NOTES ON THE MIDDLE EAST

      'MESOPOTAMIAN FLOOD PLAIN':

      • TIGRIS RIVER, the eastern river, foothills of the ZAGROS MOUNTAINS;

      • EUPHRATES RIVER, the western river, rises in the TAURUS MOUNTAINS of Eastern Turkey near Lake Van. The lower valley of these two rivers,

      • MESOPOTAMIA (Greek for 'The land between the rivers') was the area in which the SUMERIANS first settled (ca. 5000 B.C.)

      Maps of the Ancient Near East

      Natural Resources & Trade

      SUMERIANS:

      • ('the black-headed people') Spoke a non-Semitic language; their origins are unknown. Possibilities include: Zagros Mts. or Pakistan; basically, an area with mountains, as their Ziggurats (large, stepped towers) seem to be an attempt at recreating the mountains of their homeland for their gods. Early empire, ca. 2700 B.C. The Sumerian King List, a surviving list of the cities and rulers of earliest Mesopotamia (Somewhat mythical, especially in its earlier sections) begins, "When KINGSHIP first descended from heaven..."

      • FIVE CITIES held the overlordship successively, among them ERECH (Uruk) the city over which GILGAMESH ruled, fifth king after the Great Flood Gilgamesh is mentioned in the Sumerian King List. (NB.: The Sumerian "Great Flood" dates a millennium or more earlier than the one described in the Bible).

      • UR: evidence of a "great flood" found here by archaeologist Leonard Wooley, excavating on behalf of the University Museum in the 1920's; but it too is older than Noah by some considerable number of centuries. UR is reputed to have been the original home of the family of ABRAM (ABRAHAM), the common ancestor of the Hebrews and the Arab peoples.

      • CUNEIFORM writing: (cuneus: 'wedge' in Latin) with a reed pen, on clay tablets, left to dry in the sun when inscribed. Click here to see an example of cuneiform writing, in this case, a passage from the Gilgamesh epic.

      • THE ENUMA ELISH' ("When on high..") the Sumerian creation epic, was recited annually on the 4th day of the New Year Celebration, ca. March 25, probably from atop a ziggurat in the town center. It's council of gods (resembling the citizen assemblies of the Sumerians) and other aspects reflect the world view of the Sumerians; that is to say, the structure they give to their pantheon and its interactions with one another, can be taken to say something about their own social order.

        The text of the Enuma Elish is known from a translation found in the Palace of King Assurbanipal of Assyria (669-626), famed for his polymath tendencies and his love of literature (he collected 22,000 texts before he died). Here are some selections:

        TABLET I

        WHEN on high the Heavens had not been named,
        Firm ground below had not been called by name,
        Nothing but 'Primordial Apsu' the Begetter, [Fresh Water]
        and 'Mummu Tiamat', She Who Bore them All, [Salt Water]
        Ñtheir waters commingling as a single bodyÑ

        No reed hut had been matted, no marsh land had appeared,
        Uncalled by name, their destinies undeterminedÑ

        THEN it was that the Gods were formed within Them.

        Lahmu [Mr. Mud] and Lahamu [Mrs. Mud] were brought forth,
        by name they were called
        Before they had grown in age and stature.

        Anshar [Upper Firmament] and Kishar [Lower Firmament] were
        formed,
        surpassing the others.
        They prolonged the days, added on the years.

        Anu was their heir, the rival of his fathers;
        Yes, Anu, Anshar's first-born, was his equal.

        He begot in his image Nudimmud [ Ea ].
        This Nudimmud was the master of his fathers;
        Of broad wisdom, understanding, mighty in strength,
        Mightier by far than his grandfather Anshar.
        He had no rival among the gods, his brothers.

        The divine brothers banded together,
        They disturbed Tiamat as the surged back and forth,
        Yes, they troubled the mood of Tiamat
        By their hilarity in the Abode of Heaven.
        Apsu could not lessen their clamor
        And Tiamat was speechless at their ways.
        Their doings were loathsome to [ ].
        Unsavory were their ways; they were overbearing.

        Then Apsu, the Begetter of the Great Gods,
        Cried out, addressing Mummu his Vizier:
        "O Mummu, my Vizier, who makes my spirit rejoice,
        Come hither and let us go to Tiamat!"
        They went and sat down before Tiamat,
        Exchanging counsel about the gods, their children.
        Apsu, opening his mouth, said to Resplendent Tiamat:
        "Their ways are truly loathsome to me,
        By day I find no relief, nor sleep at night.
        I will destroy, I will wreck their ways,
        So that quiet may be restored. Let us have rest!"
        As soon as Tiamat heard this,
        She was angry and called out to her husband;
        she cried out aggrieved as she raged all alone,
        Injecting woe into her mood:
        "What? Should we destroy that which we have built?
        Their ways indeed are most troublesome, but let us attend kindly!"
        Then answered Mummu, giving counsel to Apsu;
        Ill-wishing and ungracious was Mummu's advice:

        "Do destroy, my father, the mutinous ways.
        Then you will have relief by day and rest at night!"
        When Apsu heard this, his face grew radiant
        Because of the evil he planned against the gods his sons.
        As for Mummu, he embraced him by the neck
        As he sat down on his knees to kiss him.
        Now all that they had planned between them was
        repeated to the Gods, their children.
        When the Gods heard, they were upset,
        then they lapsed into silence and remained speechless.
        Ea-Nuddimud, surpassing in wisdom, accomplished, resourceful,
        Ea the All-Wise, saw through their scheme.
        A master design against it he devised and set up,
        Made artful his spell against it...
        ... Having fettered Apsu he slew him...

        [Tiamat appoints Kingu to be her champion to avenge Apsu and
        conquer the Younger Gods. The Younger Gods respond by
        deciding to seek their own leader and Champion.]...

        TABLET II

        ..All the Anunnaki gathered;
        their lips closed tight they sat in silence,
        "No god (they thought) can go to battle and
        Facing Tiamat, escape with his life."
        Lord Anshar, Father of the Gods, arose in grandeur,
        And, having pondered in his heart, said to the Anunnaki:
        "He whose strength is potent shall be our Avenger,
        He who is keen in battle, Marduk, the Hero!"...

        [Marduk replies to the invitation:]

        ..."Creator of the Gods, destiny of the Great Gods,
        If I indeed, as your Avenger,
        Am to vanquish Tiamat and save your lives,
        Set up the Assembly, proclaim supreme my destiny!
        When you have sat down together rejoicing in Ubshukinna
        Let my word, instead of you, determine the fates.
        Unalterable shall be what I may bring into being;
        Neither recalled nor changed shall be the command of my lips."

        TABLET III

        ...They made ready to leave on their journey,
        All the Great Gods who dtermine the fates.
        They entered before Anshar, filling Ubshukinna.
        They kissed one another in the Assembly.
        They ate festive bread, poured the wine,
        They wetted their drinking tubes with sweet intoxicant.
        As they drank the strong drink, their bodies swelled.
        They became very languid as their spirits rose.
        For Marduk the Avenger they fixed the decrees.
        They erected for him a princely throne.
        Facing his fathers, he sat down, presiding....

      • 'THE GILGAMESH EPIC' a hero-story, which includes the tale of the Great Flood and a Babylonian Noah named Utnapishtim. But the epic is more than a thousand years older than Moses (13th c.), the reputed first recorder of the Noah story. See a tablet of this epic here ; to see a cylinder seal with a design relating to the epic, click here .

      • ZIGGURAT : a temple platform (e.g. the Tower of Babel/Babylon) which is intermediate between heaven and earth, a sacred space on top of which the representative of humankind can meet with the gods.

      • The Sumerians were the inventors of many things: the wheel, the donkey cart and an early form of donkey-drawn chariot, beer, sexagesimal counting system (from which we get our 12-hour day and 60-minute hour, etc.), cuneiform writing, literature, the city-state (as opposed to the kingdom) with citizen assemblies, etc.

      • They also had far-flung trading networks that reached to Anatolia and beyond, as well as to Egypt, Afghanistan, etc.

      AKKADIANS:

      • Semitic-speaking people, infiltrated and took over political rule in the Sumerian Empire (ca. 2300 B.C.?):

      • SARGON THE GREAT of Akkad: conquered as far west as Mediterranean. His life story became legendary:

        The Legend of Sargon of Akkad, c. 2250 BCE

        1. Sargon, the mighty king, king of Akkadê am I,
        2. My mother was lowly; my father I did not know;
        3. The brother of my father dwelt in the mountain.
        4. My city is Azupiranu, which is situated on the bank of ...
        5. My lowly mother conceived me, in secret she brought ...
        6. She placed me in a basket of reeds, she closed my...
        7. She cast me upon the rivers which did not overflow
        8. The river carried me, it brought me to Akki, the
        9. Akki, the irrigator, in the goodness of his heart lifted
        10. Akki, the irrigator, as his own son brought me [out]...
        11. Akki, the irrigator, as his gardener appointed
        12. When I was a gardener the goddess Ishtar loved
        13. And for four years I ruled the kingdom.
        14. The black-headed peoples [Sumerians] I ruled, I governed;
        15. Mighty mountains with axes of bronze I destroyed
        16. I ascended the upper mountains;
        17. I burst through the lower mountains.
        18. The country of the sea I besieged three times;
        19. Dilmun I captured (?).
        20. Unto the great Dur-ilu I went up, I . . . . . . . . .
        21 . . . . . . . . . .I altered. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
        22. Whatsoever king shall be exalted after me,
        23. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
        24. Let him rule, let him govern the black-headed
        25. Mighty mountains with axes of bronze let him
        26. Let him ascend the upper mountains,
        27. Let him break through the lower mountains;
        28. The country of the sea let him besiege three
        29. Dilmun let him capture;
        30. To great Dur-ilu let him go up.
        From: George A. Barton, Archaeology and The Bible, 3rd Ed.,(Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1920), p. 310.

        Scanned by: J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton. Prof. Arkenberg has modernized the text

      • UR-NAMMU of UR, Sumerian King (2113-2096) a code of laws attributed to him survives; one of the oldest Sumerian law codes extant, it may have been one of the sources to influence the law code of Hammurabi (see below).

      AMORITES

      • After ca. 1900 B.C. A Semitic people, took over leadership of the various kingdoms of Mesopotamia:

      • HAMMURABI the Amorite, King of Babylon (1792-1750)
        Wrote the famous Law Code Of Hammurabi , which drew on the laws of the countries he had conquered, with an added twist of harshness. Our main evidence for this law code is an inscribed stone stele from later in his reign. Click here for a photo of the uppermost portion of the stele inscribed with his laws.

      ASSYRIANS

      • 18th to 7th centuries B.C. a Semitic people: ASSUR, both the name of the chief god and his chief city, and thus a popular element in royal names. Founders and rulers of at least three great empires in this period. See a map of the three empires.

      • The Assyrians also had a law code, parts of which give some idea of the social constraints and milieu in which they lived. Click here to see it.

      • ASSUR-NASIR-PAL II (ca. 884-859 B.C.) expanded the Neo-Assyrian Empire. Not exactly modest (what king ever was?), he set up inscriptions around his empire proclaiming his deeds, etc. Known as the Annals of Assurnasirpal (web site with commentary), they make for some interesting reading.

      • TIGLATH-PILESER III (745--727) captured Damascus in 732, campaigned along the east coast of the Mediterranean in Syria, Lebanon, Israel. Had contact with Greek merchants and mercenaries.

      • SENNACHERIB, captured ISRAEL (in the territory later known as SAMARIA) in 722 B.C. He also built some wonderful "mountain" or terraced gardens, in which he apparently installed devices to bring water from the Tigris up to the top of his garden (an Archimedes screw, of sorts)

      • Capital city NINEVEH was captured by the BABYLONIANS and MEDES in 612 B.C. under the leadership of NABOPOLASSAR (625-604 B.C.) of Babylon. Nineveh was destroyed, and the Neo-Babylonian empire was on its way.

      • NEBUDCHADNEZZAR (604-562 B.C.) extended the Neo-Babylonian empire even further. He was also famous for his building activities in Babylon proper, including the Great Walls and Hanging Gardens (together forming one of the Seven Wonders of the World, which we discussed on 10/2/01), as well as the Ishtar Gate and the Processional Way (model in Berlin) under which Koldewey thought he had found the terraces for the hanging gardens.

      • The famous Greek author HERODOTUS wrote his own report on the Assyrians and Babylonians, ca. 450 B.C. While some of his facts may be questioned, his report is very useful in terms of understanding how Greeks may have viewed the older, more exotic civilizations of the Near and Middle East. Click HERE to read it.

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