Mesopotamian Culture. In its broadest definition, Mesopotamia encompasses an enormous area from the shores of the Persian Gulf north along the alluvial plain dissected by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries to their respective headwaters in the mountainous regions of southern Anatolia and western Iran. During the three millennia from about 3300 to 331 B.C.E. the region was inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic groups, each with their own customs and traditions, speaking a polyglot of often unrelated languages; some were wandering nomads, others permanent residents of villages, towns, and cities. Nonetheless, Mesopotamia's agricultural, urban, and literary traditions, some with roots deep in the prehistoric period, tended to level the differences among contemporary ethnic groups and create a remarkable, though certainly not absolute, level of uniformity throughout the period.

Family Life. Mesopotamian marriages were usually monogamous. The bride was expected to be a virgin, and...