Chronology of the ancient Near EastThe chronology of the ancient Near East is a framework of dates for various events, rulers and dynasties. Historical inscriptions and texts customarily record events in terms of a succession of officials or rulers: "in the year X of king Y". Comparing many records pieces together a relative chronology relating dates in cities over a wide area. For the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, this correlation is less certain but the following periods can be distinguished: Early Bronze Age: Following the rise of cuneiform writing in the preceding Uruk period and Jemdet Nasr periods came a series of rulers and dynasties whose existence is based mostly on scant contemporary sources (e.
AssurAššur (ˈæsʊər; Sumerian: AN.ŠAR2KI, Assyrian cuneiform: Aš-šurKI, "City of God Aššur"; ܐܫܘܪ Āšūr; Old Persian Aθur, آشور: Āšūr; אַשּׁוּר, , اشور), also known as Ashur and Qal'at Sherqat, was the capital of the Old Assyrian city-state (2025–1364 BC), the Middle Assyrian Empire (1363–912 BC), and for a time, of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC). The remains of the city lie on the western bank of the Tigris River, north of the confluence with its tributary, the Little Zab, in what is now Iraq, more precisely in the al-Shirqat District of the Saladin Governorate.
Bronze AgeThe Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second principal period of the three-age system proposed in 1836 by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen for classifying and studying ancient societies and history. It is also considered the second phase, of three, in the Metal Ages.
Akkadian EmpireThe Akkadian Empire (əˈkeɪdiən) was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. It was centered in the city of Akkad (ˈækæd) and its surrounding region. The empire united Akkadian and Sumerian speakers under one rule. The Akkadian Empire exercised influence across Mesopotamia, the Levant, and Anatolia, sending military expeditions as far south as Dilmun and Magan (modern Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman) in the Arabian Peninsula.
InannaInanna is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine law, and political power. She was known by the Akkadian Empire, Babylonians, and Assyrians as Ishtar (and occasionally the logogram ). Her primary title was "the Queen of Heaven", and she was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, which was her early main cult center.
KassitesThe Kassites (ˈkæsaɪts) were people of the ancient Near East, who controlled Babylonia after the fall of the Old Babylonian Empire 1531 BC and until 1155 BC (short chronology). They gained control of Babylonia after the Hittite sack of Babylon in 1531 BC, and established a dynasty generally assumed to have been based first in that city, after a hiatus. Later rule shifted to the new city of Dur-Kurigalzu. By the time of Babylon's fall, the Kassites had already been part of the region for a century and a half, acting sometimes with the Babylon's interests and sometimes against.
AlalakhAlalakh (Tell Atchana; Hittite: Alalaḫ) is an ancient archaeological site approximately northeast of Antakya (historic Antioch) in what is now Turkey's Hatay Province. It flourished, as an urban settlement, in the Middle and Late Bronze Age, c. 2000-1200 BC. The city contained palaces, temples, private houses and fortifications. The remains of Alalakh have formed an extensive mound covering around 22 hectares. In Late Bronze Age, Alalakh was the capital of the local kingdom of Mukiš.
Taurus MountainsThe Taurus Mountains (Turkish: Toros Dağları or Toroslar) are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean coastal region from the central Anatolian Plateau. The system extends along a curve from Lake Eğirdir in the west to the upper reaches of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in the east. It is a part of the Alpide belt in Eurasia. The mountain range under the current name was mentioned in The Histories by Polybius as Ταῦρος (Taûros).
Amurru kingdomAmurru (Sumerian: 𒈥𒌅𒆠 MAR.TUKI; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒌨𒊏 Amûrra, 𒀀𒈬𒊑 Amuri, 𒀀𒄯𒊑 Amurri) was an Amorite kingdom established c. 2000 BC, in a region spanning present-day western and north-western Syria and northern Lebanon. The inhabitants spoke the Amorite language, an extinct early Northwest Semitic language classified as a westernmost or Amorite-specific dialect of Ugaritic. The kingdom shares a name with the eponymous god Amurru.
EmarEmar (modern Tell Meskene) is an archaeological site in Aleppo Governorate, northern Syria. It sits in the great bend of the mid-Euphrates, now on the shoreline of the man-made Lake Assad near the town of Maskanah. It has been the source of many cuneiform tablets, making it rank with Ugarit, Mari and Ebla among the most important archaeological sites of Syria. In these texts, dating from the 14th century BC to the fall of Emar in 1187 BC, and in excavations in several campaigns since the 1970s, Emar emerges as an important Bronze Age trade center, occupying a liminal position between the power centers of Upper Mesopotamia and Anatolia-Syria.
