Mesopotamia from c. 320 bce to c. 620 ce

Question 1

note

Answer 1

• between about 320 bce and 620 ce is divided among three periods of foreign rule—the Seleucids to 141 bce, the Parthians to 224 ce, and the Sāsānians until the Arab invasions of the 7th century ce

Question 2

The Seleucid period

Answer 2

• When Alexander’s empire was divided in 321 bce, one of his generals, Seleucus (later Seleucus I Nicator), received the satrapy of Babylonia to rule
• With the defeat and death of Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301, Seleucus became the ruler of a large empire stretching from modern Afghanistan to the Mediterranean Sea
• Seleucia on the Tigris was not only the eastern capital but also an autonomous city ruled by an elected senate, and it replaced Babylon as the administrative and commercial centre of the old province of Babylonia
• Aramaic was the “official” written langauge of the Achaemenian Empire; after the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek, the language of the conquerors, replaced Aramaic
• Literature in local languages is nonexistent, except for copies of ancient religious texts in cuneiform writing and fragments of Aramaic writing

Question 3

The Parthian period

Answer 3

• left the local administrations and rulers intact when they conquered Mesopotamia.
• empire consisted of 18 kingdoms, 11 of which were called the upper kingdoms (or satrapies), while 7 were called lower kingdoms, meaning that they were located on the plains of Mesopotamia
• second century of the Common era was a dark period in Parthian history, but it was a time of growth in wealth and influence of the caravan cities of Palmyra, Hatra, and Mesene
• Parthian rule brought little change in the administration and institutions of Mesopotamia as it had existed under the Seleucids, except for a general weakening of central authority under the feudal Parthians
• ancient religion and cults of Mesopotamia came to an end and were replaced by mixed Hellenic and Oriental mystery religions and Iranian cults
• Parthians had a more marked influence on art and architecture
• Parthian was an Iranian language written in the Aramaic alphabet

Question 4

The Sāsānian period

Answer 4

• marks the end of the ancient and the beginning of the medieval era in the history of the Middle East
• Sāsānians established their own princes as rulers of the small kingdoms they conquered, except on the frontiers, where they accepted vassals or allies because their hold over the frontier regions was insecure
• Religious communities became fixed under the Sāsānians, and Mesopotamia with its large Jewish and Christian populations experienced changes because of the shift in primary allegiance from the ruler to the head of the religious group
• Ethnicity became less important than religious affiliation under the Sāsānians, who thus changed the social structure of Mesopotamia