Editing History of Iraq (section)

== Ancient Mesopotamia ==
{{Main|Mesopotamia|History of Mesopotamia}}
{{See also|Ancient Near East}}
Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the [[Neolithic Revolution]] from around 10,000 BC. It has been identified as having "inspired some of the most important developments in human history including the invention of the wheel, the planting of the first cereal crops, and the development of cursive script, mathematics, astronomy, and agriculture."<ref name="historyandpolicy">{{cite web|url=http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-13.html|title=Iraq, past, present and future: a thoroughly-modern mandate?|last=Milton-Edwards|first=Beverley|date=May 2003|work=History & Policy|access-date=9 December 2010|location=[[United Kingdom]]|archive-date=8 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208112958/http://www.historyandpolicy.org/papers/policy-paper-13.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The "[[Cradle of Civilisation]]" is a common term for the area comprising modern Iraq as it was home to the earliest known [[civilisation]], the [[Sumer|Sumerian civilisation]], which arose in the fertile [[Tigris-Euphrates river system|Tigris-Euphrates river valley]] of southern Iraq in the [[Chalcolithic]] ([[Ubaid period]]).<ref name="Maisels2005">{{cite book | author = Charles Keith Maisels | date = 24 October 2005 | title = The Near East: Archaeology in the 'Cradle of Civilization' | publisher = Routledge | pages = 6–109 | isbn = 978-1-134-66469-6 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7-KFAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA6}}</ref> It was there, in the late [[4th millennium BC]], that the world's first known [[Cuneiform script|writing system]] emerged. The [[Sumer]]ians were also the first known to harness the [[wheel]] and create [[City States|city-states]]; their writings record the first known evidence of [[mathematics]], [[astronomy]], [[astrology]], [[Written Law|written law]], [[medicine]], and [[organised religion]].<ref name="Maisels2005" /> The [[Sumerian language]] is a [[language isolate]]. The major city-states of the early Sumerian period included [[Eridu]], [[Bad-tibira]], [[Larsa]], [[Sippar]], [[Shuruppak]], [[Uruk]], [[Kish (Sumer)|Kish]], [[Ur]], [[Nippur]], [[Lagash]], [[Girsu]], [[Umma]], [[Hamazi]], [[Adab (city)|Adab]], [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], [[Isin]], [[Kutha]], [[Der (Sumer)|Der]], and [[Akshak]].<ref name="Maisels2005" /> The cities to the north, like [[Assur|Ashur]], Arbela (modern [[Erbil]]), and [[Arrapha]] (modern [[Kirkuk]]), were also extant in what was to be called Assyria from the 25th century BC; however, at this stage, they were Sumerian-ruled administrative centers.

=== Bronze Age ===
{{Main|Sumer|Akkadian Empire|Assyria|Babylonia}}
[[Sumer]] emerged as the civilization of Lower Mesopotamia out of the prehistoric [[Ubaid period]] (mid-6th millennium BC) in the Early Bronze Age ([[Uruk period]]). Classical Sumer ended with the rise of the [[Akkadian Empire]] in the 24th century BC. Following the [[Gutian period]], the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III kingdom]] was once again able to unite large parts of southern and central Mesopotamia under a single ruler in the 21st century. It may have eventually disintegrated due to [[Amorites|Amorite]] incursions. The Amorite dynasty of [[Isin]] persisted until c. 1600 BC, when southern Mesopotamia was united under [[Kassite]] [[Babylonia]]n rule.
[[File:Sargon of Akkad (frontal).jpg|thumb|Bronze head of an [[Akkadian Empire|Akkadian]] ruler from [[Nineveh]], presumably depicting either [[Sargon of Akkad]], or Sargon's grandson [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]]. The Akkadian Empire was the first ancient [[empire]] of [[Mesopotamia]] after the long-lived civilization of [[Sumer]].]]
During the [[Bronze Age]], in the 26th century BC, [[Eannatum]] of [[Lagash]] created a short-lived [[empire]]. Later, [[Lugal-Zage-Si]], the priest-king of [[Umma]], overthrew the primacy of the Lagash dynasty in the area, then conquered [[Uruk]], making it his capital, and claimed an empire extending from the [[Persian Gulf]] to the [[Mediterranean]].<ref>Roux, Georges (1993), ''Ancient Iraq'' (Penguin)</ref> It was during this period that the [[Epic of Gilgamesh]] originated, which includes the tale of [[The Great Flood]]. The origin and location of Akkad remain unclear. Its people spoke [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], an [[East Semitic language]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/|title=Akkad|encyclopedia=World History Encyclopedia|access-date=18 August 2017}}</ref> Between the 29th and 24th centuries BC, a number of kingdoms and city-states within Iraq began to have Akkadian-speaking dynasties, including [[Assyria]], [[Ekallatum]], [[Isin]], and [[Larsa]]. However, the Sumerians remained generally dominant until the rise of the [[Akkadian Empire]] (2335–2124 BC), based in the city of [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]] in central Iraq. [[Sargon of Akkad]] founded the empire, conquered all the city-states of southern and central Iraq, and subjugated the kings of Assyria, thus uniting the Sumerians and Akkadians in one state. The Akkadian Empire was the first ancient [[empire]] of [[Mesopotamia]] after the long-lived civilization of [[Sumer]].

He then set about expanding his empire, conquering [[Gutium]], [[Elam]] in modern-day [[Iran]], and had victories that did not result in full conquest against the [[Amorites]] and [[Ebla]]ites of the Levant. The empire of Akkad likely fell in the 22nd century BC, within 180 years of its founding, ushering in a "[[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Age]]" with no prominent imperial authority until the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]]. The region's political structure may have reverted to the ''status quo ante'' of local governance by [[city-state]]s.<ref name="Zettler24">Zettler (2003), pp. 24–25. "Moreover, the Dynasty of Akkade's fall did not lead to social collapse, but the re-emergence of the normative political organization. The southern cities reasserted their independence, and if we know little about the period between the death of Sharkalisharri and the accession of Urnamma, it may be due more to accidents of discovery than because of widespread 'collapse.' The extensive French excavations at Tello produced relevant remains dating right through the period."</ref>

After the collapse of the [[Akkadian Empire]] in the late 22nd century BC, the [[Gutians]] occupied the south for a few decades, while Assyria reasserted its independence in the north. Most of southern Mesopotamia was again united under one ruler during the [[Third Dynasty of Ur|Ur III period]], most notably during the rule of the prolific king [[Shulgi]]. His accomplishments include the completion of construction of the [[Great Ziggurat of Ur]], begun by his father [[Ur-Nammu]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/ziggurats/explore/zig.html |title=The Ziggurat of Ur |work=[[British Museum]] |access-date=24 November 2017}}</ref> In 1792 BC, an [[Amorite]] ruler named [[Hammurabi]] came to power and immediately set about building Babylon into a major city, declaring himself its king. Hammurabi conquered southern and central Iraq, as well as Elam to the east and Mari to the west, then engaged in a protracted war with the Assyrian king [[Ishme-Dagan]] for domination of the region, creating the short-lived [[Babylonian Empire]]. He eventually prevailed over the successor of Ishme-Dagan and subjected Assyria and its Anatolian colonies. By the middle of the eighteenth century BC, the Sumerians had lost their cultural identity and ceased to exist as a distinct people.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wolkstein|first1=Diane|last2=Kramer|first2=Samuel Noah|title=Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth: Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer|year=1983|publisher=Harper&Row Publishers|location=New York City, New York|isbn=978-0-06-090854-6|pages=118–119}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Kramer|first1=Samuel Noah|title=The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character|url=https://archive.org/details/sumerianstheirhi00samu|url-access=registration|date=1963|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago, Illinois|isbn=978-0-226-45238-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/sumerianstheirhi00samu/page/71 71–72]}}</ref>

It is from the period of Hammurabi that southern Iraq came to be known as [[Babylonia]], while the north had already coalesced into [[Assyria]] hundreds of years before. However, his empire was short-lived, and rapidly collapsed after his death, with both Assyria and southern Iraq, in the form of the [[Sealand Dynasty]], falling back into native Akkadian hands. After this, another foreign people, the [[Language Isolate|language-isolate]]-speaking [[Kassites]], seized control of Babylonia. Iraq was from this point divided into three polities: [[Assyria]] in the north, [[Kassite]] [[Babylonia]] in the south-central region, and the [[Sealand Dynasty]] in the far south. The Sealand Dynasty was finally conquered by Kassite Babylonia circa 1380 BC. The origin of the Kassites is uncertain.<ref>J. A. Brinkman, "Kassiten (Kassû)," RLA, vol. 5 (1976–80</ref>

The [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] (1365–1020 BC) saw Assyria rise to be the most powerful nation in the known world. Beginning with the campaigns of [[Ashur-uballit I]], Assyria destroyed the rival [[Hurrian]]-[[Mitanni]] Empire, annexed huge swathes of the [[Hittite Empire]] for itself, annexed northern Babylonia from the Kassites, forced the [[Egyptian Empire]] from the region, and defeated the [[Elamites]], [[Phrygians]], [[Canaanites]], [[Phoenicians]], [[Cilicians]], [[Gutians]], [[Dilmun]]ites, and [[Arameans]]. At its height, the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]] stretched from [[The Caucasus]] to [[Dilmun]] (modern [[Bahrain]]), and from the [[Mediterranean]] coasts of [[Phoenicia]] to the [[Zagros Mountains]] of [[Iran]]. In 1235 BC, [[Tukulti-Ninurta I]] of Assyria took the throne of [[Babylon]].

During the [[Bronze Age collapse]] (1200–900 BC), Babylonia was in a state of chaos, dominated for long periods by Assyria and [[Elam]]. The Kassites were driven from power by Assyria and Elam, allowing native south Mesopotamian kings to rule Babylonia for the first time, although often subject to Assyrian or Elamite rulers. However, these Akkadian kings were unable to prevent new waves of [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]] migrants from entering southern Iraq, and during the 11th century BC, [[Arameans]] and [[Suteans]] entered Babylonia from [[The Levant]], followed in the late 10th to early 9th century BC by the [[Chaldea]]ns.<ref>A. Leo Oppenheim – Ancient Mesopotamia</ref> However, the Chaldeans were absorbed and assimilated into the indigenous population of [[Babylonia]].<ref>George Roux – Ancient Iraq – p 281</ref>

[[Assyria]] was an [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] (East Semitic) kingdom in Upper Mesopotamia, that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of [[Assur]] ([[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''{{transliteration|akk|Aššūrāyu}}'').

Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is positively known. In the [[Assyrian King List]], the earliest king recorded was [[Tudiya]]. He was a contemporary of [[Ibrium]] of [[Ebla]], who appears to have lived in the late 25th or early 24th century BC, according to the king list. The foundation of the first true urbanised Assyrian monarchy was traditionally ascribed to [[Ushpia]], a contemporary of [[Ishbi-Erra]] of [[Isin]] and [[Naplanum]] of [[Larsa]].<ref>According to the [[Assyrian King List]] and Georges Roux, ''Ancient Iraq'', p. 187.</ref> c. 2030 BC.

Assyria had a period of empire from the 19th to 18th centuries BC. From the 14th to 11th centuries BC, Assyria once more became a major power with the rise of the [[Middle Assyrian Empire]].
{{Panorama
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| alt = Panoramic view of ruins in Babylon.
| caption = {{center|Panoramic view of ruins in Babylon photographed in 2005}}
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=== Iron Age ===
{{Main|Fall of Babylon}}
[[File:Map of Assyria.png|thumb|The [[Assyria|Assyrian Empire]] at its greatest extent]]
[[File:Ashurbanipal_in_a_chariot,_wall_relief,_7th_century_BC,_from_Nineveh,_the_British_Museum.jpg|thumb|[[Aramaic|7th-century BC relief depicting]] [[Ashurbanipal]] ({{reign}}669–631 BC) and three royal attendants in a [[chariot]]. Ashurbanipal  was the king of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] which was the [[List of largest empires|largest empire]] in history up to that point.{{Sfn|Aberbach|2003|p=4}}{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=133}}]]
The [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] (911–609 BC) was the dominant political force in the Ancient Near East during the Iron Age, eclipsing [[Babylonia]], [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Urartu]], and [[Elam]].<ref name="kchanson.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/obelisk.html|title=Black Obelisk, K. C. Hanson's Collection of Mesopotamian Documents|publisher=K.C. Hansen|access-date=23 November 2014|archive-date=9 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709213033/http://www.kchanson.com/ANCDOCS/meso/obelisk.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Because of its geopolitical dominance and ideology based on [[world domination]], the Neo-Assyrian Empire is regarded by many researchers as the first [[world empire]].{{Sfn|Düring|2020|p=133}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Liverani|first=Mario|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ|title="Thoughts on the Assyrian Empire and Assyrian Kingship".|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2017|isbn=978-1-118-32524-7|location=Hoboken|page=536}}</ref> At its height, the empire ruled over all of [[Mesopotamia]], the [[Levant]], and Egypt, as well as portions of [[Anatolia]], the [[Arabian Peninsula]], and modern-day Iran and Armenia. Under rulers such as [[Adad-Nirari II]], [[Ashurnasirpal I|Ashurnasirpal]], [[Shalmaneser III]], [[Semiramis]], [[Tiglath-pileser III]], [[Sargon II]], [[Sennacherib]], [[Esarhaddon]], and [[Ashurbanipal]], Iraq became the center of an empire stretching from [[Persia]], [[Parthia]], and [[Elam]] in the east to [[Cyprus]] and [[Antioch]] in the west, and from [[The Caucasus]] in the north to [[Egypt]], [[Nubia]], and [[Arabia]] in the south.<ref>{{cite web|title=Neo-Assyrian Empire|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Neo-Assyrian_Empire/|access-date=7 February 2022|website=World History Encyclopedia|language=en}}</ref>

It was during this period that an Akkadian-influenced form of [[Eastern Aramaic]] was adopted by the Assyrians as their [[lingua franca]], and Mesopotamian Aramaic began to supplant Akkadian as the spoken language of the general populace of both Assyria and Babylonia. The descendant dialects of this tongue survive among the [[Mandaeans]] of southern Iraq and [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] of northern Iraq. The [[Arab people|Arabs]] and the [[Chaldea]]ns are first mentioned in written history (circa 850 BC) in the annals of [[Shalmaneser III]]. The Neo-Assyrian Empire left a legacy of great cultural significance. The political structures established by the Neo-Assyrian Empire became the model for the later empires that succeeded it, and the ideology of [[Universal monarchy|universal rule]] promulgated by the Neo-Assyrian kings inspired similar ideas of rights to [[world domination]] in later empires. The Neo-Assyrian Empire became an important part of later folklore and literary traditions in northern Mesopotamia. [[Judaism]], and thus in turn also [[Christianity]] and [[Islam]], was profoundly affected by the period of Neo-Assyrian rule; numerous Biblical stories appear to draw on earlier Assyrian mythology and history, and the Assyrian impact on early Jewish theology was immense. Although the Neo-Assyrian Empire is prominently remembered today for the supposed excessive brutality of the [[Military history of the Neo-Assyrian Empire|Neo-Assyrian army]], the Assyrians were not excessively brutal compared to other civilizations.{{Sfn|Aberbach|2003|p=4}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Frahm|first=Eckart|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nhsmDwAAQBAJ|title=A Companion to Assyria|publisher=John Wiley & Sons Hoboken|year=2017|isbn=978-1-118-32524-7|location=Hoboken|page=196}}</ref>

In the late 7th century BC, the Assyrian Empire tore itself apart with a series of brutal civil wars, weakening itself to such a degree that a coalition of its former subjects, including the [[Babylonians]], [[Chaldea]]ns, [[Medes]], [[Persian people|Persians]], [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]], [[Scythians]], and [[Cimmerians]], were able to attack Assyria, finally bringing its empire down by 605 BC.<ref>Georges Roux – Ancient Iraq</ref>

[[File:Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II.png|thumb|The [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] under [[Nabonidus]] (r. 626–539 BC)]] The short-lived [[Neo-Babylonian Empire]] (626–539 BC) succeeded that of Assyria. It failed to attain the size, power, or longevity of its predecessor; however, it came to dominate [[The Levant]], [[Canaan]], [[Arabia]], [[Kingdom of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]], and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]], and even defeated [[Egypt]]. Initially, Babylon was ruled by the [[Chaldea]]ns, who had migrated to the region in the late 10th or early 9th century BC. Its greatest king, [[Nebuchadnezzar II]], rivaled [[Hammurabi]] as the greatest king of Babylon. However, by 556 BC, the Chaldeans had been deposed by the Assyrian-born [[Nabonidus]] and his son and regent [[Belshazzar]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Beaulieu |first=Paul-Alain |title=Berossus on Late Babylonian History |url=https://www.academia.edu/1581190/Berossus_on_Late_Babylonian_History |journal=Y. Gong and Y. Chen, eds., Special Issue of Oriental Studies. A Collection of Papers on Ancient Civilizations of Western Asia, Asia Minor and North Africa (Beijing, 2007) 116-149}}</ref>

[[File:Street in Babylon.jpg|thumb|A partial view of the ruins of [[Babylon]]]] The transfer of empire to [[Babylon]] marked the first time the city, and southern Mesopotamia in general, had risen to dominate the [[Ancient Near East]] since the collapse of [[Hammurabi]]'s [[Old Babylonian Empire]]. The period of Neo-Babylonian rule saw unprecedented economic and population growth and a renaissance of culture and artwork. [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] succeeded [[Nabopolassar]] in 605 BC. The empire Nebuchadnezzar inherited was among the most powerful in the world. He quickly reinforced his father's alliance with the Medes by marrying Cyaxares's daughter or granddaughter, [[Amytis of Babylon|Amytis]]. Some sources suggest that the famous [[Hanging Gardens of Babylon]], one of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]], were built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife (though the existence of these gardens is debated). Nebuchadnezzar's 43-year reign brought a golden age for Babylon, which became the most powerful kingdom in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joshua J|first=Mark|date=2018|title=Nebuchadnezzar II|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Nebuchadnezzar_II/|website=World History Encyclopedia}}</ref>

The Neo-Babylonian period ended with the reign of [[Nabonidus]] in 539 BC. To the east, the Persians had been growing in strength, and eventually [[Cyrus the Great]] established his dominion over Babylon. The Chaldeans disappeared around this time, though both Assyria and Babylonia endured and thrived under Achaemenid rule (see [[Achaemenid Assyria]]). The Persian rulers retained Assyrian Imperial Aramaic as the language of empire, together with the Assyrian imperial infrastructure and an Assyrian style of art and architecture.{{Citation needed|date=August 2017}}