Western Civilizations) Ancient Near East) Mesopotamia

Lugal

"Big/Great Man" King in Sumer

Dilmun

"Home of the Dieties". Sumerian paradise, described as 'place where the sun rises' and 'land of the living', scene of creation myth.

Edubba

"Tablet House" Sumerian school that trained professional scribes in cuneiform script. Mostly wealthy mesopotamian boys attended this, the 1st school in history.

Satrap

"protector of the kingdom" Those who ruled the provinces of Persian empire.

Battle of Marathon

490 BC Darius I invaded and lost this battle to the Greek despite the Athenians being vastly outnumbered on the Plain of Marathon. After a second defeat at Athens, the Persians returned home and Athens won great prestige.

Ionian Revolt

499-493BC First phase of the Greco-Persian War. Greek rebellion against Persia that was initially successful, but subsequently quashed. Despite Darius the Great crushed the revolt, Athens, Eretria, and Sparta refused to submit.

Hammurabi

6th Ruler and former of the Old Babylonian dynasty who lived from 1792-1750 BC.

Phoenicia

1500 - 539 BC Ancient Semitic civilization situated on the East Mediterranean coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Phoenicia is a Classical Greek term used to refer to the major export of the region, cloth dyed Tyrian purple from the Murex mollusc. Their civilization was organized in politically independent city-states, similar to those of Ancient Greece, the most notable of which were Tyre, Sidon, Arvad, Berytus and Carthage. The Phoenicians were the first state-level society to make extensive use of alphabets: the Phoenician alphabet is in fact generally held to be one of the major ancestors of all modern alphabets. By their maritime trade, the Phoenicians spread the use of the alphabet to Anatolia, North Africa, and Europe, where it was adopted by the Greeks, who in turn transmitted it to the Romans.

Hittite Empire

1600-1178 BC (reached its height in 1400 BC) Centered in modern Turkey, but extended into Palestine and Syria. Conquered the Babylonian civilization, but adopted their religion and their system of laws. Overall, they extended tolerance toward other religions, unlike many other cultures, and absorbed foreign gods into their own belief systems rather than forcing their religion onto peoples they conquered. After reaching its peak ~1400, a war with Egypt weakened them severely and they were conquered by the Assyrians in 700 BC.

Old Babylonian Empire

1792-1600 BC First empire to rule Mesopotamia after Sumer. An Amorite dynasty of Babylonia comprising the short-lived first empire. Remained a small nation with very little territory until the reign of Hammurabi, who gradually expanded Babylonian dominance over the whole of southern Mesopotamia, giving stability and unity to the region. Later sacked by the Hittites and conquered by the Kassites.

Battle at Mycale

479 BC This battle saw decisive Greek victory and stalled the Persian expansion into Europe.

Battle of Thermopylae

480 BC Xerxes I won this battle and sacked Athens afterwards. It is during this battle that Leonidas of Sparta gave his life along with 300 others while Athens was evacuated.

Battle of Salamis

480 BC Greek victory over the larger Persian fleet near the island of Salamis during the Second Persian War. First major naval battle in recorded history.

Cuneiform

A form of writing developed by the Sumerians using a wedge shaped stylus and clay tablets.

Mesopotamia

A region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers ("Land Between the Rivers") that developed the first urban societies. In the Bronze Age this area included Sumer and the Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires, In the Iron Age, it was ruled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires. Region of great cities (e.g. Ur and Babylon) which was chronologically the first urban hearth, dating as far back as 3500 BCE, and founded in the Fertile Crescent. ~3100 BC - 539 BC

Assyrians

A warrior people who ruthlessly conquered neighboring countries; Their empire stretched from east to north of the Tigris River all the way to centeral Egypt; Used ladders, weapons like iron-tipped spears, daggers and swords, tunnels, and fearful military tactics to gain strength in their empire, which lasted less than 100 years. They had a king with absolute power.

Neo-Babylonians

AKA Chaldeans Assyrian successor Produced the hanging gardens. Previously ruled by the Neo-Assyrian empire and taken over by the Persians. The empire began with the rebellion of Babylonians against the Assyrians, conquered Judah, deported Jews to Babylon.

List of Empires/Kingdoms/Governments of Classical Antiquity

Achaemenid Assyria Seleucid Babylonia Parthian Babylonia Roman Mesopotamia Sasanian Asorestan

Ninlil

Air goddess who bore Nanna from Enlil's rape.

First Dynasty of Kish

Akkadians gained preeminence in Sumer.

Code of Ur-Nammu

An ancient Sumerian code of law recorded c. 2100-2050 BC by a king of the same name. Oldest extant law code known to history. Remarkably advanced, instituted fines of monetary compensation for bodily damage, as opposed to the lex talionis principle of Babylonian law; however, murder, robbery, adultery, and rape were capital offenses. Gives a glimpse of societal structure during the Third Dynasty of Ur, or "Sumerian Renaissance."

Arrapha

Ancient city in what today is northeastern Iraq, on the site of the modern city of Kirkuk. It began as a city of the Gutian people, became Hurrian, and was an Assyrian city during most of its occupation.

Code of Hammurabi

Ancient law containing 280 judgements, meting our harsh punishments and dealing mainly with civil, property, and commercial transactions. Credited as the first written law code; written by a Babylonian king and established the basis for law codes.

Diaspora

Any group migration or flight from a country or region. Refers to Jews scattered by Romans in 70 CE or to Africans spread to new places during the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Which Assyrian king established one of the ancient world's largest libraries?

Ashurbanipal

Arik-den-ili

Assyrian king who began the tradition of annual military campaigns against neighbors.

Enuma Elish

Babylonian creation epic written during Hammurabi's reign. It depicts the god Marduk creating the world from an original watery chaos by a process of separation and division. It takes its name form the opening phrase "when above." Honestly the Babylonian creation story is a "soap opera" of the Gods in which creation is an afterthought. Creation just happens, rather than in Genesis 1, creation is the whole point. Also within the Enuma Elish, there is a struggle over power between Marduk and the other Gods. However, in Genesis 1, God has the authority, it isn't derived from anywhere, he has it and it is not questioned. The idea of a pantheon of Gods within the Enuma Elish may have held an influence on the Hebrew Bible, as the Israelites may have been a monolatrous group.

Narbonidus

Babylonian king who supressed worship of Marduk in favor of the god Sin. The empire ended with his death and preceded Cyrus the Great's Persian Empire.

Marduk

Cheif god of the Old Babylonian Empire. Consort of goddess Sarpanit, Son of Enki and Damkina, heir of Anu. The chief god of Babylon, the storm God who defeated Tiamat within the Enuma Elish. Marduk is a significant character within the narrative of the Enuma Elish. The Babylonian creation story is a "soap opera" of the Gods in which creation is an afterthought. Creation just happens, rather than in Genesis 1, creation is the whole point. Also within the Enuma Elish, there is a struggle over power between Marduk and the other Gods. However, in Genesis 1, God has the authority, it isn't derived from anywhere, he has it and it is not questioned. The idea of a pantheon of Gods within the Enuma Elish may have held an influence on the Hebrew Bible, as the Israelites may have been a monolatrous group.

Ensi

City/Provencial governors in Sumer; associated with priesthood.

Elamites

Conquered Babylon in the 12th century ending Kassite reign. Captured the city of Ur in 2004 BC marking the end of Sumerian Culture and Political power in Mesopotamia.

The Fertile Crescent

Crescent-shaped region containing comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia, the Nile Valley and Nile Delta. (An arc of land that began between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and extended to the Mediterranean coast.)

Cyrus the Great

Cyrus I; founded the Persian Empire.

Darius the Great

Darius I, King of Persia; first to gain control over the Persian Empire after Cyrus the Great's death. Expanded the empire and invaded Greece but was defeated at the Battle of Marathon (550-486 BC).

Epic of Gilgamesh

Epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction (Written during Ur III). The story is of Gilgamesh (part human, part God) and his search for the tree of eternal life. Story: Gilgamesh is wildly promiscuous and so the gods create Erikidu in order to control him. That plan however backfires so they send a nymph to seduce him/tire him out. When Erikidu confronts Gilgamesh, they're unable to defeat one another so they become friends. Together, they destroy a sacred forest ran by Hambaba and in return Hambaba curses them and Erikidu is killed, thus begins Gilgamesh's search for the tree of eternal life.

The Death of Urnammu

Epic poem from Ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction (Written during Ur III). The story is of King Ur-Nammu's death and subsequent descent into the underworld. This poem, which is a fascinating blend of history, mythology, theology, and wisdom literature, elevated Ur-Nammu to legendary status as a great king who died for his people and ensured his immortality as it was recited for generations. His son Shulgi avenged his death by decimating the Gutians and driving the survivors completely from the region of Sumer.

Hurrians

Established the kingdom of Mitanni in the upper Tigris-Euphrates valley around 1500 B.C.E. which lasted for 100 years, until they were conquered by the Hittites, and all their kingdoms destroyed by 1300s. Were master ceramists and metallurgists. Oldest known instances of music (1400 BC) are Hurrian.

The Bassetki Statue

Famous Akkadian statue found in the 1960s cast from pure copper weighing ~330lbs. The base indicates it once stood in a palace of Naram-Sin. It was looted from the Iraq museum during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq but later returned.

Ishtar Gate

Famous entrance gate to the Palace of Sargon. Named after the god of love, fertility and war. The most important construction of the Neo-Babylonian period. Once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World, but was replaced by the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Gutians

Fierce barbarian mountaineers from Iran who took over Sumer and started a Dark Age there for a brief time.

Ashur-uballit I

First king of the Middle Assyrian Empire, responsible for achieving Assyria's independence from Mitanni. Moved capital west to Haran, before it was taken in 610. This king and Neko II counterattack to take back Haran but are crushed by Babylon.

Media

First satrapy (province) of the Persian Empire.

The principle crops of Sumer were...

Firstly wheat, and then a salt-resistant barley after the soil began to sustain high levels of salt.

Sargon of Akkad

Founder of Akkadian empire.

Kassites

From Iran, they invaded the Amorites (Old Babylonian Empire) establishing themselves as the new rulers for the next 300 years (longer than any other dynasty). 1600 on.

Enki

God of creation, water, knowledge, and male fertility. Patron god of Eridu.

Ninurta

God of hunting, agriculture, and war. Son of Enlil and Ninlil.

Utu

God of sun & justice. Son of Nanna and Ningal and twin of Innana.

Nanna / Sin

God of the moon who was borne from Enlil's first rape of Ninlil. Together with Ningal, he birthed Inanna. Patron god of Ur.

Inanna / Ishtar

Goddess of Love, war, fertility, etc. Most prominent female diety of ancient Mesopotamia. Worshipped as a goddess of love (very similar to aphrodite) and also as a war goddess for she was said to "stir confusion and chaos"..."speeding carnage and inciting the devastating flood, clothed in terrifying radiance". Daughter of Nanna and Ningal. Patron goddess of Uruk. Innana's symbol is an 8-pointed star or rosette.

Ningal

Goddess of Reeds. Together with Nanna, she birthed Inanna.

Leading factor in the fall of the Assyrian Empire.

Harsh Treatment of subjects.

Artaxerxes II

Longest-reigning Persian King (404 - 358 B.C.) Darius II's oldest son. Chosen as succesor. All the provinces banded together to attempt his overthrow; Persia kind of unstable after his death.

The first people to extensively use iron.

Hittites

Mitanni

Hurrian (Indo-Aryan) kingdom founded by Kirta which conquered Assur taking control of Assyria ~1500-1350BC. Gradually became most powerful nation of the near east between 1450-1350 BC. The earliest evidence of the Indo-Iranian language.

Shekel

Initially referred to a weight of barley (11 grams), then later metal shekels.

List of Empires/Kingdoms/Governments of the Middle Ages

Islamic Conquest Rashidun Caliphate Umayadd Caliphate Abbsasid Caliphate Hamdanids Buyid amirate of Iraq Marwanids Uqaylids Al-Mazeedi Ayyubids Seljuk Empire Zengids Ilkhanate Jalairid Sultanate Kara Koyunlu Aq Qoyunlu

The ancient Near East is considered one of the cradles of civilization because....

It was here that intensive year-round agriculture was first practiced, leading to the rise of the first dense urban settlements and the development of many familiar institutions of civilization, such as social stratification, centralized government and empires, organized religion and organized warfare. It also saw the creation of the first writing system and law codes, early advances that laid the foundations of astronomy and mathematics, and the invention of the wheel.

Ashurbanipal

Last great Assyrian monarch. Told people to bring back writings and collected about 20,000 cuniform tablets and made a huge library in Nineveh.

Tukulti-Ninurta I

Last strong Middle Assyrian king who won victories against the Hittites and Babylonians. Took name "King of Sumer and Akkad," kicking of Neo-Assyrian empire. Marched on & conquered Babylon. Set himself up as the king of Babylon thus becoming the first native Mesopotamian to rule there.

Nabopolassar

Led the Chaldeans to rebellious victory against the Assyrians, beginning the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

The Curse of Akkad

Literary work in Sumer that blamed climate change on the Gods. It explains how the empire created by the self-deified Sargon Akkad fell and the city of Akkad was destroyed. The myth was written hundreds of years after Naram-Sin's life, and is the poet's attempt to explain how the Gutians succeeded in conquering Sumer.

List of Empires/Kingdoms/Governments of Modern Iraq

Mandatory Iraq Kingdom of Iraq Republic (1958-68) Ba'athist rule (1968-2003) Occupation (2003-11) Recent history

Nergal

Mesopotamian God of Death. Birthed by Ninlil via Enlil's second rape.

Ki / Kishar

Mesopotamian Goddess Together with An, birthed Enlil. Meaning "whole-earth". Mother of Anu

Anu / Anshar

Mesopotamian Sky-god of Heaven who is cast as an authority figure and progenitor. His decisions are regarded as unalterable and is sometimes credited with the creation of the universe. Meaning "whole-heaven". Primordial God. Father of Anu

Neo-Babylonian Empire

Mesopotamian empire ruled by Nebuchadrezzar that was known for its hanging gardens, skill in mathematics and astronomy. Conquered by Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great in 539 BCE.

Enlil

Mesopotamian wind God (Lord of the Storm) who became leader of the Sumerian pantheon. He was banished from Dilmun for raping Ninlil who then bore Nanna. Patron god of Nippur.

Mesopotamia encompasses... (where)

Modern Iraq, southeast Turkey, southwest Iran, northeastern Syria and Kuwait.

Ninhursag

Mother Goddess of fertility and consort of Enki.

Sumerian class system

NOBLES Commoners clients (rich temple employees and workers for nobility) s l a v e s

Philistines

One of the Sea Peoples. A powerful nation that invaded Canaan from the sea and became the most hated enemies of Israel and was eventually defeated by the Hebrews. Their likeness is often used to call someone ignorant or belligerent as they were reputed to be barbaric and indifferent to art or culture.

Sea Peoples

Peoples responsible for invading and destroying the Egyptian and Hittite kingdoms in the 13th century (3rd Int.).

SHORT description of Sumerian religion

Polytheistic and anthropomorphic in nature.

Zoroastrianism

Preeminent religion in Persia. One of the first monotheistic religions, particularly one with a wide following. Emphasized a universal struggle between good and evil which was reflected by it s worship of the good Ahura Mazda who battled the dark Ahriman. Believed in Heaven, Hell, and Last Judgement.

Nammu / Tiamat

Primordial goddess of the sea who birthed An and Ki.

Ereshkigal / Kigal / Irkalla

Queen of the Underworld.

Nebuchadnezzar II

Responsible for the Hanging Gardens and Ishtar Gate. Also responsible for the Babylonian captivity of the Jews.

List of Empires/Kingdoms/Governments of the Early Modern Period

Safavids Ottoman Iraq Mamluk dynasty

Enheduanna

Sargon of Akkad's daughter, who became the first known poet. Exaltation of Innana In-nin sa-gur-ra Temple Hymns

Phoenicians

Sea-faring people located on eastern Mediterranean coast; Sidon, Tyre, Carthage, Arwad, and Byblos. Invented the alphabet which used sounds rather than symbols like cuneiform. Name comes from word meaning purple, referring to a dye that they traded.

Eridu

Settled in Sumer (present day Iraq), Eridu is one of the earliest cities and is famous for its Mesopotamian temples.

Artaxerxes I

Son of Xerxes who took over his father's assassination. He was manipulated by mother and was weak, but nonetheless one of the last powerful Achaemenid kings. Moved capital to Babylon.

List of Empires/Kingdoms/Governments of Ancient Mesopotamia

Sumer Assyria Akkadian Empire Babylonia Neo-Assyrian Empire Neo-Babylonian Empire Median Kingdom

What is the oldest discovered form of coherent writing?

Sumerian Cuneiform script from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC.

Utnapishtim

Sumerian hero of the flood

Ten Lost Tribes

Ten of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel that were said to have been deported from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire circa 722 BC, and then exiled in 587 BC, eventually all but vanishing from history.

What was the most important Sumerian industry?

Textiles

"The Cradle of Civiliazation", AKA...

The Fertile Crescent (crescent-shaped region containing comparatively fertile land of otherwise arid area.)

Achaemenid Empire

The Persian Empire established by Cyrus the Great in 539 BC.

Sumerians are also credited with the development of...

The arch. The dome. The wheel.

The history of the ancient Near East begins with and carries on until...

The history of the ancient Near East begins with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, and the date it ends varies: the term covers the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the region until either the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC or that by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.

Early Dynastic Period

The period beginning with recorded Sumerian history, at which time the Sumerians reached a high point of cultural development as independent city-states, and ending with Sargon's conquest.

Sumer

The world's first urban civilization, founded in southern Mesopotamia during the Copper/Bronze Age, which existed for over 3,000 years.

The "Sumerian Renaissance" refers to...

Third Dynasty of Ur AKA Neo-Sumerian Empire, in which the Sumerian language was revived for use in official documents, though the Akkadian language still remained commonly spoken.

Standard of Ur

This site suggests human sacrifice and contains beautiful artifacts. Approximately 4,500 years old and was probably constructed in the form of a hollow wooden box with scenes of war and peace represented on each side through elaborately inlaid mosaics. Although interpreted as a standard by its discoverer, its original purpose remains enigmatic. It was found in a royal tomb in Ur in the 1920s next to the skeleton of a ritually sacrificed man who may have been its bearer. It is now on display, in a reconstructed form, in the British Museum in London.

Eridu, Uruk, and Ur

Three of the oldest settlements; all located in Sumer.

Royal Tombs of Ur

Tomb which suggests human sacrifice and contains beautiful artifacts, such as the Standard of Ur.

Capital of Sumer

Uruk under Sumerians- Akkad under Akkadians- Uruk again- then Ur.

Hanging Gardens

Ziggurat built for Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II's Median wife.

Phoenician Alphabet

c. 1200-150BC

Third Dynasty of Ur

c. 2112 - 2004 BC AKA Neo-Sumerian Empire This dynasty arose after Ur-Nammu conquered the Gutians. The city of Ur attained control of Mesopotamia after the Akkadian empire had been weakened by foreign invasions. They ruled for about 100 years before Mesopotamia fell into a period of chaos during which no single dynasty controlled the entire region (c. 2000-1900 BC). By the time unity was restored the Sumerians had lost their identity as a distinct group.

Gutian Period

c. 2154 - 2112 BC The Gutian dynasty came to power in Mesopotamia in the late 3rd millennium BC, displacing the "Sargonic" dynasty of the Akkadian Empire. It ruled for roughly one century and ended with the accession of Ur-Nammu, founder of the "Neo-Sumerian" Third Dynasty of Ur.

Akkadian Period

c. 2350 - 2150 BC The period in which Sumer was under Akkadian rule and the Akkadian language began to supersede the Sumerian language. Major city: Akkad.