Mesopotamia and More

Resources on the Ancient Near East (ANE), the cradle of civilization and the area surrounding the Mediterranean powers of Greece and Rome, including Persia, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Israel.

Fast Facts About Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is the land between the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. Here are some fast facts about Mesopotamia.

Eras of Jewish History
A pictorial look at the eras of ancient Jewish history.

Akkadian and Cuneiform
A look at the history of early cuneiform in answer to the question, "Was Akkadian on clay tablets the earliest known rendering of language?"

Hammurabi
Profile of the famous Babylonian lawgiver, Hammurabi.

Silk Road
The Silk Road linked China with Rome via the intermediaries of the Near East.

Babylonian and Assyrian Gods and Goddesses
A list of the major gods and goddesses in the Babylonian and Assyrian pantheons, subdivided by major type.

Gilgamesh
Basics on the important legendary king of Uruk, Gilgamesh of Epic of Gilgamesh fame.

Ancient Asia Minor Map
A public domain map of ancient Asia Minor showing Troy, the Greek islands, mountains, rivers, provinces, and major cities.

Anatolia - Timeline of Anatolia
Timeline of events and rulers in that area of ancient Turkey now known as Anatolia where once the Hittites lived.

Ancient / Classical History Glossary - Main Glossary
The Ancient / Classical History glossary is an evolving resource on people and topics in ancient history, mythology and classical literature, mostly with very brief descriptions and biographies.

Ancient Mesopotamia - Modern Iraq Resources
Major resources on the area now called Iraq that once was the Mesopotamia.

Asia Minor
Short glossary entry on ancient Asia Minor.

Ziggurat - Step Pyramids - Ziggurats
Ziggurats were ancient mudbrick temples like step pyramids. There are remains of Ziggurats at Ur.

Iraq - Ancient Mesopotamia
Information on ancient Iraq, Mesopotamia, Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, and Assyria, from the Library of Congress.

Fertile Crescent
This colorful term refers to a geographical area most of which is also referred to as the Neareast.

Carthage and the Phoenicians
Background to the Punic Wars between the Phoenicians and Romans.

Civilizations of Ancient Iraq - Review of Foster & Foster Civilizatio…
Review of Civilizations of Ancient Iraq, by Benjamin R. Foster and Karen P. Foster.

Cuneiform
Forum post on cuneiform. "Most cuneiform can be read without difficulty provided the reader knows what language is represented. Though invented by the Sumerians, the system was also adopted by various Semitic-speaking peoples ... and even some Indo-Europeans...."

Cuneiform - Ancient Wedge-Shaped or Cuneiform Writing
Cuneiform was the wedge-shaped writing used in Mesopotamia. There are many remnants of this ancient writing because cuneiform was used on clay which, unlike writing on paper or hieroglyphs on pspyrus, was preserved by fire.

Dates for Major Events in Ancient History
Time line of major events in the ancient history of the world. Most dates and events on the ancient history timeline are of political importance.

Alluvium and Alluvial Plains
Alluvium is a deposit from flowing streams that makes the area soil fertile.

Decapolis
Decapolis was an ancient group of ten Greco-Roman cities.

Fifth Century B.C. Timeline
Events during the fifth century in Greece and Rome, which include the Persian Wars.

Kassites - Who Were the Kassites
The Kassites came to power in Babylonia after the Amorites, whose most famous king was Hammurabi.

Major Countries of the Ancient Near East
Introduction, links, and a picture to go with ancient countries and peoples around the Fertile Crescent.

Map of Ancient Syria, Mesopotamia, and Assyria.
Syria, Mesopotamia, and Assyria map from The Atlas of Ancient and Classical Geography, by Samuel Butler, Ernest Rhys, editor (1907, repr. 1908).

Marc Van De Mieroop's A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323
A review of Marc Van De Mieroop's A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 B.C.

Mesopotamia
Ancient Mesopotamians used money, at least in some sense, from, perhaps the third millennium B.C.

Nippur
Nippur is an ancient Mesopotamian city now called Niffer or Nuffar.

Persia Timeline
A Persia timeline showing major events in the ancient history of Persia (modern Iran).

The Battle of Salamis
In The Battle of Salamis, Barry Strauss explains the treacherous part Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus, may have played in the battle between the Persian allies and the Greeks.

The History of the Ancient World: From the Earliest Accounts to...
Susan Wise Bauer tells ancient (political) history as an entertainingly detailed story. Her approach to the civilizations of the Mediterranean, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and China is unusual, because instead of covering one civilization through time, she shows what each was doing during a given period. It is a great read for people who want...

Timelines of the Ancient Near East
Index of timelines of the history of the Ancient Near East.

Tophet
Tophet was an area where the Phoenicians buried children.

Ur
Ur was an ancient city in Sumer

Uruk - About the Major Mesopotamian Urban Area of Uruk
Uruk was an important early region and city of southern Mesopotamia known today as Warka, and in Biblical literature, as Erech.

Race and Slavery in the Middle East
By Bernard Lewis. The earliest slaves were captives taken in warfare. Kidnapped children also became slaves.

Shining New Light on Assyrian Palace
Explore ancient Near Eastern art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Included are features on King Ashurnasirpal II, excavations at Nimrud, and a map of the Assyrian empire.

Royal Game of Ur
"The Royal Game of Ur gets its name from two boardgames which were found in tombs by Sir Leonard Wooley, who was carrying out excavations in the ancient city of Ur in the 1920s."

Recommended Reading on the Ancient Near East
Reading guide about Ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, and Nubian people and cultures. Some selections for kids.

Ancient Oriental Seals
Photocopy of 1924 volume from the University of Chicago libraries entitled Ancient Oriental Seals in the Collection of Mr. Edward T. Newell.

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