Neolithic 8000-5000 BCE
From 7000 to 3000 BCE, small villages dotted the landscapes of Mesopotamia and Iran. They were located in areas where they could engage in farming and animal herding. While some were larger than others, only rarely did they read the size of a town. In southern Mesopotamia the land was very marshy and much of the communication between villages took place on boats. In the highlands, villages were more widely spread. Each was essentially self sufficient, but they share cultural habits expressed in material culture most clearly through their similarly decorated pottery. Obsidian and other speical materials are found in these villages and are clear indications of early trade in rare materials.
Chalcolithic: 5000-3000 BCE
Bronze Age: 3000-1400 BCE
The Bronze Age was a period of wide interaction across all of the Middle East, from Anatolia (modern Turkey) in the west to the Indus River in the east and from the Persian Gulf and Oman to Central Asia. This was a period when large urban centers appeared in southern and northern Mesopotamia. Among them Ur, Nippur, Fara, Uruk were very important in the south. In the valley of the Diyala River, the sites of Khafajeh (ancient Tutul) and Eshnuna (Tell Asmar) were major centers. Long distance trade relations are manifest in the archaeological record most clearly in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. There we have evidence for massive importation of luxury goods, precious stones, gold, silver, woods, copper. The main motivation seems to have been to acquire luxury items that the newly powerful elite class would display to assert their legitimacy.
Iron Age of Empires: 1400-323 BCE
This period of Empires is characterized by domination of highly organized imperioal states over much of the productive lands of the Middle East. The Assyrian empire controlled all of what is now modern Iraq and Syria including the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea. Except for the maritime trade executed by the Phoenicians, the Assyrians controlled the flow of raw materials into the empire, extracting by force and by tribute.
The Persian (Achaemined) Empire: 550-323 BCE
Following the collapse of the Aasyrian Empire and the Neo Babylonian interlude then next great imperial power expanded all they way to eastern Europe, Egypt in the west and into Central Asia and all of Iran in the east. This empire was bound through a strong central government which managed local regions through loyal governors. There was extensive movement of goods across the vast empire.
From 7000 to 3000 BCE, small villages dotted the landscapes of Mesopotamia and Iran. They were located in areas where they could engage in farming and animal herding. While some were larger than others, only rarely did they read the size of a town. In southern Mesopotamia the land was very marshy and much of the communication between villages took place on boats. In the highlands, villages were more widely spread. Each was essentially self sufficient, but they share cultural habits expressed in material culture most clearly through their similarly decorated pottery. Obsidian and other speical materials are found in these villages and are clear indications of early trade in rare materials.
Chalcolithic: 5000-3000 BCE
Bronze Age: 3000-1400 BCE
The Bronze Age was a period of wide interaction across all of the Middle East, from Anatolia (modern Turkey) in the west to the Indus River in the east and from the Persian Gulf and Oman to Central Asia. This was a period when large urban centers appeared in southern and northern Mesopotamia. Among them Ur, Nippur, Fara, Uruk were very important in the south. In the valley of the Diyala River, the sites of Khafajeh (ancient Tutul) and Eshnuna (Tell Asmar) were major centers. Long distance trade relations are manifest in the archaeological record most clearly in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. There we have evidence for massive importation of luxury goods, precious stones, gold, silver, woods, copper. The main motivation seems to have been to acquire luxury items that the newly powerful elite class would display to assert their legitimacy.
Iron Age of Empires: 1400-323 BCE
This period of Empires is characterized by domination of highly organized imperioal states over much of the productive lands of the Middle East. The Assyrian empire controlled all of what is now modern Iraq and Syria including the coastal regions of the Mediterranean Sea. Except for the maritime trade executed by the Phoenicians, the Assyrians controlled the flow of raw materials into the empire, extracting by force and by tribute.
The Persian (Achaemined) Empire: 550-323 BCE
Following the collapse of the Aasyrian Empire and the Neo Babylonian interlude then next great imperial power expanded all they way to eastern Europe, Egypt in the west and into Central Asia and all of Iran in the east. This empire was bound through a strong central government which managed local regions through loyal governors. There was extensive movement of goods across the vast empire.
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