History of Mesopotamia - Parthian, Babylonian, Assyrian

history of Mesopotamia

Table of Contents

Introduction
Mesopotamia to the end of the Old Babylonian period
- The origins of Mesopotamian history
  - The background
    - The character and influence of ancient Mesopotamia
    - The achievements of ancient Mesopotamia
    - The classical and medieval views of Mesopotamia; its rediscovery in modern times
    - Modern archaeological excavations
  - The emergence of Mesopotamian civilization
    - The emergence of cultures
    - Mesopotamian protohistory
- Sumerian civilization
  - The Sumerians to the end of the Early Dynastic period
    - Literary and other historical sources
    - First historical personalities
    - Emergent city-states
    - Territorial states
  - Sumer and Akkad from 2350 to 2000 bce
    - Sargon’s reign
    - Ascendancy of Akkad
    - The end of the dynasty
  - The 3rd dynasty of Ur
    - Administration
    - Ethnic, geographic, and intellectual constituents
    - Ur III in decline
- The Old Babylonian period
  - Isin and Larsa
    - Political fragmentation
    - Literary texts and increasing decentralization
  - Early history of Assyria
  - The Old Babylonian empire
    - Political fortunes
    - Babylonian law
    - Babylonian literature
  - The Hurrians
Mesopotamia to the end of the Achaemenian period
- The Kassites, the Mitanni, and the rise of Assyria
  - The Kassites in Babylonia
  - The Hurrian and Mitanni kingdoms
  - The rise of Assyria
- Assyria and Babylonia at the end of the 2nd millennium
  - Babylonia under the 2nd dynasty of Isin
  - Assyria between 1200 and 1000 bce
- Assyria and Babylonia from c. 1000 to c. 750 bce
  - Assyria and Babylonia until Ashurnasirpal II
  - Shalmaneser III and Shamshi-Adad V of Assyria
  - Adad-nirari III and his successors
- The Neo-Assyrian Empire (746–609)
  - Tiglath-pileser III and Shalmaneser V
  - Sargon II (721–705) and Marduk-apal-iddina of Babylonia
  - Sennacherib
  - Esarhaddon
  - Ashurbanipal (668–627) and Shamash-shum-ukin (668–648)
  - Decline of the Assyrian empire
- The Neo-Babylonian Empire
  - Nebuchadrezzar II
  - The last kings of Babylonia
- Mesopotamia under the Persians
Mesopotamia from c. 320 bce to c. 620 ce
- The Seleucid period
- The Parthian period
- The Sasanian period

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Sites associated with ancient Mesopotamian history

Learn about the culture of Mesopotamia in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

relief of a spirit holding a poppy flower

Mesopotamia in the Seleucid and Parthian periods

For Students

Mesopotamia summary

Read Next

Are the Middle East and the Near East the Same Thing?

Discover

Pluto. The Changing Faces of Pluto. Most detailed view to date of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, as constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003.

10 Important Dates in Pluto History

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Solar Eclipse, Eclipse, Solar Flare, Outer Space, Astronomy

What Causes Lunar and Solar Eclipses?

Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere

Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?

Julius Caesar in full Gaius Julius Caesar (100? BCE-44 BCE) statue in Rimini, Italy. Roman general and statesman and dictator

The Time Julius Caesar Was Captured by Pirates

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

Stylish light blue jeans on wooden background, closeup of inset pocket

Why Do Jeans Have That Tiny Pocket?

The coming of the Parthians changed Mesopotamia even less than the establishment of the Seleucid kingdom had, for as early as the middle of the 2nd century bce local dynasts had proclaimed their independence. There is no evidence indicating whether the cities of Mesopotamia surrendered piecemeal or all at once or whether they submitted voluntarily or after fighting. In any case, Seleucia was treated better by the Parthians than it had been by the Seleucids, and the local government retained its autonomy. Parthian troops did not occupy Seleucia but remained in a garrison site called Ctesiphon near Seleucia; it later ...(100 of 42142 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.