The 4,000-year-old ziggurat (temple tower) at Ur honored the moon god Nanna. A statue of the god once stood at the top of the temple and was washed, clothed, and fed by priests.
Civilization on Earth sprang to life about 7,000 years ago near the Persian Gulf, where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers came together and created fertile land.
Mesopotamia, or "land between the rivers," was home to the Sumerians, who built the world's first cities around 3500 B.C.
Working together, the Sumerians dug canals to bring river water to their fields. By doing so, they were able to produce more food than they could eat at one time—the first known agricultural surplus.
Storing and keeping track of the extra food required some sort of recording system, so the Sumerians invented the first known writing.
Other cities arose in Mesopotamia, each its own city-state, or independent power. In 2334 B.C. Sargon from Akkad, north of Sumer, conquered and united the city-states, which had weakened due to rivalries between the cities. Sargon extended the empire to the Mediterranean Sea.
In 1792 B.C. a conqueror named Hammurapi from Babylon in Akkad came to power in Sumer. He embraced all of Mesopotamia, consolidating the warring groups into the Babylonian Empire.
Hammurapi is most known for his code of law, which commanded an eye for an eye and included malpractice law (law meant to punish professionals who do not do their work properly).
The Babylonians faced constant attacks from invaders. In 1595 B.C., the Hittites swept in on two-wheeled chariots and plundered Babylon. From 883 to 612 B.C., the Assyrians used iron weapons to control an empire from the Persian Gulf to Egypt. The Babylonians regained control under Nebuchadnezzar II but eventually fell to Persia in the late sixth century B.C.
In addition to fostering artists, architects, and poets, Babylonia was home to astronomers who correctly predicted lunar eclipses and mathematicians who gave us the 60-second minute, the 60-minute hour, and the 360-degree circle.
