This is one humble layman’s arduous journey to understand the overwhelmingly complex political history of the Cradle of Civilization and its surrounding peoples in antiquity. To set the scene, this historical account will cover the geographical area bordered in the north by the Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains in modern Armenia; to the south by the Persian Gulf and modern Saudi Arabia; to the west by the Mediterranean Sea and modern Turkey; and to the east by modern Iran/Afghanistan border. Click on the picture below to enlarge and view the area circled in red.

I. In the Beginning there was Agriculture

Human settlement and the development of agriculture go hand in hand. Without farming there is no way for a city to rise, no specialization and division of labor, no need for a structured governing body. In the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers humans began to farm lands and subsequently develop cities that covered up to a square kilometer and housed between 10,000 and 20,000 people as far back as the Uruk period (4000 - 3100 BC). Note that there were human cities prior to this period, but not as substantial in population or cultural development. As humans are wont to do, these cities and their peoples expanded outward eventually colliding with each other in both positive and negative ways. Inevitably, one group of people will be victorious; thus, giving positive reinforcement to the expand and take-over behavior. This is how fledgling empires are conceived.

II. An Empire is Born

Mesopotamia gave rise to the first conglomerate human civilization (encompassing more than one city) in what is commonly referred to as the Early Dynastic Periods I, II and III (circa 2900-2350 BC). This civilization was born of the Sumerian people who are believed to have migrated to Mesopotamia from the east, possibly from modern Iran and Afghanistan. Although this span of time is long, it was by no means peaceful or unified. At this time the concept of the city-state still dominated everyday life. The more powerful the city-state, the more likely it was to revolt against the reigning regime and try to hold the seat of power itself. An excellent example of this is the much-coveted city of Babylon, which has been both subservient to several ruling peoples and in a position of authority over other empires in it’s long and distinguished history.

III. Enter the Quagmire

The Akkadian Empire, a Semitic people settled to northwest of Mesopotamia, climbed the ladder of power and eventually were able to overthrow Sumerian rule over Mesopotamia (circa 2350 - 2193 BC). The Akkadian rule did not last long, however, as they were subsequently usurped by the Gutians, a barbarian tribe whose origins are rooted in mystery. The Gutian dynasty was short-lived, under 100 years, but is considered a breed of “dark ages” as there is little written account or knowledge from this period (circa 2193 - 2119 BC).

The Sumerians rise to power again in what is known as the Third Dynasty of Ur, or the Sumerian Renaissance (circa 2119 - 2004 BC). As before, the Sumerians were destined to be invaded for their precious irrigated land and central location for trade routes. The Third Dynasty of Ur’s demise would this time come from a “pronged attack” by the Amorites and the Assyrians.

The Amorites were a nomadic herding people living to the west of Mesopotamia. By definition these nomadic people were constantly looking for grazing land for their herds. As they traveled eastward, the Amorites eventually came into contact with the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. While the Amorites waged no declared war or specific military campaigns against the Ur-III dynasty, their settlements in the Sumerians’ lands were ever-increasing in power and influence. The Amorites even came to power in certain city-states. The Amorites were the first rulers to officially create kingdoms from city-states; and went on to disband forced labor, distributed lands from the rulers to the people and enabled a class of free citizens and merchants.

The other prong to the demise of the Sumerian Renaissance was the Assyrians. The Assyrians are believed to be descendants of the Akkadians, whom if you recall reigned over Mesopotamia some 200 years prior to the downfall of Ur-III. The Assyrians are a section all unto themselves, with a kingdom that lasted nearly 1,500 years.

Honorable mention: The Hurrians were a race of people from the Caucasus mountains area in modern Armenia. This people migrated southward from circa 2500 BC and settled to the west of Mesopotamia. By 1300 BC all of the Hurrian settlements had been assimilated by other peoples in the area. I bring them into the fold to further expound on the seemingly unquenchable thirst for conquest and power inherent to the peoples of the region.

IV. Babylonia

As mentioned above, the Assyrians had an extended reign of power. They, like their alleged ancestors the Akkadians, were a warrior people ruled by solider-kings. When people typically mention the Babylonian Empire, they are referring to the Assyrian Periods and their inclusion of the city-state of Babylon. The famed Hammurabi and his code of laws was an Old Assyrian Period King of Amorite descent. The specific dates of Hammurabi’s rule are highly uncertain, but most historians agree that it was somewhere in the 1700’s BC.

The Kassite dynasty was a group of people from the east of Mesopotamia that conquered the Old Assyrians in Babylon and subsequently ruled the city. As you can see, the family tree of Mesopotamia has many branches. The Kassites would most likely not have been able to conquer the Old Assyrians on their own; however, they capitalized on the opportunity that presented itself in the form of the Hittites. The Hittites were a powerful empire all unto themselves, spanning much of modern Turkey and Syria. Two empires the size of the Hittites’ and the Assyrians’ would inevitably come to conflict given their relative proximity. As it were, the Hittites sacked Babylon in 1595 BC but had no intention of ruling the city. This was the final enabling factor for the Kassites to come to power.

Once in power in Babylon, the Kassite rulers achieved an unheard of period of relative peace, spanning approximately 400 years. Not surprisingly, the Kassites were absorbed into the Babylonian population which consisted of Assyrians, Sumerians and Elamites to name a few. All good things have to come to an end, unfortunately, and so it did for the Kassite dynasty circa 1200 BC at the hands of the Elamites.

The Elamites ruled with varying degrees of control over Babylon for several hundred years (circa 1200 - 770 BC). Not much is known from this period, with widespread violence and resultant chaos from the rival kingdoms of Assyria, Elam, and Hittites who came under Assyrian rule circa 1100 BC. Subsequently, the Neo-Assyrian empire regained control of Mesopotamia from circa 934 to 609 BC, although it was not a cohesive base of power until the rule of Tiglath-Pileser III who ruled from 745 to 727 BC.

V. The Persian Empire

While the term Persian Empire may be a slight misnomer, it signifies that which Westerners identify as the ruling force of this region up until Alexander the Great ushered in the Hellenistic era by conquering the Persians at the decisive Battle of Issus in 333 BC. The better identifying term for this empire is the Achaemenid Empire, which included notorious rulers such as Darius II and Xerxes. Under their rule, the empire expanded and gained power over the entire geographic area covered in this account and then some. Xerxes inability to conquer the Greeks led to a period of cultural development rather than aggressive expansion. There is much to be said of the Achaemenid empire, however politically it held it’s states together and thus was uneventful except for the few minor revolts which were commonplace in this region for the better part of the past 2,500 years.

VI. So It Ends

The journey for this account is over. In an effort not to mislead, the various kingdoms and empires addressed usually coexisted at various geographic points across the region, which is what spawned so much conflict. It was not until the Achaemenid empire and then the Hellenistic era that the area exerted even a semblance of unity. Even then, the conflict continued for the next 2,300 years up until present day. The terms have changed, peoples now fight over subdivisions of Islam and other minority religions rather than ethnic dominance, but the people remain the same. They fight for their lands and their heritage, and given the precedent set by the historical political climate as described above, I see no reason for the area to suddenly pacify themselves and accept each other as brothers and sisters in peace.

Map from Introduction: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Achaemenid_Empire.jpg

Map from Section III: author John D. Croft; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sumer1.jpg

Map from Section IV: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Hittite_Empire.png

Map from Section VI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Amarnamap.png

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