Everyone will converge in Mesopotamia, Here is Eden and here the beginning
Here once a common speech
The Word of God sounded…"
(Konstantin Mikhailov)
While wild nomads roamed the territory of ancient Europe, very interesting (sometimes inexplicable) events took place in the East. They are colorfully written in the Old Testament and in other historical sources. For example, such well-known biblical stories as the Tower of Babel and the Flood happened just on the territory of Mesopotamia.
Ancient Mesopotamia without any embellishment can be called the cradle of civilization. It was on this land that the first eastern civilization was born around the 4th century BC. Such states of Mesopotamia (Ancient Mesopotamia in Greek), like Sumer and Akkad, gave mankind writing and amazing temple buildings. Let's go on a journey through this land full of secrets!
Geographic location
What was the name of Mesopotamia? Mesopotamia. The second name of Mesopotamia is Mesopotamia. You can also hear the word Naharaim - this is also she, only in Hebrew.
Mesopotamia is a historical and geographical area located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Now there are three states on this land: Iraq, Syria and Turkey. The history of the civilization of ancient Mesopotamia developed in this territory.
Located in the very center of the Middle East, the region is bounded from the west by the Arabian Platform, from the east by the foothills of the Zagros. In the south, Mesopotamia is washed by the waters of the Persian Gulf, and in the north, the picturesque Ararat Mountains rise.
Mesopotamia is a flat plain stretching along two great rivers. In shape, it looks like an oval figure - such is the amazing Mesopotamia (the map confirms this).
Division of Mesopotamia into regions
Historians conventionally divide Mesopotamia into:
-
ancient civilizations of mesopotamia Upper Mesopotamia - the northern part of the region. Since ancient times (from the middle of the 1st millennium BC) it was called "Assyria". Many years later, modern Syria was formed on this territory with its capital in the beautiful city of Damascus.
- Lower Mesopotamia is the southern part of Mesopotamia. It was densely populated by people even before our era. In turn, the Southern Mesopotamia is also divided into two separate regions. Namely, the northern and southern parts. The first (northern part) was originally called Ki-Uri, and then Akkad. The second (southern part) was called Sumer. Hence the beautiful and sonorous name was born.one of the first cradles of civilization - "Sumer and Akkad". A little later, this historical area became known as Babylonia. It is noteworthy that it was there that the legendary tower was located, according to legend, reaching its height to the sky.
On the territory of Ancient Mesopotamia at different times there were four ancient kingdoms:
- Sumer;
- Akkad;
- Babylonia;
- Assyria.
Why did Mesopotamia become the cradle of civilization?
About 6 thousand years ago, an amazing event happened on our planet: at about the same time, two civilizations were born - Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia. The nature of civilization is both similar and unlike the first ancient state.
The similarity lies in the fact that both originated in areas with favorable conditions for human life. They are not similar in that each of them is distinguished by a unique story (the first thing that comes to mind: there were pharaohs in Egypt, but not in Mesopotamia).
The topic of the article, nevertheless, is the state of Mesopotamia. Therefore, we will not deviate from it.
Ancient Mesopotamia is a kind of oasis in the desert. The area is surrounded by rivers on both sides. And from the north - mountains that protect the oasis from humid winds from Armenia.
Such favorable natural features made this land attractive to ancient man. Surprisingly, a comfortable climate is combined with the opportunity to engage in agriculture. The soil is so fertile and rich in moisture that grownfruits come out juicy and sprouted legumes taste delicious.
The ancient Sumerians, who settled this territory about 6 thousand years ago, were the first to notice this. They learned how to grow various plants skillfully and left behind a rich history, the mysteries of which are still being solved by enthusiastic people.
A bit of conspiracy: about the origin of the Sumerians
Modern history does not answer the question of where the Sumerians came from. There are many assumptions about this, but the scientific community has not yet come to a consensus. Why? Because the Sumerians stood out from the rest of the tribes inhabiting Mesopotamia.
One of the obvious differences is the language: it is not similar to any of the dialects spoken by the inhabitants of neighboring territories. That is, it has no similarity with the Indo-European language - the predecessor of most modern languages.
Also, the appearance of the inhabitants of Ancient Sumer is not at all typical for the inhabitants of those places. The plates depict people with even oval faces, surprisingly large eyes, fine features and above average height.
Another point that historians pay attention to is the unusual culture of an ancient civilization. One of the hypotheses says that the Sumerians are representatives of a highly developed civilization that flew from outer space to our planet. This point of view is rather strange, but it has the right to exist.
How it actually happened is unclear. But one thing can be said with accuracy - the Sumerians gave a lot to our civilization. One of their undeniable achievements is the invention of writing.
Ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia
Different peoples inhabited the extended territory of Mesopotamia. We will single out two main ones (the history of Mesopotamia would not have been so rich without them):
- Sumerians;
- Semites (to be more precise, Semitic tribes: Arabs, Armenians and Jews).
Based on this, we will talk about the most interesting events and historical figures.
In order to preserve the general outline of our story, let's start the story of ancient civilizations from the Sumerian kingdom.
Sumer: a brief historical background
It was the first written civilization that arose in the southeast of Mesopotamia from the 4th to the 3rd century BC. Now on this area is the modern state of Iraq (Ancient Mesopotamia, the map again helps us orient ourselves).
The Sumerians are the only non-Semitic people on the territory of Mesopotamia. Numerous linguistic and cultural studies confirm this. The official story says that the Sumerians came to the territory of Mesopotamia from some mountainous Asian country.
They started their journey along Mesopotamia from the east: they settled along the mouths of the rivers and mastered the irrigation economy. The first city where the representatives of this ancient civilization stopped was Eredu. Further, the Sumerians moved deep into the plain: they did not subjugate the local population, but assimilated; sometimes they even adopted some cultural achievements of wildtribes.
The history of the Sumerians is a fascinating process of struggle between different groups of people led by one or another king. The state reached its peak under the ruler Umma Lugalzages.
The Babylonian historian Beross in his work divided Sumerian history into two periods:
- before the Flood (meaning the Great Flood and the story of Noah described in the Old Testament);
- after the Flood.
Culture of Ancient Mesopotamia (Sumer)
The first settlements of the Sumerians were original - they were small cities surrounded by stone walls; lived in them from 40 to 50 thousand people. An important city in the southeast of the country was Ur. The center of the Sumerian kingdom was recognized as the city of Nippur, located in the center of the country. Known for the large temple of God Enlil.
The Sumerians were a fairly advanced civilization, let's list what they reached the heights of.
- In agriculture. This is evidenced by the agricultural almanac that has come down to us. It details how to properly grow plants, when to water them, and how to plow the soil properly.
- In craft. The Sumerians knew how to build houses and how to use a potter's wheel.
- In writing. She will be discussed in our next chapter.
The legend of the origin of writing
Most important inventions happen in rather strange ways, especially when it comes to ancient times. The emergence of writing is no exception.
Two ancient Sumerian rulers argued with each other. This was expressed inthat they made riddles to each other and exchanged them through their ambassadors. One ruler turned out to be very inventive and came up with a puzzle so complicated that his ambassador could not remember it. Then writing had to be invented.
The Sumerians wrote on clay boards with reed sticks. Initially, the letters were depicted as signs and hieroglyphs, then as connected syllables. This process was called cuneiform writing.
The culture of Ancient Mesopotamia is inconceivable without the Sumerian. Neighboring peoples borrowed the skill of writing from this civilization.
Babylonia (Babylonian kingdom)
A state arose at the beginning of the second millennium BC in the south of Mesopotamia. Having existed for about 15 centuries, it left behind a rich history and interesting architectural monuments.
The Semitic people of the Amorites inhabited the territory of the Babylonian state. They adopted the earlier culture of the Sumerians, but already spoke the Akkadian language, which belongs to the Semitic group.
Ancient Babylon arose on the site of the earlier Sumerian city of Kadingir.
The key historical figure was King Hammurabi. During his military campaigns, he subjugated many neighboring cities. He also wrote a work that has come down to us - "The Laws of Mesopotamia (Hammurabi)".
Let's talk in more detail about the rules of public life written down by the wise king. The laws of Hammurabi are phrases written on a clay tablet that regulate the rights and obligations of the average Babylonian. Historians suggest that the presumption of innocence and the principle of "an eye for an eye" were first formulated by Hammurabi.
The ruler came up with some principles himself, some he rewrote from earlier Sumerian sources.
The laws of Hammurabi say that the ancient civilization was really advanced, because people followed certain rules and already had an idea of what was good and what was bad.
The original work is in the Louvre, an exact copy can be found in some Moscow museum.
Tower of Babel
Cities of Mesopotamia is a topic for a separate work. We will stop at Babylon, the very place where the interesting events described in the Old Testament took place.
First, we will tell an interesting biblical story about the Tower of Babel, then - the point of view of the scientific community on this matter. The legend of the Tower of Babel is a story about the appearance of different languages on Earth. The first mention of it can be found in the Book of Genesis: the event took place after the Flood.
In those ancient times, humanity was a single people, therefore, all people spoke the same language. They moved south and came to the lower reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates. There they decided to found a city (Babylon) and build a tower as high as the sky. The work was in full swing … But then God intervened in the process. He created different languages, so people stopped understanding each other. It is clear that very soon the construction of the tower was stopped. The end of the story was the resettlement of people in different parts of our planet.
What does the scientific community think about the Tower of Babel? Scientists suggest that the Tower of Babel was one of the ancient temples for observing the stars and conducting religious rites. Such structures were called ziggurats. The highest temple (91 meters high) was located in Babylon. Its name sounded like "Etemenanke". The literal translation of the word is “The house where the heavens meet the Earth.”
Assyrian Empire
The first mention of Assyria dates back to the 24th century BC. The state existed for two thousand years. And in the seventh century BC ceased to exist. The Assyrian Empire is recognized as the first in the history of mankind.
The state was located in the Northern Mesopotamia (on the territory of modern Iraq). It was distinguished by militancy: a lot of cities were subjugated and destroyed by Assyrian commanders. They captured not only the territory of Mesopotamia, but also the territory of the kingdom of Israel and the island of Cyprus. There was an attempt to subjugate the ancient Egyptians, but it was unsuccessful - after 15 years, the inhabitants of this country regained their independence.
Severe measures were taken against the captured population: the Assyrians were obliged to pay a monthly tribute.
The major Assyrian cities were:
- Ashur;
- Kalah;
- Dur-Sharrukin (Sargon's Palace).
Assyrian culture and religion
Here again, you can trace the connection with the Sumerian culture. The Assyrians spoke the northern dialect of the Akkadian language. Literature studied in schoolsSumerians and Babylonians; some of the moral norms of ancient civilizations were adopted by the Assyrians. On palaces and temples, local architects depicted a bold lion as a symbol of the military success of the empire. Assyrian literature, again, is associated with the campaigns of local rulers: the kings have always been described as brave and courageous people, while their opponents, on the contrary, are shown as cowardly and petty (here you can see the obvious reception of state propaganda).
Religion of Mesopotamia
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia are inextricably linked to the local religion. Moreover, their inhabitants sacredly believed in the gods and necessarily performed certain rituals. Speaking very generally, it was polytheism (belief in various gods) that distinguished Ancient Mesopotamia. To better understand the religion of Mesopotamia, you need to read the local epic. One of the most striking literary works of that time is the myth of Gilgamesh. A thoughtful reading of this book suggests that the hypothesis of an unearthly origin of the Sumerians is not groundless.
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia gave us three main mythologies:
- Sumero-Akkadian.
- Babylonian.
- Assyrian.
Let's take a closer look at each of them.
Sumero-Akkadian mythology
Included all the beliefs of the Sumerian-speaking population. It also includes the religion of the Akkadians. The gods of Mesopotamia are conventionally united: each major city had its own pantheon and its own temples. Nevertheless, similarities can be found.
Let's list the gods important for the Sumerians:
- An (Anu - Akkad.) - the god of the sky, responsible for the Cosmos andstars. He was very revered by the ancient Sumerians. He was considered a passive ruler, that is, he did not interfere in people's lives.
- Enlil is the lord of the air, the second most important god for the Sumerians. Only, unlike An, was an active deity. He was revered as responsible for fertility, productivity and peaceful life.
- Ishtar (Inanna) is a key goddess for Sumero-Akkadian mythology. Information about her is very contradictory: on the one hand, she is the patroness of fertility and good relations between a man and a woman, and on the other, a fierce warrior. Such inconsistencies arise due to the large number of different sources that contain references to her.
- Umu (Sumerian pronunciation) or Shamash (Akkadian, referring to the similarity of the language with Hebrew, since Shemesh means sun).
Babylonian mythology
The main ideas for their religion were adopted from the Sumerians. True, with significant complications.
Babylonian religion was built on the belief of man in his impotence before the gods of the pantheon. It is clear that such an ideology was based on fear and limited the development of ancient man. The priests managed to build a similar structure: they performed various manipulations in ziggurats (majestic high temples), including a complex ritual of sacrifice.
The following gods were revered in Babylonia:
- Tammuz - was the patron of agriculture, vegetation and fertility. There is a connection with a similar Sumerian cult of the resurrected andthe dying god of vegetation.
- Adad is the patron of thunder and rain. A very powerful and evil deity.
- Shamash and Sin are the patrons of the heavenly bodies: the sun and the moon.
Assyrian mythology
The religion of the militant Assyrians is very similar to the Babylonian. Most of the rituals, traditions and legends came to the people of the Northern Mesopotamia from the Babylonians. The latter borrowed, as mentioned earlier, their religion from the Sumerians.
Important gods were:
- Ashur is the main god. The patron of the entire Assyrian kingdom, created not only all the other mythological heroes, but also himself.
- Ishtar - goddess of war.
- Ramman - responsible for good luck in military battles, brought good luck to the Assyrians.
Reviewed the gods of Mesopotamia and the cults of ancient peoples - a fascinating topic, rooted in very old times. The conclusion suggests itself that the main inventors of religion were the Sumerians, whose ideas were adopted by other peoples.
A rich cultural and historical heritage was left to us by ancient people living in Mesopotamia.
It is a pleasure to study the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, as they are associated with interesting and instructive myths. And everything that concerns the Sumerians is generally one continuous riddle, the answers to which have not yet been found. But historians and archaeologists continue to "dig the ground" in this direction. Anyone can join them and also study this most interesting and very ancient civilization.
