The most ancient cities of Mesopotamia. Features of Mesopotamian civilization

The Greeks called the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers Mesopotamia, which translated means Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia. People settled Mesopotamia in ancient times.

In terms of natural conditions, Mesopotamia resembles Egypt - constant river floods, heat, fertile land, convenient for cultivation, absence of forests and swamps. In winter, heavy rains and river floods began.

One of the oldest myths arose in Mesopotamia - about the global flood.

The people of Mesopotamia called the date palm "tree of life". One tree produced up to 50 kilograms of dates. Juice similar to honey was squeezed out of the berries. The tree trunk was also used as fuel. Date kernels were used to make flour for livestock feed. These same bones were used in forges as fuel.

In Mesopotamia, residential buildings were built from clay and mud bricks

In the 4th millennium BC. Sumerian settlements arose in Mesopotamia. They settled southern Mesopotamia, which became known as Sumer. The northern part of the territory, called Akkad, was inhabited by nomadic pastoralists - Akkadians. By the end of the 3rd millennium BC. they occupied all of Mesopotamia, mixing with the Sumerians.

Occupations of Mesopotamians

The main occupation of Mesopotamia was agriculture. During the annual floods of the Tigris and Euphrates, fertile soil was spread into the fields.

In Mesopotamia there were few materials necessary for farming - timber, metal, but a lot of grain and livestock were grown. Therefore, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia were also engaged in trade. In exchange for grain, silver, copper, tin and precious stones were delivered to Sumer from neighboring regions of Transcaucasia and Iran. Cedars were brought from Syria.

Various handicrafts were traded in Mesopotamia. Metal products, jewelry, weapons and pottery were especially valued. In trade, weighted metal money in the form of silver ingots was used. The measure of weight in Mesopotamia was called mina and was equal to 550 grams of silver.

In the 4th millennium BC. e. The Sumerians invented one of the oldest writing systems in the world - cuneiform. They wrote with pointed sticks on damp clay. The Sumerians were also skilled builders and craftsmen

Ancient city-states of Mesopotamia

Gradually, the settlements of farmers grew, and at the end of the 4th millennium BC the cities of U Ruk, Eridu Lagash, Ur and others appeared in Mesopotamia. They are called city-states. They consisted of the city itself and the surrounding agricultural district. On behalf of the supreme god, priests ruled in cities, and temples were places of worship of the gods. The most ancient temples of Mesopotamia were massive multi-stage structures made of mud brick - ziggurats.

The sun god Shamash was especially revered. He was considered the supreme judge and judged people for evil deeds. The god of the moon, Sina, the god of water, Ea, and the goddess of fertility, love, and war, Ishtar, were also revered.

In the 3rd millennium BC. the most powerful Sumerian city was Ur. Findings from the tombs of kings discovered by archaeologists tell about his power. These are gold items, luxurious weapons, silver dishes.

Vast land holdings in Mesopotamia belonged to rulers and temples. The fields were cultivated by slaves and free hired workers. The population living around the cities had their own small plots of land. The poor worked in royal and temple farms to feed their families.

In the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. The rise of Lagash begins. Many cities of Sumer and Akkad were annexed to it.

The cities of Sumer were surrounded by defensive walls. From the main gate began the streets that led to the central square, the temple and the ruler's palace. Construction was carried out from stone, mud and baked bricks. The temple at Lagash was richly decorated with statues of the gods and heroes of Sumer.

During the wars, the influence of the leaders increased. Gradually they became permanent rulers. They were called kings. The king ruled the city-state with the help of officials, relying on the nobility, priests and army.

The Tale of Gilgamesh

The most beloved hero of the myths of Mesopotamia was Gilgamesh. He was the king of the city of Uruk, but his life was subsequently overgrown with many legends.

As the legend says, after the birth of Gilgamesh, his grandfather, the ruler of the country, ordered the child to be thrown into the abyss, as he feared that his grandson would take the throne from him. But Gilgamesh was picked up by an eagle and carried to the gardener, who raised the boy. As an adult, Gilgamesh deprived his grandfather of power and himself became the ruler of Uruk. Gilgamesh befriended a hero named Enkidu. Together they fought evil monsters, for which the gods punished Enkidu, and he died.

Rise of Akkad

City-states were constantly at war with each other. As a result of these wars, King Sargon I became the ruler of the entire Mesopotamia. In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. he united Akkad and the cities of Sumer under his rule. In order to develop trade, he introduced uniform measures of length, area and weight for all cities. For the first time in world history, he created a standing army. It consisted of 5,400 warriors and then became the basis of a large army that helped Sargon conquer many cities and neighboring countries. He captured the sea trade routes leading from Mesopotamia to Arabia, Iran and India. By the end of his reign, Sargon I received the title of “king of the four corners of the world.”

However, the unified state did not last long. After the death of Sargon I, it split into numerous city-states, which continued to fight each other. In the 2nd millennium BC. The Sumerian-Akkadian state collapsed under the blows of nomadic tribes.

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Periods of historical development. Sources and historiography.

From the mountains of Armenia in the north and to the Persian Gulf in the south, from the mountainous regions of Iran in the east and to the Syrian-Mesopotamian steppe in the west, stretches a vast territory called by the ancient Greeks Mesopotamia - “Interfluve”. However, you can also find another name for this area - Mesopotamia. Geographically, Mesopotamia proper, i.e. The northern regions are Mesopotamian due to the greater distance between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers than in the south, where these rivers flow parallel and form Mesopotamia.

On the territory of Mesopotamia from the 7th to the 4th millennium BC. e. The primitive communal system was decomposing and the prerequisites were being created for the formation of the foundations of civilization.

At the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. e. the first small states were formed in the southern part of the country, in historical region of Sumer. The period covering the XXVIII-XXIV centuries. BC e., is called Early Dynastic. The next period (the last third of the 3rd millennium BC) is characterized by the creation of extensive, so-called despotic monarchies. In the XXIV-XXIII centuries. The political center moves to the central part of Mesopotamia, where the state of Akkad arises, which also united Sumer and the northern regions of Mesopotamia under its rule. From the Akkadian kingdom, which collapsed under the onslaught of the Gutians, hegemony in Mesopotamia soon passed to the Sumerian-Akkadian kingdom.

At the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates, there were several states, among which the Babylonian kingdom prevailed, uniting a vast country under its rule. Its history is divided into several periods: Old Babylonian, or Amorite (XIX-XVI centuries BC), Middle Babylonian, or Kassite (XVI-XII centuries), the period of the political weakening of Babylonia and the struggle for independence (XII-VII centuries. ) and, finally, the Neo-Babylonian short period of rise and revival (VII-VI centuries), which ended with the conquest of the country by Persia.

From the 16th to the 13th centuries. BC e. in the western part of Northern Mesopotamia, the state of Mitanni played a significant role. In its eastern part, at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e. the Assyrian state arose with its center in the city of Ashur, the history of which is further divided into periods: Old Assyrian (XX-XVI centuries BC), Middle Assyrian (XV-XI centuries BC) and New Assyrian (X-VII centuries BC). During this last period, the state of Assyria, through conquest, grew into a huge great power that covered almost all the countries of the Middle East.

The main sources on the history of Ancient Mesopotamia are monuments of material culture, written documents and literary works, and the works of ancient authors.

Archaeological materials. Tools, remains of dwellings, burials, grains and animal bones, jewelry, and figurines found during excavations of ancient settlements contain a lot of informative material about the early history of Mesopotamia. Even small and at first glance not primary material monuments, for example, cylinder seals and their impressions, found in abundance in Mesopotamia, are important for history.

Written sources appear towards the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. They are divided into several types: economic, legal, diplomatic documents, chronicle records, etc.

Business documents. Economic documents, found in abundance during excavations of Mesopotamian cities, play a huge role in the reconstruction of the economy and social relations of antiquity.

The most ancient economic archives (late 4th millennium BC), containing about 1000 clay tablets, came from Uruk and Jemdet Nasr.

Collections of laws. The most important source on the history of Mesopotamia is legal monuments, and above all codes of laws. No country in the Ancient East has preserved such an abundance of legal collections as in Mesopotamia. The oldest of them - the laws of Shulga - date back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e.

The largest collection of laws, consisting of an introduction, a main part numbering 282 articles, and a conclusion, comes from the time of the Babylonian king Hammurabi (XVIII century BC).

Diplomatic documents. One of the oldest diplomatic documents has come down to us in writing on two clay cylinders. It describes the border conflicts between the cities of Lagash and Umma that took place in the 24th century. BC e.

Of exceptional importance for the history of the Mesopotamian states of the 2nd millennium BC. e. and international relations of this period, the Tell Amarna diplomatic archive, found on the territory of Ancient Egypt, contains letters from the Mitannian, Babylonian and Assyrian kings to the Egyptian pharaohs Amenhotep III and Akhenaten (XIV century BC).

Among the international treaties of the 1st millennium BC. e. Treaties concluded by the Assyrian kings with their dependent states occupy a prominent place

Inscriptions of historical content. Of significant interest are the historical inscriptions of the rulers of the Sumerian cities, Akkad, Babylon, Assyria and other states of Mesopotamia.

Monuments of Sumerian-Akkadian literature.

Sources from other countries of the Ancient East.

Works of ancient authors. Ancient authors left vivid descriptions of the nature of Mesopotamia, the characteristics of its climate, the customs of the population, religious beliefs, cultural achievements, as well as historical legends. The most detailed information is contained in the work of the Greek historian Herodotus.

The first scientific journey to Mesopotamia and Persia was undertaken in the 18th century. Danish scientist K. Niebuhr, who brought to Europe copies of wedge-shaped inscriptions from the palace in Persepolis.

Decryption. G.-F. Grotefend, G. Rawlinson, J. Oppert, E. Hinks, F. Delitzsch.

Advances in deciphering cuneiform provided recognition for a new branch of research called Assyriology. Currently, this is the name of a complex of sciences that study the language, history and culture of the peoples who in ancient times inhabited a number of regions of the Middle East and wrote in cuneiform. Later, Sumerology, Elamitology, Urartology, and Hetgology emerged from Assyriology.

The decipherment of the Sumerian writing - the fundamental basis of cuneiform - due to great difficulties and the gradual accumulation of material, was carried out much later, in the first half of the 20th century. through the efforts of such scientists as F. Thureau-Dangin, A. Pebel, A. Deimel, A. Falkenstein and others. They are also the creators of grammars, textbooks and dictionaries of the Sumerian language. Currently, work is underway at the University of Pennsylvania to publish a new, eighteen-volume dictionary of the Sumerian language. By 1992, two volumes had been published. Pictography, an early stage in the development of Sumerian writing, is still in the process of being deciphered.

Archaeological study. Archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia began in the mid-19th century. and were initially carried out not by archaeological specialists, but by enthusiasts passionate about the search for ancient monuments. The first discoveries of the ancient cities of Mesopotamia were made in its northern part, where Assyria was once located. In 1842, the French diplomat E.P. Botta began excavations of the Kuyundzhik hill, which local legends associated with the brilliant capital of Assyria - Nineveh. However, more than modest finds soon forced him to stop excavating this hill and begin work near the village of Khorsabad, where in 1843 the ruins of the residence of the Assyrian king Sargon II, the city of Dur-Sharrukin, were discovered. The monuments discovered by Botta marked the beginning of the Assyrian collection of the Louvre Museum in France.

In 1845-1847 English diplomat G.A. Layard, who knew oriental languages ​​well and traveled a lot in the Middle East, undertook excavations of the Nimrud hill, under which he discovered the ruins of the Assyrian city of Kalhu with royal palaces, grandiose sculptures of man-bulls and man-lions, artistic reliefs, etc. 1847 they made another astonishing discovery. Turning to the excavations of the unpromising, from Bott's point of view, Kuyundzhik hill, Layard discovered the ruins of Nineveh, including the palace of King Sinachherib (7th century BC) with the library of his grandson Ashurbanipal, full of “clay books.” Layard's findings formed the basis of the ancient oriental collection of the British Museum in London.

Second half of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. constitute a new stage in the development of archaeological research in Mesopotamia, characterized by systematic excavations of the main ancient cities of the Tigris and Euphrates valley.

Valuable discoveries were made by a Layard-X employee. Rassam, who, continuing his research on the Kuyun-jik hill, discovered the palace of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal with magnificent reliefs depicting hunting and military scenes, and an extensive royal library. Near Nimrud Hill, in the town of Balavat, he discovered Assyrian monuments of the 9th century. BC e., including bronze plates covering the so-called Balavat Gate depicting scenes of military campaigns and tribute. Rassam discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Sippar with the temple of the sun god Shamash, an archive of business documents, a school with “educational aids”, etc. He also looked for written documents of Ancient Mesopotamia in its most diverse corners. One of the most interesting was the discovery of the chronicle of Ashurbanipal on a clay cylinder, which in science received the name “Rassam’s Cylinder”.

English expeditions of the second half of the last century discovered the ancient Sumerian cities of Uruk, Ur, Larsa, Eredu.

Among the outstanding achievements of the late 19th century. it is necessary to include excavations by French archaeologists led by E. de Sarzek of the Sumerian city of Lagash, where numerous statues of its rulers were discovered, especially Gudea, silver and alabaster vases, the “Stele of the Vultures”, which immortalized the victory of Lagash over the neighboring city of Umma, inscriptions of the ruler Urui-nimgina, depicting his reforms (XXIV century BC), a huge archive of economic temple documents. No less important was the discovery by the American expedition of the city of Nippur, which existed for 3,000 years. The finds were striking in their grandeur: the remains of the temple of the common Sumerian god Enlil, a temple library with more than 60,000 clay tablets, temple outbuildings, a palace, a school, a market, shops, residential buildings, etc.

Discoveries of the 19th century were truly sensational, amazing the European scientific community with more and more interesting monuments of the great and ancient Mesopotamian civilization. But it should be noted that they were conducted at a semi-amateur level, by amateur archaeologists. Strictly scientific methods in archeology have not yet been developed. In the pursuit of works of art, flashy and valuable things, layers were destroyed, monuments that were less valuable at first glance (residential buildings, ceramics, household items) were destroyed, there was no recording of finds, and sketches and drawings were not always made.

Beginning of the 20th century was marked by truly epoch-making discoveries, moreover, carried out not at an amateur, but at a scientific level.

A German archaeological expedition led by R. Koldewey excavated a group of hills located 90 km south of Baghdad. Ancient Babylon was discovered - for several millennia the most important economic, political, cultural and religious center of Mesopotamia. During the excavations, which lasted from 1899 to 1917, the fortress walls of the city with towers, the palace of one of the most famous kings - Nebuchadnezzar II (VII-VI centuries BC), a street of religious processions, the remains of the temple of the supreme Babylonian the god Marduk and the giant ziggurat, etc. Many of the discovered monuments made up the brilliant collection of the Berlin Museum.

Interesting discoveries were also made by other German archaeologists in Mesopotamia. V. Andre in 1903-1914 excavated the ancient capital of Assyria - the city of Ashur, where the ruins of royal palaces and temples were discovered, including the temple of the supreme Assyrian god Ashur, royal crypts, residential city houses and streets. German archaeologists (among them R. Koldewey and V. Andre) also conducted excavations in the modern village of Fara, where the remains of the Sumerian city of Shuruppak and a library with ancient economic texts were found; in Borsippa, a suburb of Babylon, the remains of a 49-meter ziggurat were discovered; The Sumerian city of Umma was also discovered.

The First World War temporarily interrupted excavations in Mesopotamia. A new revival of archaeological work occurred in the 20-30s of the 20th century.

In 1933-1939. French archaeologists under the leadership of A. Parrot excavated the ancient city of Marie. As a result of these works, a grandiose palace of the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC was opened. BC, built by King Mari Zimrilim, with an archive of more than 20,000 tablets of economic and diplomatic documents. The excavations turned out to be so successful that, interrupted by the Second World War, they resumed and continued until the mid-70s. The remains of three more palaces (IV and III millennia BC), the temple of the goddess of fertility Ishtar, burials, and new clay tablets were discovered.

In 1922-1934. An English archaeological expedition led by L. Woolley conducted systematic excavations of ancient Ur. Monuments were discovered that made it possible to restore the history of the city starting from the 4th millennium BC. e. and ending with the 4th century. BC BC: temples of the moon god Nannar and his wife, the goddess Ningal; ziggurat at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. e., built by King Ur-Nammu; royal tombs of the early dynastic period; schools, workshops, market, harbor, tavern, residential areas, temples, state and private archives.

Excavations were also carried out on the territory of the outlying states of Mesopotamia. In 1925-1930 American archaeologists, during excavations in Arrapha, under three hills discovered a citadel, palace, temple, utility and residential buildings and large archives of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In 1930-1936. American scientists discovered ancient Eshnuna - the center of a small Mesopotamian kingdom in the Diyala River basin.

The archaeological study of Mesopotamia after World War II is characterized by the following features.

Firstly, along with European and American researchers, Iraqi scientists were involved in archaeological work. The second characteristic feature of the archaeological study of Mesopotamia in the 50-80s is a re-turn to the monuments excavated in the 19th - early 20th centuries, but already fully armed with new scientific methods. The third feature of the period is the appeal of archaeologists to the most ancient eras of Mesopotamia, to its prehistory.

Thus, from the palaces of late Assyria to the Paleolithic caves, the archaeological study of the past of this country proceeded. The initial amateurism was replaced by the development of a truly scientific methodology. Archeology has moved from the search for sensational things to solving the most important problems, highlighting entire stages in the history of Mesopotamia.

Main directions of work of foreign researchers. The formation of Assyriology as a science was a complex process

The development of Assyriology was stimulated primarily by the publication of the enormous material that archaeological excavations have already yielded and continue to yield. One of the first enthusiasts of this was the cuneiform decipherer G. Rawlinson. The name of the British Museum engraver J. Smith, who independently studied cuneiform and became an outstanding scientist, has rightfully gone down in history. A huge amount of work on the publication, translation and study of Sumerian documents from museums in the USA, Turkey, Iraq and a number of other museums around the world, including from the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin, was carried out for several decades by the American Sumerologist S. Kramer. However, most of the cuneiform documents have not yet been published, which creates the problem of the certain preliminary nature of scientific conclusions.

Since the end of the 19th century. General works on the history of Mesopotamia are being created, among which the studies of German historians K. Betzold and B. Meissner, American scientists A. Olmstead, A.L. stand out. Oppenheim et al.

Issues of political history and government are actively studied. An important direction in foreign science is the study of the law of Ancient Mesopotamia, which is natural, since no other ancient Eastern country has produced so many legal monuments. Especially many works are devoted to the analysis of the laws of the Babylonian king Hammurabi. Foreign scientists pay the greatest attention to issues of culture and religion of Ancient Mesopotamia. Considerable attention is paid in foreign science to the problems of ethnogenesis in the territory of Mesopotamia, the origin of the Sumerians, and their relationships with Semitic-speaking peoples.

Foreign science paid much less attention to problems of economics and social relations.

As for the development of Assyriological “schools” by country, Assyriology initially settled in England and France. From the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. its center moved to Germany. With the establishment of the fascist dictatorship there, many Assyriological scientists from Germany and European countries left for the USA, where world-famous Assyriological institutions now operate. In the United States, the European “schools” of Assyriology - France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Germany, as well as the eastern ones - Turkey, Iraq and Israel enjoy significant authority. The Assyriological school of the Czech Republic, founded by B. the Terrible, has outstanding traditions. The works of Polish and Hungarian Assyriologists are well known.

Studying the history of Mesopotamia in Russian science. M.V. is rightfully considered the founder of the Russian “school” of Assyriology. Nikolsky. A significant contribution to the creation of domestic Assyriology was made by such scientists as B.A. Turaev, who paid considerable attention to the culture and history of Mesopotamia in his great work “History of the Ancient East,” and V.K. Shileiko, who gave brilliant translations of literary, mythological and historical works of Ancient Mesopotamia.

Traditions of Russian science at the beginning of the 20th century. formed the basis of Soviet Assyriology, which emerged after the October Revolution, which developed on the basis of the methodology of historical materialism. In the 20-50s, academicians V.V. did a lot for its development. Struve and A.I. Tyumenev.

A school of domestic Assyriological researchers was gradually created. Among them, I.M. occupies a prominent place. Dyakonov, whose research focuses on the socio-economic history of Ancient Mesopotamia.

Domestic Assyriology of the 70-90s developed many scientific problems. Among them, the leading place is occupied by the problem of socio-economic relations in Mesopotamia. It found its development in the works of M.A. Dandamaeva.

Our scientists have also become involved in the archaeological study of the monuments of Ancient Mesopotamia and, since 1969, have been conducting excavations in Iraq, in the north-west of the country, where they have studied early agricultural settlements of the 8th-4th millennia BC. e. Excavation materials and the results of their study have been published (P.M. Munchaev, N.Ya. Merpert, etc.).

The achievements of Russian Assyriology are summarized in the multi-volume academic work “History of the Ancient East”.

Geography and natural conditions of Ancient Mesopotamia

Note 1

Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia or Mesopotamia) is a vast plain in the basin of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, stretching northwest from the Persian Gulf to the Upper Euphrates - today it is mainly the territory of modern Iraq. It was here, between two deep rivers, that a powerful civilization was born in the middle of the third millennium BC.

The territory of Mesopotamia is divided into two parts: Lower Mesopotamia(the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates, where the river beds come closer together) and Upper (Northern) Mesopotamia. Lower Mesopotamia was called Sumer, and was also divided into two parts - the southern, Primorye or Sumer proper, and the northern, Ki-Uri, later Akkad. Later, the name Babylonia was assigned to Lower Mesopotamia.

Figure 1. Mesopotamia and surrounding lands in the middle of the 3rd millennium BC.

A feature of the geopolitical location of Mesopotamia was the presence of two centers of instability. The first, covering the north, northeast and east of the region, constantly withstood attacks from the mountaineers. The second, located in the west and southwest on the border with the Arabian Plateau, was subject to raids by nomadic tribes. The country's poverty in metal and wood stimulated the development of military expansion, as well as foreign trade, which was also facilitated by its location in the open space of the Middle East (land routes) and near the Persian Gulf (waterways to Arabia and India, river rafting).

The name of the region itself is Mesopotamia – testifies to its unique geographical position. The Euphrates and Tigris originate in the Armenian Highlands and flow into the Persian Gulf, today merging into one river - the Shatt al-Arab, and several thousand years ago - through two different mouths. On the approaches to the bay, the rivers form extensive wetlands. The floods of the Euphrates and Tigris depended on the melting of snow on the Armenian Highlands, and usually occurred in March-April, but were not stable, unlike the Nile: the rivers crossed different climatic zones, and snow melt did not always occur at the same time.

The lands of Mesopotamia were distinguished by their extraordinary fertility: the waters of the rivers carried silt with plant residues and salts of mountain minerals, which fertilized the lands. However, in order for farming to be possible in the river valleys, a complex of reclamation work was necessary. The ancient population of Mesopotamia struggled with soil salinity, lack of rain moisture, sand blown from the desert, and rising river levels. By the way, floods in Mesopotamia occurred frequently, and it was here that the legend of the global flood was born.

In the North of Mesopotamia, irrigation was natural, but even there systems were built to supply fields with water - wells, pools, canal systems.

The climate of Mesopotamia was heterogeneous: in the north (dry subtropical zone) winters were snowy and spring and autumn were rainy, the south was dry and hot.

The region was abundant in clay and natural asphalt, stone in the north, but there were problems with the availability of wood and iron; the flora of Mesopotamia was sparse. Ancient authors mention willows, reeds, and date palms. The ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia grew grapes, fruit trees, millet, spelt, barley, flax, garlic, onions, cucumbers, eggplants, pumpkins, and legumes. The fauna of the region was rich: fish were abundant in the rivers, birds nested along the banks, wild pigs, donkeys, bulls, hares, gazelles, ostriches and other animals multiplied on the plains.

Story

The history of Ancient Mesopotamia is traditionally divided by researchers into two large periods - prehistoric And historical, within which subperiods are identified related to archaeological cultures in the territory of Mesopotamia and political transformations, respectively. The prehistoric period, spanning three millennia, covers the formation and development of three archaeological cultures.

The first of them, Ubedian (from the name of the settlement of el-Ubaid in Iraq), dates from the first settlement of the territory of Lower Mesopotamia (last third of the 5th millennium BC) to the beginning of the $IV$ millennium BC. The bearers of the Ubedian culture settled almost throughout the entire territory of Mesopotamia, built temples and cities, but did not have a written language, so we can only talk about the beginnings of the Ubedian civilization. The question of the ethnicity of the Ubedians remains controversial: the opinions of researchers are divided - some consider them Sumerians, others - representatives of pre-Sumerian tribes. Most historians are still inclined to the hypothesis that the Ubedian culture belonged to the proto-Sumerians, as evidenced by borrowings in the Sumerian language from an earlier one, and the Sumerians themselves appeared here at the beginning of the 4th millennium BC, and assimilated the local population, creating the following culture - Uruk.

Uruk culture (after the name of the Uruk settlement), differs from the previous one in burials and ceramics, as well as in the presence of the first Mesopotamian written monuments, which are household clay tablets with pictographic writing. At the end of $IV$ thousand BC. A separate eastern branch of the Semites, the Akkadians, moved to the territory of Mesopotamia. They occupied Northern Mesopotamia, where the Sumerians lived, and the Middle Tigris region. From the first, as a result of mixing with the Sumerians, comes the people of the Babylonians, and from the second, the Assyrians, who existed separately from the turn of the $3-2 thousand BC.

Definition 1

Jemdet-Nasr(turn of $IV-III$ thousand BC) - an era named after the settlement in which an archive was discovered that testified to the further development of pictorial writing. Sometimes Uruk and Jemdet-Nasr are combined into one, “protoliterate” period.”

With the transition of the Sumerians to a system of verbal-syllabic writing and a number of changes in material culture and social relations, a historical period begins.

First protoperiod– Early Dynastic (end of $IV$ millennium BC – $XXIV$ century BC) – characterized by the development of city-states; This era includes a large-scale flood, which remained in the memory of the Mesopotamians as the “great flood” (about $2950 $ BC).

During the era of the first despotism ($2316-2003 BC) Lower Mesopotamia was first united into an empire under the control of the Akkadian dynasty ($XXIV - XII centuries BC) and the $III$ dynasty of Ur, which collapsed under the blows of the Amorites - Semitic nomads, and on the territory of Mesopotamia for about three centuries there existed many independent kingdoms.

Mesopotamia was united only in the middle of the 18th century by the Babylonian king Hammurabi; the reign of this Amorite dynasty, from which the king came, is called the Old Babylonian period.

The time when the Kassite mountaineers seized power in Babylonia and formed their own ruling dynasty there is called the Middle Babylonian period ($1595-1150 BC).

The hegemony of the Kassites was interrupted by the following interventionists - the Elamites, and the period from the fall of the Kassite dynasty to the capture of Babylonia by the Persians in $539 is called the Neo-Babylonian period.

In the $XIV$ century BC. e., Ashur, a city-state in the far north of the settlement of the Sumerian-Akkadians, subjugated the surrounding territories and turned into the Assyrian power with its own periodization. Thus, the Middle Assyrian period begins with the formation of the state and before the invasion of Mesopotamia by the Arameans ($XVI - XI $ centuries BC), the New Assyrian period ends with the destruction of Assyria by Babylon ($XI - VII $ centuries BC).

Synchronized periodization of the history of Assyria and Babylon:

Prehistoric era :

• Ubeid ($VI-IV$ millennium BC);
• Uruk ($IV$ millennium BC);
• Jemdet-Nasr (turn of $IV-III$ millennia BC).

1. Historical era :

• Early Dynastic period ($XXX-XXIV$ centuries BC);
• The era of the first despotisms - Akkadian and Ur ($XXIV-XXI $ centuries BC);
• Old Babylonian-Old Assyrian ($XX-XVI$ centuries BC),
• Middle Babylonian-Middle Assyrian ($XVI/XV-XII/XI$ centuries BC);
• Neo-Assyrian ($X-VII$ centuries BC) - Neo-Babylonian ($XII-VI$ centuries BC).

MESOPOTAMIA
ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
Mesopotamia is the country where the world's oldest civilization arose, which lasted approx. 25 centuries, from the creation of writing to the conquest of Babylon by the Persians in 539 BC.
Geographical position."Mesopotamia" means "Land between the rivers" (between the Euphrates and the Tigris). Now Mesopotamia is understood mainly as the valley in the lower reaches of these rivers, and the lands east of the Tigris and west of the Euphrates are added to it. In general, this region coincides with the territory of modern Iraq, with the exception of mountainous areas along the country's borders with Iran and Turkey. Most of the elongated valley, especially all of Lower Mesopotamia, was covered for a long time with sediments brought by both rivers from the Armenian Highlands. Over time, fertile alluvial soils began to attract people from other regions. Since ancient times, farmers have learned to compensate for poor rainfall by creating irrigation structures. The lack of stone and wood gave impetus to the development of trade with lands rich in these natural resources. The Tigris and Euphrates turned out to be convenient waterways connecting the Persian Gulf region with Anatolia and the Mediterranean. The geographical location and natural conditions allowed the valley to become a center of attraction for peoples and an area for the development of trade.
Archaeological sites. The first information Europeans have about Mesopotamia goes back to such classical authors of antiquity as the historian Herodotus (5th century BC) and the geographer Strabo (at the turn of AD). Later, the Bible contributed to interest in the location of the Garden of Eden, the Tower of Babel, and the most famous cities of Mesopotamia. In the Middle Ages, notes appeared on the journey of Benjamin of Tudela (12th century), containing a description of the location of ancient Nineveh on the banks of the Tigris opposite Mosul, which was flourishing in those days. In the 17th century The first attempts are being made to copy tablets with texts (as it later turned out, from Ur and Babylon) written in wedge-shaped characters, which later became known as cuneiform. But systematic large-scale studies with careful measurements and descriptions of surviving fragments of monuments occurred at the beginning of the 19th century; in particular, such work was undertaken by the English traveler and politician Claudius James Rich. Soon, visual inspection of the surface of monuments gave way to urban excavations. During excavations carried out in the mid-19th century. near Mosul, amazing Assyrian monuments were discovered. The French expedition led by Paul Emile Both, after unsuccessful excavations in 1842 on the Kuyunjik hill (part of ancient Nineveh), in 1843 continued work in Khorsabad (ancient Dur-Sharrukin), the majestic but short-lived capital of Assyria under Sargon II. Great success was achieved by the British expedition led by Sir Austin Henry Layard, which, from 1845, excavated two other Assyrian capitals - Nineveh and Kalah (modern Nimrud). The excavations sparked a growing interest in the archeology of Mesopotamia and, most importantly, led to the final decipherment of Akkadian (Babylonian and Assyrian) cuneiform writing. The beginning was made in 1802 by the German scientist Georg Friedrich Grotefend, who tried to read the ancient Iranian text on a trilingual inscription from Iran. It was an alphabetic cuneiform script with a relatively small number of characters, and the language was a dialect of the well-known ancient Persian language. The second column of text was written in Elamite syllabary, containing 111 characters. The writing system in the third column was even more difficult to understand, since it contained several hundred characters representing both syllables and words. The language coincided with the language of the inscriptions discovered in Mesopotamia, i.e. with Assyro-Babylonian (Akkadian). Numerous difficulties that arose when trying to read these inscriptions did not stop the British diplomat Sir Henry Rawlinson, who tried to decipher the signs. The discoveries of new inscriptions in Dur-Sharrukin, Nineveh and other places ensured the success of his research. In 1857, four Assyriologists meeting in London (including Rawlinson) received copies of a recently discovered Akkadian text. When their translations were compared, it turned out that they coincided in all major positions. The first success in deciphering the Akkadian writing system - the most widespread, centuries-old and complex of all cuneiform systems - gave rise to the assumption that these texts could verify the veracity of biblical texts. Because of this, interest in the signs has greatly increased. The main goal was not the discovery of things, artistic or written monuments, but the restoration of the appearance of bygone civilizations in all their connections and details. Much has been done in this regard by the German archaeological school, whose main achievements were excavations led by Robert Koldewey in Babylon (1899-1917) and Walter Andre in Ashur (1903-1914). Meanwhile, the French were carrying out similar work in the south, most notably at Tello (ancient Lagash), in the heart of ancient Sumer, and the Americans in Nippur. In the 20th century, during the period between the world wars, many new monuments were explored. Among the major discoveries of this period are the Anglo-American excavations at Ur, perhaps especially famous for the finds in the so-called Royal Necropolis, with its incredibly rich, if often brutal, evidence of Sumerian life in the 3rd millennium BC; German excavations in Varka (ancient Uruk, biblical Erech); the beginning of French excavations at Mari on the Middle Euphrates; the work of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago at Tell Asmara (ancient Eshnunna), as well as at Khafaja and Khorsabad, where the French began excavations almost a century earlier; excavations of the American School of Oriental Research (Baghdad) in Nuzi (in collaboration with Harvard University), as well as in Tepe Gavre (in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania). After World War II, the Iraqi government began independent excavations, mainly in the south of the country.
BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
Ethnic groups. Since ancient times, Mesopotamia must have attracted both temporary and permanent settlers - from the mountains in the northeast and north, from the steppes in the west and south, from the sea in the southeast. Before the advent of writing ca. 3000 BC It is difficult to judge the ethnic map of the area, although archeology provides abundant evidence that all of Mesopotamia, including the alluvial valley of the south, was inhabited long before writing arose. Evidence of earlier cultural stages is fragmentary, and their evidence becomes increasingly dubious as we delve into antiquity. Archaeological finds do not allow us to determine their belonging to one or another ethnic group. Skeletal remains, sculptures or paintings cannot serve as reliable sources for identifying the population of Mesopotamia in the preliterate era. We know that in historical times all of Mesopotamia was inhabited by peoples who spoke languages ​​of the Semitic family. These languages ​​were spoken by the Akkadians in the 3rd millennium BC, the Babylonians who succeeded them (two groups that originally lived in Lower Mesopotamia), as well as the Assyrians of Central Mesopotamia. All these three peoples are united according to the linguistic principle (which turned out to be the most acceptable) under the name “Akkadians”. The Akkadian element played an important role throughout the long history of Mesopotamia. Another Semitic people who left a noticeable mark on this country were the Amorites, who gradually began to penetrate Mesopotamia at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. They soon created several strong dynasties, among them the First Babylonian dynasty, whose most famous ruler was Hammurabi. At the end of the 2nd millennium BC. Another Semitic people appeared, the Arameans, who for five centuries posed a constant threat to the western borders of Assyria. One branch of the Arameans, the Chaldeans, came to play such an important role in the south that Chaldea became synonymous with later Babylonia. Aramaic eventually spread as a common language throughout the ancient Near East, from Persia and Anatolia to Syria, Palestine and even Egypt. It was Aramaic that became the language of administration and trade. The Arameans, like the Amorites, came to Mesopotamia through Syria, but they most likely originated from Northern Arabia. It is also possible that this route was previously used by the Akkadians, the first known people of Mesopotamia. There were no Semites among the autochthonous population of the valley, which was established for Lower Mesopotamia, where the predecessors of the Akkadians were the Sumerians. Outside of Sumer, in Central Mesopotamia and further north, traces of other ethnic groups have been found. The Sumerians represent in many respects one of the most significant and at the same time mysterious peoples in the history of mankind. They laid the foundation for the Mesopotamian civilization. The Sumerians left an important mark on the culture of Mesopotamia - in religion and literature, legislation and government, science and technology. The world owes the invention of writing to the Sumerians. By the end of the 3rd millennium BC. The Sumerians lost their ethnic and political significance. Among the most famous peoples who played an important role in the ancient history of Mesopotamia, the most ancient and at the same time constant neighbors of the Sumerians were the Elamites. They lived in the southwest of Iran, their main city was Susa. From the time of the early Sumerians until the fall of Assyria, the Elamites occupied a prominent political and economic place in Mesopotamian history. The middle column of the trilingual inscription from Persia is written in their language. However, it is unlikely that they were able to penetrate far into Mesopotamia, since signs of their habitat were not found even in Central Mesopotamia. The Kassites are the next important ethnic group, immigrants from Iran, the founders of the dynasty that replaced the First Babylonian dynasty. They lived in the south until the last quarter of the 2nd millennium BC, but in the texts of the 3rd millennium BC. are not mentioned. Classical authors mention them under the name of the Cossaeans; at that time they already lived in Iran, from where they apparently once came to Babylonia. Surviving traces of the Kassite language are too scanty for it to be assigned to any language family. The Hurrians played an important role in interregional relations. Mentions of their appearance in the north of Central Mesopotamia date back to the end of the 3rd millennium BC. By the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. they densely populated the area of ​​modern Kirkuk (here information about them was found in the cities of Arrapha and Nuzi), the Middle Euphrates valley and the eastern part of Anatolia; Hurrian colonies arose in Syria and Palestine. Initially, this ethnic group probably lived in the area of ​​Lake Van near the pre-Indo-European population of Armenia, related to the Hurrians, the Urartians. From the central part of Upper Mesopotamia, the Hurrians in ancient times could easily penetrate into the neighboring regions of the valley. Perhaps the Hurrians are the main, and it is possible that the original ethnic element of pre-Semitic Assyria.
Further to the west lived various Anatolian ethnic groups;
some of them, such as the Hatti, were probably autochthonous populations, others, in particular the Luwians and Hittites, were remnants of the Indo-European migration wave.
Prehistoric cultures. The most important feature of the knowledge of prehistoric Mesopotamia and the surrounding lands is that it is based on a continuous sequence of evidence that, layer by layer, leads to the beginning of written history. Mesopotamia demonstrates not only how and why the historical period itself arises, but also what happened in the critical period that preceded it. Man discovered a direct connection between sowing and harvesting ca. 12 thousand years ago. The period of hunting and gathering was replaced by regular food production. Temporary settlements, especially in fertile valleys, were replaced by long-term settlements in which their inhabitants lived for generations. Such settlements, which can be excavated layer by layer, make it possible to reconstruct the dynamics of development in prehistoric times and trace step by step progress in the field of material culture. The Middle East is littered with traces of early agricultural settlements. One of the oldest villages discovered in the foothills of Kurdistan. The Jarmo settlement east of Kirkuk is an example of the application of primitive farming methods. The next stage is represented at Hassoun near Mosul by architectural structures and pottery. The Hassunan stage was replaced by the rapidly developing Halaf stage, which received its name from the settlement on Kabur, one of the largest tributaries of the Euphrates. The art of making pottery has reached a high level of development in terms of the variety of shapes, the quality of firing of vessels, the thoroughness of finishing and the sophistication of multi-colored ornaments. Construction technology has also taken a step forward. Figures of people and animals were made from clay and stone. People wore not only beads and pendants, but also stamp seals. The Halaf culture is of particular interest due to the vastness of the territory over which it was distributed - from Lake Van and northern Syria to the central part of Mesopotamia, the environs of modern Kirkuk. Towards the end of the Khalaf stage, probably from the east, carriers of another culture appeared, which over time spread across the western part of Asia from the interior of Iran to the Mediterranean coast. This culture is Obeid (Ubeid), got its name from a small hill in Lower Mesopotamia near the ancient city of Ur. This period saw significant changes in many areas, especially in architecture, as evidenced by the buildings at Eridu in southern Mesopotamia and at Tepe Gavre in the north. From that time on, the south became the center of the development of metallurgy, the emergence and development of cylinder seals, the emergence of markets and the creation of writing. All these were the harbingers of the beginning of a new historical era. The traditional vocabulary of historical Mesopotamia in terms of geographical names and cultural terms was formed on the basis of various languages. Many toponyms have survived to this day. Among them are the names of the Tigris and Euphrates and most ancient cities. The words "carpenter" and "chair", used in the Sumerian and Akkadian languages, still function in Semitic languages ​​to this day. The names of some plants - cassia, caraway, crocus, hyssop, myrtle, spikenard, saffron and others - go back to the prehistoric stage and demonstrate striking cultural continuity.
Historical period. Perhaps the most significant thing about the history of Mesopotamia is that its beginning coincides with the beginning of world history. The first written documents belong to the Sumerians. It follows that history in the proper sense began in Sumer and may have been created by the Sumerians. However, writing did not become the only determining factor in the beginning of a new era. The most important achievement was the development of metallurgy to the point where society had to create new technologies to continue its existence. Copper ore deposits were located far away, so the need to obtain this vital metal led to the expansion of geographical horizons and a change in the very pace of life. Historical Mesopotamia existed for almost twenty-five centuries, from the emergence of writing to the conquest of Babylonia by the Persians. But even after this, foreign domination could not destroy the cultural independence of the country.

The era of Sumerian dominance. During the first three quarters of the 3rd millennium BC. The South occupied a leading place in the history of Mesopotamia. In the geologically youngest part of the valley, on the coast of the Persian Gulf and in adjacent areas, Sumerians dominated, and upstream, in later Akkad, Semites predominated, although traces of earlier settlers are also found here. The main cities of Sumer were Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Lagash, Umma and Nippur. The city of Kish became the center of Akkad. The struggle for dominance took the form of rivalry between Kish and other Sumerian cities. Uruk's decisive victory over Kish, a feat attributed to the semi-legendary ruler Gilgamesh, marks the establishment of the Sumerians as a major political force and a decisive cultural factor in the region. Later the center of power moved to Ur, Lagash and other places. During this period, called the Early Dynastic, the main elements of the Mesopotamian civilization were formed.
Dynasty of Akkad. Although Kish had previously submitted to the expansion of Sumerian culture, his political resistance put an end to the Sumerian dominance in the country. The ethnic core of the opposition was made up of local Semites led by Sargon (c. 2300 BC), whose throne name, Sharrukin, in Akkadian meant “legitimate king.” To break with the past, Sargon moved his capital from Kish to Akkad. The whole country from then on began to be called Akkad, and the language of the victors was called Akkadian; it continued to exist in the form of the Babylonian and Assyrian dialects as the state dialect throughout the subsequent history of Mesopotamia. Having consolidated their power over Sumer and Akkad, the new rulers turned to neighboring regions. Elam, Ashur, Nineveh, and even areas in neighboring Syria and Eastern Anatolia were subjugated. The old system of a confederation of independent states gave way to an empire with a system of central authority. With the armies of Sargon and his famous grandson Naram-Suen, cuneiform, the Akkadian language and other elements of the Sumerian-Akkadian civilization spread.
The role of the Amorites. The Akkadian Empire ceased to exist by the end of the 3rd millennium BC, becoming a victim of unbridled expansion and invasions of barbarians from the north and west. After about a century, the vacuum was filled, and under Gudea of ​​Lagash and the rulers of the Third Dynasty of Ur, a renaissance began. But the attempt to restore Sumer's former greatness was doomed to failure. Meanwhile, new groups appeared on the horizon, which soon mixed with the local population to create Babylonia in place of Sumer and Akkad, and in the north - a new state entity, Assyria. These widespread newcomers are known as Amorites. Wherever the Amorites settled, they became devoted followers and defenders of local traditions. After the Elamites put an end to the Third Dynasty of Ur (20th century BC), the Amorites gradually began to gain strength in the states of Issin, Larsa, and Eshnunna. They were able to establish their own dynasty in central Akkad, with its capital in the previously little-known city of Babylon. This capital became the cultural center of the region for the entire existence of the Mesopotamian civilization. The first dynasty of Babylon, defined with good reason as the Amorites, ruled for exactly three hundred years, from the 19th to the 16th centuries. BC. The sixth king was the famous Hammurabi, who gradually gained control over the entire territory of Mesopotamia.
Alien invasion. The Amorite dynasty lost power over Babylonia, which it held for a long time, after the capital around the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. was plundered by the Hittite king Mursilis I. This served as a signal for other invaders, the Kassites. At this time, Assyria fell under the rule of Mitanni, a state founded by Aryans but inhabited mainly by Hurrians. The foreign invasions were the result of extensive ethnic movements that occurred in Anatolia, Syria and Palestine. Mesopotamia suffered the least from them. The Kassites maintained power for several centuries, but soon adopted Babylonian language and traditions. The revival of Assyria was even more rapid and complete. From the 14th century BC. Assyria was in decline. For a long time, Ashur felt the strength to enter into competition with Babylon. The most striking event in the dramatic reign of the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (late 13th century BC) was his conquest of the southern capital. This meant the beginning of a brutal and long struggle between the two powerful states of Mesopotamia. Babylonia could not compete with Assyria in the military field, but felt its cultural superiority over the “northern upstarts.” Assyria, for its part, was deeply indignant at these accusations of barbarism. There is no doubt that the historical and cultural traditions of Babylonia have always been a powerful reserve in the struggle waged by this state. Thus, having captured Babylon, Tukulti-Ninurta immediately assumed the ancient title of king of Sumer and Akkad - a thousand years after it was established. This was a calculation - to add shine to the traditional title of the king of Assyria.
The Rise and Fall of Assyria. The center of gravity of the further historical development of Mesopotamia, with the exception of the last decades of its independent history, was in Assyria. The very first sign of this process was expansion, first into Iran and Armenia, then into Anatolia, Syria and Palestine, and finally into Egypt. The Assyrian capital moved from Ashur to Qalah, then to Dur-Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad), and finally to Nineveh. Prominent rulers of Assyria include Ashurnasirpal II (c. 883-859 BC), Tiglapalaser III (c. 745-727 BC), perhaps the most powerful of them, and glorious successive rulers - Sargon II (c. 721-705 BC), Sennacherib (c. 704-681 BC), Assargadon (c. 680-669 BC) and Ashurbanipal (c. 668-626 BC AD). The lives of the last three kings were greatly influenced by Sennacherib's wife, Nakiya-Zakutu, probably one of the most influential queens in history. A powerful political and military state arose as a result of military campaigns in the remote mountainous regions of Iran and Armenia and as a result of the struggle against the stubbornly resisting cities of the Arameans, Phoenicians, Israelites, Jews, Egyptians and many other peoples. All this required not only great military efforts, but also economic and political organization, and finally, the ability to control an ever-growing number of heterogeneous subjects. To this end, the Assyrians practiced the deportation of the conquered population. So, after the conquest of the Israeli city of Samaria in 722-721 BC. its population was resettled to the most remote provinces of Assyria, and its place was taken by people who were also brought from various regions and had no ethnic roots here. Babylonia languished under the Assyrian yoke for a long time, unable to throw it off, but never lost hope of liberation. Neighboring Elam was in the same position. At this time, the Medes, after a long period of formation of their state, conquered Elam and established power over Iran. They offered to help Babylonia in the fight against Assyria, weakened by constant attacks from the north. Nineveh fell in 612 BC, and the victors divided the defeated empire. The northern provinces went to the Medes, the southern ones to the Babylonians, who by that time began to be called Chaldeans. The Chaldeans, heirs to the traditions of the south, achieved brief prosperity, especially under Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 605-562 BC). The main danger came from Egypt, which saw the Chaldeans, who had strengthened themselves in Syria and Palestine, as a constant threat to their borders. In the course of the rivalry between two powerful empires, independent tiny Judea (the southern kingdom of the Jews) unexpectedly acquired important strategic importance. The outcome of the battle turned out to be favorable for Nebuchadnezzar, who took Jerusalem a second time in 587 BC. However, the kingdom of the Chaldeans was not destined to live long. The Persian armies of Cyrus the Great at this time wrested power over Iran from the Medes and captured Babylon in 539 BC. and thus opened a new chapter in world history. Cyrus himself was acutely aware of the unpayable debt that his country owed to Mesopotamia. Later, when the era of Persian rule was replaced by the Hellenistic era, Alexander the Great, the leader of the Macedonian conquerors, wanted to make Babylon the capital of his new empire.

CULTURE
Saterial culture. Ceramics gradually improved in terms of manufacturing techniques, variety of shapes and ornaments, this can be traced from the ancient Jarmo culture through other prehistoric cultures until the emergence of a unified technology for the production of stone and metal vessels. It is now impossible to say what important discoveries in the field of ceramics were brought to Mesopotamia from outside. A significant advance was the introduction of the closed kiln, which allowed the craftsman to achieve higher temperatures and more easily control them, resulting in high-quality ware in terms of shape and finish. Such ovens were first discovered at Tepe Gawre, north of modern Mosul. The oldest known examples of carefully crafted stamp seals were found in the same settlement. Mesopotamia created the oldest known structures of monumental architecture in the north - in Tepe Gavre, in the south - in Eridu. The high technical level of this time can be judged by the aqueduct in Jervan, approx. 50 km through which water flowed to Nineveh. Mesopotamian craftsmen brought metalworking to the level of high art. This can be judged by items made of precious metals, remarkable examples of which, dating back to the early dynastic period, were found in burials in Ur; a silver vase of the Lagash ruler Entemena is also known. Sculpture in Mesopotamia reached a high level of development in prehistoric times. There are known cylindrical seals with pressed images, the rolling of which on clay made it possible to obtain convex prints. Examples of large forms of the ancient era are the reliefs on the Naram-Suen stele, carefully executed portrait sculptures of the ruler of Lagash Gudea and other monuments. Mesopotamian sculpture reached its highest development in the 1st millennium BC. in Assyria, when colossal figures and exquisite reliefs were created with images of animals, in particular, galloping horses, wild donkeys being killed by hunters, and dying lionesses. During the same period, magnificent reliefs were sculptured depicting individual episodes of military operations. Little is known about the development of painting. The mural painting could not survive due to moisture and soil conditions, but surviving examples from different eras show that this type of art was widespread. Magnificent examples of painted ceramics were found, in particular, in Ashur. They indicate that their creators preferred bright colors.

Economy. The economy of Mesopotamia was determined by the natural conditions of the region. The fertile soils of the valley produced rich harvests. The south specialized in date palm cultivation. The extensive pastures of the nearby mountains made it possible to support large herds of sheep and goats. On the other hand, the country experienced a shortage of stone, metal, wood, raw materials for the production of dyes and other vital materials. The excess of some goods and the shortage of others led to the development of trade relations.

Religion. The religion of Mesopotamia in all its main aspects was created by the Sumerians. Over time, Akkadian names of gods began to replace Sumerian ones, and personifications of the elements gave way to star deities. Local gods could also lead the pantheon of a particular region, as happened with Marduk in Babylon or Ashur in the Assyrian capital. But the religious system as a whole, the view of the world and the changes taking place in it were not much different from the original ideas of the Sumerians. None of the Mesopotamian deities were the exclusive source of power, none had supreme power. The full power belonged to the assembly of gods, which, according to tradition, elected a leader and approved all important decisions. Nothing was set in stone or taken for granted. But the instability of space led to intrigue among the gods, which meant it promised danger and created anxiety among mortals. At the same time, there was always the possibility that events would turn for the better if a person behaved correctly. The temple tower (ziggurat) was the place where the celestials stayed. It symbolized the human desire to establish a connection between heaven and earth. As a rule, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia relied little on the favor of the gods. They tried to appease them by performing increasingly complex rituals.
State power and legislation. Since Sumerian society and later Mesopotamian societies considered themselves to be a kind of self-governing community of gods, power could not be absolutist. Royal decisions had to be approved by collective bodies, a meeting of elders and warriors. In addition, the mortal ruler was a servant of the gods and was responsible for administering their laws. The mortal king was more of a confidant, but not an autocrat. Above him there was an impersonal law established by the gods, and it limited the ruler no less than the most humble subject. Evidence of the effectiveness of laws in Mesopotamia is numerous and dates back to different eras. Since the king was the servant of the law, and not its creator or source, he had to be guided by codes of laws containing both traditional regulations and amendments to the laws. Extensive collections, usually called codes, indicate that, in general terms, such a system had already developed by the 3rd millennium BC. Among the surviving codes are the laws of the founder of the III dynasty of Ur Ur-Nammu, Sumerian laws and the laws of Eshnunna (north-eastern part of Akkad). All of them precede the famous laws of Hammurabi. Later periods include Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian collections.
Writing and science. The supreme authority of law was a characteristic feature of the Mesopotamian historical period and may even predate it, but the effectiveness of legislation is associated with the use of written evidence and documents. There is reason to believe that the invention of writing by the ancient Sumerians was primarily driven by concern for private and communal rights. Already the earliest texts known to us testify to the need to record everything, be it objects needed for temple exchange or gifts intended for the deity. Such documents were certified by a cylinder seal. The most ancient writing was pictographic, and its signs depicted objects of the surrounding world - animals, plants, etc. The signs formed groups, each of which, consisting, for example, of images of animals, plants or objects, was composed in a certain sequence. Over time, the lists acquired the character of a kind of reference books on zoology, botany, mineralogy, etc. Since the Sumerian contribution to the development of local civilization was perceived as very significant, and after the establishment of the Akkadian dynasty, spoken Sumerian became rarely used, the Akkadians did everything in their power to preserve the Sumerian language. Efforts in this direction did not stop with the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur and continued into Amorite times. The result was the creation of word lists, numerous Sumerian-Akkadian dictionaries, and studies of grammar. There were many other cultural phenomena that were systematized thanks to writing. Among them, a special place is occupied by omens, through which people tried to find out their future through various signs, such as the shape of the liver of a sacrificed sheep or the location of the stars. The list of omens helped the priest predict the consequences of certain phenomena. It was also common to compile lists of the most commonly used legal terms and formulas. The ancient Mesopotamians also achieved significant success in mathematics and astronomy. According to modern researchers, the Egyptian mathematics system was crude and primitive compared to the Babylonian one; It is believed that even Greek mathematics learned a lot from the achievements of earlier Mesopotamian mathematics. The so-called was also a highly developed area. "Chaldean (i.e. Babylonian) astronomy."
Literature. The most famous poetic work is the Babylonian epic about the creation of the world. But the oldest work, the tale of Gilgamesh, seems much more attractive. The characters of the world of animals and plants that appeared in fables were very loved by the people, just like proverbs. Sometimes a philosophical note creeps into literature, especially in works devoted to the theme of innocent suffering, but the attention of the authors is focused not so much on suffering as on the miracle of liberation from it.
The influence of the Mesopotamian civilization. The first significant evidence of the penetration of Mesopotamian cultural achievements into other areas dates back to the 3rd millennium BC, at the time of the emergence of the Akkadian empire. Another proof is that in the capital of the Elamite state, Susa (southwestern Iran), they used not only cuneiform, but also the Akkadian language and the administrative system adopted in Mesopotamia. At the same time, the leader of the barbarians, Lullubey, erected a stele with an inscription in Akkadian to the northeast of Akkad. The Hurrian ruler of Central Mesopotamia adapted cuneiform to write texts in his native language. The texts adopted by the Hurrians, and much of the information they contained, were preserved and passed on to the Anatolian Hittites. A similar situation developed during the reign of Hammurabi. From this time came legal and historical texts in Akkadian, which were reproduced in the Amorite-Hurrian center of Alalakh, in northern Syria; this indicates Babylonian influence in a region that was not under Mesopotamian control. The same cultural unity, but on an even larger scale, took place in conditions of political fragmentation in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. By this time, in Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and even Egypt, cuneiform and Akkadian were used as a means of international communication. Moreover, various languages, among them Hurrian and Hittite, readily adopted cuneiform writing. In the 1st millennium BC. Cuneiform writing began to be used for writing in other languages, in particular in Urartian Old Persian. Along with writing, ideas also spread as a medium. This concerned primarily the concepts of jurisprudence, public administration, religious thought and such types of literature as proverbs, fables, myths and epics. Akkadian fragments of the Gilgamesh tale reached as far away as the Hittite capital of Hattusa (modern Boghazköy) in north-central Turkey or Megiddo (in Israel). There are known translations of the epic into Hurrian and Hittite languages. The spread of Mesopotamian literature was associated not only with the borrowing of cuneiform. Its samples reached Greece, where there were fables about animals that reproduced the Akkadian prototypes almost verbatim. Some parts of Hesiod's Theogony go back to Hittite, Hurrian, and ultimately Babylonian origins. The similarity between the beginning of the Odyssey and the first lines of the Epic of Gilgamesh is also not a coincidence. Many close connections are found between the first chapters of the biblical Book of Genesis and early Mesopotamian texts. The clearest examples of these connections are, in particular, the order of events of the Creation of the world, the features of the geography of Eden, the story of the Tower of Babel and especially the story of the flood, the harbinger of which is contained in the XI tablet of the tale of Gilgamesh. The Hittites, from the time of their arrival in Anatolia, made extensive use of cuneiform, using it to write texts not only in their own language, but also in Akkadian. In addition, they owed the inhabitants of Mesopotamia the basis of legislation, as a result of which their own set of laws was created. Similarly, in the Syrian city-state of Ugarit, the local West Semitic dialect and alphabetic script were used to record various literary works, including epic and religious works. When it came to legislation and government, the Ugaritic scribes resorted to the Akkadian language and traditional syllabary writing. The famous stele of Hammurabi was found not in the ruins of Babylon, but in the distant Elamite capital, Susa, where this heavy object was delivered as a valuable trophy. No less striking evidence of Mesopotamian influence is found in the Bible. The Jewish and Christian religions were invariably opposed to the spiritual direction that emerged in Mesopotamia, but the legislation and forms of government discussed in the Bible owe their influence to Mesopotamian prototypes. Like many of their neighbors, the Jews were subject to legal and social attitudes that were generally characteristic of the countries of the Fertile Crescent and largely derived from those of Mesopotamia.
RULERS OF MESOPOTAMIA
Below is a summary of the most significant rulers of Mesopotamia. URUKAGINA
(c. 2500 BC), ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash. Before he reigned in Lagash, the people suffered from excessive taxes levied by greedy palace officials. Illegal confiscation of private property has become a practice. Urukagina's reform was to abolish all these abuses, restore justice and give freedom to the people of Lagash. LUGALZAGESI
(c. 2500 BC), son of the ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Umma, who created the short-lived Sumerian Empire. He defeated the Lagash ruler Urukagina and subjugated the rest of the Sumerian city-states. During his campaigns he conquered the lands north and west of Sumer and reached the coast of Syria. Lugalzagesi's reign lasted 25 years, with his capital at the Sumerian city-state of Uruk. He was eventually defeated by Sargon I of Akkad. The Sumerians regained political power over their country only two centuries later under the Third Dynasty of Ur. SARGON I
(c. 2400 BC), creator of the first long-lasting empire known in world history, which he himself ruled for 56 years. Semites and Sumerians lived side by side for a long time, but political hegemony belonged mainly to the Sumerians. The accession of Sargon marked the first major breakthrough of the Akkadians into the political arena of Mesopotamia. Sargon, a court official at Kish, first became ruler of that city, then conquered southern Mesopotamia and defeated Lugalzagesi. Sargon united the city-states of Sumer, after which he turned his gaze to the east and captured Elam. In addition, he carried out campaigns of conquest in the country of the Amorites (Northern Syria), Asia Minor and, possibly, Cyprus. NARAM-SUEN
(c. 2320 BC), grandson of Sargon I of Akkad, who achieved almost the same fame as his famous grandfather. Ruled the empire for 37 years. At the beginning of his reign, he suppressed a powerful uprising, the center of which was in Kish. Naram-Suen led military campaigns in Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, Assyria, the Zagros Mountains northeast of Babylonia (the famous Naram-Suen stele glorifies his victory over the local mountain inhabitants), and Elam. Perhaps he fought with one of the Egyptian pharaohs of the VI dynasty. Gudea (c. 2200 BC), ruler of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash, contemporary of Ur-Nammu and Shulgi, the first two kings of the Third Dynasty of Ur. Gudea - one of the most famous Sumerian rulers, left behind numerous texts. The most interesting of them is a hymn that describes the construction of the temple of the god Ningirsu. For this major construction, Gudea brought materials from Syria and Anatolia. Numerous sculptures depict him seated with a plan of the temple on his lap. Under Gudea's successors, power over Lagash passed to Ur. Rim-Sin (reigned c. 1878-1817 BC), king of the southern Babylonian city of Larsa, one of Hammurabi’s most powerful opponents. The Elamite Rim-Sin subjugated the cities of southern Babylonia, including Issin, the seat of a rival dynasty. After 61 years of reign, Hammurabi, who by this time had been on the throne for 31 years, was defeated and captured. SHAMSHI-ADAD I
(reigned c. 1868-1836 BC), king of Assyria, senior contemporary of Hammurabi. Information about this king is drawn mainly from the royal archive in Mari, a provincial center on the Euphrates, which was subordinate to the Assyrians. The death of Shamshi-Adad, one of Hammurabi's main rivals in the struggle for power in Mesopotamia, greatly facilitated the spread of Babylonian power to the northern regions. HAMMURABI
(reigned 1848-1806 BC, according to one of the chronology systems), the most famous of the kings of the First Babylonian Dynasty. In addition to the famous code of laws, many private and official letters, as well as business and legal documents, have survived. The inscriptions contain information about political events and military operations. From them we learn that in the seventh year of his reign, Hammurabi took Uruk and Issin from Rim-Sin, his main rival and ruler of the powerful city of Larsa. Between the eleventh and thirteenth years of his reign, Hammurabi's power was finally strengthened. Subsequently, he made campaigns of conquest to the east, west, north and south and defeated all opponents. As a result, by the fortieth year of his reign, he headed an empire that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the headwaters of the Euphrates. TUKULTI-NINURTA I
(reigned 1243-1207 BC), king of Assyria, conqueror of Babylon. Around 1350 BC Assyria was liberated from Mitanni by Ashuruballit and began to gain increasing political and military strength. Tukulti-Ninurta was the last of the kings (among whom are Ireba-Adad, Ashuruballit, Adadnerari I, Shalmaneser I), under whom the power of Assyria continued to increase. Tukulti-Ninurta defeated the Kassite ruler of Babylon, Kashtilash IV, subjugating the ancient center of Sumerian-Babylonian culture to Assyria for the first time. When attempting to capture Mitanni, a state located between the eastern mountains and the Upper Euphrates, it encountered opposition from the Hittites. TIGLATPALASAR I
(reigned 1112-1074 BC), an Assyrian king who tried to restore the power of the country that it had enjoyed during the reign of Tukulti-Ninurta and his predecessors. During his reign, the main threat to Assyria was the Arameans, who were invading the territories on the upper Euphrates. Tiglath-pileser also undertook several campaigns against the country of Nairi, located north of Assyria, in the vicinity of Lake Van. In the south, he defeated Babylon, the traditional rival of Assyria. ASSHURNASIRPAL II
(reigned 883-859 BC), an energetic and cruel king who restored the power of Assyria. He dealt devastating blows to the Aramean states located in the region between the Tigris and Euphrates. Ashurnasirpal became the next Assyrian king after Tiglath-pileser I, who reached the Mediterranean coast. Under him, the Assyrian Empire began to take shape. The conquered territories were divided into provinces, and those into smaller administrative units. Ashurnasirpal moved the capital from Ashur to the north, to Kalah (Nimrud). SHALMANESER III
(ruled 858-824 BC; 858 was considered the year of the beginning of his reign, although in reality he could have ascended the throne several days or months earlier than the new year. These days or months were considered the reign of his predecessor). Shalmaneser III, son of Ashurnasirpal II, continued the pacification of the Aramaic tribes to the west of Assyria, in particular the warlike Bit-Adini tribe. Using their captured capital Til-Barsib as a stronghold, Shalmaneser advanced west into northern Syria and Cilicia and attempted to conquer them several times. In 854 BC. At Karakar on the Orontes River, the combined forces of twelve leaders, among whom were Benhadad of Damascus and Ahab of Israel, repelled the attack of the troops of Shalmaneser III. The strengthening of the kingdom of Urartu to the north of Assyria, near Lake Van, did not make it possible to continue expansion in this direction. TIGLATPALASAR III
(reigned c. 745-727 BC), one of the greatest Assyrian kings and the true builder of the Assyrian Empire. He eliminated three obstacles that stood in the way of Assyrian dominance in the region. Firstly, he defeated Sarduri II and annexed most of the territory of Urartu; secondly, he proclaimed himself king of Babylon (under the name Pulu), subjugating the Aramaic leaders who actually ruled Babylon; finally, he decisively suppressed the resistance of the Syrian and Palestinian states and reduced most of them to the level of provinces or tributaries. He widely used the deportation of peoples as a method of control. SARGON II
(reigned 721-705 BC), king of Assyria. Although Sargon did not belong to the royal family, he became a worthy successor to the great Tiglath-pileser III (Shalmaneser V, his son, reigned very briefly, in 726-722 BC). The problems that Sargon had to solve were essentially the same ones that faced Tiglath-pileser: the strong Urartu in the north, the independent spirit that reigned in the Syrian states in the west, the reluctance of Aramaic Babylon to submit to the Assyrians. Sargon began to solve these problems with the capture of the capital of Urartu, Tushpa, in 714 BC. Then in 721 BC. he conquered the fortified Syrian city of Samaria and deported its population. In 717 BC he captured another Syrian outpost, Karchemish. In 709 BC, after a short stay in captivity of Marduk-apal-iddina, Sargon proclaimed himself king of Babylon. During the reign of Sargon II, the Cimmerians and Medes appeared on the arena of the history of the Middle East. SINACHERIB
(reigned 704-681 BC), son of Sargon II, king of Assyria, who destroyed Babylon. His military campaigns were aimed at the conquest of Syria and Palestine, as well as the conquest of Babylon. He was a contemporary of the Judah king Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah. He besieged Jerusalem, but could not take it. After several campaigns against Babylon and Elam, and most importantly, after the murder of one of his sons, whom he appointed ruler of Babylon, Sennacherib destroyed this city and took the statue of its main god Marduk to Assyria. ASARHADDON
(reigned 680-669 BC), son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria. He did not share his father's hatred of Babylon and restored the city and even the temple of Marduk. Esarhaddon's main act was the conquest of Egypt. In 671 BC. he defeated the Nubian pharaoh of Egypt, Taharqa, and destroyed Memphis. However, the main danger came from the northeast, where the Medes were strengthening, and the Cimmerians and Scythians could break through the territory of the weakening Urartu into Assyria. Esarhaddon was unable to contain this onslaught, which soon changed the entire face of the Middle East. ASSHURBANIPAL
(reigned 668-626 BC), son of Esarhaddon and the last great king of Assyria. Despite the successes of military campaigns against Egypt, Babylon and Elam, he was unable to resist the growing power of the Persian power. The entire northern border of the Assyrian Empire came under the rule of the Cimmerians, Medes and Persians. Perhaps Ashurbanipal's most significant contribution to history was the creation of a library in which he collected priceless documents from all periods of Mesopotamian history. In 614 BC. Ashur was captured and plundered by the Medes, and in 612 BC. The Medes and Babylonians destroyed Nineveh. NABOPALASAR
(reigned 625-605 BC), first king of the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) dynasty. In alliance with the Median king Cyaxares, he participated in the destruction of the Assyrian Empire. One of his main acts was the restoration of Babylonian temples and the cult of the main god of Babylon, Marduk. NEBUCHADNEZZOR II
(reigned 604-562 BC), second king of the Neo-Babylonian dynasty. He glorified himself with his victory over the Egyptians at the Battle of Karchemish (in the south of modern Turkey) in the last year of his father's reign. In 596 BC. captured Jerusalem and captured the Jewish king Hezekiah. In 586 BC recaptured Jerusalem and put an end to the existence of the independent Kingdom of Judah. Unlike the Assyrian kings, the rulers of the Neo-Babylonian Empire left few documents indicating political events and military enterprises. Their texts deal mainly with construction activities or glorify deities. NABONIDUS
(reigned 555-538 BC), last king of the Neo-Babylonian kingdom. Perhaps, to create an alliance against the Persians with the Aramaic tribes, he moved his capital to the Arabian desert, to Taima. He left his son Belshazzar to rule Babylon. Nabonidus's veneration of the lunar god Sin provoked opposition from the priests of Marduk in Babylon. In 538 BC Cyrus II occupied Babylon. Nabonidus surrendered to him in the city of Borsippa near Babylon.
MESOPOTAMIAN DEITIES AND MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES
ADAD, the god of storms, was known in Sumer as Ishkur; the Arameans called him Hadad. As a thunder deity, he was usually depicted with lightning in his hand. Since agriculture in Mesopotamia was irrigated, Adad, who controlled the rains and annual floods, occupied an important place in the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. He and his wife Shala were especially revered in Assyria. Temples of Adad existed in many major cities of Babylonia. ADAPA, the main character of the myth of human mortality. Adapa, a half-god, half-man, the creation of the god Ea, was once caught in a storm while fishing. His boat capsized and he ended up in the water. Angry, Adapa cursed the god of storms, causing the sea to be calm for seven days. To explain his behavior, he had to appear before the supreme god Anu, but with the help of Ea he was able to moderate his anger, enlisting the support of two divine intercessors, Tammuz and Gilgamesh. On the advice of Ea, Adapa refused the food and drink offered to him by Anu. Anu thus wanted to turn him completely into a deity and deprive Ea of such an amazing creation. From Adapa's refusal, Anu concluded that he was ultimately only a foolish mortal and sent him to earth, but decided that he would be protected from all diseases. ANU(M), Akkadian form of the name of the Sumerian god An, meaning "sky". The supreme deity of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. He is the “father of the gods”, his domain is the sky. According to the Babylonian creation hymn Enuma Elish, Anu came from Apsu (primordial fresh water) and Tiamat (sea). Although Anu was worshiped throughout Mesopotamia, he was especially revered in Uruk (the biblical Erech) and Dera. Anu's wife was the goddess Antu. His sacred number is 6. ASSHUR, the main god of Assyria, as Marduk is the main god of Babylonia. Ashur was the deity of the city that bore his name from ancient times, and was considered the main god of the Assyrian Empire. The temples of Ashur were called, in particular, E-shara ("House of Omnipotence") and E-hursag-gal-kurkura ("House of the Great Mountain of the Earth"). “Great Mountain” is one of Enlil’s epithets, passed on to Ashur when he became the main god of Assyria. DAGAN, a non-Mesopotamian deity by origin. Entered the pantheons of Babylonia and Assyria during the massive penetration of Western Semites into Mesopotamia ca. 2000 BC The main god of the city of Mari on the Middle Euphrates. In Sumer, the city of Puzrish-Dagan was named in his honor. The names of the kings of the north of Babylonia of the Issina dynasty Ishme-Dagan (“Dagan heard”) and Iddin-Dagan (“given by Dagan”) indicate the prevalence of his cult in Babylonia. One of the sons of the king of Assyria Shamshi-Adad (a contemporary of Hammurabi) was named Ishme-Dagan. This god was worshiped by the Philistines under the name Dagon. The Temple of Dagan was excavated at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) in Phenicia. Shala was considered Dagan's wife. EA, one of the three great Sumerian gods (the other two being Anu and Enlil). His original name was Enki (“lord of the earth”), but to avoid confusion with Enlil, whose domain was also the earth, he was called Ea (Sumerian “e” - “house”, and “e” - “water”) . Ea is closely related to Apsu, the personification of fresh water. Because of the importance of fresh water in Mesopotamian religious rituals, Ea was also considered the god of magic and wisdom. In Enuma Elish he is the creator of man. The cult of Ea and his wife Damkina flourished in Eridu, Ur, Lars, Uruk and Shuruppak. His sacred number is 40. ENLIL, together with Anu and Enki, is one of the gods of the main triad of the Sumerian pantheon. Initially, he is the god of storms (Sumerian "en" - "lord"; "lil" - "storm"). In Akkadian he was called Belom ("lord"). As the "lord of storms" he is closely connected with the mountains, and therefore with the earth. In Sumerian-Babylonian theology, the Universe was divided into four main parts - heaven, earth, waters and the underworld. The gods who ruled over them were Anu, Enlil, Ea and Nergal, respectively. Enlil and his wife Ninlil (“nin” - “lady”) were especially revered in the religious center of Sumer, Nippur. His sacred number is 50. ENMERCAR, the legendary king of Uruk and hero of Sumerian myth. Wanting to conquer the rich country of Aratta, he turned to the goddess Inanna for help. Following her advice, he sent a messenger to the ruler of this country, demanding his submission. The main part of the myth is devoted to the relationship between the two rulers. Aratta eventually gave Enmerkar treasures and gems for the temple of the goddess Inanna. ETANA, the legendary thirteenth king of the city of Kish. Having no heir to the throne, he tried to get the “herb of birth” that grew in heaven. Eta saved the eagle from a snake attacking him, and in gratitude the eagle offered to carry him on his back to the sky. The end of this myth is lost. GILGAMESH, the mythical ruler of the city of Uruk and one of the most popular heroes of Mesopotamian folklore, the son of the goddess Ninsun and a demon. His adventures are described in a long tale on twelve tablets; some of them, unfortunately, have not been completely preserved. The violent ruler of Uruk and the brutal creation of the goddess Aruru, Enkidu, created to oppose Gilgamesh, became his friend after succumbing to the charms of one of the Uruk harlots. Gilgamesh and Enkidu marched against the monster Humbaba, guardian of the cedar forest in the west, and defeated him with the help of the sun god Shamash. The goddess of love and war, Ishtar, was offended by Gilgamesh after he rejected her love claims, and asked her father, the supreme god Anu, to send a huge bull to kill two friends. Gilgamesh and Enkidu killed the bull, after which they began to mock Ishtar. As a result of the sacrilege, Enkidu died. Falling into despair over the loss of his friend, Gilgamesh went in search of the "secret of life." After long wanderings, he found a plant that restores life, but at the moment when Gilgamesh was distracted, he was kidnapped by a snake. The eleventh tablet tells the story of Utnapishtim, the Babylonian Noah. ISHTAR, goddess of love and war, the most significant goddess of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. Her Sumerian name is Inanna ("Lady of Heaven"). She is the sister of the Sun god Shamash and the daughter of the Moon god Sin. Identified with the planet Venus. Its symbol is a star in a circle. As a goddess of war, she was often depicted sitting on a lion. As the goddess of physical love, she was the patroness of temple harlots. She was also considered a merciful mother, interceding for people before the gods. Throughout the history of Mesopotamia, she was revered under different names in different cities. One of the main centers of the cult of Ishtar was Uruk. MARDUK, chief god of Babylon. The temple of Marduk was called E-sag-il. The temple tower, a ziggurat, served as the basis for the creation of the biblical legend of the Tower of Babel. It was actually called E-temen-an-ki ("House of the Foundation of Heaven and Earth"). Marduk was the god of the planet Jupiter and the main god of Babylon, and therefore he absorbed the signs and functions of other gods of the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon. In Neo-Babylonian times, in connection with the development of monotheistic ideas, other deities began to be seen as manifestations of various aspects of the “character” of Marduk. Marduk's wife is Tsarpanitu. NABU, god of the planet Mercury, son of Marduk and divine patron of scribes. Its symbol was the "style", a reed rod used to mark cuneiform marks on unfired clay tablets for writing texts. In Old Babylonian times it was known as Nabium; his veneration reached its highest point in the Neo-Babylonian (Chaldean) empire. The names Nabopolassar (Nabu-apla-ushur), Nebuchadnezzar (Nabu-kudurri-ushur) and Nabonidus (Nabu-na"id) contain the name of the god Nabu. The main city of his cult was Borsippa near Babylon, where his temple of E-zida (" House of Firmness"). His wife was the goddess Tashmetum. NERGAL, in the Sumerian-Akkadian pantheon, the god of the planet Mars and the underworld. The name Ne-iri-gal in Sumerian means “The Power of the Great Abode.” Nargal also took on the functions of Erra, originally the god of plague. According to Babylonian mythology, Nergal descended into the World of the Dead and took power over it from its queen Ereshkigal. The center of Nergal's cult was the city of Kuta near Kish. NINGIRSU, god of the Sumerian city of Lagash. Many of his attributes are the same as those of the common Sumerian god Ninurta. He appeared to the ruler of Lagash, Gudea, and ordered him to build a temple to E-ninnu. His consort is the goddess Baba (or Bau). NINHURSAG, mother goddess in Sumerian mythology, also known as Ninmah ("Great Lady") and Nintu ("Lady Who Gives Birth"). Under the name Ki ("Earth"), she was originally the consort of An ("Heaven"); from this divine couple all the gods were born. According to one myth, Ninmah helped Enki create the first man from clay. In another myth, she cursed Enki for eating the plants she created, but then repented and cured him of the diseases that resulted from the curse. NINURTA, Sumerian god of the hurricane, as well as war and hunting. His emblem is a scepter topped with two lion heads. The wife is the goddess Gula. As the god of war, he was highly revered in Assyria. His cult especially flourished in the city of Kalhu. SHAMASH, Sumerian-Akkadian sun god, his name means "sun" in Akkadian. The Sumerian name of the god is Utu. The symbol is a winged disk. Shamash is the source of light and life, but also the god of justice, whose rays highlight all the evil in man. On the stele of Hammurabi he is depicted conveying laws to the king. The main centers of the cult of Shamash and his wife Aya were Larsa and Sippar. His sacred number is 20. SIN, Sumerian-Akkadian deity of the Moon. Its symbol is a crescent. Since the Moon was associated with the measurement of time, he was known as the "Lord of the Month." Sin was considered the father of Shamash (the sun god) and Ishtar, also called Inanna or Ninsianna, the goddess of the planet Venus. The popularity of the god Sin throughout Mesopotamian history is evidenced by the large number of proper names of which his name is an element. The main center of the cult of Sin and his wife Ningal ("Great Lady") was the city of Ur. The sacred number of Sin is 30. TAMMUZ, Sumerian-Akkadian god of vegetation. His Sumerian name is Dumuzi-abzu ("True Son of Apsu") or Dumuzi, from which the Hebrew form of the name Tammuz is derived. The cult of Tammuz, worshiped under the West Semitic name Adonai ("My Lord") or under the Greek Adonis, was widespread in the Mediterranean. According to surviving myths, Tammuz died, descended into the World of the Dead, was resurrected and ascended to earth, and then ascended to heaven. During his absence the land remained barren and the herds died. Because of this god's closeness to the natural world, fields and animals, he was also called "The Shepherd."

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

The name “interfluve” refers to the confluence of two rivers in the Middle East - the Tigris and Euphrates. Let's consider how people lived on this earth thousands of years ago.

Ancient Mesopotamia

Historians divide this region into Upper and Lower Mesopotamia. Upper is the northern part of the region, where the state of Assyria was formed relatively recently. People lived in the Lower (southern) Mesopotamia long before people appeared to the north. It was here that the first cities of mankind emerged - Sumer and Akkad.

On the territory of this region, about 7 thousand years ago, the first states were formed - the namesake of the first two cities. Later, other city-states emerged - Ur, Uruk, Eshnuna, Sippar and others.

Rice. 1. Map of Mesopotamia.

Hundreds of years later, the cities of Lower Mesopotamia will be united under the rule of the strengthened Babylon, which will become the capital of Babylonia. Assyria appears to the north.

The ancient civilization of Mesopotamia was formed in parallel with the Egyptian one, but it has certain differences. Mesopotamia is a unique center for the emergence of agriculture, because it was not only located along rivers, but was also protected from the north by a chain of mountains, which provided a mild climate.

Culture of ancient Mesopotamia

A striking representative of the cultural heritage of Mesopotamia is the Sumerian people. No one knows how they appeared in this region, and most importantly, they have nothing in common with the Semitic peoples who inhabited it. Their language was not similar to any of the neighboring dialects and was similar to Indo-European speech. Their appearance also differed from the Semitic - the Sumerians had oval faces and large eyes.

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The Sumerians describe in their legends that they were created by the gods in order to serve them. According to legend, the gods arrived from another planet on Earth, and the process of human creation is described by the Sumerians in sufficient detail and is considered as the fruit of an experiment.

Rice. 2. Sumerian cities.

One way or another, the art of the Sumerians gave impetus to the development of the culture of other civilizations. The Sumerians had their own alphabet, a unique cuneiform writing system, their own set of laws and many technical inventions that were ahead of their time.

The history of the Sumerians represents a struggle between groups of people, each led by a king. The Sumerian settlements were fenced with stone walls; the population of the city reached 50 thousand people.

The crowning glory of the Sumerian cultural heritage is the agricultural almanac, which tells how to properly grow plants and plow the soil. The Sumerians knew how to use a potter's wheel and knew how to build houses. They did not hide the fact that everything they know and know was taught to them by the gods.

Rice. 3. Cuneiform.

Babylonia and Assyria

The Babylonian kingdom arose at the beginning of the second millennium BC, with the city itself arose on the site of the earlier Sumerian city of Kadingir. They were a Semitic people of the Amorites who adopted the early culture of the Sumerians but retained their language.

An iconic figure in the history of Babylon is King Hammurabi. Not only was he able to subjugate many neighboring cities, but he is also famous for his enormous work - the set of “Laws of Hammurabi”. These were the first laws, carved on a clay tablet, regulating relationships in society. According to historians, the concept of “presumption of innocence” was also introduced by this king.

The first mentions of Assyria date back to the 24th century BC. and existed for 2 thousand years. The Assyrians were quite a warlike people. They subjugated the kingdom of Israel and Cyprus. Their attempt to subjugate the Egyptians was unsuccessful, since 15 years after the conquest, Egypt nevertheless gained independence.