This section of BTMAo will include informational pages about the construction of Babylonian temples, palaces, and city walls according to their builders. These pages will be dedicated to kings of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (625–539 BC), the main temporal focus of this open-access website, as well as to some Neo-Assyrian rulers (721–612 BC).
Reconstructing an absolute chronology, one that measures the exact chronological distance to present time, is still problematic for ancient Babylonia. Although several different chronologies have been proposed, the "Middle Chronology" dates used here follow those of J.A. Brinkman (in A.L. Oppenheim, Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization, Chicago, 1977 [revised edition, completed by E. Reiner], pp. 338-341). For example, this puts the reign of Hammurabi, the most famous king of the First Dynasty of Babylon, at 1792–1750 BC.
| Periods (Dates BC) | Selected important events and kings |
|---|---|
| Late Uruk period (ca. 3500–3200/3150 BC) | First city-states; urbanism; complex administration; invention of writing ('proto-cuneiform'), possibly Sumerian |
| Jamdat Nasr Period (ca. 3150–2900 BC) | Breakdown of Uruk-networks; evolution of writing |
| Early Dynastic Period I–II (ca. 2900–2600 BC) | Growing importance of city-states; archaic texts from Ur |
| Early Dynastic IIIa (ca. 2600–2500 BC) | Conflicts between city states; cuneiform writing used more
extensively (e.g. first literary texts, both in Sumerian and a
Semitic language); archives from Fara (ancient Šurrupag) and Tell
Abū Ṣalābiḫ. |
| Early Dynastic IIIb (ca. 2500–2340 BC) | City-states fight one another for hegemony over southern
Mesopotamia; archives of Tello (ancient Girsu); Lagaš-Umma border
conflict; Lugalzagesi succeeds in briefly conquering large parts of
Mesopotamia. |
| (Old) Akkadian (ca. 2340–2200 BC) | First World Empire; Sargon of Akkad founded dynasty, defeats Lugalzagesi, conquers large parts of Near East; power centre shifts to north; Akkadian, oldest Semitic language, becomes language of administration in some areas. Narām-Sîn of Akkad, his grandson, defeats a rebellion of southern Mesopotamian city states and is deified in response. Old Akkadian Dynasty
|
| Guti/Post-Akkadian (ca. 2000–2112 BC) | It is unclear how long this period lasted and what happened during this time.
In the city-state of Lagaš, Gudea, famous for his statues and the cylinders, ruled; he was probably a contemporary of Ur-Namma of Ur. |
| Ur III / Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2112–2004 BC) | Ur-Namma of Ur rebuilds large territorial state, succeeded by Šulgi; this period is sometimes called a 'Sumerian renaissance,' because Sumerian became once more the language of administration. The Ur III kings, almost all of whom were deified, left a large literary legacy, in particular of self-laudatory hymns. Main rulers
|
| Old Babylonian Period (ca. 2004–1595 BC) | Some historians call this phase the 'Amorite' age, because a North-West-Semitic peoples called the Amorites became part of the ruling elites. The first two centuries are dominated by the city-states of Isin and Larsa, who vie for hegemony over Mesopotamia. In 1763 Hammurabi of Babylon conquers Larsa and once more builds an empire that stretches as far as northern Syria. Yet his empire was short-lived and soon collapsed. Akkadian becomes more important as the written language of choice. In 1595 the Hittites raided and destroyed Babylon. Dynasty of Isin
|
| 'Dark Age' until ca. 1475? BC | No written sources. |
| Kassite Dynasty (ca. 1475? – 1155 BC) | Kassites, an originally nomadic people, rule over Babylonia and adapt to Babylonian culture. Main rulers
|
| Middle Assyrian dynasty (ca. 1350–1000 BC) | Assyria, the northern part of Mesopotamia, expands into territorial state, largest success under Tukulti-Ninurta I, becomes an important political and military power. |
| Second Dynasty of Isin (ca. 1157–1026 BC) | Nebuchadnezzar I has short-lived military success, he conquers Elam (SW Iran) and puts an end to the Elamite dynasty. Prominent kings
|
| 'Second Dark Age'/Early Neo-Babylonian Period (ca. 1100–710 BC) | Lack of sources; this dark age lasted for different periods of time in different regions. In the 8th century, Hebrew and Aramaic appear, Aramaic and its script became more and more important. Undetermined Dynasties |
| Neo-Assyrian Period (ca. 900–612 BC) | Assyrian kings begin expanding their state. The period of the Neo-Assyrian empire is set at 744–612, during which Assyria became the most important political power in the ancient world, conquering not only all of Mesopotamia but also parts of Anatolia and even for a brief time Egypt. In 612, the Assyrian capital Nineveh is destroyed, ending the Assyrian dominance. Aramaic begins to replace Akkadian as a spoken language. Main Neo-Assyrian kings
|
| Neo-Babylonian Dynasty (ca. 625–539 BC) | Babylon regains its former glory for the brief period of the Neo-Babylonian empire; Nebuchadnezzar II, who completely rebuilt the city of Babylon, was its most famous king. The last ruler, Nabonidus, is famous for having been in 'exile' for ten years. The Neo-Babylonian dynasty is the last native Mesopotamian dynasty. Main rulers
|
| Persian/Achaemenid Empire (ca. 538–331 BC) | Persian kings conquer Mesopotamia and incorporate it into their
empire, the largest empire to date. Scholarly, religious, and literary texts
continue to be written in Akkadian, for example at the temple library in Sippar. Main ruler
|
| Macedonian rulers (ca. 330–307 BC) | Alexander the Great of Macedon finally succeeds in defeating the Persian empire during the famous battle of Gaugamela and includes all of its territories, including Mesopotamia, into his own empire. Alexander dies in 323 BC. |
| Seleucid Empire (ca. 305–64 BC) | Seleucus, founder of the Seleucid dynasty, a former general of Alexander the Great, rules over the Near East, Iran, and parts of Central Asia. Main ruler |
| Parthian or Arsacid Empire (ca. 250 BC–224 CE BC) | The successor to the Seleucid empire, the Parthians, was a dynasty based in ancient Persia. It was probably around 70 AD, the last document was written in cuneiform, ending the ancient Mesopotamian cultural heritage until its rediscovery beginning in the 16th century CE. |
Further Reading
The following books offer basic introductions into the history of ancient Mesopotamia:
Nicole Brisch & Jamie Novotny
Nicole Brisch & Jamie Novotny, 'Mesopotamian History: the Basics', Babylonian Temples and Monumental Architecture online (BTMAo), The BTMAo Project, a sub-project of MOCCI, [http://oracc.org/btmao/StructuresbyBuilder/]