As kings of rival city-states ruled Sumer during this period, they would often go to battle. For this reason, the Sumerians also engineered many important forms of warfare technology. These include the wheeled chariot and the discovery of bronze (via the melding of copper and tin.)
The second major stage of Sumerian development was marked by the invasion of Sargon the Great, who would come to rule all of Mesopotamia. Sargon would conquer the first known empire, which extended all the way across Syrian into southeastern Turkey. Among Sargon's many accomplishments, he standardized weights and measurements in the disparate lands that he came to rule over. This made trading possible in his kingdom. Sargon was also the first Sumerian king who managed to maintain a standing army for the duration of his rule. Sargon died in 2279 B.C. His legacy would continue on, however, for nearly two hundred years.
The Guti, a people from the mountains in the East, then overthrew Sargon's great grandson. Total anarchy thus ensued, until the Amorites arrived. While they were initially considered to be wild barbarians, the Amorites eventually assimilated into the local culture and would eventually give the region the city of Babylon, as well as one of its greatest kings - Hammurabi, who would come into
It was Hammurabi who would establish a centralized government in Babylon. He was known for putting into practice sophisticated legal principles, which today seem to be the marking of a highly advanced civilization.
Eventually, the Assyrians, a Semitic people from the north who were highly skilled in military matters, would take control of Babylon. While the Assyrians were highly skilled in military matters, they greatly admired the Babylonians for their culture. In 688 B.C., however, when an invading army murdered the Assyrian King Seenacherib's son, who ruled Babylon, the king besieged the ancient city and destroyed it. After being subjected to rule by the brutal Assyrians for many years, the region eventually came under the control of Cyrus the Great, whose rule would be the most humanistic one that Ancient Iraq had ever known. Cyrus would incorporate Babylon into the kingdom of Iran. He would also liberate the Jews from Babylon, who had been held captive there after the Assyrians' ransacking of Judah around 605 B.C.
Bibliography
Hourani, Albert. A History of the Arab Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
Roux, Georges. Ancient Iraq. New York: Penguin USA, 1993.
Tripp, Charles. History of Iraq. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
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