Ancient Civilisations
In the Sumarian universe the primeval sea (abzu) existed before anything else and within that, the heaven (an) and the earth (ki) formed. An, god of heaven, was possibly the chief god before 2500 BC., although his importance waned over time. Ki is likely to be the original name of the earth goddess. It is also likely that they were the parents of most of the gods. The earth was a flat disk and the boundary between heaven and earth was a solid vault within which existed 'lil', or atmosphere, with bright parts being the stars, planets, sun, and moon.
Some events, customs and characters from the ancient world.
It appears that the first families to walk out of Africa headed to Australia around 60,000 years ago. Around 12,000 years ago the second wave set off to inhabit Asia, Europe and the Americas. Early evidence of civilisations start a mere two to three thousand years after that. Who knows what may change in the future as excavations and analysis uncover more detail. No doubt archaeologists will continue to propose new theories as we try to understand the history of mankind. More similarities appear to evolve each year and the supposition that our particular culture is unique erodes for those who are willing to see. Fear of anything new undermining our security often leads to irrational denial and a return to more simplistic doctrines which evolved centuries ago. This is discussed elsewhere, but here are some details of just a few civilisations and a few items I have come across that are either of interest to me or indicate the closeness of our evolution as states. This is an evolving topic and as my studies continue I will add or alter.
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia was the area around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Assyria, was northern Mesopotamia, and Sumer the southern delta region, Akkad was a region north of Sumer and included the ancient city of Babylon.
Sumer may be one of the earliest civilization in the world. It began as a collection of farming villages around 5000 BCE. Sumerian's religion, society and writing (cuneiform being the first) influenced both neighbours and conquerors. Sargon of Agade (2371-16 BCE) united Sumer and Akkad but this empire fell with his descendants. One of the legends of Sargon the Great, who belonged to a Semite tribe and who predated Moses by a thousand years, tells how his mother cast him adrift in a 'basket lined with pitch to make it water-tight, and setting the babe within, entrusted him to the current of the Euphrates. The babe was found by Akki, a peasant drawing water from the river to irrigate his fields. By him, Sargon was cared for and brought up as a gardener's lad. Here he was seen by Ishtar, the goddess of love, who devoted herself to the handsome youth, and enabled him to win his kingship.' Sumer rose again under the city-state Ur, but collapsed under the Amorites around 2000 BCE. They established many sub- kingdoms including Assyria and Babylon. Assyria dominated the region under Shamshi-Adad (1813-1781 BCE), but lost control to Babylon under Hammurapi (1792-50 BCE) who laid down what was once thought to be the first written law codes. The first Babylonian dynasty began in 1894 BCE, and collapsed in 1595 BCE under attacks from the Hittites. Assyria re- asserted its independence in the mid 14th century BCE, but within two hundred years it lost control of Babylon and the south. It began to expand until its apex between 750 and 650 BCE ,collapsed from invaders from Babylon in 612 BCE and finally dying in 605 BCE. Babylon expanded west, taking Jerusalem in 586 BCE. Babylon fell in the mid 540's to Cyrus the Great .
Biblical
characters are believed to have lived in this area:- 'The
Garden of Eden', about twenty-five miles northeast of Eridu, at present Mughair.
Noah lived in Fara, 100
miles southeast of Babylon (from Bab-ili, meaning "Gate of God"). Abraham
came from
Ur of the Chaldees, a great and famous Sumerian city just north of the claimed
Garden of Eden
9000-5000
Cultivation
began around 9,000 B.C. and the oldest known settlement of mud houses at Jarmo
dates from 7,000 BCE Migration from the north and trade begins.
5000-3500
Ubaidians
have the first division of labour, mud brick villages, the first religious
shrines and around 4,000 BCE Semitic tribes from Syria and Arabian peninsula
invade southern Mesopotamia, intermingle with population
Sumerians
3500-1900
Settle on the banks of the Euphrates, ziggurats constructed, Kings arise, Pictographs developed to keep records then Cuneiform.
Gilgamesh
was king of Uruk in Babylonia
about 2700 BCE. The Epic of Gilgamesh, which is the oldest story in history, is
a collection of old tales about the king, the search for immortality and
includes the great flood. The gods
gave him a partner Enkidu for his adventures. When they meet they battle and
then "They kissed each other and became friends' but Ekidnu is later killed
by the gods as punishment for the death of the Bull of Heaven. Gilgamesh falls
into despair at the death of Enkidu ,and ends up meeting a wise and ancient man who had survived a
great flood by building an ark.
The full text can be found at http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/mesopotamian/gilgamesh/
Hittites 1750-1200
Around
the eighteenth Century BC the Indo European kingdom of Hatti (around modern
Turkey) became the leading power in the Middle East. As it expanded it respected
and absorbed the gods of all conquered lands and became known as the land of a
thousand gods.
The
plague carried off vast numbers of the population including two kings. It was
the Httites who negotiated the first known peace treaty with Ramses II
shownright is the Hittite copy and the Egyptian copy inscribed on a wall at
Thebes. A copy of the Hittite version sites in the United Nations.
Babylonians and Assyrians 1900-500
Assyria
is a more fertile area than the parched area of Babylon to the south.
Assyrians used two languages: Ancient Assyrian (Akkadian) written with the
cuneiform writing, on clay tablets. Aramaic, written on Parchment, papyrus
and hide, supplanted Ancient Assyrian and was made the second official
language in 752 B.C. Aramaic remained infused with Akkadian words, and is
now called Assyrian Aramaic.
Sargon of Akkad was the first king of the city state in 2371 B.C. In 1813 B.C. Shamshi-Adad united the three cities of Ashur, Nineveh and Arbel into one. Around 1472 B.C. a Mittanian king annexed Assyria, for about 70 years. but thrown off about 1365 B.C. by Ashuruballit, who laid the foundation of the first Assyrian empire. The Middle Assyrian empire began in 1307 B.C. with Tiglath-Pileser, who expanded his territory. Tiglath-Pileser was also a sportsman, going dolphin hunting and establishing zoos. This was followed by decline and re-emergence in 934 B.C. and expansion into Egypt, Cyprus and to the Caspian around 745 – 727 B.C.
They brought the highest civilization to the then known world. They developed locks and keys, the sexagesimal system of keeping time, paved roads, the first postal system, the first use of iron, the first magnifying glasses, the first libraries, the first plumbing and flush toilets, the first electric batteries, the first guitars, the first aqueducts, the first arch, the idea of dividing the land into territories administered by local governors who report to the central authority, the King of Assyria.
The Assyrian empire collapsed in 612 B.C.
Nebuchadnezzar was the name of two Babylonian kings, but it is the 2nd king of the Babylonian Empire (605–562 B.C.), who is known for the conquest of Jerusalem, the hanging gardens and for rebuilding Babylon. He is mentioned first as commander of an army during the late reign of his father Nabopolassar (607 B.C. In 605 BCE). He defeated the Egyptians and conquered what is Syria-Palestine and took Jewish hostages on the way, including the biblical Daniel. At the death of his father he returned home to take the throne. He was the most important Chaldean king.
The Semites
Ancient Semites are broken into the Eastern group of the Assyrians and Babylonians, who lived around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the South Western Semites of Arabia and Ethiopia while the North Western Semites of the Levant or Palestine, Syria, Israel and Lebanon, referred to as Canaan. In Hebrew cana'ani meant merchant, and in Akkadian kinahhu, is the red-colored wool of the region which led to the Greeks calling them Phoenicians from. a word meaning red or purple. The Romans changed the Greek phoinix to poenus, which became 'Punic'. However pre-1200 or 1000 B.C.E. Levantines are generally called Canaanites and their descendants of the iron age as Phoenicians.
Persian Empire
It is not known where the Persians originated but around 1400 B.C., Aryan tribesmen emerged from north of the Black Sea and the Caspian and gradually moved towards the Persian Gulf. Mixed with the blood of the Monguls, Scythians and Medes, what began as a few hundred eventually grew and conquered the known world of the Assyrian empire and beyond.
They were a frontier people, and having no culture of their own, they borrowed from Assyria, Elam, Urartu and perhaps Egypt. They lived in fortified huts or in castles built on high plateaux. Princes had absolute power, but with no slavery each had a role to play.
The
Assyrians destroyed the Kingdom of Elam, and when they departed the Persians
under prince Teispes (675-640) captured Anshan and called himself "King of
the City of Anshan." Teispes
extended the Kingdom and on his death divided it into two parts, giving the
northern part to his son Ariaramnes and the southern part to his son Cyrus.
Ariaramnes was the first to call himself "King of Kings," but vanishes
and Cyrus rules. He is followed by his son Cambyses, who has a son called Kurush,
known as Cyrus the Great who captured Sardis and Babylon. He was so handsome
that long after his death he represented an ideal of physical beauty. Many just
a noble actions of his changed the course of history and so began the Persian
Empire
Cyrus The Great Darius The Great
559
- 530 BC: Cyrus the Great overthrows Astyages of
Media, Conquers Lydia and Babylonia.
530 - 522 BC: Cambyses conquers Egypt.
522 - 521 BC: Civil War
521 - 485 BC: Darius organises Satrapies, builds roads, rules beyond the Indus River and wars with the Greeks
485 - 465 BC: Xerxes Makes a second attempt to conquer the mainland Greeks.
465 - 424 BC: Artaxerxes I Longimanus
424 - 404 BC: Xerxes II
404 - 358 BC: Artaxerxes II Mnemon
358 - 338 BC: Artaxerxes III Ochus
336 - 330 BC: Darius II Codomannus
330 BC: Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire
Some of my relevant books not listed elsewhere.
"History begins at Sumer" Samuel Noah Kramer
"Babylon (Ancient Peoples and Places)" Joan Oates
"Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East" Nicholas Roaf
Updated
November 14, 2006
