The Earliest Human Civilization - Sumer

In Mesopotamian mythology, Gilgamesh is a demigod with superhuman strength (two-thirds god, one-third human, that is, he has the wisdom and power of a god, but not the lifespan of a god).

The Middle East is home to many ancient civilizations with a long history and unique culture, including Sumer and Akkad, ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon, Phoenicia, Assyria, and later Islamic civilization.

The Sumerians created humanity's first civilization in the Mesopotamian region. Their origins and the origins of Sumerian civilization remain a mystery. Research has shown that the dark-haired Sumerians were neither an Indo-European nor a Semitic people. During the Ubaid period, Sumerian civilization learned to use the wheel and entered the Bronze and Stone Age. Around 4500 BC, the city of Eridu in southern Mesopotamia was established, and temples emerged, marking the beginning of Sumerian civilization.

Uruk is a landmark city site from the early Sumerian Empire, located approximately 30 kilometers from the present-day town of Samawah in the Muthanna Governorate of Iraq. It played a pioneering role in Sumer's urbanization process in the mid-fourth millennium BC.

The city ruled by Gilgamesh, the protagonist of the epic "The Epic of Gilgamesh", is Uruk. It is also considered to be the second city built by Erech in Shinar as recorded in the Old Testament Book of Genesis.

The Epic of Gilgamesh records that Gilgamesh ordered the construction of the walls of Uruk. At the end of the epic, Gilgamesh boasts to the ferryman Urshanabi that the walls were built by seven angels.

Sumerian cultural exhibits, Damascus Museum, Syria

The ruins of Uruk, located in the Muthanna Governorate, Iraq

Akkadian Empire

Historical records show that Sargon, an Akkadian, destroyed the city walls in a display of military might, then killed the king and usurped the throne. Thus, Sargon founded the world's first empire, the Akkadian Empire. However, at this time, it was still considered a Sumerian civilization.

Ancient Babylon

Hammurabi, King of Babylon

After the decline of the Akkadian Empire, the Old Babylonian Empire reunited Mesopotamia. Hammurabi, the sixth king of the First Dynasty of the Babylonian city-state (also known as the Old Babylonian Kingdom), enjoyed relative peace in the region during the first twenty years of his reign. He undertook extensive construction projects, such as raising city walls to defend against foreign enemies and expanding temples.

Hammurabi the Great's most important achievement was the promulgation of a new Babylonian law code, the Code of Hammurabi. This code was inscribed on a large basalt stele and placed in a public place for all to see.

Between late 1901 and January 1902, a French archaeological team discovered a 2.25-meter-tall black basalt cylinder in the ancient Elamite city of Susa (present-day Iran). It is now housed at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

A relief depicts Hammurabi receiving a scepter from the sun god Shamash at the top of the cylinder. Below, the full text of the code is inscribed in Akkadian cuneiform, covering legal procedures, damages, tenancy, debts and credits, inheritance, and the punishment of slaves.

Hammurabi marble bas-relief in the House of Representatives Reception Room of the United States Capitol

Assyrian Empire

The Babylonian Empire was short-lived. Shortly after the death of King Hammurabi, Mesopotamia entered a chaotic era of scrambling for supremacy.

Small countries were fighting each other, and at the same time, the Assyrian Empire rose. It was a big villain in human history. It pursued brutal military expansion, did not create any civilization, and destroyed every civilization it saw.

The nation's economy relied on plundering and pillaging cities, slaughtering any who resisted. They sought to destroy civilization, yet they invented trebuchets, siege ladders, and tunnel warfare. It seemed they were experts in destruction and loathed the establishment of civilized institutions.

In 859 BC, the Assyrian Empire expanded into Syria and waged war against the Kingdom of Israel. In 722 BC, the Kingdom of Israel was destroyed, and the Israelites were exiled. The Assyrian Empire established itself as the sole villain in the land. Due to the Assyrians' exceptional brutality in war, the Jews nicknamed the Assyrian capital, Nineveh, "the bloody lion's den." During the reign of Sennacherib, he captured and burned 75 cities, taking captives of people and property.

Many of Assyria's expeditions were actually to suppress uprisings, but after victory, it often carried out even more brutal oppression. This policy seriously led to the economic decline of the Assyrian Empire. Since the conquered areas could no longer be exploited, it caused dissatisfaction among the temple priests, slave owners, and industrial and commercial slave owners. The empire not only failed to meet the needs of social and economic development, but also caused destruction.

A half-human, half-beast monster in Assyrian culture. Because it resembles a bull with wings, the term "Lamasu" refers to the female. The male is also called "Shedu," and both are often placed on the left and right sides of the entrance to a temple or palace.

Continuous uprisings within the country weakened Assyria's national strength, leading to political chaos. Surrounding nations rose up in rebellion, and in 612 BC, the Babylonian Kingdom joined forces with other nations to destroy the Assyrian Empire. In 609 BC, the Neo-Babylonian Empire was established, marking the emergence of a new overlord in Mesopotamia.

▲ Xtra Rattan series thermos

Neo-Babylonian Empire

During the Neo-Babylonian Empire, Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed the Kingdom of Judah and took King Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. The Bible also records that in 586 BC, he attacked Jerusalem again, razed both cities, and demolished Solomon's Temple. He then took the Jews captive to Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar II paid great attention to urban construction, so he built a magnificent city and a hanging garden for his beloved concubine, which is known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Ishtar Gate, Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany

The Ishtar Gate was one of the eight gates of the inner city of Babylon, built on the north side of the city by order of Nebuchadnezzar II around 575 BC.

Dedicated to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, this gate features blue glazed tiles with alternating reliefs of angry serpents (dragons) and aurochs.

This gate, part of the Babylonian city walls, was once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World until it was replaced by the Lighthouse of Alexandria in the 6th century AD.

In the 1930s, a reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate and Parade Street was built at the Pergamon Museum on Museum Island in Berlin, Germany. It stands 14 meters high and 30 meters wide. This gate was actually a double gate, but only the smaller front gate is on display at the Pergamon Museum today; the rear gate remains in storage and unrestored due to museum space limitations.

Persian Empire

After Nebuchadnezzar's death, Babylonia declined and was quickly conquered by the Persian Empire to the east. For the next several centuries, Mesopotamia remained under the control of the Persian Empire, which was tolerant of various ethnic groups. Under Persian rule, the exiled Jews were liberated and returned to their homeland. The cultures and development of the various ethnic groups in Mesopotamia continued.

Persian Empire frees Jews

In 331 BC, Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, and Babylon, the heart of Mesopotamia, gradually fell into ruin. With the final Babylonian temple abandoned, cuneiform writing was lost, and Mesopotamian civilization faded into history. However, its legacy of culture, law, science, astronomy, and mythology continued to influence the world for millennia.