trators became kings, regarded as chosen by the gods to rule.
Archaeologists and historians have divided ancient Mesopo-
tamia into two geographical areas: southern Mesopotamia,
which includes the lands south of Baghdad, and northern
Mesopotamia.
EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD
(CA. 3000–CA. 2350 B.C.E.)
In southern Mesopotamia the period of the early, city-based
dynasties referred to in the Sumerian King List, an ancient
text on clay tablets (dating to ca. 2125 b.c.e.), is called the
Early Dynastic Period. Uruk (biblical Erech and modern-day
Warka) grew to be some 500 acres, with a massive city wall.
By 2700 b.c.e. it may have had over 50,000 residents and was
ruled by King Gilgamesh, who became the mythologized
hero of an early literary work, the Epic of Gilgamesh. Th e
Sumerian King List mentions the names of many kings be-
longing to dynasties at various cities such as Uruk, Umma,
Lagash, and Ur. By 2500 b.c.e. King Mesilim of the city of
Kish established himself as the fi rst-known lord over all the
other kings of Sumer. King Eannatum of the city of Lagash
overthrew the dominance of Kish around 2400 b.c.e. About
50 years later King Lugalzaggisi of the city of Umma brought
all of Sumer under his rule. Th is was the fi rst regional state in
southern Mesopotamia that unifi ed and held an area larger
than that of a single city and its hinterland.
AKKADIAN DYNASTY
(CA. 2350–CA. 2100 B.C.E.)
Th e Akkadian Empire was, however, the fi rst true empire
based in Mesopotamia that ruled over an area extending be-
yond the borders of this region. Founded by Sargon of Akkad
(r. ca. 2334–ca. 2279 b.c.e.), the Akkadian Empire at times
extended from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf. Cam-
paigns were conducted into the Zagros Mountains to the
north and east of southern Mesopotamia as well. Sargon be-
gan as cupbearer to the king of Kish, but he established a new
imperial city, Agade, which has yet to be rediscovered. Sargon
I probably took power through a coup.
A grandson of his, Naram-Sin (r. ca. 2254–ca. 2218
b.c.e.), added territory to the empire from what is now west-
ern Iran and southern Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Th e
more the Akkadian Empire grew, the more vulnerable its bor-
ders became and the more discontented the former city-states
of Sumer were. Practically every time a new king ascended to
the throne, an insurrection arose in the cities of the south. In
addition, nomads from the desert and tribes from the Zagros
Mountains invaded Mesopotamia. Sometime before 2100
b.c.e. the Guti from the northern Zagros took power, and the
world’s fi rst empire was no more.
THIRD DYNASTY OF UR PERIOD
(CA. 2112–CA. 2004 B.C.E.)
Eventually, Ur-Namma of the city of Ur managed to estab-
lish his rule over territory that was about one-third the size
of the Akkadian Empire at its largest. He was the founder of
Ur’s Th ird Dynasty of kings. Th is mighty dynasty lasted for a
century, but in 2004 b.c.e. the Elamites, led by their king Kin-
dattu, conquered the city of Ur itself, ending its brief empire.
Th e Elamites came from what is now southwestern Iran.FIRST DYNASTY OF BABYLON (CA. 1894–
CA. 1595 B.C.E.)
A nomadic people called the Amorites had settled in parts of
Mesopotamia during the late third millennium b.c.e. Th eir
descendants would found dynasties both in Babylon and in
Assyria. Th e one in Assyria was founded by King Shamshi-
Adad (r. 1813–1781 b.c.e.). He conquered northern Mesopota-
mia, but aft er his death his kingdom was divided between his
two sons, one who was lazy and one who was foolhardy. One
of Shamshi-Adad’s vassals was the king of Babylon, Hammu-
rabi (r. 1792–1750 b.c.e.), who took advantage of the foolish-
ness of Shamshi-Adad’s sons. He had already conquered the
cities of Uruk and Isin, both outside Assyria’s dominion, and
he had proved himself an able civic leader, improving Baby-
lon’s irrigation system and constructing temples. In each city
he conquered, he made a point of building temples to show
the local people that he was favored by the gods.
In 1764 b.c.e. Hammurabi conquered Elam. Th en, in
1761 b.c.e., Hammurabi defeated Rim-Sin of the city of Larsa,
in battle and seized control of all Sumer. From 1757 to 1755
b.c.e. he conquered northern Mesopotamia. He was a clever
military leader. To defeat one city—Eshnunna (modern-day
Tell Asmar) along the Diyala River—instead of assaulting the
city, he diverted its water supply; this caused the city to surren-
der. He attracted to the city of Babylon artists from through-
out the Near East, who added to the city’s luster as the center
of Mesopotamian culture. He is famous for his code of laws,
which are carved on a stone stele now in the Louvre Museum
in Paris. Curiously, though Hammurabi’s laws were intended
to impress the gods with his good rule, they are never cited
in the thousands of legal documents in cuneiform that have
survived from ancient Mesopotamia.
Th e First Dynasty of Babylon lasted until 1595 b.c.e.,
when the Hittites under Mursilis I (r. ca. 1620–ca. 1590 b.c.e.)
sacked Babylon. Th ereaft er, a people from the Sealand (the
marshes of southern Iraq) took control of the south. Th ey
were followed by the Kassites, who are oft en thought to have
originated in the Zagros Mountains of what is today western
Iran.BABYLON’S KASSITE DYNASTY
(CA. 1500–CA. 1155 B.C.E.)
Th e Kassites appeared in Babylonia during the reign of Sam-
suiluna (r. 1749–1712 b.c.e.), Hammurabi’s successor, who
defeated their army. With Samsuiluna’s consent, the Kassites
settled near the Diyala River. In 1475 b.c.e. the Kassite king
Ulamburiash drove the Dynasty of the Sealand out of Meso-
potamia and reestablished the city of Babylon as the center of
an empire, called “Babylonia.” Babylonia was a major mili-empires and dynasties: The Middle East 397