Sumerians
The earliest known people of the Fertile Crescent were the Sumerians. About 4000 B.C. they lived in southern Mesopotamia in a number of independent city-states. Each consisted of a small city and its surrounding area. The rulers of these city-states constantly warred with one another.
A. Cities
Sumerian cities were often rectangular in shape, surrounded by high, wide walls. Inside the city gates were broad avenues used for religious processions or victory parades. The largest buildings were ziggurats (ZIHG uh rats), pyramid-temples that soared toward the heavens. Their sloping sides had terraces, or wide steps, that were sometimes planted with trees and shrubs. On top of each ziggurat stood a shrine to the chief god or goddess of the city.
Rulers lived in magnificant palaces with spacious courtyards. Most people, though, lived in tiny houses packed in a tangled web of narrow alleys and lanes. Artisans who practiced the same trade, such as weavers or carpenters, lived and worked in the same street. These shop-lined streets formed a bazaar, the ancestor of today's shopping mall.
B. Economy
Trade brought riches to the cities. Traders sailed along the rivers or risked the dangers of desert travel to carry goods to distant regions. (Although the wheel had been invented by some earlier unknown people, the Sumerians made the first wheeled vehicles.) Archaeologists have found goods from as far away as Egypt and India in the rubble of Sumerian cities.
C. Government
Sumer included many independent city-states. Rival cities often battled for control of land and water. For protection, people turned to courageous and resourceful war leaders. Over time, these war leaders evolved into hereditary rulers.
In each city-state, the ruler was responsible for maintaining the city walls and the irrigation systems. He led armies in war and enforced the laws. As government grew more complex, he employed scribes to carry out functions such as collecting taxes and keeping records. The ruler also had religious duties. He was seen as the chief servant of the gods and led ceremonies designed to please them.
D. Social Structure
Each Sumerian city-state had a distinct social hierarchy, or system of ranks. The highest class included the ruling family, leading officials, and high priests. A small middle class was made up of merchants, artisans, and lesser priests and scribes.
At the base of society were the majority of people, peasant farmers. Some had their own land, but most worked land belonging to the king or temples. Sumerians also owned slaves. Most slaves had been captured in war. Some, though, had sold themselves into slavery to pay their debts.
E. Role of Women
In the earliest Sumerian myths, a mother-goddess was the central figure of creation. She may have reflected the honored role of mothers in early farming communities. An ancient proverb advised, "Pay heed to the word of your mother as though it were the word of a god."
As large city-states emerged with the warrior leaders at their head, male gods who resembled early kings replaced the older mother-goddess. Still, in the early city-states, wives of rulers enjoyed special powers and duties. Some supervised palace workshops and ruled for the king when he was absent. One woman, Ku-Baba, became ruler herself, rising from the lowly position of tavern owner to establish a ruling family in Kish.
Over time, as men gained more power and wealth, the status of women changed. Because they devoted their time to household duties and raising children, women became more dependent on men for their welfare. Despite these changes, women continued to have legal rights. Well-to-do women, for example, engaged in trade, borrowed and loaned money, and owned property.
F. Religion
Like most ancient peoples, the Sumerians were polytheistic, worshipping many gods. These gods were thought to control every aspect of life, especially the forces of nature. Sumerians believed that gods & goddesses behaved like ordinary people. They ate, drank, married, and raised families. Although the gods favored truth and justice, they were also responsible for violence and suffering.
To Sumerians, their highest duty was to keep these divine beings happy and thereby ensure the safety of their city-state. Each city-state had its own special god or goddess to whom people prayed and offered sacrifices of animals, grain, and wine.
People celebrated many holy days with ceremonies and processions. The most important ceremony occurred at the new year when the king sought and won the favor of Inanna, the life-giving goddess of love. The king participated in a symbolic marriage with the goddess. This ritual, Sumerians believed, would make the new year fruitful and prosperous.
Like the Egyptians, the Sumerians believed in an afterlife. At death, they believed, a person descended into a grim underworld from which there was no release. The gloomy Sumerian view of an afterlife contrasts with the Egyptian vision of the Happy Field of Food. Possibly differences in geography help account for this contrast. The floods of the Tigris and Euphrates were less regular and more destructive than the Nile floods. As a result, Sumerians may have developed a more pessimistic view of the world.
G. Contributions to Civilization
1. Cuneiform Writing. By 3200 B.C., the Sumerians had invented the earliest known form of writing called cuneiform, a system of writing about as old as Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Sumerians employed a sharp-pointed instrument- called a stylus - to inscribe wedge-shaped characters on soft clay tablets, which were then hardened by baking. Reading and writing in cuneiform were difficult because the Sumerian alphabet consisted of about 550 characters. Sumerian scribes had to go through years of strict schooling to acquire their skills. Nevertheless, cuneiform was widely used in the Middle East for thousands of years.
2. System of Numbers. The Sumerians developed a number system based on the unit 60. They divided the hour into 60 minutes and the circle into 360 degrees, as we still do today. They also developed basic algebra and geometry.
3. Astronomy. Priests studied the skies, recording the movement of heavenly bodies. This knowledge enabled them to make accurate calendars, which are so essential to a farming society.
4. Literature. A long, narrative Sumerian poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh, is one of the oldest works of literature in the world. This epic is a collection of stories about a hero named Gilgamesh. In one of these Gilgamesh travels the world in search of eternal life. On his journey, he meets the sole survivor of a great flood that destroyed the world. (Archaeologists have found evidence suggesting that a catastrophic flood devastated Mesopotamia somewhere about 4,900 years ago.) By the end of the story, Gilgamesh has learned the greatest truth of all- that even heroes must die.
This epic offers a glimpse into Sumerian civilization. We learn that the people believed in powerful goddesses who exhibited very human emotions. The Sumerians valued gold, copper, and gems, rode in whelled chariots, and used mules to carry goods.
H. End of the Sumerians?
Armies of conquering peoples swept across Mesopotamia and overwhelmed the Sumerian city-states. Often the newcomers settled in the region and adopted ideas from the Sumerians. For example, newcomers adapted cuneiform to their own languages and helped spread Sumerian learning across the Middle East. By means of various peoples who conquered the Middle East, Sumerian knowledge passed on to the Greeks and Romans. They, in turn, had a powerful impact on the development of the western world.
The Babylonians
Invasion and conquest were prominent features in the history of the ancient Middle East. Again and again, nomadic peoples or ambitious warriors descended on the rich cities of the Fertile Crescent. While many invaders simply looted and burned, some stayed to rule. Powerful leaders created large, well-organized empires, bringing peace and prosperity to the region.
About 2300 B.C., Sargon, the ruler of neighboring Akkad, invaded and conquered the city-states of Sumer. He built the first empire known to history. His astonishing achievement did not last long, however. Soon after his death, other invaders swept into the wide valley between the rivers, tumbling his empire into ruin.
In time, the Sumerian city-states revived, and their power struggles resumed. Eventually, however, new conquerors followed in the footsteps of Sargon and imposed unity over the Fertile Crescent.
Around 1900 B.C. Semitic-speaking invaders from the Arabian Desert entered southern Mesopotamia and captured the city-state of Babylon. About 1790 B.C., led by their king, Hammurabi, they conquered the other city-states in the Tigris-Euphrates valley and formed the Babylonian Empire. The Babylonians adopted and built upon the prevailing Sumerian culture.
Guided by Hammurabi, the Babylonians recorded their laws and customs. These laws, known as the Code of Hammurabi, was the first major collection of laws in history.
This Code of Hammurbi reveals:
1. A stern sense of justice - proclaiming the principle of "an eye for an eye" and demanding severe punishment for crimes - bribery, theft, dishonest weights and measures, and damage to another's property.
2. A sharp division of classes - providing harsher punishment for an offense against a noble or priest than for the same offense against a common person - an artisan, merchant, farmer, or slave
3. A fair treatment of women - permitting them to own property and engage in business. However, the code strictly regulated the behavior of women. It expected a woman to remain in her husband's home and be dependent on him. A husband, however, had a legal duty to support his wife. The code also gave a father nearly unlimited authority over his children. The Babylonians believed that an orderly household headed by a strong father was necessary for a stable empire.
4. An advanced business society- establishing regulations for protecting property and business contracts, limiting interest on loans, and setting wages for workers.
Although most famous for his law code, Hammurabi took other steps to unite his empire. He improved irrigation and organized a well-trained army. He had temples repaired and promoted the chief Babylonian god, Marduk, over older Sumerian gods.
About 1700 B.C. the Babylonian Empire was overthrown by new invaders, first by the Hittites and then by the Assyrians. However, in 612 B.C. neighboring people joined forces to crush the once-dreaded Assyrian armies. An aggressive and ruthless king, Nebuchadnezzar (neh buh kuhd NEHZ uhr), revived the power of Babylon. His new Babylonian Empire stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt the canals, temples, walls, and palaces of Babylon. Near his chief palace were the famous Hanging Gardens, known as one of the wonders of the ancient world. The gardens were probably made by planting trees and flowering plants on the steps of a huge ziggurat. According to legend, Nebuchadnezzar had the gardens built to please his wife, who was homesick for the hills where she had grown up.
Under Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonians pushed the frontiers of learning into new areas. Priests-astrologers were especially eager to understand the stars and planets, which they believed had a great influence on all events on Earth. The Babylonians believed in astrology - the superstition that the movement of stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies directly affect the lives of human beings. However, by studying the heavens, the Babylonians learned to recognize planets and to foretell eclipses, thereby recording data later essential to astronomy.
In 539 B.C., Babylon fell to the Persian armies of Cyrus the Great, who went on to conquer the largest empire yet seen.
Babylon
The site of the current city of Babylon was originally settled by inhabitants of the area in pre-historic times, earliest known record of the current site though, is first mentioned in documents from late in the 3rd millennium BC. The earliest reference made to Babylon was in around 2350BC by King Shargaliarri of the Accadian dynasty. He refers to Babylon as Ka-dingir, which translates to "gate of god". It is said that in 2350BC Sargon of Agade grabbed a handful of dirt from a pit of clay and threw it near Agade, naming the place Babylon. In about 2200BC the site was known to have had a temple of some kind, showing that at the time it had become a fairly important settlement in the region. During the 21st century BC Babylon had become a city and was subject to rule under the nearby city of Ur.
Independant City-State Formed
It first achieved significance as the headquarters of Semitic Amorite invaders when, in 1894BC the Amorite Sumu-abum founded a dynasty in Babylon and it became an independent city-state (a self ruling city that rules over its surrounding country side). They preserved most of the Sumerian culture, but introduced their semetic language, an early ancestor to Hebrew, into the region.
Hammurabi - The 1st Babylonian Dynasty
As well as Babylon, other independent Amorite states flourished, including Larsa, Usnunna and Mari. There were many wars and intrigues between them as they each tried to grab the upper hand. Finally victory went to Hammurabi (ruled 1792-1750BC) in 1763BC, the 6th king of Babylon's 1st dynasty, he beat Rimsin, king of Larsa and his other rivals. Under Hammurabi there was a golden age of Babylonian science and scholarship due to the stability under his rule. Noteworthy of his achievements is the promulgation of his famous law code. In many fields there was standardisation of learning, that was to be accepted in the following centuries.
Kassite Dynasty
After the death of Hummarabi in 1750 the empire declined steadily, until in 1595BC the city was captured by the Hittites who used light chariot warfare techniques to conquer much of Mesopotamia. 5 years latter it came under the rule of the Kassite dynasty and was transformed into the country of Babylonia, becoming the administrative centre and capital of a large kingdom with most of southern Mesopotamia under its permanent rule. At this time the Non-Semitic Hurrians (biblical Horites) and their Indo-Aryan chieftains established the kingdom of Mitanni in the north.
Babylon becomes the Religous centre of Mesopotamia
In the mid 14th century BC Assyria profited from the decline of Mitanni and rapidly came to prominence. Elam, Babylon's traditional foe became strong, and its kings repeatedly attacked Babylonia. Only one outstanding king of Babylonia was Nebuchadrezzar I of the 2nd dynasty of Isin. He came to the throne in late 12th century BC, defeated Elam and held Assyria at bay. In 1225BC the Assyrian ruler, Tukulti-Ninurta, captured Babylon and the region of southern Mesopotamia, but Assyrian control did not last long. At this time the cities principle god Murduk was elevated to the head of the Mesopotamian pantheon meaning that Babylon also became the religious centre with many temples and religious buildings.
Babylon becomes part of Assyria
In 1155BC the Kassite dynasty collapsed under pressure from the Elamites to the east, this was a troubled time with several short lived dynasties in Babylon and was followed by the city becoming part of the Assyrian empire in the 8th century BC. The Assyrians largely respected Babylonia, treating it with great considerations because of its religious and cultural prestige, they in fact absorbed Babylonian culture almost completely. Assyrian kings were especially careful to respect Babylon's principle god Marduk (biblical Merodach).
Continually attacked by Armanaea
Assyrian power was eclipsed for about 150 years in the period roughly 1075-925BC but Babylon couldn't take advantage because of continued attack by the Semitic Armanaeans.
Chaldeans push North from the Persian Gulf
Meanwhile the Chaldeans were pushing north from the Persian gulf into southern Babylonia from about the 10th century BC.
Chaldeans take the Babylonian throne
Assyrian power in the region of mesopotamia had been in decline for many years. In 783BC the Assyrian king Adad-Nirari III died leaving a political vacuum in which the Chaldean's were able to take the thrown of Babylon. They had long been an ever increasing political force in southern mesopotamia and the decline of Assyria were able to become the principle political force in the region.
The Chaldeans
The Chaldeans originally lived along the southern Tigris-Euphrates among the swamps and lakes. They were tribal, with each bitu (house) under the leadership of a shaikh who sometimes referred to himself as the king.
Increased Political Stability
On the Assyrian kings death a Chaldean took power, becoming the first Chaldean king of Babylon, unfortuantely his name is not known, but in around 770BC he was succeeded by Eribu-Marduk who is the founder of the Caldean dynastic line. Unfortuantely much of the work done by the first two kings was undone when the third Chaldean king succeeded the thrown anarchy and civil war broke out and ran rife through the kingdom until Nabunasar (Nabu-nasir) succeeded to the thrown in 747BC, supposably on the 26th of February. Under his reign there were many advances in the region, due mainly to the increased political stability. Precise records of historical events began to be made, as well as astronimical observations.
Babylon Destroyed
In 734BC Nabonassar was removed from the thrown (he may have died) leaving Babylon once again without a king until in 729BC, after defeating the Chaldean and Armanaean chiefs the Assyrian Tiglath-Pileser III proclaimed himself king. He was succeeded to the Assyrian and Babylonian thrown by Sargon II, during who's reign a Chaldean prince called Marduk-apal-iddina (known in the bible as Merodach-baladan) was able to seize the thrown in 721BC. He allied himself with Elam and resisted Assyria until 709BC. The conflict between Assyria and Babylon continue though until it reached it's climax in 689BC resulting in Babylon being destroyed and statue of Marduk being carried off to Assyria as a sign of the victory. The son of Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, rebuilt it and by 650BC it was once again prosperous.
The City is Re-Built but yet again Destroyed
The Assyrian king Esarhaddon favoured Babylon and set about rebuilding it and restored its privaledges as a city of his empire, but before his death the empire once again became divided. Ashurbanipal ruled over Assyria while his brother, Shamash-shum-ukin ruled Babylonia. Civil war broke out. In 648BC Babylon was left devastated.
Chaldean (or Neo-Babylonian) Dynasty Founded
Under the rule of Kandalanu Babylon was politically unimportant in the region, but Assyrian power grew weaker. With the death of the Assyrian king Assurbanipal in 627BC and the Assyrian empire's power nearing the point of collapse a Chaldean Shaikh was able to seize the thrown. He didn't come to the thrown easily however. On the death of Assurbanipal fighting broke out between factions in Babylonia and Assyria for the respective throwns. For over a year there was no king recognised in Babylon as the struggle for power raged. In November of 626BC, Nabopoassar (Nabu-apla-usir) seized the thrown, marking the start of what is today known as the Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean Dynasty.
Nabopolassar's Position as King Strengthens
He would succeed in establishing the wealthy and politically astute Chaldeans as successors to the Assyrians as the principle power in western Asia. This, however did not come easily or immediately as the early years of his reign was disrupted by continueing struggle with Assyria. There were many long seiges, particularly in Nippur and Uruk. In 620BC the inhabitants of Nippur were reduced to selling their children to buy food for themselves. This was a time of much instability with many Babylonian cities passing from party to party as much by political coup as by military action. However, Nabopolassar remained as king of Babylon and in 616BC his position was finally secure.
Former Enemies join to hold back Babylon
He marched his army up the Euphrates into terrritory that had long been under Assyrian rule but immediately withdrew to Babylon when the Egyptian's joined the Assyrians. Such was the power of Babylon that less than half a century after the Assyrian king Assurbanipal sacked the Egyptian city Thebes, the former enemies joined in an alliance to maintain their respective powers in the region. In 615BC Nabopolassar made a bold attack on the ancient capital of Assur but was forced southward where he took refuge in Tikrit and was beseiged by the Assyrian army.
The Medes enter Mesopotamia
A new power entered Mesopotamia at this time, the Medes who were heirs to Elamite power in western Iran. They were originally a number of separate Indo-Egyptian tribes that were loosely associated. They were brought together into a single kingdom by Havakshatra, commonly known as Cyaxares.
Treaty between Babylon and Medes
In 614BC Cyaraxes marched on Nineveh, he sacked Nimrud and was able to capture and loot Assur after breaching the city walls. Nabopolassar marched north to try and take Assur himself but arrived after the city had fallen. Near the ruins he met with Cyaraxes. They drew up a formal treaty that was ratified by the marriage of Naboplassar's son, Nebuchadnezzar II with Amyitis, the grand daughter of Cyaraxes.
Nineveh Falls
Despite they're defeats, the Assyrians were still confident. In 613BC they took the offenseive and marched into Babylonia when there was a civil revolt. So confident were they in fact that they had dismantled the defenses of Numrud for repair (they had been damaged by the Median attack in 614BC ). In 612BC a colatiion of Babylonians, Medes and Scythians laid seige to Nineveh, after 3 months the city fell. The Assyrian king Sin-sharra-ishkun died in the burning city. The Assyrian empire collapsed almost completely. A nominal empire survived in Harran, southern Turky, but in 610BC the city fell to Babylon and Nabopolassar established a garrison there. Nabopolassar also undertook several campaigns into the hill country north of Assyria.
Assyria Dissapears
The last Assyrian king , Assur-uballit II (ruled 611-609BC) fled south to await Egyptian allies who were now Babylons only major threat in the region. Under Pharaoh Necho II Egyptian troops marched into Syria, having defeated a small army of Josiah (Josiat?) at Megiddo (c.608BC) on the way, joined the remnants of the Assyrian army at Carchemist (Carchemish?). In the spring of 605BC crown prince Nebuchadnezzar II attacked. The slaughter was heavy on both sides, ( "for the mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both of them together" Jeremiah 46,12 ) but the Egyptians were decisively defeated, they're troops bolted in disorder, pursued through Syria by the Babylonian army in a victorious chase. In the battle Assyria had disappeared without a trace, leaving Egypt and Babylon the two remaining great powers in the region.
Nebuchadnezzar Succeeds his Father to the Babylonian Throne
The victory however, was cut short by the death of Nabapolassar, Nebuchadnezzar II and a few supporters hastened back to Babylon to claim the thrown. Nebuchadnezzar (Nabu-kudurri-usur) succeeded to the thrown in 604BC, beginning of the most illustrious reign in Babylon's history. A statesman, general of exceptional talents, also a builder of ambition and imagination whose monuments are without rival in Mesopotamia.
Syria
After accession Nebuchadnezzar II moved into Syria for a lengthy campaign which was little more than an unopposed display of military might, designed to facilitate the collection of tribute.
The Biblical Daniel
At this time, Jehoiakim, king of Judah, made a voluntary submission to Nebuchadnezzar II, and a number of Jews including the biblical Daniel (known here as Belteshazzar) were taken as hostages to Babylon.
Battles with Egypt
In 601 Nebuchadnezzar II marched against Egypt, both sides incurred heavy losses in a battle somewhere near the Egyptian frontier. The Babylonian army recorded their passing on the cliffs of the mouth of the famous Dig river (Nahr-el-Kelb) where Ramesses II had previously done the same. Nebuchadnezzar II withdrew to Babylon where he re-equipped his army. The Egyptian Pharaoh Necho however, made no further attempt to advance into Syria.
Jerusalem Changes it's Allegiance to Egypt
News of Babylonian losses were sufficient to encourage Jehoiakim, undeterred by the warnings of Jeremiah, to stop payment of tribute to Babylon and return his allegiance to Egypt. In 597BC Nebuchadnezzar II sent troops and besieged Jerusalem. Jehoiakim died, perhaps in the siege, but certainly before the main Babylonian army arrived. His son, Jehoiachin, his family, leading state and military officials, craftsmen and troops were taken captive to Babylon when on March 16 597BC the city was captured. In all the number of captives was about 10,000. Jerusalem was spared but 'heavy tribute' was taken including treasure from Solomon's temple and the royal palace. An uncle of Jehoiachin , Zedekiah, was appointed to rule over the surviving population. Jewish exiles were settles in Babylonia, Jehoiachin and his family were detained in the palace at Babylon, some, like the prophet Ezekiel were settles in the region of Nippur.
Jerusalem Besieged
Despite Nebuchadnezzar II's popularity with Babylonians the Chaldeans claim to the thrown was still contested, in his 10th year (595BC) there was a serious rebellion which was only suppressed after the slaughter of many of his troops.
Jerusalem Destroyed
Meanwhile, renewed Egyptian activity in Palestine persuaded Zedekiah to change sides, Nebuchadnezzar II reacted strongly and dispatched his powerful army westward, the Egyptians quickly abandoned their erstwhile vassals, Achish and a number of other towns were recovered by the Babylonians who then laid siege to Jerusalem. After 18 months and with severe famine rampant in the city the walls were breached (586BC). Zedekiah escaped, but was captured near Jericho, he was then taken to Nebuchadnezzar II's headquarters on Orontes, Syria. His sons were killed before his eyes, then he was blinded and taken captive to Babylon. Jerusalem was looted, it's walls dismantled, temples and palaces burnt to the ground, leaders of anti-Babylonian faction executed, and a large portion of the surviving population was deported to Babylonia. It was at this time that the Hebrew scriptures known in the Christian bible as the book of Ezekiel were written.
Babylonia and the Medes
During his reign Nebuchadnezzar has maintained friendly relations with the Medes resulting in trouble on the eastern frontier. Cyaxares had overrun Uraru and pushed into Asia minor, towards the kingdom of Lydia, a flourishing trade centre that had grown considerable in importance since the elimination of Assyria. A bitter struggle between these two states ended in the famous battle interrupted by a solar eclipse, 28 May 585BC after which an armistice was agreed to. The mediator who represented the Medes was the Babylonian Labynetus, Nabonidus, previously one of Nebuchadnezzar's generals. Babylonian relations with the Medes continue to be friendly but recently Nebuchadnezzar has become suspicious of Median intentions and built a great defensive wall north of Babylon which runs from Sippar to Opis, called the Median wall, designed to keep out barbarian tribes and to make attack from the north more difficult.
Nimrod
The founder of the city of Babylon is believed to be Nimrod. Nimrod appears for only a brief time in the Bible:
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.
And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land went forth Ashur, and builded Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth, and Calah: the same is a great city. (Genesis 10:8-12).
Genesis 10: 8-12 (King James Version)
The name Nimrod may come from the Hebrew verb 'nimrodh' which is translated, "Let us revolt." Nimrod is referred to as a 'mighty one': this phrase derives from the Hebrew word 'gilor' which means "tyrant". Nimrod was not just a powerful man on the earth at that time, he was a tyrannical leader of men. The phrase "a mighty hunter before the Lord" suggests that it was not wild beasts that Nimrod was hunting, but men. Having hunted them he would enslave them and have a tyranical hold over them. And all this was done in direct opposition to the Lord.
It has also been suggested that Nimrod tamed a leopard to accompany him on his hunts for animals, just as people today use dogs for this purpose. This could also be where Nimrod got his name: the Babylonian name for "leopard" was "nimr" and "rod" means "to subdue."
After the Great Flood, various city-states in Mesopotamia became the temporary seat of power until about 2800 BC, when they were united under the rule of one king, Etana of Kish, who may also be the origin of the Biblical Nimrod. Seven cities were conquered by this king, who established the world's first, post-deluge empire. After founding a southern (Sumerian) empire in Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, he invaded Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah and Resen. He then unified the people in numerous construction projects, the most prominent of which was the construction of the Tower of Babel.
In his ancient history Histori Romani Scriptorium Justin states,
"Ninus strengthened the greatness of his acquired dominion by continued possession. Having subdued, therefore, his neighbors, when, by an accession of forces, being still further streng-thened, he went forth against other tribes, and every new victory paved the way for another, he subdued all the peoples of the east."
Ninus is probably Nimrod - Genesis 10:11 indicates that Nimrod was the builder of Nineveh, and the word Nineveh (Nin-neveh) means "the habitation of Ninus."
After Nimrod
Following the death of Nimrod, his heathen form of worship was continued by his wife, Queen Semiramis. She claimed that her husband had become the Sun god, and was to be worshipped. Some time after this, Queen Semiramis conceived through adultery and gave birth to an illegitimate son whom she named Tammuz, who she declared was actually Nimrod reborn, and that he had been supernaturally conceived. However, even though Semiramis claimed to have given birth to a saviour, it was she that was worshipped, not the son. She was worshipped as the mother of the gods.
Many different ideas from the Babylonian religion have come down through the generations. Probably the key doctrine is that of the mother-son relationship. As the Babylonian people were scattered throughout the world, they took with them the idea that Semiramis had miraculously conceived and given birth to Nimrod reincarnated. Thus, all through the world, men began to worship a divine mother and god-child, long before the birth of Christ. The woman appears in different ways, and is called by different names, but she is always the same person: Isis in Egypt, Indrani in India, Cybelle in Asia, Fortuna (the boy) in Rome, Ceres in Greece, Shing Moo in China, Hertha in Germany, Sisa in Scandanavia. But the woman was really Semiramis, the queen of Babylon. Even Israel, when it fell into apostasy, worshipped Ashteroth, who was known to the Jews as the "queen of Heaven" as told in Jeremiah 44:17-19.
In his deified form, Ninrod the Sun god is known as Baal. Semiramis, as the female divinity, would be called Baalti. This word translated into English means "My Lady." In Latin it would be translated "Mea Domina". This name becomes the name "Madonna" which is the name by which Mary is often referred. The same reasoning can be applied to the name of "Mediatrix", which Mary is also called. Mary received that title from "Mylitta" (mediatrix) which was one of the names of the Mother Goddess of Babylon. "The Queen of Heaven" is another name for Mary that has been adopted from the pagan Babylonian religions.