A visit to Nabonidus at Sela, Jordan

A few weeks ago I spent some time with my colleagues from the CoE in Ancient Near Eastern Empires (University of Helsinki) in Jordan, where we updated each other about our ongoing research during our annual meeting. We also took the time to see some of the ancient sites in the region, including Umm Qays …

Journaling for beginners: the Astronomical Diaries

During the course of the first millennium BCE, a new genre of cuneiform texts developed in the city of Babylon. They are the so-called Astronomical Diaries: records of celestial, climate-related, ecological, economic, and historical events. Their level of detail makes them into incomparable sources for Babylonian history, although they should still be approached with a …

A Concise History of Mesopotamia (12): the Late Babylonian period (484 BC – 80 CE)

The Persian conquest of Babylonia in 539 BC did not constitute a substantial break in Babylonian society. It is true that the Persians exercised high fiscal pressure on the local economic players, but the thriving socio-economic system of the Neo-Babylonian period remained largely intact. That changed, however, in the year 484 BC. The End of …

A Concise History of Mesopotamia (11): the Long Sixth Century (626-484 BC)

After centuries of political turmoil in Babylonia, the Assyrians seized control of the weakened territory in the first centuries of the first millennium BC. However, resistance remained, especially in the south, where Chaldean tribes were in power. It is from there that a strong new dynasty arose, which put an end to Babylonia's inferior position …

A Concise History of Mesopotamia (10): the Neo-Assyrian period (911-609 BC)

At the beginning of the first millennium BC, Assyria was dominated by Aramean tribes, who invaded the region en masse and weakened the once great empire. For more than a century, no ruler was strong enough to push them back and famine and poverty raged in the land. It was only at the beginning of …

A Concise History of Mesopotamia (9): the Middle-Assyrian period (ca. 1500-1000 BC)

While it is possible to reconstruct the history of southern Mesopotamia throughout the second millennium BC - in spite of the many lacunae in our sources - we are quite unable to do the same for Assyria: the period between the reign of Ishme-Dagan (1781-1741) and that of Puzur-Ashur III (1521-1498) is so badly documented …

A Concise History of Mesopotamia (8): Kassite Babylonia (1595-1155 BC)

After the Hittites under Mursili I sacked Babylon and retreated, the city and its environment were left without a ruler. In the south of Babylonia, the so-called Sealand Dynasty (or Second Dynasty of Babylon) came to power, cutting off the rest of Mesopotamia from the trade routes going over the Persian Gulf to India. Probably …

A Concise History of Mesopotamia (7): Old Babylonian period (1800-1600 BC)

From the political turmoil that marked the first two centuries of the second millennium BC emerged a strong dynasty, which managed to conquer a vast empire. The most prominent figure of this time was Hammurabi, who would be remembered throughout Babylonian history. Yet, the dynasty's sudden rise to power under this ruler resulted in an …

A Concise History of Mesopotamia (6): ca. 2000-1800 BC

Around 2000 BC the Ur III-empire disintegrated into smaller political units. In the south of Mesopotamia, some rulers managed to continue along the same ideological path of their Ur III-predecessor, although on a much smaller scale. Assyria, on the other hand, focused its attention on long distance trade, thus laying a firm basis for what …

A Concise History of Mesopotamia (5): Ur III (2100-2000 BC)

At the end of the Old-Akkadian period the Akkadian empire dissolved into a number of smaller city-states governed by a local king. The Sumerian Kinglist mentions Utu-Hegal who reigned eight years over Uruk. After him the List gives the names of kings who ruled at Ur. Since that is the third dynasty of that city …