Search result for mesopotamia

From chariot to cavalry | HISTORY OF WARFARE - LAND

From chariot to cavalry

The light chariot drawn by two horses is a devastating weapon on the battlefields of the second millennium BC - in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Mycenaean Greece and, from about 1200 BC, China. With a highly-trained charioteer con...

A pharaoh on the warpath | HISTORY OF WARFARE - LAND

A pharaoh on the warpath

The first military campaign of which we have a detailed account ends in a battle followed by a siege. It is an expedition undertaken in about 1469 BC by the pharaoh of Egypt, Thutmose III. He later has the details inscri...

In Mesopotamia, where the Babylonians are | HISTORY OF THE CALENDAR

Lunar and solar years

In Mesopotamia, where the Babylonians are the leading astronomers, the calendar is a simple lunar one. So probably is the first Egyptian calendar. And a lunar calendar is still in use today in Islam. But such a calendar...

Sennacherib appals many in Mesopotamia by | HISTORY OF BABYLON

Revival of Babylon

Sennacherib appals many in Mesopotamia by his brutal destruction, in 689, of the ancient city of Babylon. This act leads to prolonged unrest, occasional periods of outright rebellion and, eventually, to devastating reven...

Sennacherib appals many in Mesopotamia by | HISTORY OF ASSYRIA

Revival of Babylon

Sennacherib appals many in Mesopotamia by his brutal destruction, in 689, of the ancient city of Babylon. This act leads to prolonged unrest, occasional periods of outright rebellion and, eventually, to devastating reven...

The horse is available in Mesopotamia | HISTORY OF TRANSPORT AND TRAVEL

Horse and chariot

The horse is available in Mesopotamia by about 2000 BC. Not much later a two-wheeled chariot is developed. Its superstructure is made of a light wood, and its wheels are not solid; their rims are of bent wood, held in pl...

In the river plains of Mesopotamia, | HISTORY OF WRITING MATERIALS

Inscribed in clay

In the river plains of Mesopotamia, where writing first develops, clay is an easily available commodity. It becomes the writing material of the temple scribes. Their implement is a piece of reed cut to form a rectangular...

The presence of Greeks in Mesopotamia | HISTORY OF IRAN (PERSIA)

New routes to the west

The presence of Greeks in Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean encourages a new trade route. To ease the transport of goods to Greece and beyond, Seleucus founds in 300 BC a city at the northeast tip of the Mediterr...

The presence of Greeks in Mesopotamia | HISTORY OF TRADE

New routes to the west

The presence of Greeks in Mesopotamia and the eastern Mediterranean encourages a new trade route. To ease the transport of goods to Greece and beyond, Seleucus founds in 300 BC a city at the northeast tip of the Mediterr...

In all the early civilizations, from | INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES

Glazed ceramics

In all the early civilizations, from Mesopotamia and Egypt onwards, pottery is a highly developed craft. An outstanding achievement is the Greek ceramic tradition of the 6th and 5th century BC. But technically all these...

In all the early civilizations, from | HISTORY OF POTTERY AND PORCELAIN

Glazed ceramics

In all the early civilizations, from Mesopotamia and Egypt onwards, pottery is a highly developed craft. An outstanding achievement is the Greek ceramic tradition of the 6th and 5th century BC. But technically all these...

By the beginning of recorded history, | HISTORY OF MUSIC

Harp, lyre and lute

By the beginning of recorded history, in Mesopotamia in about 3000 BC, a sophisticated harp is in use; its form, in the shape of a bow, suggests its descent from the more primitive musical bow. The lyre, a portable versi...

In the light soil of Egypt | INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES

Plough and draught animals

In the light soil of Egypt and Mesopotamia, where ploughing is first undertaken, a simple pointed implement of this kind is sufficient to break up the earth and form a shallow trench. Such a plough can be dragged by a co...

In the light soil of Egypt | HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY

Plough and draught animals

In the light soil of Egypt and Mesopotamia, where ploughing is first undertaken, a simple pointed implement of this kind is sufficient to break up the earth and form a shallow trench. Such a plough can be dragged by a co...

Babylon is just one among many | HISTORY OF BABYLON

Empire of Hammurabi

Babylon is just one among many small kingdoms in Mesopotamia when Hammurabi becomes its ruler in about 1728 BC. He defeats his rivals in the region, and establishes a society based on the rule of law (famous also for the...