Mesopotamia: A powerful kingdom

Author: Edited by Dell Brown, Li Xuying, Wu Bing, Zhang Li Xin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The volumes of Lost Civilizations showcase the trajectory of the origins and early transformations of civilizations, long forgotten by later generations. Reading them is like adults revisiting old photographs from their childhood—each scene evokes a faint recollection. This series can be enjoyed as an art album while also serving as a reference for travelers to various parts of the world, helping them understand the must-see historical sites and landmarks. The fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is the cradle of Sumerian civilization, where, around 3500 BCE, the world's first cities emerged, giving rise to a culture with a writing system, knowledge of bronze smelting, and the use of the wheel. These urban centers gradually developed into city-states, connected by trade and shared language and culture. However, around 2000 BCE, Sumerian civilization declined. Yet, its major achievements in cultural sophistication, trade, and agriculture were deeply rooted, and in the centuries that followed, successive Mesopotamian regimes claimed to be inheritors of the Sumerian legacy—such as the powerful Assyrian Empire, centered around the city of Ashur, and the highly prosperous Babylonian Empire.