Portal:Ancient Near East

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The Ancient Near East portal

The ancient Near Eastrefers to early civilizationswithin a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia(modern Iraqand Syria), Persia(modern Iran), Anatolia(modern Turkey), the Levant(modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan), and Ancient Egypt, from the rise of Sumerin the 4th millennium BC until the region's conquest by Alexander the Greatin the 4th century BC, or covering both the Bronze Ageand the Iron Agein the region.

The Ancient Near East is considered the cradle of civilization. It was the first to practice intensive year-round agriculture; it gave us the first writing system, invented the potter's wheel and then the vehicular- and mill wheels, created the first centralized governments, law codes and empires, as well as introducing social stratification, slavery and organized warfare, and it laid the foundation for the fields of astronomy and mathematics.

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The Epic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literary fiction. Scholars surmise that a series of Sumerian legends about the mythological hero-king Gilgamesh (who according to the Sumerian king list might have been a real ruler in the late Early Dynastic II period (ca. 27th century BC)) were later compiled by the scribe Sin-liqe-unninni into an Akkadian language epic, with the most complete version existing today preserved on twelve clay tablets found in the library of the 7th century BC Assyrian king Ashurbanipal.

The story revolves around the relationship between Gilgamesh, a king who has become distracted and disheartened by his rule, and a friend, Enkidu, who is half-wild and who undertakes dangerous quests with Gilgamesh. Much of the epic focuses on Gilgamesh's thoughts of loss following Enkidu's death. It is about their becoming human together, and places a high emphasis on issues surrounding human mortality. It is often credited by historians as being one of the first literary works.

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Did you know...

...that the ancient Elamite language is proposed to be distantly related to the modern Dravidian languages? It is attested from ca. 2500 BC, and a still undeciphered "proto-Elamite" goes back to ca. 3000 BC.

...that the earliest attested Semitic language is Akkadian, ca. 2500 BC?

...that the earliest attested Indo-European language is Hittite, from ca. the 18th century BC?

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Credit: Manuel Parada López de Corselas

Bracelet Achaemenid period, 559-330 BC (British Museum) ...More pictures

Key Topics

Ancient Near East, ca. 3000 BC

Ancient Near East

History: Short chronology timeline
Cities: Cities of the ancient Near East
Assyriology: Cuneiform script • Classical authorities on the ancient Near East • Modern discovery of the ancient Near East • Chronology of the ancient Near East

Mesopotamia

History of Mesopotamia

Persia Anatolia Levant Ancient Egypt(see the Ancient Egypt portal)

Sumer (ca. 5300 – 1940 BC)

Ubaid period (ca. 5300 – 4100 BC)
Uruk period (ca. 4100 – 2900 BC)

Proto-Elamite period (ca. 3200 – 2700 BC)

Predynastic Egypt (before ca. 3100 BC)
Protodynastic Period (ca. 3200 – 3000 BC)

(Sumer)

Early dynastic period (ca. 2900 – 2334 BC)

Urukarea, ca. 2350 BC

History: History of Sumer
Language: Sumerian language
Cities: Eridu • Kish • Uruk • Ur • Lagash • Ngirsu • Nippur
People: Meskalamdug • Puabi • Mesilim
- Rulers: Sumerian king list:
  En-me-barage-si • Mesh-Ane-pada • En-shag-kush-ana • Ur-Nanshe • Eannatum • Entemena • Urukagina • Lugal-Ane-mundu • Kug-Bau • Lugal-zage-si • Gudea • Utu-hengal • Ur-Namma • Shulgi
- Legendary heroes: Alulim • Dumuzid • Etana • Enmerkar • Lugalbanda • Gilgamesh

Old Elamite period (ca. 2700 – 1700 BC)

Elam

Language: Elamite language • Elamite cuneiform
Cities: Anshan • Susa • Chogha Zanbil

Early Dynastic Period of Egypt (ca. 3150 – 2686 BC)
Old Kingdom (ca. 2686 – 2134 BC).

Sumerian legacy to Mesopotamia and the ancient Near East:

Literature:
- Sumerian literature: Sumerian creation myth • Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta • Epic of Gilgamesh
- Babylonian literature: Enuma Elish • Atra-Hasis • Epic of Gilgamesh
Art and architecture: Cylinder seal • Stele • E (temple) • Ziggurat
Law: Cuneiform law
Mythology: Mesopotamian mythology • Babylonian mythology • Assyro-Babylonian religion
- Deities: the Anunna, the Anunnaki: An • Enlil • Enki/Ea • Ninhursanga/Ki • Marduk • Ashur • Inana/Ishtar • Ninlil • Utu/Shamash • Nanna/Sin • Ninurta/Ningirsu

Akkad (ca. 2334 – 2147 BC)

AkkadianEmpire, ca. 2250 BC

Language: Akkadian language
Cities: Akkad • Mari
People: Sargon of Akkad • En-hedu-ana • Naram-Suen

Lullubi (ca. 22nd century BC)
(Old Elamite period)

Hattians (ca. 22nd – 17th century BC)

Hatti

Language: Hattic language

Ebla (ca. 2300 BC)

Language: Eblaite language

Gutium (ca. 2147 – 2050 BC)

History: Gutian dynasty of Sumer

(Old Elamite period)

First Intermediate Period (ca. 2160 – 2055 BC)

(Sumer)

Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2047 – 1940 BC)

The Levantand Ancient Egypt, ca. 1350 BC

Middle Kingdom of Egypt (ca. 2055 – 1640 BC)

Amorites (ca. 1953 – 1531 BC)

Language: Amorite language
Cities: Isin • Larsa
- Babylonia (ca. 1728 – 1531 BC)

Babylonia, ca. 1728 – 1686 BC

- - History: First Babylonian Dynasty
  - Cities: Babylon
  - People: List of Kings of Babylon:
    Hammurabi
  - Law: Babylonian law • Code of Hammurabi
  - Science: Babylonian astronomy • Babylonian mathematics

Babylonia and Assyria
Assyria

Old kingdom (ca. 1745 – BC)
Middle kingdom (ca. 1353 – BC)
Cities: Assur • Nimrud • Nineveh
People: Kings of Assyria:
Shamshi-Adad I • Tiglath-Pileser I
Law: Assyrian law

Hittites (ca. 1700 – 1178 BC)

HittiteEmpire, ca. 1590 – 1300 BC

History: History of the Hittites: Battle of Kadesh • Battle of Nihriya
Language and literature: Hittite language • Anatolian languages • Hittite texts
Cities: Hattusa • Neša
People: List of Hittite kings:
Labarna I • Mursili I • Hattusili I • Tudhaliya I • Arnuwanda I • Tudhaliya II • Suppiluliuma I • Mursili II • Muwatalli II • Mursili III • Hattusili III • Tudhaliya IV
Mythology: Hittite mythology

Hurrians (ca. 18th – 13th century BC)

Mitanni

Language: Hurrian language • Hurro-Urartian languages
History: Mitanni

Kassites (ca. 1650 – 1155 BC)

Art: Kudurru boundary stones

Middle Elamite period (ca. 1500 – 1100 BC)

Canaan

Second Intermediate Period (Hyksos, ca. 1648 – 1540 BC)

Ugarit (ca. 1450 – 1200 BC)

Language: Ugaritic language • Ugaritic alphabet
Literature: Danel • Baal cycle

New Kingdom (ca. 1570 – 1070 BC)

Amarna letters (ca. 1360 – 1332 BC)

Neo-Elamite period (ca. 1100 – 539 BC)

Syro-Hittite states (ca. 1178 – ca. 700 BC)

Syro-Hittite states, ca. 800 BC

Groups: Luwians

(Canaan:)

Phoenicia (ca. 1200 – 65 BC)
- Language: Phoenician language • Phoenician alphabet
- Cities: Tyre • Sidon • Byblos

Aramaeans (ca. 1250 BC – 7th century AD)

Language: Aramaic language
Cities: Damascus

Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1070 – 664 BC)

Neo-Assyrian Empire (ca. 911 – 612 BC)

Neo-AssyrianEmpire, 750 – 625 BC

Cities: Nimrud • Dur-Sharrukin • Nineveh
Kings: Adad-nirari II • Ashurnasirpal II • Shalmaneser III • Adad-nirari III • Tiglath-Pileser III • Sargon II • Sennacherib • Esarhaddon • Ashurbanipal

(Neo-Elamite period)
Mannaeans (ca. 850 – 616 BC)
Ancient Iranian peoples:

Religion: Zoroastrianism
Medes (ca. 836 – 500 BC)

Medianand Neo-Babylonianempires, ca. 600 BC

- Cities: Ecbatana

Urartu (ca. 850 – ca. 640 BC)

Urartu, 8th century BC

Language: Urartian language • Hurro-Urartian languages

(Canaan:)

Ancient Israel and Judah (see also the Jewish history project and the Bible portal)

Neo-Babylonian Empire (626 – 539 BC)

History: Chaldea • Babylonian Chronicles
People: Nabopolassar • Nebuchadrezzar II

Medianand Neo-Babylonianempires, ca. 600 BC

(<<Neo-Babylonian Empire)

Late Period of Egypt (ca. 672 – 332 BC)

Achaemenid Empire, 500 BC

(Ancient Iranian peoples:)

Achaemenid Empire (553 – 330 BC)
- Cities: Persepolis
- People: Cyrus the Great • Darius I of Persia • Xerxes I of Persia

First Persian Period (ca. 525 – 402 BC)
Second Persian Period (ca. 343 – 332 BC)

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