Overview

During the nineteenth century, archaeological discoveries in the Middle East changed the way scholars thought about the history of Western civilization. The translation of the ancient languages of Mesopotamia coincided with the spectacular excavations of the palaces of Assyrian kings and the biblical city of Nineveh. Eventually Mesopotamia was to be recognized as the location of the world's first urban civilization, even more ancient than Egypt. Some of the writings uncovered there parallel accounts found in the earliest sections of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Background

Mesopotamia is the name of an ancient region including parts of what are now Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Its heart was the rich "Fertile Crescent" between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, long known as a cradle of civilization. A Mesopotamian city called Ur of the Chaldees is said to be the birthplace of the...