Most Bible scholars believe that the Garden of Eden was in Mesopotamia
–and if that is true, that is where humanity began. Because of that, I’ll call Mesopotamia the Cradle of Civilization.
Although humans roamed the earth, hunting and gathering food before the Sumerian Civilization, the Sumerians developed the first civiliztion in Mesopotamia–that was in about 3500 B.C.E.
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
Sumer was in the southern part of Mesopotamia. The Biblical Abrahm was born in the Sumerian City of Ur in about 2000 B.C.E. But 2000 B.C.E was during the Akkadian Empire.
[Most Bible Scholars Agree that Noah and the Flood Occurred in about 2500 B.C.E. — Somewhere Between the Sumerian Civilization and the Akkadian Empire.]
“About 2300 B.C.E., the Akkadians (uh-KAY-dee-unz) conquered Sumer. This group made the Sumerian city-states a part of an empire. An empire is a large territory where groups of people are ruled by a single leader or government. Groups like the Akkadians first conquer and then rule other lands.
After the Sumerian Civilization, several other Ancient Empires developed in Mesopotamia:
. Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
. Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
The Akkadian Empire
“For 1,200 years, Sumer was a land of independent city-states. Then, around 2300 B.C.E. the Akkadians conquered the land. The Akkadians came from northern Mesopotamia. [Sumer was in southern Mesopotamia.] They were led by a great king named Sargon. Sargon became the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire.
“Sargon was both a strong king and a skilled general. He created his empire through powerful military strategies. First he assembled a large army. He taught his soldiers to fight in tight formations. Soldiers carrying shields stood at the front of the formation. Behind them stood soldiers carrying spears. The spear carriers extended their weapons between the shields.
“Sargon used his military skills to win territory for his empire. After defeating the king of the city-state of Uruk, Sargon controlled all of Mesopotamia, including Sumer.
“To keep control of his empire, Sargon used smart political strategies. He destroyed the walls of cities to make it harder for people to rebel. He also made sure the governors of city-states were loyal to him. If they were not, he replaced them with his own men. And he became the first king to demand that his sons rule after his death.
“Sargon died in very old age. His name soon passed into legend. He and the Akkadians had created the world’s first empire. This was their greatest achievement.
Life Under Akkadian Rule
“Sargon ruled his empire for 56 years. During that time, he made the city of Agade in northern Mesopotamia the empire’s capital. He built up the city with tributes, or money and goods, collected from the people he conquered. Agade became cultural center with many beautiful temples and palaces. It was one of the richest and most powerful cities in the world.
“The Akkadians ruled Sumer but the Sumerians’ culture lived on. The Akkadians used Sumerian irrigation techniques to farm. To record information, they used the Sumerians’ system of cuneiform writing. They even worshiped the same gods and goddesses, although they called them by different names.
“The Akkadians had cultural achievements of their own. Their language gradually replaced the Sumerian language. In art, they became especially well known for their beautiful three-dimensional sculptures. Craftspeople carved relief sculptures on stones. These carved stones are called steles. One famous example is called the Victory Stele. It was created to celebrate a military victory by Sargon’s grandson, King Naram-Sin. The stele shows Naram-Sin leading his victorious army up the slopes of a mountain. Some of his enemies are crushed underfoot. Others die, flee, or beg for mercy.
“Sargon had hoped that his empire would last for a thousand years. But later kings found it difficult to rule such a large territory. The empire became weaker and weaker. After about 200 years, the Akkadian Empire fell to new invaders from the north.
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Hammurabi and the Babylonian Empire about 1750 B.C.E.
“For a time after the fall of the Akkadians, Sumer was once again a collection of city-states. The next ruler to unite all of Mesopotamia was a king named Hammurabi.
“Hammurabi was the king of Babylon a small city-state in central Mesopotamia. After conquering the rest of Mesopotamia he made Babylon the capital of his empire. The region under his rule became known as Babylonia.
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
“Hammurabi is best known for his code of laws, which he wrote from 1792 to 1750 B.C.E. He claimed that the gods had told him to create laws that applied to everyone in the empire. The code was written on a stele and placed in a temple for everyone to see.
“Hammurabi’s code was very detailed. It covered many situations, such as trade, payment for work, marriage, and divorce. The code spelled out punishments for stealing, causing injury, and other crimes. For example, a builder who sold a poorly built house that collapsed and killed its owner could be put to death. If the owner’s son rather than the owner was killed in the collapse, the builder’s son could be put to death.
Hammurabi’s Code Was the First Code of Law for Everyone
“Laws like this one seem harsh to us now. Yet Hammurabi’s code was an important achievement. Although it did not treat all people equally in terms of laws and punishments, it was the first code of laws to apply to everyone.
[Note: The Biblical Leader Moses Would Submit the Ten Commandments–Some Conjecture that Moses Would Have Lived During the Babylonian Empire–at about the Time of Hammurabi and His Code of Law–in about 750 B.C.E. The Assyrian Empire was Next and That Began in about 650 B.C.E.]
Life in the Babylonian Empire
“Babylonia thrived under Hammurabi. He worked to unite the people of his empire. He made the Babylonian god, Marduk, supreme over other gods.
Mesopotamia in Bible History – Pagan gods & the Idols – Ancient Mesopotamian Paganism
“He built roads and created a postal service.
“Agriculture and trade flourished. Hammurabi carefully kept irrigation systems working properly, so the land remained fertile and provided plenty of food. The city of Babylon was on the banks of the Euphrates River, and it became an important center of trade. Babylonians traded with people all along the Persian Gulf. They traded grain and woven cloth for wood, gold, silver, precious gems, and livestock (animals).
“Trade helped the empire’s economy.
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
“Many kinds of craftspeople used materials brought from distant lands. The arts also flourished. Writers wrote historical poems that survive to this day.
“Most important, Babylonian society was unusually fair for its time. The laws treated different classes differently, but even slaves had some rights. Slaves could work elsewhere and keep their wages. They could own property. If they saved enough money, they could even buy their freedom.
“Women also had more rights than they did in most ancient societies. Even though their fathers chose their husbands, women could own property. They could also keep money of their own.
“Hammurabi was proud of his achievements.
He once wrote:
I rooted out the enemy above and below.
I made an end of war.
I promoted the welfare of the land….
I have governed the people in peace.
I have sheltered them in my strength.
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
“At its peak, the Assyrian Empire extended from Egypt to the Persian Gulf. This vast territory was difficult to control and defend.”
[Note: The Biblical Leader Moses Was Born in Egypt and He Would Submit the Ten Commandments–Somewhat Like the Code of Hammurabi. Some Conjecture that Moses Would Have Lived During the Babylonian Empire–at about the Time of Hammurabi and His Code of Law–in about 750 B.C.E. The Assyrian Empire was Next and That Empire Began in about 650 B.C.E. And the Assyrian Empire Also Included Egypt]
The Assyrian Empire
“The line of kings begun by Hammurabi did not rule Babylonia for long. Over the next several hundred years, a number of groups ruled parts of Babylonia. The next great empire in Mesopotamia was created by a warlike people called the Assyrians.
“Assyria lay to the north of Babylon. The Assyrians had lived in Mesopotamia for a long time. They had even briefly had their own empire before being conquered by Hammurabi. They rose to power again toward 900 B.C.E., when a series of rulers began training them for war.
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
“With their trained army, the Assyrians began to expand their territory. The Assyrians were feared for their military might and their cruelty. Their greatest achievements were their new weapons and war strategies. They perfected the use of horses and iron weapons in battle. They also became extremely good at siege warfare. In a siege, an army camps outside a city and attacks it over and over again until the city falls. The Assyrians developed new ways of attacking cities. They were the first to use battering rams. These were long poles on wheels that were used for punching holes in walls. The Assyrians also built moveable towers that could be rolled up to a city’s walls. Soldiers used the towers to climb over the walls.
“The Assyrians were often ruthless. They made entire populations leave conquered areas. The Assyrians spread tales of their cruelty far and wide. Creating fear among their enemies was part of their military strategy. One such tale was that after cutting off the heads of enemy leaders, they forced defeated soldiers to march barefoot wearing their leaders’ heads around their necks.
Life Under the Assyrians
The Assyrian Empire was ruled by powerful kings. The Assyrian believed that kings were special beings. So it’s not surprising that they built beautiful palaces for them. The great palace in the capital city of Nineveh had many, many rooms. Some palaces were built on tall mounds so they were higher than all the surrounding buildings. Huge sculptures of winged human-headed bulls or lions stood at the entrances.
The Wicked City of Nineveh and the Story of Jonah
[Most Bible Scholars Believe that Jonah lived between about 780 B.C.E and 500 B.C.E]
“While the kings ruled, ordinary people farmed the land. Like other groups in Mesopotamia, the Assyrians dug canals to irrigate their land and keep it fertile. They also built some of the earliest aqueducts. A system of canals and aqueducts brought drinking water to Nineveh from 30 miles away.
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
“Assyrian craftspeople were known for their two-dimensional sculptures called bas-reliefs. Many of their most famous bas-reliefs were on palace walls. They were amazingly realistic. Often they showed the king hunting, fighting in battle, or enjoying family life. The Assyrians also used ivory to decorate thrones, beds, chairs, and doors.
“The Assyrian Empire lasted about 300 years. At its height, it stretched from Egypt to the Persian Gulf. In the end, this vast territory proved too big to control. The army was stretched thin, and the Assyrians could not fight off neighbors who rose up against them. In 612 B.C.E. Nineveh was plundered by a combined army of Babylonians, Scythians, and a group called the Medes. The Assyrians’ power was broken forever.
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
The Neo-Babylonian Empire about 600 B.C.E.
“After the fall of Nineveh, the Babylonians regained control over Mesopotamia. They established a new empire, the Neo-Babylonian Empire. (Neo means “new.”)
King Nebuchadrezzar Ruled During the Neo-Babylonian Empire
The new empire’s most famous king was Nebuchadrezzar II. A ruthless military leader, he reigned from 605 to 562 B.C.E. Nebuchadrezzar expanded his empire whenever he could. He drove the Egyptians out of Syria. He also conquered part of Canaan (present-day Israel), the home of the Hebrews. When the Hebrews rebelled, he took most of them captive and carried them off into Babylonia. Many of them never returned to their homeland.
“As a military leader, Nebuchadrezzar knew it was important to keep his capital city, Babylon, safe. He built an inner wall and an outer wall around the city. The walls were so thick that two chariots could pass each other on top of them. Towers were placed on the walls for archers to stand on. Finally, a moat was dug around the outer wall and filled with water. During peacetime, people used bridges to cross the moat and enter the city. In times of war, the bridges were taken down.
Life in the Neo-Babylonian Empire
[The Biblical Story of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar Took Place During the Time of the Neo-Babylonian Empire.]
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
“Nebuchadrezzar worked hard to give Babylon the splendor it had enjoyed under Hammurabi. From 605 to 562 B.C.E., he rebuilt the city’s ziggurat. This huge structure was several stories high. The Babylonians called it the “House of the Platform Between Heaven and Earth.”
“The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were one of the great wonders of the ancient world. The sight of so many trees and bushes rising above the desert landscape was astonishing.”
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
“Nebuchadrezzar decorated his palace with fabulous gardens. They became famous as the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The gardens were planted on rooftops and tall terraces so that lush greenery hung down over the walls. A watering system kept the gardens fresh and green. They were one of the great wonders of the ancient world.
“The Babylonians were also skilled in mathematics and astronomy.
[It is important to note that there were ancient astornomers before Christ was born. This helps us understand the story of the Wise Magi who visited the Baby Jesus.]
Stars, Astronomy, The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi in the Bible
“They created the first sundial, a device for telling time using the sun. They made discoveries that led us to the 60-minute hour and the 7-day week.
“The Neo-Babylonian Empire lasted only 75 years.
‘In 539 B.C.E., a new conqueror swept into Babylon from the east. His name was Cyrus, and he was the leader of the Persian Empire. The Persians came from the land we now call Iran. For about 200 years, they ruled the most powerful empire in the world. … the Persians themselves were conquered by a man named Alexander the Great
Image Credit: History Alive Textbook
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