Mesopotamia

Examples of Mesopotamia in the following topics:

• Art in the Second Millennium B.C.E.

  • The Babylonian and Assyrian empires in Mesopotamia in the 2nd millennium BCE were renowned for their sculpture and architecture.
  • They were both located in Mesopotamia; the former in the south and the latter in the north.
  • The art of Mesopotamia during this period is sometimes summarized as Assyro-Babylonian, because of the close cultural interdependence of the two political centers.
  • While Assyrian artists were greatly influenced by the Babylonian style, a distinctly Assyrian artistic style began to emerge in Mesopotamia around 1500 BC .
  • The kingdom of Elam was located east of Mesopotamia and Chogha Zanbil is located in present-day Iran--one of the few ziggurats outside Mesopotamia.

• Ceramics in Mesopotamia

  • Although ceramics developed in East Asia c. 20,000-10,000 BCE, the practice of throwing arose with the invention of the potter's wheel in Mesopotamia around the fourth millennium BCE.
  • The Ubaid period is marked by a distinctive style of fine quality painted pottery which spread throughout Mesopotamia.

• Neolithic Art

  • The ancient Near East was home to the earliest civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East and included Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, ancient Iran, the Levant and the Arabian peninsula.
  • Definitions of the area vary slightly, but always include Mesopotamia and the land around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, with portions of Iran, Kuwait, Turkey and the Levantine coast including Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and the West Bank.
  • Beginning around 6400 BC, this period is characterized by the emergence of distinctive cultures throughout the Fertile Crescent, such as the Halafian (Turkey, Syria, Northern Mesopotamia) and Ubaid (Southern Mesopotamia) cultures.
  • The Ubaid culture flourished from about 6500 to 3800 BC in Mesopotamia and is characterized by large village settlements that employed multi-room rectangular mud-brick houses.
  • The appearance of the first temples in Mesopotamia, as well as greenish pottery decorated with geometric designs in brown or black paint, are important developments of this period .

• Babylon

  • Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Iraq.
  • Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Iraq.
  • Archaeological evidence suggests that around the nineteenth century BCE, much of Mesopotamia was occupied by Amorites, nomadic tribes from the northern Levant.
  • The Amorites, unlike the Sumerians and Akkadian Semites, were not native to Mesopotamia, but were semi-nomadic Semitic invaders from the lands to the west.

• The Mesopotamian Cultures

  • Sumer was an ancient civilization in southern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) during the Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Ages.
  • During this time, the first settlement in southern Mesopotamia was established at Eridu by farmers who first pioneered irrigation agriculture.
  • By the time of the Uruk period (ca. 4100–2900 BCE), the volume of trade goods transported along the canals and rivers of southern Mesopotamia facilitated the rise of many large, stratified, temple-centered cities where centralized administrations employed specialized workers.
  • Cities became walled and increased in size as undefended villages in southern Mesopotamia disappeared.
  • Discuss the historical importance of the various civilizations that existed in Mesopotamia

• Akkad

  • Akkad was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which was the dominant political force in Mesopotamia.
  • Akkad was the capital of the Akkadian Empire, which was the dominant political force in Mesopotamia at the end of the third millennium BCE .

• Architecture in Mesopotamia

  • However, the invention of the round arch in the general area of Mesopotamia influenced the construction of structures like the Ishtar Gate in the sixth century BCE.

• Sculpture in Mesopotamia

  • The current archaeological record dates sculpture in Mesopotamia the tenth millennium BCE, before the dawn of civilization.
  • While Assyrian artists were greatly influenced by the Babylonian style, a distinctly Assyrian artistic style began to emerge in Mesopotamia around 1500 BCE.

• Indus Valley Civilization

  • It is believed that the trade networks of the Indus Valley reached as far as Afghanistan, coastal Persia, northern and western India, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.
  • Similar to other civilizations of the same time period, such as Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, there are many depictions of female figures, or possibly fertility goddesses.

• Archaeology

  • For many literate cultures, such as Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia, their surviving records are often incomplete and biased to some extent.