Brief history of Mesopotamia

Many ancient civilizations flourished around waterways. The name Mesopotamia indicates the land enclosed between two rivers: which are they?

The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia have inspired artists, writers, filmmakers and video game producers from all over the world.

In the land crossed by two rivers, advanced and innovative civilizations have followed one another which have influenced the history of the whole world, in particular in the Near East and the Mediterranean.

Mesopotamia: historical notes

The toponym Mesopotamia comes from the Greek: “mesos” in the middle, “potamos” rivers, hence the meaning of “land in the middle of the rivers”.

Geography

The rivers in question are the Tigris and the Euphrates which give fertility to the territory protected to the north-east by the Zagros mountain range.

The north of Mesopotamia was crossed by desert, while the south is characterized by a more humid climate with marshy and muddy areas.

The major cities, Babylon, Nineveh, Calah, Arbel and Ashur, capital of the Assyrian Empire, developed in the eastern part of the Tigris River.

The western part, combined with the other great river, the Euphrates, had less water available. Uruk developed here, an ancient Sumerian city that later became Babylonian, founded in 4000 BC. and cultural and religious center. The adventures of the god Gilgamesh, an epic poem written in Sumerian cuneiform characters, are set in Uruk.

Governments

Ancient Mesopotamia was inhabited by different peoples and different but similar civilizations who followed each other or lived simultaneously between 3500 BC. and 500 BC. until the Persian conquest.

Each culture was ruled by kings, emperors and a series of rulers belonging to the same family, the dynasties. From the first city-states, we move on to the proto-dynastic period of the Sumerians (2900-2350 BC) characterized by the Kish dynasty, Uruk dynasty and Ur dynasty, Lagash dynasty depending on which city became predominant.

The transfer of power generally did not occur peacefully, even within the same dynasty the rivalry was bitter, if not brutal. A series of invasions and rebellions were often the only way to gain power.

The Sumerians were the oldest Mesopotamian civilization and one of the oldest in the region. The end of their reign was a consequence of the invasion of the Akkadians led by King Sargon around 2300 BC.

The Sumerians were still able to maintain their lifestyle and culture, but the influence of the new population was such that they also adopted its language, effectively becoming bilingual.

The Sumerian language was eventually totally absorbed and by 2000 B.C. the Akkadian language became the only language used in the region.

The Akkadians were succeeded by the Babylonians who, under the leadership of King Hammurabi, created the most complete legal text in the world. The Code of Hammurabi testifies to the complex political organization of the Babylonian period, around 1700 BC.

The economy of Mesopotamia

In the Zagros Mountains it was possible to practice agriculture without much difficulty, but in the southern lands, it was necessary to find a system for irrigating the arid areas.

After having learned to manage the waters of the territory, the Akkadians managed to develop a flourishing agriculture and market their products with nearby populations.

Since it did not employ free labor, the company was encouraged to invent tools that facilitated field work: hence the plow was born with which to plant onions, tulips and above all the wheat that they selected and spread through trade.

The possibility of selecting plants and growing the necessary food, instead of gathering it or hunting, led to a sedentary lifestyle, the birth of cities and forms of government that stimulated research and knowledge.

Religion occupied a central role in the daily life of Mesopotamian peoples, for several reasons. In fact, the temple also had financial functions.

A credit system was already adopted by the Sumerians, but it was the Babylonians who adopted it on a large scale. The Babylonians or Ammur succeeded the Akkadians by conquering them in 2000 under the leadership of King Hammurabi.

The empire conquered from the Sumerians by the Akkadians was divided into two parts: the Assyrians remained in the northern region, founding the Assyrian Empire, and the Babylonians established the empire in the southern area. Both empires spoke the same language and had trade relations.

The coexistence between the two civilizations was not always peaceful: moments of tension could lead to wars which were resolved with the mediation of neutral cities.

Religion in Mesopotamia

The polytheistic religion was linked to deities of the sun, wind and earth. During the Babylonian period, the gods of different regions were unified and a hierarchy was established.

An, for example, was the name given to the supreme god, the personification of the heavens, while the goddess Ki represented the earth.

From the gods we soon moved on to questions about the existence of human life, then to philosophy. As Mesopotamian civilizations evolved, the relationship with the gods became more personal and religion more fragmented.

Myths and legends of Mesopotamia

As in other ancient societies, the myths and legends of Mesopotamian cultures revolved around the gods, but also valiant men such as Gilgamesh, king of Uruk. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem written 1500 years before Homer wrote the Iliad!

thanks to the work of the scribes these myths were passed down from generation to generation. The cuneiform writing invented in Mesopotamia was not only used to administer the region!

Immortality was one of the recurring themes in mythology. Gilgamesh leaves the kingdom in search of immortality. Research will be the true meaning of his life.

Adapa, who had offended the gods, had been invited to a banquet by the deities, but had been careful not to consume the food to avoid the trap of immortality.

Atrahasis had been warned by the gods that there would be a great flood. For this reason he followed their advice and built a ship with which he saved himself. It’s a known story, right?

Ishtar was the goddess of fertility and war. His descent into the underworld and his reappearance at certain times of the year justified the transition from winter to spring. This myth is also quite well known!

Mesopotamian mythology is full of stories that were absorbed by neighboring peoples such as the Jews or from the shores of the Mediterranean, such as the Greeks or the Egyptians.

Mesopotamian society

Among the Sumerians, women occupied the role of priestesses, could have property, received education and were engaged in trade.

With military needs, due to continuous wars, women lost this condition of equality and with it education and the possibility of working.

The societal structure of Mesopotamia became patriarchal.

How was society organized in Mayan times?

Assyrian kings loved hunting and played an ancient version of polo, riding on the shoulders of other men rather than horses.

Common people loved board games especially backgammon or tric-trac.

For those who were particularly energetic there was a game similar to rugby. Singing and music occupied a central role in Mesopotamian civilizations.

Many songs were handed down from generation to generation, becoming stories of oral tradition.

Musical instruments such as the lute, the drums and other types of percussion were particularly developed also thanks to the first musical notation systems created by the Sumerians around 2000 BC.

The innovations of Mesopotamian cultures

From a technological point of view, Mesopotamian cultures were very advanced: irrigation systems, reclamation of marshy areas, invention of the plow, selection of plants.

According to some scholars, the Babylonians were the first inventors of the pumps which are attributed to Archimedes. With this system the famous hanging gardens of Babylon were possible 350 years ahead of the Greek mathematician.

The use of tablets to record cuneiform writing is another great invention of the Mesopotamian peoples.

The multi-millennial duration of the Mesopotamian civilization made the people who gave it life essential in humanity’s transition from the Bronze Age to the Metal Age to antiquity, thanks to crucial inventions such as agriculture and writing.

In case you were wondering, the Mesopotamian people invented the wheel, one of the most revolutionary technologies in the history of mankind!

The legacy of Mesopotamia

The Mesopotamian numerical system was based on the value 60, the same one used to calculate minutes, seconds and hours. It is also the basis for calculating the degrees of the circle. We also took the seven-day week from the Mesopotamian civilizations.

Cuneiform writing was invented to transcribe the language of the Sumerians, leaving behind a complete system of transcription

Babylonian astronomers were devoted to mathematics and had great skill in predicting eclipses and other celestial events which helped plan religious rituals.

Other contributions of the Mesopotamian civilizations occurred in the medical field, with the first autopsies, diagnoses and medical prescriptions.

Logic and rationality permeated every area of ​​life in Mesopotamia, which is why it is defined as the cradle of civilization.

Also discover the Inca and Aztec civilizations!