–37}}</ref>

===Early Dynastic period===
{{Main|Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)}}
[[File:Golden helmet of Meskalamdug in the British Museum.jpg|thumb|Golden helmet of [[Meskalamdug]], possible founder of the [[First Dynasty of Ur]], 26th century BCE.]]
The entire Early Dynastic period is generally dated to 2900–2350 BC according to the [[Middle chronology|Middle Chronology]], or 2800–2230 BC according to the [[Short chronology timeline|Short Chronology]].<ref name=pruss2004>{{harvnb|Pruß|2004}}</ref> The [[Sumer]]ians were firmly established in Mesopotamia by the middle of the 4th millennium BC, in the archaeological Uruk period, although scholars dispute when they arrived.<ref>{{harvnb|Woolley|1965|p=9}}</ref> It is hard to tell where the Sumerians might have come from because the Sumerian language is a [[language isolate]], unrelated to any other known language. Their [[Mesopotamian mythology|mythology]] includes many references to the area of Mesopotamia but little clue regarding their place of origin, perhaps indicating that they had been there for a long time. The [[Sumerian language]] is identifiable from its initially [[logograph]]ic [[history of writing|script]] which arose last half of the 4th millennium BC.

By the 3rd millennium BC, these [[city|urban centers]] had developed into increasingly complex societies. Irrigation and other means of exploiting food sources were being used to amass large surpluses. Huge building projects were being undertaken by rulers, and political organization was becoming ever more sophisticated. Throughout the millennium, the various [[city-states]] [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], Uruk, Ur and Lagash vied for power and gained hegemony at various times. [[Nippur]] and [[Girsu]] were important religious centers, as was Eridu at this point. This was also the time of [[Gilgamesh]], a semi-historical king of Uruk, and the subject of the famous ''[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]''. By 2600 BC, the logographic script had developed into a decipherable [[cuneiform]] [[syllabary|syllabic]] script.

[[File:Mesopotamian Chronology 2-2011-29-03.png|thumb|left|Chronology of the main dominations]]
The chronology of this era is particularly uncertain due to difficulties in our understanding of the text, our understanding of the material culture of the Early Dynastic period and a general lack of [[radiocarbon dating|radiocarbon dates]] for sites in Iraq. Also, the multitude of city-states makes for a confusing situation, as each has its own history. In the past, the ''[[Sumerian King List]]'' was considered to be an important historical source, but recent scholarship has dismissed the utility of this text up to the point that it should not be used at all for the reconstruction of Early Dynastic political history.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last=Marchesi|first=Gianni|date=2010|title=The Sumerian King List and the Early History of Mesopotamia|url=https://www.academia.edu/10052536|journal=M. G. Biga - M. Liverani (Eds.), ana turri gimilli: Studi dedicati al Padre Werner R. Mayer, S. J., da amici e allievi (Vicino Oriente - Quaderno 5; Roma)|pages=231–248}}</ref>

[[File:Mesopotamia, Periodo proto-dinastico, placca con scena di banchetto, da khafajah, 2650-2550 ac ca.jpg|thumb|Banquet scene, [[Khafajah]], c. 2650-2550 BC.]]
[[Enshakushanna]] of Uruk conquered all of Sumer, Akkad, and [[Hamazi]], followed by [[Eannatum]] of Lagash who also conquered Sumer. His methods were force and intimidation (see the [[Stele of the Vultures]]), and soon after his death, the cities rebelled and the empire again fell apart. Some time later, [[Lugal-Anne-Mundu]] of [[Adab (city)|Adab]] created the first, if short-lived, empire to extend west of Mesopotamia, at least according to historical accounts dated centuries later. The last native Sumerian to rule over most of Sumer before [[Sargon of Akkad]] established supremacy was [[Lugal-Zage-Si]].

Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere around the turn of the 3rd and the 2nd millennium BC (the exact dating being a matter of debate),<ref name="woods">{{harvnb|Woods|2006}}</ref> but Sumerian continued to be used as a sacred, ceremonial, literary and scientific language in Mesopotamia until the 1st century AD.

===Akkadian Empire===
{{Main|Akkadian Empire}}
[[File:Empire akkad.svg|260px|thumb|Map of the [[Akkadian Empire]] (brown) and the directions in which military campaigns were conducted (yellow arrows)]]
[[File:Ur III.svg|260px|thumb|Map of the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]] (brown) and its sphere of influence (red)]]
The Akkadian period is generally dated to 2350–2170 BC according to the [[Middle Chronology]], or 2230–2050 BC according to the [[Short chronology timeline|Short Chronology]].<ref name=pruss2004/> Around 2334 BC, Sargon became ruler of [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]] in northern [[Mesopotamia]]. He proceeded to conquer an area stretching from the [[Persian Gulf]] into modern-day [[Syria]]. The Akkadians were a [[Semitic people]] and the [[Akkadian language]] came into widespread use as the [[lingua franca]] during this period, but literacy remained in the Sumerian language. The Akkadians further developed the Sumerian irrigation system with the incorporation of large [[weirs]] and [[Dams|diversion dams]] into the design to facilitate the reservoirs and canals required to transport water vast distances.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL115/115CH17oldirrigation.html |title=Ancient Irrigation |access-date=2013-04-23 |archive-date=2019-05-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503125952/http://mygeologypage.ucdavis.edu/cowen/~GEL115/115CH17oldirrigation.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The dynasty continued until around c. 2154 BC, and reached its zenith under [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]], who began the trend for rulers to claim divinity for themselves.

The Akkadian Empire lost power after the reign of Naram-Sin, and eventually was invaded by the [[Gutian dynasty of Sumer|Guti]] from the [[Zagros Mountains]]. For half a century the Guti controlled Mesopotamia, especially the south, but they left few inscriptions, so they are not well understood. The Guti hold loosened on southern Mesopotamia, where the second dynasty of Lagash came into prominence. Its most famous ruler was [[Gudea]], who left many statues of himself in temples across Sumer.

===Ur III period===
{{Main|Third Dynasty of Ur}}
Eventually the Guti were overthrown by [[Utu-hengal]] of Uruk, and the various city-states again vied for power. Power over the area finally went to the city-state of Ur, when [[Ur-Nammu]] founded the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III Empire]] (2112–2004 BC) and conquered the Sumerian region. Under his son [[Shulgi]], state control over industry reached a level never again seen in the region. Shulgi may have devised the [[Code of Ur-Nammu]], one of the earliest known [[Cuneiform law|law codes]] (three centuries before the more famous [[Code of Hammurabi]]). Around 2000 BC, the power of Ur waned, and the [[Amorites]] came to occupy much of the area, although it was Sumer's long-standing rivals to the east, the Elamites, who finally overthrew Ur. In the north, Assyria remained free of Amorite control until the very end of the 19th century BC. This marked the end of city-states ruling empires in Mesopotamia, and the end of Sumerian dominance, but the succeeding rulers adopted much of Sumerian civilization as their own.

==Second millennium BC==

===Old Assyrian Period===
Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is positively known. The [[Assyrian King List]] mentions rulers going back to the 23rd and 22nd century BC. The earliest king named [[Tudiya]], who was a contemporary of [[Ibrium]] of [[Ebla]], appears to have lived in the mid-23rd century BC, according to the king list. Tudiya concluded a treaty with Ibrium for the use of a trading post in [[the Levant]] officially controlled by Ebla. Apart from this reference to trading activity, nothing further has yet been discovered about Tudiya. He was succeeded by [[Adamu (Assyrian king)|Adamu]] and then a further thirteen rulers about all of whom nothing is yet known. These early kings from the 23rd to late 21st centuries BC, who are recorded as ''kings who lived in tents'' were likely to have been semi nomadic pastoralist rulers, nominally independent but subject to the Akkadian Empire, who dominated the region and at some point during this period became fully urbanised and founded the ''city state'' of [[Assur|Ashur]].<ref>Saggs, ''The Might'', 24.</ref> A king named [[Ushpia]] (c. 2030 BC) is credited with dedicating temples to [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]] in the home city of the god. In around 1975 BC [[Puzur-Ashur I]] founded a new dynasty, and his successors such as [[Shalim-ahum]], [[Ilushuma]] (1945–1906 BC), [[Erishum I]] (1905–1867 BC), [[Ikunum]] (1867–1860 BC), [[Sargon I]], [[Naram-Sin of Assyria|Naram-Sin]] and [[Puzur-Ashur II]] left inscriptions regarding the building of temples to [[Ashur (god)|Ashur]], [[Adad]] and [[Ishtar]] in Assyria. [[Ilushuma]] in particular appears to have been a powerful king and the dominant ruler in the region, who made many raids into southern [[Mesopotamia]] between 1945 BC and 1906 BC, attacking the independent [[Sumero-Akkadian]] city states of the region such as [[Isin]], and founding colonies in [[Asia Minor]]. This was to become a pattern throughout the history of ancient Mesopotamia with the future rivalry between Assyria and Babylonia. However, Babylonia did not exist at this time, but was founded in 1894 BC by an [[Amorite]] prince named [[Sumuabum]] during the reign of Erishum I.

===Isin-Larsa, Old Babylonian and Shamshi-Adad I===
[[File:Cylinder seal and modern impression Presentation scene,ca. 2000–1750 B.C. Isin-Larsa.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Cylinder seal and modern impression. Presentation scene, ca. 2000–1750 B.C. Isin-Larsa]]
{{further|Isin-Larsa period|First Babylonian Empire}}
{{multiple image
| align    = right
| direction =vertical
| header=[[Anubanini rock relief]]<br><small>(Isin-Larsa period)</small>{{sfn|Potts|1999|p=318}}
| header_align = center
| caption_align = center
| total_width=250
| image1   = Anubanini_(3936968576).jpg
| caption1 = Original relief.
| image2   = Anubanini extracted.jpg
| caption2 = Components of the relief.
}}
The next two centuries or so, called the [[Isin-Larsa period]], saw southern Mesopotamia dominated by the Amorite cities of [[Isin]] and [[Larsa]], as the two cities vied for dominance. This period also marked a growth in power in the north of Mesopotamia. An [[Assyria]]n king named [[Ilushuma]] (1945–1906 BC) became a dominant figure in Mesopotamia, raiding the southern city states and founding colonies in [[Asia Minor]]. [[Eshnunna]] and [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], two [[Amorite]] ruled states also became important in the north.

[[Babylonia]] was founded as an independent state by an [[Amorite]] chieftain named [[Sumuabum]] in 1894 BC. For over a century after its founding, it was a minor and relatively weak state, overshadowed by older and more powerful states such as [[Isin]], [[Larsa]], [[Assyria]] and [[Elam]]. However, [[Hammurabi]] (1792 BC to 1750 BC), the Amorite ruler of [[Babylon]], turned Babylon into a major power and eventually conquered Mesopotamia and beyond. He is famous for his [[code of Hammurabi|law code]] and conquests, but he is also famous due to the large amount of records that exist from the period of his reign. After the death of Hammurabi, the first Babylonian dynasty lasted for another century and a half, but his empire quickly unravelled, and Babylon once more became a small state. The Amorite dynasty ended in 1595 BC, when Babylonia fell to the [[Hittites|Hittite]] king [[Mursili I|Mursilis]], after which the [[Kassites]] took control.

Unlike the south of Mesopotamia, the native Akkadian kings of Assyria repelled Amorite advances during the 20th and 19th centuries BC. However this changed in 1813 BC when an Amorite king named [[Shamshi-Adad I]] usurped the throne of Assyria. Although claiming descendency from the native Assyrian king [[Ushpia]], he was regarded as an interloper. Shamshi-Adad I created a regional empire in Assyria, maintaining and expanding the established colonies in [[Asia Minor]] and [[Syria]]. His son [[Ishme-Dagan I]] continued this process, however his successors were eventually conquered by [[Hammurabi]], a fellow Amorite from Babylon. The three Amorite kings succeeding Ishme-Dagan were vassals of Hammurabi, but after his death, a native Akkadian vice regent [[Puzur-Sin]] overthrew the Amorites of Babylon and a period of civil war with multiple claimants to the throne ensued, ending with the succession of king [[Adasi]] c. 1720 BC.

===Middle Assyrian Period and Empire===
The Middle Assyrian period begins c. 1720 BC with the ejection of Amorites and Babylonians from Assyria by a king called [[Adasi (Assyria)|Adasi]]. The nation remained relatively strong and stable, peace was made with the Kassite rulers of Babylonia, and Assyria was free from Hittite, Hurrian, Gutian, Elamite and Mitanni threat. However a period of [[Mitanni]] domination occurred from the mid-15th to early 14th centuries BC. This was ended by [[Eriba-Adad I]] (1392 BC - 1366), and his successor [[Ashur-uballit I]] completely overthrew the [[Mitanni]] Empire and founded a powerful [[Assyrian Empire]] that came to dominate Mesopotamia and much of the ancient [[Near East]] (including [[Babylonia]], [[Asia Minor]], [[Iran]], the [[Levant]] and parts of the [[Caucasus]] and [[Arabia]]), with Assyrian armies campaigning from the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]], and from the [[Caucasus]] to [[Arabia]]. The empire endured until 1076 BC with the death of [[Tiglath-Pileser I]]. During this period Assyria became a major power, overthrowing the [[Mitanni]] Empire, annexing swathes of [[Hittites|Hittite]], [[Hurrian]] and [[Amorite]] land, sacking and dominating [[Babylon]], [[Canaan]]/[[Phoenicia]] and becoming a rival to [[Egypt]].

===Kassite dynasty of Babylon===
{{Main|Kassites}}
Although the Hittites overthrew Babylon, another people, the [[Kassites]], took it as their capital (c. 1650–1155 BC (short chronology)). They have the distinction of being the longest lasting dynasty in Babylon, reigning for over four centuries. They left few records, so this period is unfortunately obscure. They are of unknown origin; what little we have of their language suggests it is a [[language isolate]]. Although Babylonia maintained its independence through this period, it was not a power in the Near East, and mostly sat out the large wars fought over the [[Levant]] between [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], the [[Hittite Empire]], and [[Mitanni]] (see below), as well as independent peoples in the region. [[Assyria]] participated in these wars toward the end of the period, overthrowing the [[Mitanni]] Empire and besting the [[Hittites]] and [[Phrygians]], but the Kassites in Babylon did not. They did, however, fight against their longstanding rival to the east, Elam (related by some linguists to the [[Dravidian languages]] in modern India). Babylonia found itself under Assyrian and Elamite domination for much of the later Kassite period. In the end, the [[Elamites]] conquered Babylon, bringing this period to an end.

===Hurrians===
[[File:Cylinder seal,ca. 16th–15th century BC Mitanni.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Cylinder seal, ca. 16th–15th century BC, Mitanni]]
{{Main|Mitanni}}
The [[Hurrians]] were a people who settled in northwestern Mesopotamia and southeast Anatolia in 1600 BC. By 1450 BC they established a medium-sized empire under a [[Mitanni]] ruling class, and temporarily made tributary vassals out of kings in the west, making them a major threat for the [[Pharaoh]] in Egypt until their overthrow by Assyria. The [[Hurrian language]] is related to the later [[Urartian language|Urartian]], but there is no conclusive evidence these two languages are related to any others.

===Hittites===
{{Main|Hittites}}
By 1300 BC the Hurrians had been reduced to their homelands in [[Asia Minor]] after their power was broken by the Assyrians and Hittites, and held the status of vassals to the "Hatti", the [[Hittites]], a western [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] people (belonging to the linguistic "centum" group) who dominated most of [[Asia Minor]] (modern [[Turkey]]) at this time from their capital of [[Hattusa]]. The Hittites came into conflict with the Assyrians from the mid-14th to the 13th centuries BC, losing territory to the Assyrian kings of the period. However they endured until being finally swept aside by the [[Phrygians]], who conquered their homelands in Asia Minor. The Phrygians were prevented from moving south into Mesopotamia by the Assyrian king [[Tiglath-Pileser I]]. The Hittites fragmented into a number of small [[Neo-Hittite]] states, which endured in the region for many centuries.

===Bronze Age collapse===
{{Main|Bronze Age collapse}}
Records from the 12th and 11th centuries BC are sparse in Babylonia, which had been overrun with new [[Semitic people|Semitic]] settlers, namely the [[Arameans]], [[Ancient Chaldean people|Chaldeans]] and [[Shutu|Sutu]]. Assyria however, remained a compact and strong nation, which continued to provide much written record. The 10th century BC is even worse for Babylonia, with very few inscriptions. Mesopotamia was not alone in this obscurity: the Hittite Empire fell at the beginning of this period and very few records are known from Egypt and Elam. This was a time of invasion and upheaval by many new people throughout the Near East, North Africa, The Caucasus, Mediterranean and Balkan regions.

==First millennium BC==

===Neo-Assyrian Empire===
{{Main|Neo-Assyrian Empire}}
[[File:Assyrian Crown-Prince MET DP-13006-005.jpg|thumb|Assyrian Crown-Prince, ca. 704–681 BC. [[Nineveh]], Mesopotamia. [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].]]
The Neo-Assyrian Empire is usually considered to have begun with the accession of Adad-nirari II, in 911 BC, lasting until the fall of Nineveh at the hands of the Babylonians, Medes, Scythians and Cimmerians in 612 BC. The empire was the largest and most powerful the world had yet seen. At its height Assyria conquered the [[Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt|25th Dynasty Egypt]] (and expelled its [[Nubian people|Nubian]]/[[Kushite]] dynasty) as well as [[Babylonia]], [[Chaldea]], [[Elam]], [[Median Empire|Media]], [[Persia]], [[Urartu]], [[Phoenicia]], [[Aramea]]/[[Syria]], [[Phrygia]], the [[Neo-Hittites]], [[Hurrians]], northern [[Arabia]], [[Gutium]], [[Israel]], [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], [[Moab]], [[Edom]], [[Corduene]], [[Cilicia]], [[Mannea]] and parts of [[Ancient Greece]] (such as [[Cyprus]]), and defeated and/or exacted tribute from [[Scythia]], [[Crimea|Cimmeria]], [[Lydia]], [[Nubia]], [[Ethiopia]] and others.

===Neo-Babylonian Empire===
{{Main|Neo-Babylonian Empire}}
The Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 620 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] speakers and northern neighbours, [[Assyria]]. The Assyrians had managed to maintain Babylonian loyalty through the Neo-Assyrian period, whether through granting of increased privileges, or militarily, but that finally changed after 627 BC with the death of the last strong Assyrian ruler, [[Ashurbanipal]], and Babylonia rebelled under [[Nabopolassar]] a [[Ancient Chaldean people|Chaldean]] chieftain the following year. In alliance with king [[Cyaxares]] of the Medes, and with the help of the [[Scythians]] and [[Cimmerians]] the city of [[Nineveh]] was sacked in 612 BC, Assyria fell by 605 BC and the seat of empire was transferred to Babylonia for the first time since [[Hammurabi]].

===Classical Antiquity to Late Antiquity===
After the death of [[Ashurbanipal]] in 627 BC, the Assyrian empire descended into a series of bitter civil wars, allowing its former vassals to free themselves. [[Cyaxares]] reorganized and modernized the Median Army, then joined with King [[Nabopolassar]] of Babylon. These allies, together with the [[Scythians]], overthrew the Assyrian Empire and destroyed Nineveh in 612 BC. After the final victory at [[Carchemish]] in 605 BC the Medes and Babylonians ruled Assyria. Babylon and Media fell under [[Persia]]n rule in the 6th century BC ([[Cyrus the Great]]).

For two centuries of Achaemenid rule both Assyria and Babylonia flourished, [[Achaemenid Assyria]] in particular becoming a major source of manpower for the army and a breadbasket for the economy. [[Mesopotamian]] [[Aramaic]] remained the ''lingua franca'' of the Achaemenid Empire, much as it had done in Assyrian times. Mesopotamia fell to [[Alexander the Great]] in 330 BC, and remained under [[Hellenistic]] rule for another two centuries, with [[Seleucia]] as capital from 305 BC. In the 1st century BC, Mesopotamia was in constant turmoil as the Seleucid Empire was weakened by [[Parthia]] on one hand and the [[Mithridatic Wars]] on the other. The [[Parthian Empire]] lasted for five centuries, into the 3rd century AD, when it was succeeded by the [[Sassanids]]. After constant wars between Romans and first Parthians, later Sassanids; the western part of Mesopotamia was passed to the [[Roman Empire]]. [[Christianity]] as well as [[Mandeism]] entered Mesopotamia from the 1st to 3rd centuries AD, and flourished, particularly in Assyria ([[Assuristan]] in Sassanid Persian), which became the center of the [[Assyrian Church of the East]] and a flourishing Syriac Christian tradition which remains to this day. A number of Neo-Assyrian kingdoms arose, in particular [[Adiabene]]. The Sassanid Empire and Byzantine Mesopotamia finally fell to the [[Rashidun army]] under [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] in the 630s. After the [[Arab]]-[[Islamic]] [[Muslim conquest of Persia|conquest]] of the mid-7th century AD, Mesopotamia saw an influx of non native [[Arabs]] and later also [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] peoples. The city of [[Assur]] was still occupied until the 14th century, and Assyrians possibly still formed the majority in northern Mesopotamia until the Middle Ages. Assyrians retain Eastern Rite Christianity whereas the Mandaeans retain their ancient gnostic religion and Mesopotamian Aramaic as a mother tongue and written script to this day. Among these peoples, the giving of traditional Mesopotamian names is still common.
* [[Classical Antiquity]]
** Median and Babylonian Assyria (605 to 549 BC)
** [[Babylonia (Persian province)|Persian Babylonia]],
** [[Achaemenid Assyria]] (6th to 4th centuries BC)
** [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] Mesopotamia (4th to 2nd centuries BC)
** [[Asuristan|Parthian Asuristan]] ([[Assyria]]) (2nd century BC to 3rd century AD)
** [[Osroene]] (2nd century BC to 3rd century AD)
** [[Adiabene]] (1st to 2nd centuries AD)
** [[Mesopotamia (Roman province)|Roman Mesopotamia]] (2nd to 7th centuries AD), [[Assyria (Roman province)|Roman Assyria]] (2nd century AD)
* [[Late Antiquity]]
** [[Asuristan|Sassanid Asuristan]] ([[Assyria]]) (3rd to 7th centuries AD)
** [[Arab]] [[Muslim]] conquest of Mesopotamia, dissolution of [[Assyria]] (633–651 AD)

==See also==
{{Portal|Asia|Iraq}}

* [[Assyria]]
* [[Babylonia]]
* [[Cradle of civilization]]
* [[History of institutions in Mesopotamia]]
* [[History of Iraq]]
* [[Levantine Iron Age Anomaly]]
* [[Music of Mesopotamia]]
* [[Sumer]]

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|30}}

=== Notes ===
<references group="nb" />

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* {{cite journal|last1=Wilkinson|first1=Tony J.|year=2000|title=Regional Approaches to Mesopotamian Archaeology: the Contribution of Archaeological Surveys|journal=Journal of Archaeological Research|volume=8|issue=3|pages=219–267|issn=1573-7756|doi=10.1023/A:1009487620969|s2cid=140771958}}
* {{cite book|title=Margins of Writing, Origins of Culture|last=Woods|first=Christopher|editor1-last=Sanders|editor1-first=S.L.|year=2006|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|pages=91–120|chapter-url=http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/OIS2.pdf|chapter=Bilingualism, Scribal Learning, and the Death of Sumerian|access-date=2010-03-29|archive-date=2013-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429121058/http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/OIS2.pdf|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|last1=Woods|first1=Christopher|editor1-first=Christopher|editor1-last=Woods|title=Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond|chapter-url=http://oi.uchicago.edu/pdf/oimp32.pdf|series=Oriental Institute Museum Publications|volume=32|year=2010|publisher=University of Chicago|location=Chicago|isbn=978-1-885923-76-9|chapter=The Earliest Mesopotamian Writing|pages=33–50|access-date=2011-08-10|archive-date=2021-08-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826005847/https://oi.uchicago.edu//sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/oimp32.pdf|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|title=The Sumerians|last=Woolley|first=C.L.|author-link=Leonard Woolley|year=1965|publisher=W.W. Norton|location=New York}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|title=The Age of Empires: Mesopotamia in the First Millennium BC|last=Joannès|first=Francis|year=2004|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|location=Edinburgh|isbn=0-7486-1755-8}}
* {{cite book|title=The Early Prehistory of Mesopotamia: 500,000 to 4,500 BC|last=Matthews|first=Roger|year=2000|publisher=Brepols|location=Turnhout|isbn=2-503-50729-8|series=Subartu|volume=5}}
* {{cite book|title=The Early History of the Ancient Near East 9000–2000 B.C|last=Nissen|first=Hans J.|year=1988|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=London|isbn=0-226-58656-1|url=https://archive.org/details/earlyhistoryofan00hans}}
* {{cite book|title=Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History|last=Postgate|first=J.N.|year=1992|publisher=Routledge|location=London|isbn=978-0-415-11032-7|url=https://archive.org/details/earlymesopotamia00post}}
* {{cite book|title=Assyria: The Might that Was|last=Saggs|first=H.W.F.|author-link=H.W.F. Saggs|year=1990|publisher=Sidgwick and Johnson|location=London|isbn=0-312-03511-X}}
* {{cite book|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Ancient Near East|last1=Simpson|first1=St. John|editor1-first=Eric M.|editor1-last=Meyers|volume=3|year=1997|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|isbn=0-19-506512-3|chapter=Mesopotamia from Alexander to the Rise of Islam|pages=484–487}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Wencel|first=Maciej Mateusz|date=2017|title=Radiocarbon Dating of Early Dynastic Mesopotamia: Results, Limitations, and Prospects|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0033822216000606/type/journal_article|journal=Radiocarbon|language=en|volume=59|issue=2|pages=635–645|doi=10.1017/RDC.2016.60|bibcode=2017Radcb..59..635W |s2cid=133337438|issn=0033-8222}}

{{Ancient Mesopotamia}}{{Ancient Syria and Mesopotamia}}{{Iraq topics|state=autocollapse}}
{{Prehistoric Asia}}
{{Rulers of the Ancient Near East}}
{{Near East Neolithic}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Mesopotamia}}
[[Category:History of Mesopotamia| ]]