Mesopotamia

:For other uses see Mesopotamia (disambiguation).

City states and Imperial glory

• Mesopotamia was home to some of the oldest major ancient civilizations, including the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians.

Yet Mesopotamia was also settled, and conquered, by numerous ancient civilizations.

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• The Mitanni were an eastern Indo-European people (belonging to the linguistic "satem" group) who settled in northern Mesopotamia circa 1600 BC South-East of Turkey and by circa 1450 BC established a medium-size empire east, north and west, and temporarily made tributary vassals out of kings in the west, even as far as Kafti (minoic Crete) and making them a major threat for the Pharaoh.
• By 1300 BC they had been reduced to their homeland and the status of vassal of the Hatti = the Hittites, a western Indo-European people (belonging to the linguistic "kentum" group) who dominated most of Asia Minor from their capital of Hattusa (modern Turkey) and threatened Egypt even more.
• Meanwhile the Kassites established a strong realm, Sangar, in southern Mesopotamia, with Babel as its capital, not touched by Mitanni or Hittites. But the Elamites threatened or invaded them.
• Chaldaean New Babylonia circa 600 BC.