Time for the next part of our Timelines, dear friends – a very exciting era when the first great civilisations emerged, wars were fought between the first big and powerful kingdoms in the Fertile Crescent, great stone monuments were built and great migrations took place all over Europe and Asia. Thanks to the newly invented scripts in Egypt and Sumer, for the first time we’ve got some more or less reliable dates now for rulers, battles, monuments and even fashion items and sports events!
Mind you, there still is a lot of confusion about the exact dates even in early Egyptian and Sumerian history – and of course, especially the ‘round’ dates like 3000 or 2500 or 2200 BCE are an approximation of what happened in places where script was unknown rather than what happened exactly that year…
Anyway, let’s immerse ourselves in those great old places along the Nile, the Euphrates and the Tigris and the Indus-Sarasvati as the Bronze Age unfolds…
Part 3: Early history, Old Kingdoms (3100 BCE-2100 BCE)
3100 BCE
society: the united Egyptian kingdom is blossoming, as are the Sumerian cities of Uruk, Ur and Kish; in Megiddo, Canaan a huge temple hall is built; Susa becomes the centre of the Elamites in Iran; a bank and ditch enclosure is built at Stonehenge, used for burials
fashion: in Egypt, men wear short white skirts, women long white dresses, sometimes below the breast (the richer the lady the thinner the material)
3070 BCE
politics: Hor-Aha follows his father Narmer as pharaoh of Egypt, he has temples built to various gods
society: craftsmanship and trade are important in Egypt; Memphis is growing
arts: Neithhotep builds a great mastaba for his mother Neithhotep
3068 BCE
politics: Hor-Aha declares war on the Nubians and kills their leader Ta-Sety
3037 BCE
politics: Djer follows Hor-Aha on the throne of Egypt
society: at the burial grounds of Saqqara, Egypt, there is evidence of human sacrifice
3000 BCE
politics: city states in Phoenicia (Byblos), sea trade with ships makes them rich; in Mesopotamia
the city states fight each other, Kish (king Etana) prevails, first dynasty in Uruk (king Meshkiangasher)
society: agriculture in Egypt is dominated by Nile flooding, rise in population, cities, trade and crafts, beginnings of bureaucracy; Sumerian cities grow (Uruk: population of 40,000!); a great temple to Ishtar is built in the old Ubaid town of Niniveh, now under influence of Kish; the Semitic town of Ebla in Syria becomes an important trading centre with a network that includes Sumer, Egypt and Indus-Sarasvati; the Phoenician town of Byblos in Canaan turns from a fishing village into a trading town; Troy is founded in Marmara, Asia Minor; cities are developing in China along the Huang He (Yellow River), Longshan culture; cities in the Indus-Sarasvati valley flourish (Nal, Kulli, Quetta); in Europe the proto-Indo-European Bell Beaker culture comes in from the east: metalwork, pottery, cremation of the dead, agriculture, brewing of beer; the first bluestones are brought from Wales to Stonehenge, probably as grave markers; at Avebury, another bank and ditch are built; on the Orkneys, people live in houses built completely from stone (Skara Brae!); Duma na nGiall at Tara, Ireland, becomes a burial site; the world population is about 30 million
arts: stone vases in Sumer with elaborate reliefs that depict scenes from daily life; bell beaker people create round vases with geometrical patterns
fashion: in the Near East, sheep are now bred with a woolly fleece for making clothes; in Sumer, men wear sheepskin skirts, women sheepskin cloaks
sports: in Saqqara handball is very popular, especially for girls
food: beer brewing now becomes widespread in Europe as well
2996 BCE
politics: Djet becomes pharaoh of Egypt, trade with Mesopotamia and Canaan
2969 BCE
politics: when pharaoh Djet dies, his wife Merneith takes over the throne
2959 BCE
politics: Den becomes the new pharaoh of Egypt; fights against the bedouins in Sinai and the Nubians
society: a period of great wealth starts in Egypt, counting is introduced for fiscal purposes and for determining years, a lot of copper mining is done, royal tombs are built
fashion: Den is the first pharaoh to wear the nemes headdress
2922 BCE
politics: after Den’s death, Anedjib becomes pharaoh
2900 BCE
politics: Enmebaragesi rules Kish, the city has hegemony over all of Sumer
society: Corded Ware culture spreads over Europe: development of the first Indo-European languages! Sumerian pictographs develop into phonograms (one symbol per syllable, derived from basic words like til=life and an=sky); Mari is founded to control the waterways of the Euphrates and becomes an important trade centre; Stonehenge: a timber structure is built within the old enclosure, the place is used as a crematorium; a stone circle is set up in Avebury as well
2879 BCE
politics: Anedjib dies, Semerkhet (possibly an illegitimate son) takes over
2874 BCE
society: the 365-day calendar is first introduced in Egypt
2845 BCE
politics: after Semerkhet’s sudden death Qa’a becomes pharaoh
2814 BCE
politics: pharaoh Qa’a is killed by his son Hotepsekhemwy who subsequently founds the Second Dynasty
2800 BCE
politics: in Persia, the Elamite kingdom rises to power; Gilgamesh rules Uruk, builds a city wall and has a 2 chamber congress, he revolts against Aga of Kish; Mesannepada starts first dynasty of Ur, expands the city’s power and maintains the great temple at Nippur together with Gilgamesh
society: Byblos does a lot of sea trade with Egypt, the Phoenician city states are influences by Egyptian culture; at Kalibangan on the Sarasvati river fields are already being ploughed, while at Kot Diji seals with an early Indus script are used; the Egyptian hieroglyphs are by now well developed and used on seals, pottery and tombs; the chambered cairn Maes Howe is built on Orkney
fashion: in Sumer, men only wear short skirts (kaunakes) and women wear long woollen dresses
2784 BCE
politics: Raneb (Nebra) becomes pharaoh of Egypt
2750 BCE
society: Tyre in Canaan is founded by Phoenicians
2731 BCE
politics: Nyetjer becomes pharaoh of Egypt
2700 BCE
society: the trading city of Ebla, Syria, is immensely rich, a royal palace is built; in Megiddo, Canaan huge megaron temples are built
2695 BCE
politics: after Nyetjer’s death, Egypt is split between his sons: Wadjenes gets Lower Egypt, Weneg gets Upper Egypt
2688 BCE
politics: Weneg declares war on Wadjenes and tries to conquer Lower Egypt
2683 BCE
politics: Weneg is killed, Wadjenes reunites Egypt
2669 BCE
politics: Senedj becomes pharaoh of Egypt
2660 BCE
politics: Djoser becomes pharaoh and founds the Third Dynasty, beginning of what is now called the Old Kingdom
society: Djoser has the first pyramid at Saqqara built by Imhotep; bureaucracy rules Egypt, vizier is the head of it
arts: first step pyramid at Saqqara, also building of temples in Egypt with lots of obelisks
2658
politics: Ur-Nungal, a descendant of Gilgamesh, rules Uruk
2640
politics: Sekhemkhet takes over the throne of Egypt and continues the building of the Saqqara pyramid
society: silk production begins in China
2628 BCE
politics: Udul-Kalama king of Uruk
2613 BCE
politics: Sneferu takes over the throne of Egypt and founds the Fourth Dynasty: beginning of the age of the great pyramids! Udulkalama becomes king of Uruk
society: bureaucracy is big in Egypt, scribes are very important
2604 BCE
politics: Labashum is king of Uruk
2600 BCE
society: a new people comes to Crete (from Asia Minor?) and brings bronze, start of the early Minoan era; stone houses, gold, stone receptacles (resembling Egyptian ones), small figurines similar to the cycladic ones, mother goddess cult; sea trade and agriculture lead to wealth and the formation of an upper class in Crete; at Stonehenge a double ring of holes is dug around the old site, huge grey stones are set up in a circle; a big outer stone circle is set up in Avebury as well; Mohenjo-daro and Harappa are built on the Indus river with a grid plan with a marketplace, a well, assembly halls and a citadel, which shows good social organisation; Caral is the first sign of pre-Inca Norte Chico civilisation in Peru
music: Caral people have cornetts and flutes made out of llama bones
2596 BCE
politics: En-nun-tarah-ana becomes king of Uruk
2589 BCE
politics: Khufu (Cheops) becomes pharaoh: building of the Great Pyramid at Giza!
2588 BCE
politics: Mesh-He becomes king of Uruk
2570 BCE
politics: Enhegal rules Lagash, but has to pay tributes to Uruk
2566 BCE
politics: Djedefre becomes pharaoh and also has a pyramid built for him
2558 BCE
politics: after Djedefre’s death his brother Khafre (Chephren) becomes pharaoh, another great pyramid is built and next to it the Great Sphinx
2552 BCE
politics: Melem-Ana is king of Uruk
2550 BCE
politics: Mesilim of Kish becomes first high king of all of Sumer
music: the first lyres are played in Ur, and also pipes which are precursors to bagpipes
arts: in Egypt slightly static statues are popular
2546 BCE
politics: Lugal-kitun becomes king of Uruk
2532 BCE
politics: Menkaure (Mykerinos) becomes pharaoh and has a pyramid built
2518 BCE
politics: Shepseskaf becomes pharaoh of Egypt
2510 BCE
Lugal-kitun is defeated by Mesannepada of Ur, end of the first dynasty of Uruk
2500 BCE
politics: Urnanshe founds the first dynasty of Lagash which eventually becomes more powerful than Kish
society: the first big Indo-European migration wave from Eastern Europe westwards begins; the population of Knossos is about 2000, Lerna has got an administrative centre called the “House of the Tiles”, Tyrins has also got monumental buildings (both are part of the Korakou culture), farmers settle on the Acropolis of Athens; the passage tomb in Newgrange is being developed further; on the Orkneys the Ring of Brodgar is erected; the oxen-drawn plough makes farming much easier and more efficient; Mari is rebuilt with a careful plan, a palace and temple are built; Kalibangan on the Sarasvati river is fortified and the town is laid out similarly to Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, water supply and drainage, warehouses, metallurgy, pottery and production of jewellery and toys, trade with Mesopotamia and Egypt (lapis lazuli from Afghanistan!), well developed sign script used on stamp seals and pottery
arts: Indo-European corded ware people bring simply but beautifully designed pottery into Europe
fashion: in Sumer woven cloths start replacing the sheepskin clothing
food: the diet in Sumer consists of goat’s milk, eggs, fruit, vegetables and meat (pig, goat, chicken); in Egypt birds are also very popular, especially goose and duck
2494 BCE
politics: Userkaf kills Shepseskaf and founds the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt
society: in Egypt sun cult around Re, pharaoh is regarded as Re’s son
2487 BCE
politics: Sahure becomes pharaoh; expedition to the land of Punt (Somalia)
arts: Sahure loves having statues and reliefs of himself made in a stylised manner
2475 BCE
politics: Neferirkare becomes pharaoh
2464 BCE
politics: Akurgal becomes king of Lagash, border conflicts with Umma
2455 BCE
politics: Neferefre becomes pharaoh
2454 BCE
politics: Eannatum makes the city state of Lagash powerful, declares himself divine, subdues Elam and destroys Susa
2453 BCE
politics: Shepseskare becomes pharaoh, his parentage is obscure
2445 BCE
politics: Nyuserre Ini, Neferefre’s brother, deposes Shepseskare and builds necropole in Abusir and extends Giza
2425 BCE
politics: Enannatum follows his father Eannatum on the throne of Lagash, constant wars with Umma
2423 BCE
politics: Ansud becomes king of Mari and starts the ‘hundred years war’ against rival Ebla
2421 BCE
politics: Menkauhor Kaiu becomes pharaoh
2416 BCE
politics: king Sa’umu of Mari launches new attack against Ebla
2414 BCE
politics: Djedkare Isesi becomes pharaoh
2408 BCE
politics: Entemena becomes king of Lagash
2400 BCE
politics: Balulu, the last king of the first dynasty of Ur, is defeated by the Awan dynasty of Elam; Entemena makes Lagash big again, fights against the power of the priests, defeats Il of Umma and has an alliance with Lugal-kinishe-dudu of Uruk
arts: rich Egyptians can afford to adorn their tombs and build elaborate mastabas
fashion: in Egypt both men and women wear makeup (kohl!); Sumerian men sport a modern hairstyle: curly at the top and short on the sides; in the Indus valley, there are materials with patterns on them for the wealthy
2380 BCE
politics: king Iblul-Il of Mari launches extensive attacks on Ebla
2379 BCE
politics: Eannatum II, the last of the house of Urnanshe, rules Lagash
2378 BCE
politics: Enentarzi, son of a high priest, becomes king of Lagash which weakens and is plundered by Elamites
2375 BCE
politics: Unas becomes pharaoh and has a pyramid built for himself with the first Pyramid Texts
2374 BCE
politics: Lugalanda, son of the high priest of Lagash, declares himself king, corruption is rife
2370 BCE
fashion: in Sumer the latest fashion for the wealthy is a shawl, worn as a belt but also around the head
2365 BCE
politics: Urukagina overthrows Lugalanda, becomes king of Lagash and combats corruption, he reduces the power of priests and big landowners
2360 BCE
politics: Igrish-Halam of Ebla has to pay tributes to Mari
2358 BCE
politics: Lugalzagesi founds the third dynasty of Uruk and defeats Urukagina of Lagash
2350 BCE
society: the Ebla tablets are written in both Sumerian and Canaanite: economic records of trade between Ebla and other cities, king lists and place names
2345 BCE
politics: Teti becomes pharaoh, beginning of the Sixth Dynasty, he rules from Memphis; his vizier Mereruka has huge power, marries his daughter Seshseshet and has an elaborate tomb built for himself at Saqqara
2340 BCE
politics: king Irkab-Damu of Ebla stops paying tributes to Mari, the long war continues, but he also makes a peace treaty with Abarsal, one of the first in history
2334 BCE
politics: Semitic conqueror Sargon conquers the Sumerian town of Akkad and starts expanding quickly: he defeats Lugalzagesi of Uruk, conquers the whole of Sumer and builds the first empire in Mesopotamia!
2333 BCE
politics: Teti is assassinated by his bodyguards, Userkare usurps the throne
2332 BCE
politics: Teti’s son Pepi I takes the throne back
2320 BCE
politics: Isar-Damu ascends the throne of Ebla and continues the war with Mari
2300 BCE
politics: Sargon I has conquered Sumer, Upper Mesopotamia (Mari, Ebla), parts of the Levant and Elam
society: the Hattians settle in Anatolia; the Akkadian Empire trades with Anatolia, Canaan and Indus-Sarasvati cities (lapis lazuli!); Sargon’s generals have developed a new fighting technique: spears, bows and arrows which weaken the enemy from a distance
arts: victory stele of Sargon, showing the king with his soldiers and Sumerian prisoners in chains
fashion: in the Indus-Sarasvati area, dancing girls entertaining the rich wear lots of jewellery but nothing else; in Egypt short adorned wigs are popular
food: tablets show that a lot of fish is sold and consumed in Ur
2283 BCE
politics: Merenre Nemtyemsaf I follows his father Pepi to the throne of Egypt
2278 BCE
politics: Pepi II Neferkare becomes the longest ruling pharaoh of Egypt, but his power dwindles while the regional nomarchs become more powerful; Rimush becomes king of Akkad and has to face revolts all over Sumer, but he manages to capture Meskigala, king of the rebellious city of Adab
2270 BCE
politics: Manishtushu, brother of Rimush, becomes king of Akkad; the empire recovers, campaigns to the Persian Gulf and Elam
2260 BCE
society: Manishtushu of Akkad has the destroyed temple of Inanna at Niniveh rebuilt
2255 BCE
politics: Manishtushu of Akkad is assassinated, but his son Naramsin takes the throne and makes the Akkadian Empire bigger than ever
2217 BCE
politics: Sharkalisharri takes over the throne of Akkad from his father Naramsin, but the empire is threatened by raids of the nomadic Gutians from the Zakros mountains; he demands high taxes from vassal states which in turn leads to rebellions
society: a great drought comes over Egypt and Akkad, terrible famine, towns and cities are abandoned
2216 BCE
politics: after Pepi II’s death, Merenre Nemtyemsaf II becomes pharaoh, but he’s already old
2215 BCE
politics: Merenre dies, Netjerkare Siptah becomes pharaoh, but the kingdom is crumbling, beginning of the First Intermediate Period when Heracleopolis and Thebes fight for hegemony
2207 BCE
politics: Sharkalisharri of Akkad manages to capture king Sharlagab of the Gutians
2200 BCE
society: the immigration of Semitic Amorites into Palestine leads to cultural changes
Tiryns culture in Greece: tumuli and megara (long houses) at Tiryns, Lerna and Olympia
2193 BCE
politics: after the death of Sharkalisharri, Akkad falls into anarchy, the Sumerian cities start splitting off
2189 BCE
politics: when Dudu takes over the throne of Akkad, power is stabilised, but he is unable to reconquer the lost territories in Elam and Sumer; also, the Gutians keep invading
2183 BCE
politics: the aged Merenre follows his father Pepi II on the throne of Egypt, but lasts only a few months, then Siptah I succeeds him; chaos breaks out, Egypt splits in two again, anarchy and famine follow
2168 BCE
politics: Shuturul becomes king of Akkad, but the rest of the empire keeps weakening
2154 BCE
politics: the Gutians conquer Akkad, end of the Akkadian Empire, the Gutian king Erridupizir proclaims himself ruler over Akkad
2144 BCE
politics: Gudea rules Lagash, he calls himself ensi (governor), not lugal (king) and doesn’t think he’s divine, but he shakes off the yoke of the Gutians, builds temples and irrigation canals
2119 BCE
politics: Utuhengal of Uruk manages to drive out the Gutians and founds the 5th dynasty of Uruk
society: the shekel is first used by the Akkadians as a weight unit for trading
2112 BCE
politics: Urnammu (Utuhegal’s son-in-law) founds the 3rd dynasty of Ur, defeats Lagash and Uruk, has many buildings constructed (Great Ziggurat of Ur!) and a law code written: Code of Urnammu, the oldest written laws in the world!
Next time: Early history, Empires (2100-1400 BCE)
Roberta Franklin 