The cradle of civilization is Mesopotamia, beautiful and mysterious! How many secrets are kept in the sands of time? They still have to be solved and maybe many questions will finally be answered!
Mesopotamia - the cradle of civilization
In the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates, Mesopotamia is located - one of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. Dated to the third millennium BC. up to 539 BC Today, this territory contains Iraq and the northeastern part of modern Syria. History indicates that at different times the kingdoms were located here: Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia and Assyria. The emergence of civilization in Mesopotamia falls on the Early Bronze Age (Uruk Age). It is also called the Le Havre period. The onset of the Uruk era is the beginning of the Bronze Age. Such crafts as pottery, weaving and woodworking are actively developing. Construction is underway and trade is developing. During this period, the first social stratification occurs. The development of temples and governing structures also implies the emergence of appropriate specialists - priests and bureaucrats. Wealth is concentrated in their hands, thus forming a "ruling class." The first states of Mesopotamia were formed at the beginning of the 3rd millennium BC. in the form of nomes (autonomous regions). These include the largest nomes, such as Uruk, Ur, Kish, Lagash. In the second half of the 3rd millennium BC. Akkad (24 - 22 century BC) and the Ur dynasty (22 - 21 century BC) appear, representing the first civilized states. The beginning of the 1st millennium BC The Assyrian kingdom during this period occupies a leading position in the processing of iron. With the beginning of the Iron Age, Assyria resumed its policy of conquest. But constant military campaigns greatly drain the country. The reformer Tiglapalasar the third creates a powerful army, with the help of which he turns Assyria into a world power. Assyria establishes dominance over the entire Middle East part of the civilized world. Mesopotamia, part of the Eastern Mediterranean and Media are under her rule. Under the rule of Sargon the second, Assyria conquers Palestine and the state of Urartu. The ruler Esarhaddon conquers Ancient Egypt, and Elam was defeated under Ashurbanipal. Only the reunification and agreement of the common enemies of Assyria, primarily the Medes and Babylonians, as well as the internal Assyrian differences, were able to contribute to the victory over the great world power. The cities of the mighty country were destroyed to the ground, and the lands became part of the kingdom of Media. By the beginning of the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. (Middle Bronze Age) in southern Mesopotamia was dominated by the kingdom of Isin.
In the second half of the 2nd millennium BC. conflicts are unleashed between the states of Isin, Larsa, Eshnunna, Mari and others. Under the onslaught of the Amorites, the kingdom of Isin soon fell. Subsequently, the Amorites established authority over the entire area of Sumer. The state of King Hammurabi (Babylon) and the states of Assyria (Ashur and Shamshi-Adad) play a dominant role. In addition to them, the population of Northern Mesopotamia - the Hurrians - plays a significant role. They organize their own large state of Khanigalbat. Soon Hanigalbat was captured by the Indo-Aryan barbarians "umman-manda", under whose rule this state became known as Mitanni, and turned into one of the most powerful powers of the Ancient Near East. Later, the weakening of the position of the state of Khanigalbat made it possible for the city of Ashur to gain independence. Subsequently, Ashur, will seize part of the Mitanni possessions. Now the city-state has become the kingdom of Assyria, annexing the remaining lands of Mitanni. Second half of the 2nd millennium BC characterized by the coexistence of two great powers - Babylonia and Assyria. But in the end, the crisis of the Bronze Age led these states to decline. The Assyrian state was the first to emerge from this crisis, overcoming it. Assyria began to develop iron, and resumed a policy of conquest. As a result, in the history of mankind, an "empire" of the world was formed - the Great Assyrian Power. The leading role passed to the new great power of Mesopotamia, to the New Babylonian state. These events date back to the 7-6th centuries BC. Babylon became the largest city in the Middle East and was named Babylon the Great. After a short hegemony of the Primorsky kingdom, southern Mesopotamia was captured by the Kassites. They founded the kingdom of the Kardunias. The Kassites are returning to Babylonia the lost status of a great power. The destruction of the Primorsky kingdom was the beginning of a new "Amarna world order". But at the end of the 8th century BC. Kardunias fell into decay and fell into the hands of the Elamites.
Akkadian kingdom
The existence of the kingdom dates back to the 14-12th centuries BC. The capital is the city of Akkad. This is an ancient area in part of Mesopotamia, now the territory of modern Iraq. The Akkadian kingdom occupied the middle part of the interfluve of the Tigris and Euphrates (north of Lower Mesopotamia and the valley of the Diyala river). The state arose as a result of the conquests of the ruler Sargon the Ancient. He united the lands of the Sumerians and the Eastern Semites. The Akkadian kingdom reached its highest power during the reign of Naram-Suena, the grandson of Sargon the Ancient. By the end of the 23rd century BC. The Akkadian state fell into decay. As a result, during the attacks of the hill tribes on the lands of the kingdom, the territory of Akkad came under their rule. The peoples of the Ancient Near East consider the Akkadian state the founder of the foundations of the state system for the subsequent great powers of Mesopotamia. The Akkadian state at that time was the standard of the ancient monarchy. There is not much information about the Akkadian kingdom in historical sources. The first scientific expedition to Mesopotamia was undertaken in the 18th century by the German-Danish scientist K. Niebuhr, but Assyriology as a science did not exist until the 19th century. This was hampered by the lack of skills in reading cuneiform sources. Only in 1802, the scientist Grotefend took the first steps in deciphering cuneiform. Deciphering the cuneiform sources made it possible to identify the title "King of Sumer and Akkad", which the Mesopotamian rulers often called themselves.
Kingdom of Mitanni
The ancient state of Mitanni or Hanigalbat (17-18 centuries BC) is located on the territory of Northern Mesopotamia and adjacent regions. The population of Mitanni consisted of Hurrians and Semites, the official languages being Hurrian and Akkadian. The capital of the state Vashshukanni (Khoshkani) was located on the Khabur River. There is an assumption that this city stood on the site of the modern city of Serekani in Syria. The first king of Mitani was a king named Shuttarna the first. After him, King Parratarna ruled. But the most powerful king is Sausattar or Sausadadattar. This king bore the title of "King of Maitani, the king of the Hurri warriors." He managed to establish power over Ashur. And although Ashur did not eventually become part of the Mitanni kingdom, the Mitanni embassy was located there. The Mitannian ambassador took part in the work of the council of elders of Ashur and bore, along with others, the title of one-year eponym-limmu. Little is known about the internal political and social structure of the Mitanni. But from what we managed to find, one thing is known, it was not a monolithic empire, but a loose alliance of nomes (regions), which united around the Mitannian capital Vashshukanni and paid tribute to the king. They also pledged to help him in military campaigns, providing their soldiers.
Babylonian kingdom
In the south of Mesopotamia (the territory of modern Iraq), between the Tigris and the Euphrates, the ancient kingdom of Babylonia or the Kingdom of Babylon was formed, which arose at the beginning of the second millennium BC. e. and lost its independence in 539 BC. e. The capital of the kingdom was the city of Babylon. The Semitic people of the Amorites, the founders of Babylonia, inherited the culture of the previous kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad. The state language of Babylonia was the written Semitic Akkadian language. Babylon arose on the site of the ancient Sumerian city of Kadingir. Translated from the Sumerian language "The Gate of God". The first written mention of Babylon is contained in the record of the Akkadian king Sharkalisharri, who ruled from 2200 to 2176 BC. The heyday of Babylon falls on the period of the greatest heyday of the New Babylonian kingdom (626-538 BC) under King Nebuchadnezzar II (604-561 BC). New rich architectural structures and powerful defensive structures appear in Babylon. Successful wars are being waged with Egypt. The last ruler of the Nabonidus era, faced with the growth of the power of the Persian kingdom of the Achaemenids, did not hold on to his position. As a result, Babylon was conquered by the Persian king Cyrus the second. In 539, the Babylonian era ceased to exist.
