History of Iraq: The Cradle of Civilization Last updated on
Tuesday 20th April 2010
The territory of present-day Iraq is approximately equivalent to that of ancient Mesopotamia, which fostered a series of early civilizations. Â The earliest of these was known as civilization of Sumer, which arose probably in the 4th millennium BC and had its final thrive under the 3rd dynasty of Ur at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Ur of the Chaldees was a great and famous Sumerian city, dating from this time.
The following stages saw periods of control by Babylonia and Assyria. Cyrus the Great of Persia gained control of the region in 539BC and the region remained under Persian rule until its conquest by Macedonian king Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Following Alexander's death, the Greek Seleucid dynasty ruled Mesopotamia for some 200 years and linked the region to the Hellenistic culture. Afterwards, a long period dominated by Arsacids, Sassanids followed until Muslim Arabs conquered the region in the 7th century AD.
As you like 'History of Iraq: The Cradle of Civilization' you may also like following articles . . .
The exiled Jews were permitted to retain their national and religious identity. Some of their  theological writings and many historical books of the Old Testament were written during their...
Various invaders conquered the land after Nebuchadnezzar's death, including Cyrus the Great in 539BC and Alexander the Great in 331BC. In the second century BC, it became part of the...
The main island of Bahrain (there are a total of 33 islands) is thought to have been torn from the Arabian peninsula around 6000BC. It has almost certainly been inhabited since prehistoric...
The earliest settlements in Oman, as in the Arabian peninsula generally, date from some time in the 3rd millennium BC. Though at that time and for some hundreds of years more, Oman was on...
Lebanon's long and often turbulent history reaches back to the dawn of civilization. Its earliest settlers were the Phoenicians who came from the Arabian Peninsula around 3,500 BC. They...
During their exile in Babylon and the destruction of Jerusalem, the Jews were allowed to maintain their national and religious identity. They did not allow themselves to forget the land of...
The Kingdom of Jordan is steeped in history and had been a major site for civilization since the Paleolithic Period. Archaeological evidence is constantly bringing to light signs of...
