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3000 BCE
Urban Societies in Mesopotamia
A few dozen city-states oversaw the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates. During this time of development, the first system of writing called cuneiform was devised in order to keep track of tax records. -
3000 BCE
The Bronze Age
The Bronze Age was a period in which long-distance trade networks and diplomatic exchanges between states became enduring characteristics of political, economic, and cultural life in the eastern Mediterranean region. The period is named after one of its fundamental technological bases which is the crafting of bronze. -
2680 BCE
Egypt Becomes a Kingdom
After the Upper and Lower regions of Egypt were united, the Old Kingdom of Egypt was founded by the third royal dynasty to rule all of Egypt. The kingdom’s ruler, Djoser, built the first pyramid to house his remains, and he represented a lengthy line of kings that presided over the first great achievements of Egyptian culture, architecture, and wealth. -
2112 BCE
Ur III Dynasty
Ur III dynasty was a Mesopotamian empire that had an elaborate system of bureaucracy, which was one of the first. The kings of Ur III played their civic and military leaders against each other, designating generals to direct troops in other cities and making sure that each governor's power depended on his loyalty to the king. The bureaucracy divided the empire into three distinguishable tax regions and collected wealth without estranging the conquered peoples. -
1900 BCE
Hebrews Leave Mesopotamia
According to the Hebrew Bible, the first patriarch of the Hebrews was Abraham, a man who led the Hebrews away from Mesopotamia. The Hebrews left the Mesopotamian city of Ur and became wandering herders. From there the Hebrews could be found in many places but intimately settled in Canaan. -
1780 BCE
Hammurabi's Code of Laws
These laws went into significant detail about the rights of Babylonians. It marked legal differences between aristocratic citizens, commoners, and slaves, treating the same crimes quite differently. The laws voice a profound concern for fairness, by attempting to protect people from unfair terms on loans, and providing compensation for damaged property. It even held city officials responsible for catching criminals and contained legal protections for women. -
Period: 1200 BCE to 1100 BCE
The Collapse of the Bronze Age
The Bronze Age at its height saw many extensive empires and peoples in frequent contact with one another through trade and war. When most of these states collapsed, the Bronze Age did as well, with new empires arising in the aftermath. There is still no conclusive answer for why this collapse occurred because the states that had been keeping records stopped doing so as their bureaucracies deteriorated. -
1100 BCE
The Iron Age
The decline of the Bronze Age led to the commencement of the Iron Age. Iron was obtainable in various locations throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, so it did not demand long-distance trade as bronze had. -
Period: 900 BCE to 600 BCE
The Assyrian Empire
During the Iron Age, the Assyrians became the most powerful empire the world had ever seen. They were the first empire in the world to conquer almost all of their neighbors by using a powerful standing army, going on to control the conquered territory for hundreds of years. They represented the apex of military power and bureaucratic organization. -
621 BCE
Completion of the Torah
A Judean king, Josiah, demanded the infliction of unyielding monotheism and the compilation of the first books of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah. These sacred writings were all in the mode of the new monotheism. This helped grow Judaism, which is the religious root of Christianity and Islam.