Ancient Near East

As such, it is a term widely employed in the fields of Near Eastern archaeology and ancient history . It begins with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BCE , though the date it ends varies: either covering the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the region, until the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BCE or Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. The ancient Near East is considered the cradle of civilization . It was the first to practice intensive year-round agriculture , it gave the rest of the world the first writing system , invented the potter's wheel and then the vehicular- and mill wheel , created the first centralized governments , law codes and empires , as well as introducing social stratification , slavery and organized warfare , and it laid the foundation for the fields of astronomy and mathematics .

Overview map of the ancient Near East ↓ Future v t e The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East : Mesopotamia (modern Iraq , southeast Turkey , southwest Iran , northeastern Syria and Kuwait ), ancient Egypt , ancient Iran ( Elam , Media , Parthia and Persia ), Anatolia / Asia Minor and Armenian Highlands (Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region , Armenia , northwestern Iran, southern Georgia , and western Azerbaijan ), the Levant (modern Syria , Lebanon , Palestine , Israel , and Jordan ), Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula . The ancient Near East is studied in the fields of Near Eastern archaeology and ancient history . It begins with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC , though the date it ends varies: either covering the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the region, until the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC or Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC. The ancient Near East is considered the cradle of civilization . It was the first to practice intensive year-round agriculture , it gave the rest of the world the first writing system , invented the potter's wheel and then the vehicular- and mill wheel , created the first centralized governments , law codes and empires , as well as introducing social stratification , slavery and organized warfare , and it laid the foundation for the fields of astronomy and mathematics .

Home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East : Mesopotamia (modern Iraq , southeast Turkey , southwest Iran , northeastern Syria and Kuwait ), ancient Egypt , ancient Iran ( Elam , Media , Parthia and Persia ), Anatolia / Asia Minor and the Armenian Highlands (Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region , Armenia , northwestern Iran, southern Georgia , and western Azerbaijan ), the Levant (modern Syria , Lebanon , Palestine , Israel , and Jordan ), Cyprus and the Arabian Peninsula . The ancient Near East is studied in the fields of Ancient Near East studies , Near Eastern archaeology and ancient history . The history of the ancient Near East begins with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, though the date it ends varies. The term covers the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the region, until either the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC, that by the Macedonian Empire in the 4th century BC, or the Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD. The ancient Near East is considered one of the cradles of civilization . It was here that intensive year-round agriculture was first practiced, leading to the rise of the first dense urban settlements and the development of many familiar institutions of civilization, such as social stratification , centralized government and empires , organized religion and organized warfare . It also saw the creation of the first writing system , the first alphabet ( abjad ), the first currency in history, and law codes , early advances that laid the foundations of astronomy and mathematics , and the invention of the wheel . During the period, states became increasingly large, until the region became controlled by militaristic empires that had conquered a number of different cultures. Samuel Noah Kramer , History Begins at Sumer , (tr.

Home of early civilizations within the area of the modern Middle East The ancient Near East was the home of early civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East : Mesopotamia (modern Iraq , southeast Turkey , southwest Iran , and northeastern Syria ), ancient Egypt , ancient Persia ( Elam , Media , Parthia , and Persis ), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands (Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region , Armenia , northwestern Iran, southern Georgia , and western Azerbaijan ), the Levant (modern Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , Jordan and Cyprus ) and the Arabian Peninsula . The ancient Near East is studied in the fields of ancient Near East studies , Near Eastern archaeology , and ancient history . The history of the ancient Near East begins with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, though the date it ends varies. The term covers the Bronze Age and the Iron Age in the region, until either the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC, that by the Macedonian Empire in the 4th century BC, or the Early Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD. The ancient Near East is considered a cradle of civilization . It was here that intensive year-round agriculture was first practiced, leading to the rise of the first dense urban settlements and the development of many familiar institutions of civilization, such as social stratification , centralized government and empires , organized religion and organized warfare . It also saw the creation of the first writing system , the first alphabet ( abjad ), the first currency in history, and law codes , early advances that laid the foundations of astronomy and mathematics , and the invention of the wheel . During the period, states became increasingly large, until the region became controlled by militaristic empires that had conquered a number of different cultures.

Home of many cradles of civilization The ancient Near East was home to many cradles of civilization , spanning Mesopotamia , Egypt , Iran (or Persia ), Anatolia and the Armenian highlands , the Levant , and the Arabian Peninsula . As such, the fields of ancient Near East studies and Near Eastern archaeology are one of the most prominent with regard to research in the realm of ancient history . Historically, the Near East denoted an area roughly encompassing the centre of West Asia , having been focused on the lands between Greece and Egypt in the west and Iran in the east. It therefore largely corresponds with the modern-day geopolitical concept of the Middle East . The history of the ancient Near East begins with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, though the date that it ends is a subject of debate among scholars; the term covers the region's developments in the Bronze Age and the Iron Age , and is variously considered to end with either the establishment of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC, the establishment of the Macedonian Empire in the 4th century BC, or the beginning of the early Muslim conquests in the 7th century AD. It was within the ancient Near East that humans first practiced intensive year-round agriculture , which led to the rise of the earliest dense urban settlements and the development of many now-familiar institutions of civilization, such as social stratification , centralized government and empires , and organized religion (see: ancient Near Eastern religions ) and organized warfare . It also saw the creation of the first writing system , the first alphabet (i.e., abjad ), the first currency , and the first legal codes , all of which were monumental advances that laid the foundations of astronomy and mathematics , and the invention of the wheel . During this period, the region's previously stateless societies largely transitioned to building states , many of which gradually came to annex the territories of their neighbouring civilizations . This process continued until the entire ancient Near East was enveloped by militaristic empires that had emerged from their own lands to conquer and absorb a variety of cultures under the rule of a top-level government. Daily Life In Ancient Mesopotamia . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).