MESOPOTAMIA: HISTORY, LOCATION, ECONOMY, RELIGION, CULTURE - HISTORY - 2025

Mesopotamia is the name given to the area of ​​the Middle East located between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. In fact, the word itself means "between two rivers." This region has great historical importance, since it was there that agriculture began to be practiced, the first cities were founded and the first civilizations appeared.

Historians point out that the civilization in Mesopotamia appeared around the year 5000 BC, although some authors argue that it was in 3500 BC Its territory can be divided into two different regions: Upper Mesopotamia, inhabited by the Assyrians, and Lower Mesopotamia, where they resided. Sumerians and Chaldeans.

Mesopotamia in 1200 BC. C. - Source: FDRMRZUSA

The history of Mesopotamia was full of wars between different civilizations that caused the rise and fall of the empires that were created. The latest invasion, carried out by the Persians, is used by historians to signal the decline of the peoples in the area.

In addition to being the place of origin of civilization, in Mesopotamia numerous innovations appeared, both technical and political. Among the most prominent are the wheel, the irrigation system, the first compendiums of laws or writing.

Origin and history

The lands near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were very suitable for cultivation. Every year the rivers overflowed and increased the fertility of the land. However, the region had a problem: the lack of rain. This meant that agriculture could not begin to be practiced until the inhabitants of the area learned to control the flow of water.

Although there are discrepancies about the dates, historians affirm that the first agricultural communities were located in the north of the region around 7000 B.C. For their part, they did not appear in the south until 5500 B.C.

About that last date, the inhabitants of Sumer, in southern Mesopotamia, began to build irrigation canals, dams, and pools. Thanks to these infrastructures they were able to grow a multitude of products and the population increased considerably.

Historians have divided the history of Mesopotamia into five periods, with five different empires: the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Neo-Babylonian empires.

El Obeid period (5500-4000 BC)

It is known that the first settlements of this period occurred around 5000 BC, however, its greatest splendor came about 500 years later.

In this period some nomadic peoples came to the area from the Zagros mountains. The settlements increased in size and the social organization was changing to adapt to the larger population.

One of the most important cities in this period is the one that gives it its name: the Obeid. The remains found prove that the houses were built with baked clay bricks.

Likewise, at this stage some religious buildings were already erected inside the cities. Given its terraced shape and rectangular ground plan, experts say they were the antecedents of the ziggurats..

Another characteristic of this period was the development of irrigation techniques, especially irrigation canals.

The Sumerians

The first great Mesopotamian civilization was the Sumerian. This people founded from 3000 BC a series of city-states, among which Uruk, Uma or Ur stood out. Each of them was ruled by an absolute king whose legitimacy came from being the vicar of the protector god of the locality.

Despite the importance of this civilization and the fact that lists of its kings have been found, the truth is that there is not much information about them.

It is known, for example, that their economy was based on agriculture and that they were the first to use cuneiform writing. In addition, it is known that they raised great religious temples.

Likewise, the evidence shows that the city of Uruk expanded its culture throughout southern Mesopotamia. Thanks to its influence, more cities were built in other areas. The frequent wars caused that these cities were equipped with defensive walls.

The Akkadian Empire

The prosperity achieved by the Sumerians brought various nomadic tribes to the region. Among these peoples, of Semitic origin, were the Arabs, Hebrews and Syrians. The invasions were constant from 2500 BC and soon managed to wrest political dominance from the Sumerians.

The migratory waves reached the north of Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. As a consequence, groups such as the Amorites were created, including the Phoenicians, Hebrews, Arameans and Akkadians, the Semitic people who gained more relevance.

The Akkadians, around 1350 BC, conquered the city of Kiš. Later, led by Sargon, they founded a new capital called Agadé and proceeded to conquer the rest of the Sumerian cities. After this conquest, the Akkadian Empire became the first in history.

Political instability in the area affected the empire after Sargon's death. His successors, among whom he stood out, had to face many revolts. Despite this, Sargon's grandson, Naram-Sin, managed to extend his dominions at the expense of other city-states.

Finally, the constant rebellions and the invasion of the Gutis and Amorites caused the empire to unravel, around 2220 BC It was the Amorites who came to rule the entire region.

Sumerian Renaissance

Some Sumerian city-states had managed to resist the Akkadians. Among them, Uruk, one of the most important.

According to a commemorative tablet, it was a king of Uruk, named Utu-hegal, who spearheaded a brief revival of Sumerian power. About 2100 BC, the monarch defeated the Gutis who had settled in the lands of Sumer.

Another Sumerian king, from the city of Ur, defeated Utu-hegal in his turn. This allowed Ur to unseat Uruk as the most powerful city in the region during the so-called Sumerian Renaissance.

Contrary to what had happened before, the monarchs of Ur tried to create a centralized Sumerian power, in the image of what Sargon had done during the Akkadian empire. In addition, they began a campaign of conquest until their territory exceeded that of the Akkadians.

This stage ended around 2003 BC, when Amorite conquerors from Arabia defeated the Sumerians.

Babylonians and Assyrians

When Ur lost its hegemony, the region experienced a gradual rise of various Amorite dynasties in almost every city. Several of them disputed the primacy during the following decades. The confrontations and invasions were constant.

In northern Mesopotamia several strong states appeared, possibly driven by trade with Anatolia. Among those states, Assyria stood out, which managed to expand until it reached the Mediterranean.

The Pale Babylonian Empire

Hammurabi's arrival on the throne of then-unimportant Babylon occurred in 1792 B.C. The monarch began a strategy to extend his dominions that began with a confrontation with Ur.

After defeating several of the neighboring kingdoms and a coalition formed by the cities of the bank of the Tigris, Hammurabi proclaimed himself Acad of Sumeria, a title that emerged in the Sargon period and was used to emphasize control over all of Mesopotamia.

The expansion of the kingdom continued in the following years, until, in 1753, it was completed by annexing Assyria and Eshnunna, in northern Mesopotamia.

Hammurabi's work led to his figure being mythologized. In addition to his military triumphs, he was responsible for building large infrastructures and drawing up the first code of laws for humanity.

After the death of the monarch, in 1750 BC, his son Samsu-iluna occupied the throne. From that moment on, the kingdom began to be attacked by a nomadic tribe, the Casitas. These invasion attempts continued into the 17th century BC, wringing out the empire.

Finally, the Hittite monarch Mursili I put an end to the Babylonian resistance and the Casitas took over the region.

Assyrians

About 1250 BC, the Assyrians took control of all of northern Mesopotamia. This town was organized in city-states, with a monarchy very centered in the two capitals of the region: Nineveh and Assur.

Before that happened, the Assyrians had achieved a dominant position in business with Anatolia. In that peninsula they established some commercial ports that they used to transport gold, silver and bronze.

The Assyrians, who had been under the rule of other empires before establishing their own kingdom, were also great warriors, reputed to be very violent. Their mastery of iron forging endowed them with better weapons.

One of its most splendid moments was during the reign of Tiglathpileser I (1115-1077 BC). This king defeated Nebuchadnezzar I in Babylon and extended his dominions to the Mediterranean. However, its strength declined in the following century.

Neo-Babylonian Empire

Another Semitic people, the Chaldeans, were responsible for Babylon's regaining its power. It was King Nabopolassar, at the end of the 7th century, who re-founded the city. His son, Nebuchadnezzar II inherited the throne and became one of the most important rulers in the entire history of Mesopotamia.

Thanks to his policies and the conquests he made, his empire extended from Mesopotamia to Syria and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

Persian invasion

This rebirth of Babylon lasted until 539 BC, when the Persian king Cyrus conquered the city and established his rule over the entire territory of Mesopotamia.

Geographical and temporal location

Mesopotamia, as its name indicates, is located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in the Middle East.

Geographically it is located north of the Arabian peninsula. The territory that housed the first civilizations is bordered to the east by Iran, to the north by Anatolia and to the west by Syria.

Temporary location

Some authors affirm that the civilization in Mesopotamia was born around 3500 a. Others, however, point out that it occurred earlier, about 5000 BC. C.

On the other hand, the invasion by the Persians is used to mark the end of their most important civilizations.

Mesopotamia economy

Many experts consider that the economy proper was born in Mesopotamia. The reason for this statement is that, for the first time, they took the economic situation into account when organizing.

Keep in mind that economic circumstances varied during the more than four thousand years of history of their civilizations. Furthermore, these activities took place in a context of continuous wars and invasions. However, there were some facets of its economy that were maintained over time.

farming

The geographical location of Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and the Euphrates, made agriculture its main economic activity.

However, the lack of rain made cultivation very difficult in the lands far from the river basins. For this reason, the inhabitants of the region had to build an efficient irrigation system that would bring water to their lands.

In addition to technical innovations to improve irrigation, the Mesopotamians were the inventors of the wheel and the plow. With the use of both elements, they were able to till the land more easily.

Among the most common products were cereals (barley, wheat, rye or sesame), olive trees, date palms or grapes.

Commerce

At first, everything that was produced was destined for internal consumption. Over time, surpluses began to exist that could be used for trading.

On the other hand, artisans also made items that could be used for commerce, such as containers for eating, tools, ornaments or weights for looms.

The Sumerians established trade routes that reached distant places for the time. Thus, it is known that they reached Anatolia, Syria and India. Normally, they exchanged the products produced in Mesopotamia for raw materials, such as wood, stone or metals.

Metallurgy

Metals such as copper or bronze began to be used in Mesopotamia very soon. Most of the time, these metals were used to make stronger weapons. Likewise, they were also used to make work tools.

Bronze became more common around 3500 BC. This copper and tin alloy was stronger than other materials and was used for tools, weapons, or ornaments. Another use of this alloy that greatly improved the life of the region was as a material to make metal sheets for the plows that the oxen dragged.

Religion

The different civilizations that settled in Mesopotamia had their own gods and beliefs. A common aspect was that all religions were polytheistic.

Characteristics of the gods

As noted, the various religions in Mesopotamia were polytheistic. This means that they worshiped a wide variety of gods.

As in Greek mythology, the Mesopotamian gods had a totally human appearance and behavior. Thus, they ate, married, fought among themselves or had children. However, unlike men, these deities were immortal and had great powers.

In general, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia feared their gods. These were very vindictive and did not hesitate to be cruel without humans obeying him. Even kings were not free to be punished, so they always consulted the oracles to see if the deities approved their decisions.

Main gods

The pantheon of gods in Mesopotamia was totally hierarchical. In this way, there were some major and other minor deities.

The most important Sumerian gods were Enlil (god of water), Enki (god of the earth) and Aun (god of the sky). After the invasion of the Semitic peoples, this triad was changed by Ishtar (goddess of war, fertility and love), Sin (god of the moon) and Shamash (deity of the stars and the Sun).

The rule of Babylon, in the second millennium BC, caused further religious changes. Marduk, god of the city, was increasing in importance and ended up becoming the main god.

Priests

The importance of religion made priests one of the most powerful classes. His job was to perform the corresponding rites every day and take charge of organizing religious festivals. The priests, men and women, were always from upper-class families.

The religions of the inhabitants of Mesopotamia included magic among their beliefs. For this reason, they thought that priests had certain powers that allowed them, for example, to perform exorcisms.

Another important factor in Mesopotamian religion from the 3rd millennium BC on was the existence of sacred prostitution. It was related to the Ishtar cult.

The faithful paid a priestess to have sexual relations with her and, in this way, honor the goddess. The women who held those priestess positions were socially highly regarded.

Mesopotamian culture

As it happened in economics or politics, Mesopotamia was the cradle of numerous contributions in the field of culture. The most important, possibly, was the development of writing.

Literature

At first, writing was only used in official documents, especially to keep accounts. Later, it began to be used to reflect events, stories, legends or catastrophes.

This represented the birth of written literature, which initially focused on religious aspects.

Thus, the Sumerians wrote on three great themes:

• Hymns, which were texts to honor the gods.
• Kings or cities, myths in which stories starring the gods were related.
• Lamentations, which recorded any catastrophic event and attributed it to the anger of the gods.

The Sumerians began to write a type of poem in dialogue, in addition to compilations of proverbs.

Sculpture

Mesopotamian sculpture had its gods and rulers as its main theme. Each work was perfectly individualized and often included the name of the character represented.

The most used techniques were relief, both monumental and parietal, the stele, enameled bricks and the seal. The latter allowed to develop a complete history in them.

When depicting human beings, artists were not looking for a perfect proportion. The head and face were out of proportion, in a technique called conceptual realism. The bodies, on the other hand, were totally symmetrical.

Another recurring theme was the representation of large bulls. In this case, the sculptors opted for realism. Those animals were considered protective geniuses in the region.

Political and social organization

Although there were several civilizations in the area, the political organization maintained some common characteristics. Thus, the absolute monarchy was the form of government in all territories. The legitimacy of the kings came from the gods, since they were considered their descendants.

Wars

At first, the inhabitants of Mesopotamia organized themselves into independent city-states. The wars between them were very frequent, since they all sought to increase their power and territory. However, no major unification took place during the Sumerian period.

It was the Akkadian Empire that managed to unify a territory under the same king. For the first time, power was concentrated and rulers created dynasties.

Despite that achievement, the empire did not last too long. The Babylonians conquered their territory and established their own political unity.

Government structure

As noted, the king accumulated all power in Mesopotamian politics. In most cases, the monarch was believed to have descended directly from the City of the Gods.

Among the titles that kings gave themselves, those of "king of the universe" or "great king" stood out. Likewise, the denomination of "pastor" was also relatively frequent, since they were supposed to guide their people.

Three of the most important monarchs were Sargon the Great, Gilgamesh, and Hammurabi. The succession to the throne fell to the first male child.

Below the king, in the strict social hierarchy, were the high priests, the scribes, the military, the merchants, the so-called commons and, lastly, the slaves.

Contributions of Mesopotamian culture

The different civilizations that dominated Mesopotamia contributed a great amount of technical, social and political novelties.

farming

The first of these contributions was agriculture. The historical importance of being able to control crops was enormous, since it led to human beings becoming sedentary, building cities and, ultimately, the first civilizations appeared.

Along with the development of agriculture, the Mesopotamians also learned to domesticate animals, thus creating livestock

Writing

Historians claim that the writing appeared around 3300 BC in Mesopotamia. The first texts were commercial records and lists of agricultural products destined to be delivered to the temples.

The scribes, in charge of writing these texts, used a pointed tool to write on clay tablets.

Over time, the system evolved and became more complex. Thus, the information that was left in writing was expanded.

That first writing system used signs (pictograms). It was about representing real objects with drawings. After 500 years, these signs became more complex to represent abstract ideas.

Similarly, pictograms gradually gave way to phonetic symbols, which represented sounds.

Equal rights between men and women

Although Mesopotamian society was completely hierarchical, its laws enshrined equality between men and women in many respects.

Among the most important rights granted to women, equal to men, were their rights to own land, to request and obtain divorce, to be merchants or to found their own businesses.

Laws

Another of the important contributions that appeared in Mesopotamia were the legal codes. These were based on the decisions made by the different kings.

Archaeological investigations have made it possible to find traces of several of these codes. Among them were those of Urukagina, Lipit Ishtar and, above all, that of Hammurabi.

Hammurabi Code - Source: Gil Dbd This last code is considered the best example of the legislative work of the time. King Hammurabi ordered the written record of more than 200 laws applicable to all the territory he governed.

Technology and innovations

The basis of the technological advances made in Mesopotamia was its mastery of fire. This resulted in a great improvement in the technical capacity of the kilns, which allowed them to obtain plaster and lime.

These two materials were used to cover the wooden containers that were placed directly in the ovens. It is a technique called white tableware and is considered a predecessor of ceramics.

The remains found in the Beidha deposits allow us to affirm that this technique dates, at least, from the IX millennium BC. From there it spread to the north and to the rest of the territory. Between 5600 and 3600 BC, it was already in use throughout Mesopotamia.

Emergence of metallurgy

Archaeologists have found some small man-made metal objects that date back to the 6th millennium BC. However, it was not until the middle of the 3rd millennium BC that the furnaces improved enough to generalize the use of metals and the emergence of metallurgy.

The archaeological sites of the third millennium BC contain numerous metallic objects whose composition shows that they were made by casting and not by carving. In addition, some made with alloys begin to appear.

The first metal obtained through the alloy was bronze, which ended up replacing copper as the main material of tools and weapons. Its advantages were its greater resistance and toughness, which gave great advantages to the civilizations that worked it.

The next step in the evolution of metallurgy occurred between 1200 and 1000 BC: the use of iron. Until then, it had been a very rare material, with a cost similar to that of gold. The new extraction and smelting techniques allowed its use to be much more frequent.

Iron weapons and tools, with their greatest strength, were fundamental factors in the evolution of societies, as well as in wars between different civilizations.

The wheel

The wheel was another of the inventions attributed to the Mesopotamians. At first, this object was used in agriculture, improving the plowing of the land.

Later, it also began to be used in transportation. The archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley found in 1922 a vehicle made up of two four-wheeled wagons. This transport, found in the city of Ur, is considered one of the oldest known.

Irrigation

As noted, the fertility of farmland in Mesopotamia was limited to river basins. The lack of rain, especially in the south, caused the land to dry out in summer and harvests were very scarce.

The people of Mesopotamia had to find systems to transport water from rivers to remote farmlands. For this they built the first irrigation systems. The oldest and most basic were canals that carried the liquid from its source to the agricultural lands to be able to irrigate them.

Slope

The last stage of splendor of the Mesopotamian civilizations took place during the Neo-Babylonian Empire, especially during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II.

This Babylonian revival lasted about a century. Later, their civilization succumbed to the push of the Persians led by Cyrus the Great.

Invasion of the Persians

Illustration of Cyrus the Great

The end of Babylonian rule was caused by various factors, both external and internal. Among the latter, the opposition of the people to the monarch Nabonidus, the son of an Assyrian priestess, stood out.

The powerful clergy also took a stand against Nabonidus. He had eliminated the cult of the god Marduk and established a new one dedicated to Sin, the god of the moon.

On the other hand, Cyrus the Great, ruler of the Achaemenid Empire, had conquered a huge territory east of Mesopotamia. In the entire Middle East, only the Neo-Babylonian Empire maintained its independence and controlled Mesopotamia, Syria, Judea, parts of Arabia, and Phenicia.

Lastly, Cyrus claimed that he was the legitimate successor to the ancient Babylonian monarchs. In time, his popularity in Babylon itself was greater than that of Nabonidus.

Fall of Babylon

Cyrus the Great finally invaded Babylon in 539 BC. The documents that relate the conquest are contradictory to each other, since some indicate that the city was besieged and others that it could not even resist and was conquered without the need to fight.

The only common fact that historians have been able to extract is that Cyrus ordered the waters of the Euphrates River to be diverted in order to cross it without problem. After this, his troops entered Babylon on a night when a holiday was being celebrated. The city was taken without a battle.

Themes of interest

Gods of Mesopotamia.

Rulers of Mesopotamia.

Contributions of Mesopotamia.

Main cities.

Economic activities of Mesopotamia.

References

1. Universal history. Ancient Mesopotamia. Obtained from mihistoriauniversal.com
2. Educational Portal. Mesopotamia. Obtained from portaleducativo.net
3. Department of Education of the Basque Government. Mesopotamia. Retrieved from hiru.eus
4. History.com Editors. Mesopotamia. Retrieved from history.com
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8. Nelson, Ken. History: Ancient Mesopotamia for Kids. Retrieved from ducksters.com