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98-561: Occupation of the city itself continued for approximately 3,000 years, from the Early Dynastic Period to the mid-3rd century AD, when the city was sacked by the Sasanian Empire . The site is a World Heritage Site and was added to that organisation's list of sites in danger in 2003 as a result of a proposed dam, which would flood some of the site. It has been further threatened by the conflict that erupted following

196-1022: A further 580 years until his own when a fire had gutted it. The following is a list of the annually-elected limmu from the first full year of Erishum I's reign until the year of his death c. 1935 BC ( middle chronology ): 1974 BC Šu-Ištar, son of Abila 1973 BC Šukutum, son of Išuhum 1972 BC Iddin-ilum, son of Kurub-Ištar 1971 BC Šu-Anim, son of Isalia 1970 BC Anah-ili, son of Kiki 1969 BC Suitaya, son of Ir'ibum 1968 BC Daya, son of Išuhum 1967 BC Ili-ellat 1966 BC Šamaš-t.ab 1965 BC Agusa 1964 BC Idnaya, son of Šudaya 1963 BC Quqadum, son of Buzu 1962 BC Puzur-Ištar, son of Bedaki 1961 BC Laqip, son of Bab-idi 1960 BC Šu-Laban, son of Kurub-Ištar 1959 BC Šu-Belum, son of Išuhum 1958 BC Nab-Suen, son of Šu-Ištar 1957 BC Hadaya, son of Elali 1956 BC Ennum-Aššur, son of Begaya 1955 BC Ikunum, son of Šudaya 1954 BC Is.mid-ili, son of Idida 1953 BC Buzutaya, son of Išuhum 1952 BC Šu-Ištar, son of Amaya 1951 BC Iddin-Aššur, son of

294-430: A large broken block of alabaster, apparently described as a ṭuppu . The shallow depression on its top has led some to identify it as a door socket. His numerous contemporary inscriptions commemorate his building of the temple for Assur, called “Wild Bull” with its courtyard and two beer vats and the accompanying curses to those who would use them for their intended purposes. Erishum I’s other civic constructions included

392-523: A large urban center dominated the surrounding rural settlements. The territories of these city-states were in turn delimited by other city-states that were organized along the same principles. The most important centers were Uruk , Ur , Lagash , Adab , and Umma-Gisha . Available texts from this period point to recurring conflicts between neighboring kingdoms, notably between Umma and Lagash. The situation may have been different further north, where Semitic people seem to have been dominant. In this area, Kish

490-524: A mainstay of the Persian Army. The city revived during the Parthian Empire period, particularly between 150 BC and 270 AD, its population expanding and it becoming an administrative centre of Parthian-ruled Assuristan . Assyriologists Simo Parpola and Patricia Crone suggest Assur may have had outright independence in this period. New administrative buildings were erected to the north of

588-588: A new temple to the goddess Ishtar . The Anu - Adad temple was established later during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser I (1115–1075 BC). The walled area of the city in the Middle Assyrian period made up some 1.2 square kilometres (300 acres). In the Neo-Assyrian Empire (912–605 BC), the royal residence was transferred to other Assyrian cities. Ashur-nasir-pal II (884–859 BC) moved the capital from Assur to Kalhu ( Calah / Nimrud ) following

686-408: A result, this area was better known than neighboring regions, but the excavation and publication of the archives of Ebla have changed this perspective by shedding more light on surrounding areas, such as Upper Mesopotamia , western Syria , and southwestern Iran . These new findings revealed that Lower Mesopotamia shared many socio-cultural developments with neighboring areas and that the entirety of

784-479: A series of successful campaigns and produced some of the greatest artworks in the form of colossal lamassu statues and low-relief depictions of the royal court as well as battles. With the reign of Sargon II (722–705 BC), a new capital began to rise: Dur-Sharrukin (Fortress of Sargon ). Dur-Sharrukin was originally planned to be built on a scale set to surpass that of Ashurnasirpal's. He died in battle and his son and successor Sennacherib (705–682 BC) abandoned

882-460: A similar layout: a main tell surrounded by a circular lower town. German archaeologist Max von Oppenheim called them Kranzhügel , or "cup-and-saucer-hills". Among the important sites of this period are Tell Brak (Nagar), Tell Mozan , Tell Leilan , and Chagar Bazar in the Jezirah and Mari on the middle Euphrates. Urbanization also increased in western Syria, notably in the second half of

980-901: A time when Assur was controlled by an oligarchy of the patriarchs of the prominent families and subject to the “judgment of the city”, or dīn alim . According to Veenhof, Erishum I’s reign marks the period when the institution of the annually appointed limmu ( eponym ) was introduced. The Assyrian King List observes of his immediate predecessors, “in all six kings known from bricks, whose limmu have not been marked/found”. As Assur's merchant family firms vigorously pursued commercial expansion, Erišum I had established distant trading outposts in Anatolia referred to as karums . Karums were established along trade routes into Anatolia and included: Kanesh, Ankuwa , Hattusa , and eighteen other locations that have yet to be identified, some of which had been designated as “warbatums” (satellites of and subordinate to

1078-622: Is available only for the ED IIIb period. These texts come mainly from Lagash and detail the recurring conflict with Umma over control of irrigated land. The kings of Lagash are absent from the Sumerian King List, as are their rivals, the kings of Umma. This suggests that these states, while powerful in their own time, were later forgotten. The royal inscriptions from Lagash also mention wars against other Lower Mesopotamian city-states, as well as against kingdoms farther away. Examples of

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1176-563: Is because the political history of the ED is unknown for most of its duration. As with the archaeological subdivision, the reconstruction of political events is hotly debated among researchers. The ED I (2900–2750/2700 BC) is poorly known, relative to the sub-periods that followed it. In Lower Mesopotamia, it shared characteristics with the final stretches of the Uruk ( c.  3300 –3100 BC) and Jemdet Nasr ( c.  3100 –2900 BC) periods. ED I

1274-847: Is contemporary with the culture of the Scarlet Ware pottery typical of sites along the Diyala in Lower Mesopotamia, the Ninevite V culture in Upper Mesopotamia, and the Proto-Elamite culture in southwestern Iran . New artistic traditions developed in Lower Mesopotamia during the ED II (2750/2700–2600 BC). These traditions influenced the surrounding regions. According to later Mesopotamian historical tradition, this

1372-635: Is credited on the SKL as having "exercised kingship" during the ED II period). Thorkild Jacobsen defined a "primitive democracy" with reference to Sumerian epics, myths, and historical records. He described a form of government determined by a majority of men who were free citizens. There was little specialisation and only a loose power structure. Kings such as Gilgamesh of the first dynasty of Uruk did not yet hold an autocracy . Rather, they governed together with councils of elders and councils of younger men, who were likely free men bearing arms. Kings would consult

1470-430: Is credited with dedicating the first temple of the god Ashur in his home city, although this comes from a later inscription from Shalmaneser I in the 13th century. In around 2000 BC, Puzur-Ashur I founded a new dynasty, with his successors such as Ilushuma , Erishum I and Sargon I leaving inscriptions regarding the building of temples to Ashur , Adad and Ishtar in the city. Prosperity and independence produced

1568-609: Is focusing on the New City. Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia) The Early Dynastic period (abbreviated ED period or ED ) is an archaeological culture in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq ) that is generally dated to c.  2900  – c.  2350 BC and was preceded by the Uruk and Jemdet Nasr periods. It saw the development of writing and the formation of the first cities and states . The ED itself

1666-534: Is followed by the rise of the Akkadian Empire ( c.  2350  – c.  2154 BCE ). The preceding Uruk period in Lower Mesopotamia saw the appearance of the first cities, early state structures, administrative practices, and writing. Evidence for these practices was attested to during the Early Dynastic period. The ED period is the first for which it is possible to say something about

1764-470: Is not well understood. Mesopotamian texts indicated that the Sumerian kings dealt with political entities in this area. For example, legends relating to the kings of Uruk referred to conflicts against Aratta . As of 2017 Aratta had not been identified, but it is believed to have been located somewhere in southwestern Iran. In the middle third millennium BC, Elam emerged as a powerful political entity in

1862-516: Is uncertain. This alliance seems to have focused on economic and military collaboration, as each city would dispatch soldiers to the league. The primacy of Kish is illustrated by the fact that its ruler Mesilim (c. 2500 BC) acted as arbitrator in a conflict between Lagash and Umma. However, it is not certain whether Kish held this elevated position during the entire period, as the situation seems to have been different during later conflicts between Lagash and Umma. Later, rulers from other cities would use

1960-588: Is usually further subdivided into the ED IIIa (2600–2500/2450 BC) and ED IIIb (2500/2450–2350 BC). The Royal Cemetery at Ur and the archives of Fara and Abu Salabikh date back to ED IIIa. The ED IIIb is especially well known through the archives of Girsu (part of Lagash) in Iraq and Ebla in Syria. The end of the ED is not defined archaeologically but rather politically. The conquests of Sargon and his successors upset

2058-592: The Euphrates the new Roman provinces of Mesopotamia and Assyria . The existence of the latter Roman province is questioned by C.S. Lightfoot and F. Miller. In any case, just two years after the province's supposed creation, Trajan's successor Hadrian restored Trajan's eastern conquests to the Parthians, preferring to live with him in peace and friendship. There were later Roman incursions into Mesopotamia under Lucius Verus and under Septimius Severus , who set up

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2156-583: The Jebel Hamrin , fortresses such as Tell Gubba and Tell Maddhur were constructed. It has been suggested that these sites were established to protect the main trade route from the Mesopotamian lowlands to the Iranian plateau. The main Early Dynastic sites in this region are Tell Asmar and Khafajah. Their political structure is unknown, but these sites were culturally influenced by the larger cities in

2254-502: The Persian Gulf led to increased contacts between Lower Mesopotamia and other regions. Starting in the previous period, the area of modern-day Oman —known in ancient texts as Magan —had seen the development of the oasis settlement system. This system relied on irrigation agriculture in areas with perennial springs. Magan owed its good position in the trade network to its copper deposits. These deposits were located in

2352-503: The Proto-Elamite period. This period was characterized by indigenous art, a script that has not yet been deciphered, and an elaborate metallurgy in the Lorestan region. This culture disappeared toward the middle of the third millennium, to be replaced by a less sedentary way of life. Due to the absence of written evidence and a lack of archaeological excavations targeting this period, the socio-political situation of Proto-Elamite Iran

2450-480: The Sumerian people , who spoke a non-Semitic language isolate ( Sumerian ). It is debated whether Sumerian was already in use during the Uruk period. Textual evidence indicated the existence of a Semitic population in the upper reaches of Lower Mesopotamia. The texts in question contained personal names and words from a Semitic language , identified as Old Akkadian . However, the use of the term Akkadian before

2548-701: The US -led 2003 invasion of Iraq . Assur lies 65 kilometres (40 mi) south of the site of Nimrud and 100 km (60 mi) south of Nineveh . Exploration of the site of Assur began in 1898 by German archaeologists. Excavations began in 1900 by Friedrich Delitzsch , and were continued in 1903–1913 by a team from the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft led initially by Robert Koldewey and later by Walter Andrae . More than 16,000 clay tablets with cuneiform texts were discovered. The German archeologists brought objects they found to Berlin enhancing

2646-629: The University of Chicago Oriental Institute at the archaeological sites of Tell Khafajah , Tell Agrab , and Tell Asmar in the Diyala Region of Iraq. The ED was divided into the sub-periods ED I, II, and III. This was primarily based on complete changes over time in the plan of the Abu Temple of Tell Asmar, which had been rebuilt multiple times on exactly the same spot. During the 20th century, many archaeologists also tried to impose

2744-443: The ancient Near East participated in an exchange network in which material goods and ideas were being circulated. Dutch archaeologist Henri Frankfort coined the term Early Dynastic (ED) period for Mesopotamia, the naming convention having been borrowed from the similarly named Early Dynastic (ED) period for Egypt. The periodization was developed in the 1930s during excavations that were conducted by Henri Frankfort on behalf of

2842-412: The ethnic composition of the population of Lower Mesopotamia. This is due to the fact that texts from this period contained sufficient phonetic signs to distinguish separate languages. They also contained personal names, which can potentially be linked to an ethnic identity. The textual evidence suggested that Lower Mesopotamia during the ED period was largely dominated by Sumer and primarily occupied by

2940-520: The short chronology , which is increasingly less accepted by scholars. The ED was divided into the ED I, ED II, ED IIIa, and ED IIIb sub-periods. ED I–III were more or less contemporary with the Early Jezirah (EJ) I–III in Upper Mesopotamia. The exact dating of the ED sub-periods varies between scholars—with some abandoning ED II and using only Early ED and Late ED instead and others extending ED I while allowing ED III begin earlier so that ED III

3038-747: The Assyrians (see Etymology of Syria ) before also being applied to the Levant and its inhabitants by the Seleucid Empire in the 3rd century BC. According to the Oxford Companion to the Bible, Assur was "built on a sandstone cliff on the west bank of the Tigris about 35 km (24 mi) north of its confluence with the lower Zab River ". Archaeology reveals the site of the city was occupied by

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3136-525: The Diyala river valley region or discredited altogether. The ED was preceded by the Jemdet Nasr and then succeeded by the Akkadian period, during which, for the first time in history, large parts of Mesopotamia were united under a single ruler. The entirety of the ED is now generally dated to approximately 2900–2350 BC according to the widely accepted middle chronology or 2800–2230 BC according to

3234-464: The ED IIIb period, indicated that writing and the state were well-developed, contrary to what had been believed about this area before its discovery. However, few buildings from this period have been excavated at the site of Ebla itself. The territories of these kingdoms were much larger than in Lower Mesopotamia. Population density , however, was much lower than in the south where subsistence agriculture and pastoralism were more intensive. Towards

3332-465: The Early Dynastic period do not allow the reconstruction of a political history. Royal inscriptions only offer a glimpse of the military conflicts and relations among the different city-states. Instead, rulers were more interested in glorifying their pious acts, such as the construction and restoration of temples and offerings to the gods. For the ED I and ED II periods, there are no contemporary documents shedding any light on warfare or diplomacy. Only for

3430-611: The Indus Valley, and made according to a technique developed by the Harappans . These materials were used in the manufacture of ornamental and ceremonial objects in the workshops of Ur. The First Dynasty of Ur had enormous wealth as shown by the lavishness of its tombs. This was probably due to the fact that Ur acted as the main harbour for trade with India , which put her in a strategic position to import and trade vast quantities of gold, carnelian or lapis lazuli. In comparison,

3528-681: The Kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia, conquered Assur and made it his religious capital (his primary capital being Ekallatum and later Shubat-Enlil ). In this era, the Great Royal Palace was built, and the temple of Assur was expanded and enlarged with a ziggurat . However, this empire met its end when Hammurabi , the Amorite king of Babylon conquered and incorporated the city into the First Babylonian dynasty empire following

3626-635: The Mesopotamian lowland. At the beginning of the third millennium BC, the Ninevite V culture flourished in Upper Mesopotamia and the Middle Euphrates River region. It extended from Yorghan Tepe in the east to the Khabur Triangle in the west. Ninevite V was contemporary with ED I and marked an important step in the urbanization of the region. The period seems to have experienced a phase of decentralization, as reflected by

3724-569: The Mitanni empire in 1365 BC. The Assyrians reaped the benefits of this triumph by taking control of the eastern portion of the Mitanni Empire, and later also annexing Hittite , Babylonian , Amorite and Hurrian territory. The following centuries witnessed the restoration of the old temples and palaces of Assur, and the city once more became the throne of an empire from 1365 BC to 1076 BC. Tukulti-Ninurta I (1244–1208 BC) also constructed

3822-865: The Old Palace while some queens were buried in the other capitals such as the wife of Sargon, Ataliya. The city was sacked and largely destroyed during the decisive battle of Assur , a major confrontation between the Assyrian and Median armies. After the Medes were overthrown by the Persians as the dominant force in ancient Iran, Assyria was ruled by the Persian Achaemenid Empire (as Athura ) from 549 BC to 330 BC (see Achaemenid Assyria ). The Assyrians of Mada ( Media ) and Athura (Assyria) had been responsible for gold and glazing works of

3920-595: The Roman provinces of Mesopotamia and the Neo-Assyrian kingdom of Osroene . Assur was captured and sacked by Ardashir I of the Sasanian Empire c. 240 AD, whereafter the city was largely destroyed and much of its population was dispersed. The site was put on UNESCO 's List of World Heritage in Danger in 2003, at which time the site was threatened by a looming large-scale dam project that would have submerged

4018-463: The Step Gate, his house will become a house of ruin. He who rises to give false testimony, may the [Seven] Judges who decide legal cases in [the Step Gate, give a false] decision [against him]; [may Assur], Adad , and Bel , [my god, pluck his seed]; a place […] may they not give to him. [The one who…] … obeys me, [when he goes] to the Step Gate, [may] the palace deputy [assist him]; [may he send]

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4116-488: The Upper Euphrates and Abarsal (location unknown) were vassals of Ebla. Ebla exchanged gifts with Nagar, and a royal marriage was concluded between the daughter of a king of Ebla and the son of his counterpart at Nagar. The archives also contain letters from more distant kingdoms, such as Kish and possibly Hamazi, although it is also possible that there were cities with the same names closer to Ebla. In many ways,

4214-487: The absence of large monumental buildings and complex administrative systems similar to what had existed at the end of the fourth millennium BC. Starting in 2700 BC and accelerating after 2500, the main urban sites grew considerably in size and were surrounded by towns and villages that fell inside their political sphere of influence. This indicated that the area was home to many political entities. Many sites in Upper Mesopotamia, including Tell Chuera and Tell Beydar , shared

4312-536: The ancient archaeological site. The dam project was put on hold shortly after the 2003 invasion of Iraq . The territory around the ancient site was occupied by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in 2015. Since ISIL had destroyed a number of ancient historical sites, including the cities of Hatra , Khorsabad , and Nimrud , fears rose that Assur would be destroyed too. According to some sources,

4410-648: The area of southern Lorestan and northern Khuzestan . Susa (level IV) was a central place in Elam and an important gateway between southwestern Iran and southern Mesopotamia. Hamazi was located in the Zagros Mountains to the north or east of Elam, possibly between the Great Zab and the Diyala River , near Halabja . This is also the area where the still largely unknown Jiroft culture emerged in

4508-458: The burials of the kings of Kish were much less lavish. High-prowed Sumerian ships may have traveled as far as Meluhha , thought to be the Indus region, for trade. Each city was centered around a temple that was dedicated to a particular patron deity . A city was governed by both/either a " lugal " (king) and/or an " ensi " (priest). It was understood that rulers were determined by the deity of

4606-557: The citadel of Assur was destroyed or badly damaged in May 2015 by members of ISIL using improvised explosive devices . An AP report from December 2016 after the Iraqi forces had retaken the area, said that the militants tried to destroy the city's grand entrance arches, but they remained standing and a local historian described the damage as "minor". As of February 2023, a German archaeological team from Munich has resumed work at Assur. The work

4704-561: The city and rule could be transferred from one city to another. Hegemony from the Nippur priesthood moved between competing dynasties of the Sumerian cities. Traditionally, these included Eridu , Bad-tibira , Larsa , Sippar , Shuruppak , Kish, Uruk , Ur , Adab , and Akshak . Other relevant cities from outside the Tigris–Euphrates river system included Hamazi , Awan (in present-day Iran), and Mari (in present-day Syria but which

4802-466: The city was refortified and the southern districts incorporated into the main city defenses. Temples to the moon god Sin ( Nanna ) and the sun god Shamash were built and dedicated through the 15th century BC. The city was subsequently subjugated by the king of Mitanni , Shaushtatar in the late 15th century, taking the gold and silver doors of the temple to his capital, Washukanni , as spoils. Ashur-uballit I emulated his ancestor Adasi and overthrew

4900-517: The city, choosing to magnify Nineveh as his royal capital. The city of Ashur remained the religious center of the empire and continued to be revered as the holy crown of the empire, due to its temple of the national god Ashur . In the reign of Sennacherib (705–682 BC), the House of the New Year, Akitu , was built, and the festivities celebrated in the city. Many of the kings were also buried beneath

4998-659: The coastal areas that served as a place of transit for the maritime trade network. The maritime trade in the Gulf extended as far east as the Indian subcontinent , where the Indus Valley civilisation flourished. This trade intensified during the third millennium and reached its peak during the Akkadian and Ur III periods. The artifacts found in the royal tombs of the First Dynasty of Ur indicate that foreign trade

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5096-730: The collection of the Pergamon Museum . More recently, Ashur was excavated by B. Hrouda for the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Bavarian Ministry of Culture in 1990. During the same period, in 1988 and 1989, the site was being worked by R. Dittmann on behalf of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft . Aššur is the name of the city, of the land ruled by the city, and of its tutelary deity from which

5194-538: The councils on all major decisions, including whether to go to war. Jacobsen's definition of a democracy as a relationship between primitive monarchs and men of the noble classes has been questioned. Jacobsen conceded that the available evidence could not distinguish a "Mesopotamian democracy" from a "primitive oligarchy". " Lugal " ( Sumerian : 𒈗, a Sumerogram ligature of two signs: " 𒃲 " meaning "big" or "great" and "𒇽" meaning "man") (a Sumerian language title translated into English as either "king" or "ruler")

5292-483: The death of Ishme-Dagan I around 1756 BC, while the next three Assyrian kings were viewed as vassals of Babylon. Not long after, the native king Adasi expelled the Babylonians and Amorites from Assur and Assyria as a whole around 1720 BC, although little is known of his successors. Evidence of further building activity is known from a few centuries later, during the reign of a native king Puzur-Ashur III , when

5390-459: The diplomatic interactions in the wider Ancient Near East during this period resemble those from the second millennium BC, which are particularly well known from the Amarna letters . In March 2020, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 5,000-year-old cultic area filled with more than 300 broken ceremonial ceramic cups, bowls, jars, animal bones and ritual processions dedicated to Ningirsu at

5488-631: The emergence of the Akkadian Empire is problematic , and it has been proposed to refer to this Old Akkadian phase as being of the " Kish civilization " named after Kish (the seemingly most powerful city during the ED period) instead. Political and socioeconomic structures in these two regions also differed, although Sumerian influence is unparalleled during the Early Dynastic period. Agriculture in Lower Mesopotamia relied on intensive irrigation . Cultivars included barley and date palms in combination with gardens and orchards. Animal husbandry

5586-421: The emergence of the Akkadian Empire under the rule of Sargon of Akkad in 2334 B.C. ( middle ) . The political history of Upper Mesopotamia and Syria is well known from the royal archives recovered at Ebla. Ebla, Mari, and Nagar were the dominant states for this period. The earliest texts indicate that Ebla paid tribute to Mari but was able to reduce it after it won a military victory. Cities like Emar on

5684-544: The end of the ED III period are contemporary texts available from which a political history can be reconstructed. The largest archives come from Lagash and Ebla. Smaller collections of clay tablets have been found at Ur, Tell Beydar, Tell Fara, Abu Salabikh, and Mari. They show that the Mesopotamian states were constantly involved in diplomatic contacts, leading to political and perhaps even religious alliances. Sometimes one state would gain hegemony over another, which foreshadows

5782-426: The existence of a league or amphictyony of Sumerian city-states. For example, clay tablets from Ur bear cylinder seal impressions with signs representing other cities. Similar impressions have also been found at Jemdet Nasr , Uruk, and Susa. Some impressions show exactly the same list of cities. It has been suggested that this represented a system in which specific cities were associated with delivering offerings to

5880-511: The first significant fortifications in this period. As the region enjoyed relative peace and stability, trade between Mesopotamia and Anatolia increased, and the city of Ashur greatly benefited from its strategic location. Merchants would dispatch their merchandise via caravan into Anatolia and trade primarily at Assyrian colonies in Anatolia, the primary one being at Karum Kanesh ( Kültepe ). Shamshi-Adad I 's (1813–1781 BC), Amorite ruler of

5978-646: The following word would be the name of a king. The definition of "lugal" during the ED period of Mesopotamia is uncertain. The ruler of a city-state was usually referred to as "ensi". However, the ruler of a confederacy may have been referred to as "lugal". A lugal may have been "a young man of outstanding qualities from a rich landowning family". Erishum I Erishum I or Erišu ( m ) I (inscribed e-ri-šu , or APIN -ìš in later texts but always with an initial i in his own seal, inscriptions, and those of his immediate successors, “he has desired,” ) c. 1974–1935 BCE ( middle chronology ), son of Ilu-shuma ,

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6076-480: The gods Ashur , Nergal , Nanna , Ishtar , Tammuz and Shamash , as well as mentions of citizens having compound names that refer to Assyrian gods, such as ʾAssur-ḥēl (Ashur [is] my strength), ʾAssur-emar (Ashur decreed/commanded), ʾAssur-ntan (Ashur gave [a son]), and ʾAssur-šma' (Ashur has heard; cf. Esarhaddon ). The Roman historian Festus wrote in about 370 that in AD 116 Trajan formed from his conquests east of

6174-470: The historical record for this region. According to the excavator of Mari, the circular city on the middle Euphrates was founded ex nihilo at the time of the Early Dynastic I period in Lower Mesopotamia. Mari was one of the main cities of the Middle East during this period, and it fought many wars against Ebla during the 24th century BC. The archives of Ebla, capital city of a powerful kingdom during

6272-471: The information in the list can be checked against other texts such as economic documents, much of it is probably fictional, and its use as a historical document for the Early Dynastic period is limited to none. There may have been a common or shared cultural identity among the Early Dynastic Sumerian city-states, despite their political fragmentation. This notion was expressed by the terms kalam or ki-engir . Numerous texts and cylinder seals seem to indicate

6370-597: The karums') The markets traded in: tin (inscribed AN.NA, Akkadian: annukum ), textiles , lapis lazuli , iron , antimony , copper , bronze , wool , and grain , in exchange for gold and silver . Around 23,000 tablets have been found at Kanesh spanning a period of 129 years from the thirtieth year of Erishum I’s reign through to that of Puzur-Ashur II or possibly Naram-Sin with the earliest from level II including copies of his inscriptions. These were discovered in 1948 with three other similar though fragmentary lists and two copies of an inscription of Erishum I detailing

6468-509: The latter include Mari, Subartu , and Elam. These conflicts show that already in this stage in history there was a trend toward stronger states dominating larger territories. For example, king Eannatum of Lagash was able to defeat Mari and Elam around 2450 B.C. Enshakushanna of Uruk seized Kish and imprisoned its king Embi-Ishtar around 2350 B.C. Lugal-zage-si , king of Uruk and Umma, was able to seize most of Lower Mesopotamia around 2358 B.C. This phase of warring city-states came to an end with

6566-414: The major Sumerian temples, similar to the bala system of the Ur III period . The texts from Shuruppak , dating to ED IIIa, also seem to confirm the existence of a ki-engir league. Member cities of the alliance included Umma, Lagash, Uruk, Nippur, and Adab. Kish may have had a leading position, whereas Shuruppak may have been the administrative center. The members may have assembled in Nippur, but this

6664-410: The middle of the 3rd millennium BC. This was still the Sumerian period , before Assyria emerged. The oldest remains of the city were discovered in the foundations of the Ishtar temple, as well as at the Old Palace. In the subsequent period, the city was ruled by kings from the Akkadian Empire . During the Third Dynasty of Ur , the city was ruled by Assyrian governors subject to the Sumerians . By

6762-430: The mountains, notably near Hili , where copper workshops and monumental tombs testifying to the area's affluence has been excavated. Further to the west was an area called Dilmun , which in later periods corresponds to what is today known as Bahrain . However, while Dilmun was mentioned in contemporary ED texts, no sites from this period have been excavated in this area. This may indicate that Dilmun may have referred to

6860-503: The natives took their name, as did the entire nation of Assyria which encompassed what is today northern Iraq, north east Syria and south east Turkey. Today the Assyrians are still found throughout the Middle East, particularly in Iraq , Iran , Syria , Turkey , and the Diaspora in the western world. Assur is also the origin of the names Syria and terms for Syriac Christians , these being originally Indo-European derivations of Assyria, and for many centuries applying only to Assyria and

6958-458: The north and west stretched states centered on cities such as Kish , Mari , Nagar , and Ebla . The study of Central and Lower Mesopotamia has long been given priority over neighboring regions. Archaeological sites in Central and Lower Mesopotamia—notably Girsu but also Eshnunna , Khafajah , Ur, and many others—have been excavated since the 19th century. These excavations have yielded cuneiform texts and many other important artifacts . As

7056-572: The old city, and a palace to the south. The old temple dedicated to the national god of the Assyrians Assur ( Ashur ) was rebuilt, as were temples to other Assyrian gods. Assyrian Eastern Aramaic inscriptions from the remains of Ashur have yielded insight into the Parthian-era city with Assyria having its own Mesopotamian Aramaic Syriac script, which was the same in terms of grammar and syntax as that found at Edessa and elsewhere in

7154-555: The palace and for providing Lebanese cedar timber, respectively. The city and region of Ashur had once more gained a degree of militaristic and economic strength. Along with the Assyrians in Mada, a revolt took place in 520 BC but ultimately failed. Assyria seems to have recovered dramatically, and flourished during this period. It became a major agricultural and administrative centre of the Achaemenid Empire, and its soldiers were

7252-438: The political equilibrium throughout Iraq, Syria, and Iran. The conquests lasted many years into the reign of Naram-Sin of Akkad and built on ongoing conquests during the ED. The transition is much harder to pinpoint within an archaeological context. It is virtually impossible to date a particular site as being that of either ED III or Akkadian period using ceramic or architectural evidence alone. The contemporary sources from

7350-464: The regulations concerning the administration of justice in Assur, including the possibility of plaintiffs to obtain a rābiṣum ( attorney ) to represent them: The one who talks too much in the Step Gate, the demon of ruins will seize his mouth and his hindquarters; he will smash his head like a shattered pot; he will fall like a broken reed and water will flow from his mouth. The one who talks too much in

7448-607: The reigns of legendary figures like king Gilgamesh of Uruk and his adversaries Enmebaragesi and Aga of Kish possibly date to ED II. These semi-legendary narratives seem to indicate an age dominated by two major powers: Uruk in Sumer and Kish in the Semitic country. However, the existence of the kings of this "heroic age" remains controversial. Somewhat reliable information on then-contemporary political events in Mesopotamia

7546-490: The rise of the Akkadian Empire. The well-known Sumerian King List dates to the early second millennium BC. It consists of a succession of royal dynasties from different Sumerian cities, ranging back into the Early Dynastic Period. Each dynasty rises to prominence and dominates the region, only to be replaced by the next. The document was used by later Mesopotamian kings to legitimize their rule. While some of

7644-539: The royal court and foreign states. Thus, Baranamtarra , wife of king Lugalanda of Lagash, exchanged gifts with her peers from Adab and even Dilmun. The first recorded war in history took place in Mesopotamia in around 2700 B.C. during the ED period, between the forces of Sumer and Elam . The Sumerians, under the command of Enmebaragesi , the King of Kish , defeated the Elamites and is recorded "carried away as spoils

7742-507: The scheme of ED I–III upon archaeological remains excavated elsewhere in both Iraq and Syria, dated to 3000–2000 BC. However, evidence from sites elsewhere in Iraq has shown that the ED I–III periodization, as reconstructed for the Diyala river valley region, could not be directly applied to other regions. Research in Syria has shown that developments there were quite different from those in the Diyala river valley region or southern Iraq, rendering

7840-409: The site of Girsu . One of the remains was a duck-shaped bronze figurine with eyes made from bark which is thought to be dedicated to Nanshe . The Early Dynastic period is preceded by the Uruk period ( c.  4000  – c.  3100 BCE ) and the Jemdet Nasr period ( c.  3100  – c.  2900 BCE ). The Early Dynastic period ( c.  2900  – c.  2350 BCE )

7938-488: The state of Osroene . German semiticist Klaus Beyer (1929-2014) published over 600 inscriptions from Mesopotamian towns and cities including Ashur, Dura-Europos , Hatra , Gaddala, Tikrit and Tur Abdin . Given that Christianity had begun to spread amongst the Assyrians throughout the Parthian era, the original Assyrian culture and religion persisted for some time, as proven by the inscriptions that include invocations to

8036-605: The temple of Ishtar and that of Adad . He had exercised eminent domain to clear an area from the Sheep Gate to the People’s Gate to make way for an enlargement of the city wall, so that he could boast that “I made a wall higher than the wall my father had constructed.” His efforts had been recalled by the later kings Šamši-Adad I , in his rebuilding dedication, and Šulmanu-ašared I , who noted that 159 years had passed between Erishum I’s work and that of Shamsh-Adad I, and

8134-679: The third millennium BC, as evidenced by excavation and looting of archaeological sites. The areas further north and to the east were important participants in the international trade of this period due to the presence of tin (central Iran and the Hindu Kush ) and lapis lazuli ( Turkmenistan and northern Afghanistan ). Settlements such as Tepe Sialk , Tureng Tepe , Tepe Hissar , Namazga-Tepe , Altyndepe , Shahr-e Sukhteh , and Mundigak served as local exchange and production centres but do not seem to have been capitals of larger political entities. The further development of maritime trade in

8232-422: The third millennium BC. Sites like Tell Banat, Tell Hadidi , Umm el-Marra , Qatna , Ebla, and Al-Rawda developed early state structures, as evidenced by the written documentation of Ebla. Substantial monumental architecture such as palaces, temples, and monumental tombs appeared in this period. There is also evidence for the existence of a rich and powerful local elite. The two cities of Mari and Ebla dominate

8330-731: The time the Neo-Sumerian Ur-III dynasty collapsed at the hands of the Elamites around the end of the 21st century BC according to the Middle Chronology and mid-20th century according to the Short Chronology following increasing raids by Gutians and Amorites . The native Akkadian-speaking Assyrian kings were now free while Sumer fell under the yoke of the Amorites . The historically unverified king Ushpia

8428-452: The title 'King of Kish' to strengthen their hegemonic ambitions and possibly also because of the symbolic value of the city. The texts of this period also reveal the first traces of a wide-ranging diplomatic network. For example, the peace treaty between Entemena of Lagash and Lugal-kinishe-dudu of Uruk , recorded on a clay nail , represents the oldest known agreement of this kind. Tablets from Girsu record reciprocal gifts between

8526-410: The traditional Lower Mesopotamian chronology useless. During the 1990s and 2000s, attempts were made by various scholars to arrive at a local Upper Mesopotamian chronology, resulting in the Early Jezirah (EJ) 0–V chronology that encompasses everything from 3000 to 2000 BC. The use of the ED I–III chronology is now generally limited to Lower Mesopotamia, with the ED II sometimes being further restricted to

8624-417: The weapons of Elam" . It is only for the later parts of the ED period that information on political events becomes available, either as echoes in later writings or from contemporary sources. Writings from the end of the third millennium, including several Sumerian heroic narratives and the Sumerian King List, seem to echo events and military conflicts that may have occurred during the ED II period. For example,

8722-584: The west, agriculture takes on more "Mediterranean" aspects: the cultivation of olive and grape was very important in Ebla. Sumerian influence was notable in Mari and Ebla. At the same time, these regions with a Semitic population shared characteristics with the Kish civilization while also maintaining their own unique cultural traits. In southwestern Iran, the first half of the Early Dynastic period corresponded with

8820-462: The witnesses and plaintiff (to the court); [may] the judges [take the bench] and give a proper decision [in Ašš]ur. Following the example set by Erishum I's father ( Ilu-shuma ), he had proclaimed tax exemptions, or as Michael Hudson has interpreted, "Erishum I proclaimed a remission of debts payable in silver, gold, copper, tin, barley, wool, down to chaff." This appears in an inscription on one side of

8918-420: Was also practiced, focusing on sheep and goats. This agricultural system was probably the most productive in the entire ancient Near East. It allowed the development of a highly urbanized society. It has been suggested that, in some areas of Sumer, the population of the urban centers during ED III represented three-quarters of the entire population. The dominant political structure was the city-state in which

9016-564: Was characterized by the existence of multiple city-states : small states with a relatively simple structure that developed and solidified over time. This development ultimately led, directly after this period, to broad Mesopotamian unification under the rule of Sargon , the first monarch of the Akkadian Empire . Despite their political fragmentation, the ED city-states shared a relatively homogeneous material culture. Sumerian cities such as Uruk , Ur , Lagash , Umma , and Nippur located in Lower Mesopotamia were very powerful and influential. To

9114-440: Was one of three possible titles affixed to a ruler of a Sumerian city-state. The others were "EN" and "ensi". The sign for "lugal" became the understood logograph for "king" in general. In the Sumerian language, "lugal" meant either an "owner" of property such as a boat or a field, or alternatively, the "head" of an entity or a family. The cuneiform sign for "lugal" serves as a determinative in cuneiform texts, indicating that

9212-623: Was particularly active during this period, with many materials coming from foreign lands, such as Carnelian likely coming from the Indus or Iran , Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan , silver from Turkey , copper from Oman , and gold from several locations such as Egypt , Nubia , Turkey or Iran . Carnelian beads from the Indus were found in Ur tombs dating to 2600–2450, in an example of Indus-Mesopotamia relations . In particular, carnelian beads with an etched design in white were probably imported from

9310-407: Was possibly the center of a large territorial state, competing with other powerful political entities such as Mari and Akshak . The Diyala River valley is another region for which the ED period is relatively well-known. Along with neighboring areas, this region was home to Scarlet Ware—a type of painted pottery characterized by geometric motifs representing natural and anthropomorphic figures. In

9408-601: Was the thirty-third ruler of Assyria to appear on the Assyrian King List . He reigned for forty years. One of two copies of the Assyrian King List which include him gives his reign length as only 30 years, but this contrasts with a complete list of his limmu, some 40, which are extant from tablets recovered at Karum Kanesh . He had titled himself both as, " Ashur is king, Erishum is vice-regent" and the, “Išši’ak Aššur” (“steward of Assur”), at

9506-464: Was the time when legendary mythical kings such as Lugalbanda , Enmerkar , Gilgamesh , and Aga ruled over Mesopotamia. Archaeologically, this sub-period has not been well-attested to in excavations of Lower Mesopotamia, leading some researchers to abandon it altogether. The ED III (2600–2350 BC) saw an expansion in the use of writing and increasing social inequality. Larger political entities developed in Upper Mesopotamia and southwestern Iran. ED III

9604-543: Was to begin immediately after ED I with no gap between the two. Many historical periods in the Near East are named after the dominant political force at that time, such as the Akkadian or Ur III periods. This is not the case for the ED period. It is an archaeological division that does not reflect political developments, and it is based upon perceived changes in the archaeological record, e.g. pottery and glyptics. This

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