Browse > Timeline

Timeline

The Timeline interface above requires the Flash plug-in (download). If you are unable to access Flash content, you may refer to the text listing below which has links to browse objects related to each time period within the collection.

Prehistory
250,000 - 6000 BC, 11 Artifacts

Early humans migrated out of Africa and lived a nomadic lifestyle hunting and gathering food as they moved. Eventually they built villages in Mesopotamia and began to raise animals and harvest crops.

From Villages to Towns
6000 - 4000 BC, 2 Artifacts

Over this span of time, people settled in Mesopotamia and went from dwelling
in small villages to living in towns surrounded by smaller supporting communities.

The First Cities
4000 - 2900 BC, 8 Artifacts

Some towns grew into large cities with temples, palaces, and many homes. The Sumerians invented a writing system and quickly grew to become the first literate urban civilization in the ancient world.

City-States
2900 - 2350 BC, 23 Artifacts

Southern Sumerian city-states shared the same language and culture, but they often fought over land and water rights. At this time nomadic desert people, the Akkadians and Amorites migrated into Mesopotamia.

The Akkadian Empire
2350 - 2150 BC, 14 Artifacts

King Sargon of Akkad established control of southern Mesopotamia by 2330 BC The Akkadians controlled all of Mesopotamia and parts of Syria and Iran. They adopted many Sumerian customs including the cuneiform writing system, but they adapted it to their own language.

The Sumerian Revival
2100 - 2000 BC, 10 Artifacts

After the collapse of the Akkadian Empire, King Ur-Nammu reunited Mesopotamia and revived Sumerian traditions for another century. Sumerians and Akkadians enjoyed equal protection under a common law, and it was a great time of peace and prosperity.

Rival Kingdoms
2000 - 1600 BC, 23 Artifacts

At this time Mesopotamia divided into rival city-states. Hammurabi, King of Babylon, united most of Mesopotamia and established laws and courts for settling disputes. The city of Babylon became an important economic center in southern Mesopotamia.

An International Age
1600 - 1000 BC, 7 Artifacts

Mesopotamia became a crucial link in a growing world trade economy between the east and west. The Mesopotamians also established diplomatic relations with other lands. Assyria, in the north, emerged as the dominant military force in Mesopotamia. A period of political and economic crisis swept the region after 1200 BC causing severe upheavals in Assyria and Babylonia.

Late Empires
900 - 539 BC, 25 Artifacts

By the 7th century BC, the Assyrian Empire grew to become the largest the world had ever known, stretching from Egypt to Iran. Babylon reemerged as a world power after defeating the Assyrians in 612 BC The arts and sciences flourished during this period, and Babylon became the largest city in the ancient world.

After the fall of Babylon
539 BC - 700 AD, 6 Artifacts

Mesopotamian dominance ended with the fall of Babylon to the Persians in 539 BC Persian kings ruled the largest most efficiently organized empire in the ancient world. Southern Mesopotamia flourished and Babylon served as the winter residence of the Persian court. In 331 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Babylon and ushered in an era of Greek control over much of the Middle East. Iranian dynasties controlled Mesopotamia until the Islamic conquest.