history of Mesopotamia

Introduction
Mesopotamia to the end of the Old Babylonian period
- The origins of Mesopotamian history
  - The background
    - The character and influence of ancient Mesopotamia
    - The achievements of ancient Mesopotamia
    - The classical and medieval views of Mesopotamia; its rediscovery in modern times
    - Modern archaeological excavations
  - The emergence of Mesopotamian civilization
    - The emergence of cultures
    - Mesopotamian protohistory
- Sumerian civilization
  - The Sumerians to the end of the Early Dynastic period
    - Literary and other historical sources
    - First historical personalities
    - Emergent city-states
    - Territorial states
  - Sumer and Akkad from 2350 to 2000 bce
    - Sargon’s reign
    - Ascendancy of Akkad
    - The end of the dynasty
  - The 3rd dynasty of Ur
    - Administration
    - Ethnic, geographic, and intellectual constituents
    - Ur III in decline
- The Old Babylonian period
  - Isin and Larsa
    - Political fragmentation
    - Literary texts and increasing decentralization
  - Early history of Assyria
  - The Old Babylonian empire
    - Political fortunes
    - Babylonian law
    - Babylonian literature
  - The Hurrians
Mesopotamia to the end of the Achaemenian period
- The Kassites, the Mitanni, and the rise of Assyria
  - The Kassites in Babylonia
  - The Hurrian and Mitanni kingdoms
  - The rise of Assyria
- Assyria and Babylonia at the end of the 2nd millennium
  - Babylonia under the 2nd dynasty of Isin
  - Assyria between 1200 and 1000 bce
- Assyria and Babylonia from c. 1000 to c. 750 bce
  - Assyria and Babylonia until Ashurnasirpal II
  - Shalmaneser III and Shamshi-Adad V of Assyria
  - Adad-nirari III and his successors
- The Neo-Assyrian Empire (746–609)
  - Tiglath-pileser III and Shalmaneser V
  - Sargon II (721–705) and Marduk-apal-iddina of Babylonia
  - Sennacherib
  - Esarhaddon
  - Ashurbanipal (668–627) and Shamash-shum-ukin (668–648)
  - Decline of the Assyrian empire
- The Neo-Babylonian Empire
  - Nebuchadrezzar II
  - The last kings of Babylonia
- Mesopotamia under the Persians
Mesopotamia from c. 320 bce to c. 620 ce
- The Seleucid period
- The Parthian period
- The Sasanian period

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Historical map showing ancient Mesopotamia with labeled locations of major archaeological and historical sites. Symbols and color codes indicate sites from the prehistoric era, Sumerian-Akkadian culture, Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian eras, Assyrian civilization, Hurrian era, late Persian, Greek, and Parthian eras, as well as marshland areas. The map covers the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, including present-day Iraq and surrounding areas.

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Mesopotamia

The Great Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq, a massive ancient brick structure with broad staircases and terraced levels, stands alone in a barren landscape.

Bronze head of an Akkadian king, possibly Sargon of Akkad, with detailed curled beard and patterned hair, displayed on a white pedestal.

The Code of Hammurabi diorite stela, with carved figures at the top showing Hammurabi seated with cuneiform inscriptions below.

relief of a spirit holding a poppy flower

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Map showing Mesopotamia and surrounding regions during Seleucid-Parthian times, overlaid with modern political boundaries and country names. Ancient regions such as Osroene, Adiabene, Gordyene, and Characene are labeled in red, while major rivers like the Tigris and Euphrates and key cities such as Babylon, Seleucia, and Ctesiphon are marked within the present-day Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, and neighboring countries.

Sumerian cuneiform tablet

At a Glance

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Mesopotamia summary

history of Mesopotamia: Media

historical region, Asia

Videos

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Mesopotamia

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Mesopotamia

Learn about the rise and fall of ancient Mesopotamia by watching this overview.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Mysteries of ancient Babylon

Mysteries of ancient Babylon

Overview of the ancient metropolis of Babylon, with its vast walls and (according...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Historical map showing ancient Mesopotamia with labeled locations of major archaeological and historical sites. Symbols and color codes indicate sites from the prehistoric era, Sumerian-Akkadian culture, Babylonian and Neo-Babylonian eras, Assyrian civilization, Hurrian era, late Persian, Greek, and Parthian eras, as well as marshland areas. The map covers the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, including present-day Iraq and surrounding areas.

Sites associated with ancient Mesopotamian history

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq, a massive ancient brick structure with broad staircases and terraced levels, stands alone in a barren landscape.

Ziggurat at Ur

Ziggurat at Ur (modern Tall al-Muqayyar, Iraq), constructed c. 2100 bce.

© Simon11uk—iStock/Getty Images

Ur-Nanshe of Lagash

Ur-Nanshe, king of Lagash, detail of a limestone relief, c. 2500 bce;...

© Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector—Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Bronze head of an Akkadian king, possibly Sargon of Akkad, with detailed curled beard and patterned hair, displayed on a white pedestal.

bronze head of a king from Nineveh

Bronze head of a king, perhaps Sargon of Akkad, from Nineveh (now in Iraq), Akkadian...

© DEA Picture Library—De Agostini/Getty Images

The Code of Hammurabi diorite stela, with carved figures at the top showing Hammurabi seated with cuneiform inscriptions below.

Code of Hammurabi

Diorite stela inscribed with the Code of Hammurabi, 18th century bce.

© Art Media—Print Collector/Getty Images

relief of a spirit holding a poppy flower

relief of a spirit holding a poppy flower

Spirit holding a poppy flower, detail of a relief from the palace of Sargon II; now...

© Photos.com/Jupiterimages

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Winged bull with a human head, guardian figure (lamassu) from the palace...

Trjames

Map showing Mesopotamia and surrounding regions during Seleucid-Parthian times, overlaid with modern political boundaries and country names. Ancient regions such as Osroene, Adiabene, Gordyene, and Characene are labeled in red, while major rivers like the Tigris and Euphrates and key cities such as Babylon, Seleucia, and Ctesiphon are marked within the present-day Middle East, including Iraq, Syria, Iran, and neighboring countries.

Mesopotamia in the Seleucid and Parthian periods

Mesopotamia in the Seleucid and Parthian periods.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Sumerian cuneiform tablet

Sumerian cuneiform tablet

An account of barley distribution, probably from Uruk, Mesopotamia, c. 3100–2900...

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Purchase, Raymond and Beverly Sackler Gift, 1988, 1988.433.1, www.metmuseum.org

Two vertical tablets display ancient symbols for the numbers one and ten from Egyptian hieroglyphic, Egyptian hieratic, Sumerian, and Cretan scripts, with each symbol shown in red next to its culture and approximate date.

Ancient symbols for 1 and 10

Examples of ancient symbols for the numbers 1 and 10.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

lamassu from Dur Sharrukin, Iraq

Winged bull with a human head, guardian figure (lamassu) from the gate of...

Rama, CC-BY-SA-2.0-FR

VIEW MORE in these related Britannica articles: