History of Mesopotamia. The history of Mesopotamia describes the history of the area known as Mesopotamia, roughly coinciding with the Tigris–Euphrates basin, from the earliest human occupation in the Lower Paleolithic period up to the Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD. This history is pieced together from evidence retrieved from archaeological excavations and, after the introduction of writing in the late 4th millennium BC, an increasing amount of historical sources. While in the Paleolithic and early Neolithic periods only parts of Upper Mesopotamia were occupied, the southern alluvium was settled during the late Neolithic period. Mesopotamia has been home to many of the oldest major civilizations, entering history from the Early Bronze Age, for which reason it is often dubbed the cradle of civilization.
Short outline of Mesopotamia[edit] Mesopotamia literally means "(Land) between rivers" in ancient Greek. Chronology and periodization[edit] Prehistory[edit] Paleolithic and Epipaleolithic periods[edit] Ancient Near East.
Akkadians 2340-1900 BC. Canaanites 2000-1480 BC. Babylonians 1900-1100 BC. Hittites 1700-1500 BC. Hurrians 1500-1270 BC. Assyrians 1200-1100 BC. Mesopotamia. Ebla. Ebla (Arabic: إبلا, modern Tell Mardikh, Idlib Governorate, Syria) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria, located about 55 km (34 mi) southwest of Aleppo. It was an important center throughout the Third millennium BC to the end of the first half of the Second millennium BC Started as a small settlement in the early Bronze Age, it developed into a trading empire and later turned into an expansionist power that imposed its hegemony over much of northern and eastern Syria, its language, the Eblaite language is now considered the earliest attested Semitic language,[1] after Akkadian, the site is most famous for the Ebla tablets, an archive of about 20,000 cuneiform tablets found there,[2] dated from around 2350 BC, written in both Sumerian and Eblaite languages and using the Sumerian Cuneiform which allowed a better understanding of Sumerian.
History[edit] The first kingdom[edit] Early period[edit] Archive period[edit] Royal palace G First destruction[edit] Mari revenge: prof. Palace Q. Clues to Lost Prehistoric Code Discovered in Mesopotamia. Researchers studying clay balls from Mesopotamia have discovered clues to a lost code that was used for record-keeping about 200 years before writing was invented.
The clay balls may represent the world's "very first data storage system," at least the first that scientists know of, said Christopher Woods, a professor at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute, in a lecture at Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum, where he presented initial findings. The balls, often called "envelopes" by researchers, were sealed and contain tokens in a variety of geometric shapes — the balls varying from golf ball-size to baseball-size. Only about 150 intact examples survive worldwide today. [See Photos of the Clay Balls & Lost Code] PHOTOS: Cryptic Codes Yet to Be Cracked The researchers used high-resolution CT scans and 3D modeling to look inside more than 20 examples that were excavated at the site of Choga Mish, in western Iran, in the late 1960s. PHOTOS: Ancient Etruscan Prince Emerges From Tomb. Garden of Eden.
The Garden of Eden (Hebrew גַּן עֵדֶן, Gan ʿEḏen) is the biblical "garden of God", described most notably in the Book of Genesis chapters 2 and 3, and also in the Book of Ezekiel.[2] The "garden of God", not called Eden, is mentioned in Genesis 14, and the "trees of the garden" are mentioned in Ezekiel 31. The Book of Zechariah and the Book of Psalms also refer to trees and water in relation to the temple without explicitly mentioning Eden.[3] Traditionally, the favoured derivation of the name "Eden" was from the Akkadian edinnu, derived from a Sumerian word meaning "plain" or "steppe".
Eden is now believed to be more closely related to an Aramaic root word meaning "fruitful, well-watered. "[2] The Hebrew term is translated "pleasure" in Sarah's secret saying in Genesis 18:12.[4] Biblical narratives[edit] Eden in Genesis[edit] The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. Eden in Ezekiel[edit] Proposed locations[edit]