The History of Ancient Mesopotamia in 15 Minutes

It's hard to cover about 8,000 years in roughly 15 minutes, but let's try. This is a quick refresher video for those of you interested in the history of ancient Mesopotamia. Topics included are the end of the last ice age, the Sumerians, Sargon the Great and the Akkadian Empire, Assyrians, Hittites, Babylonian and a few of the other major civilizations of early Mesopotamia.

[@kartheyansivalingam7927]

So in summary: Summerians -> Akkadians -> Assyrians & Babylonians -> Hittites -> Assyrians -> Neo Babylonians -> Persians.

[@LionKing-ew9rm]

Well, the Persians and Greeks are mostly excluded

[@fogshadow9112]

Then Greeks then Roman's then Arabs.

[@mithridatesvi1650]

Actually: Sumerians -> Akkadians -> Gutians -> Sumerians again -> Amorite small kingdoms and the hegemony of the sumerian city of Isin -> Isin-Larsa period -> First dynasty of Babylon and old Assyrian kingdom (kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia) -> Sumerian people forming the Sealand state to oppose Babylon -> Hittite sack of Babylon, brief domain of the Sealand dynasty over Babylonia (2nd dynasty of Babylon) -> Kassite Babylon (3rd dynasty) -> Rise of Mitanni->Middle Assryrian kingdom ->Bronze Age Collapse-> Elamite conquest of Babylon -> Isin-Babylon dynasty (4th of Babylon) ->Aramean migrations and small kingdoms, Neo-hittite states, kingdom of Phrygia, Phoenitians and Israel -> 2nd dynasty of the Sealand (5th of babylon) -> Bazi dynasty (6th of Babylon) -> Elamite dynasty (7th of Babylon) -> E dynasty (8th and 9th dynasty of Babylon) ->Chaldean migration into Babylonia -> New Assryian Empire -> Assyrian conquest of Babylon and all Mesopotamia, Elam and Egypt, including tribes such as the medes. Establishment of the 10th dynasty of Babylon (Assyrian dynasty) ->Brief period of babylonian independance under Merodach Baladan (illegitimate 3rd dynasty of the Sealand) ->Neo-Babylonian Empire (11th dynasty of Babylon), Median and Lydian Empire ->Cyrus the Great of Persia conquers the Median Empire and Lydia -> Persian conquest of Babylon (12th of october 539 b.C.)

[@mishima69]

@@mithridatesvi1650 Er, that's extremely impressive...but can we stick with the previous sequence? LOL!

[@mithridatesvi1650]

@@mishima69 hahahaahaha, of course. Its less accurate, but still true

[@caleblynn6569]

Great work! As a teacher looking for something appropriate for my students to watch and learn from, I can honestly say that your video is one of the best and clearest I have seen. Thank you so much!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, as a fellow educator, I appreciate the kind words and glad you liked the video...more to come, stay safe!

[@Ponakalaranjit456]

You Teach History?Yo For Real What's it like Teaching History

[@1stclassknowledge144]

Got to thank you for the ease of listening and explanation of the videos on your channel ,watched alot of stuff on Sumerians and so on and this one ranks as one of the best dude...subbed

[@ericcloud1023]

Just discovered your channel and I like any & all history (especially ancient!) KZbinrs who know what they're talking about. So in short, I subbed & will definitely keep watching.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate it! Happy New Year as well!

[@Amar90]

Greetings from Mesopotamia Iraq 🇮🇶 excellent summary thank you man

[@michaellee44]

i am learning about Mesopotamia this year, and this video was so helpful. I really found it simple and this is a very well worded video. I am doing a lot better in school. Thanks, History with Cy!!

[@FreeBaghdad]

Have a good luck buddy, from iraq🌼

[@andywomack3414]

I appreciate the link between the beginnings of cities and the formation of modern coastlines.

[@chrisklimis]

To add to the discussion, for non-Greek speaking readers, Mesopotamia is the Greek for "between -meso- and rivers -potamia". Euphrates in Greek is called the river easily blocked, and its waters can be diverted for irrigation, which is the case of Euphrates. Tigris on the other hand, is the Greek for tiger, untamable, not easy to use for irrigation.

[@husambotros3958]

ευχαριστώ πάρα πολύ για την πληροφορία..η Ελλάδα είναι μια χώρα με μεγάλη ιστορία.. by the way the word Mesopotamia as far as i am aware is based on an old persian word Miyanrudan( the fertile crescent) Tigris is an old Persian word Tigrā (swift river) Euphrates is likely an old persian Ufratu ( good to cross) but in Arabic language the Euphrates is the sweet water river and Tigris is the river that covers the lands for it was the one with frequent flooding and in Aramic Mesopotamia is ( Beth Nahrain) meaning land between the two rivers.

[@micha2909]

I am a great fan of your channel Cy, this video was suggested to me by KZbin's algorithm, and it was a very interesting historical document -- the history of your channel i mean ;) Obviously one of the early works, already a good video, but very impressive to see how History with Cy evolved from there! Your videos today are among the best on youtube and i can't wait for the next one! :)

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks, really appreciate the feedback. Yeah, it's a work in progress... this was one of the first videos that I'd ever created and was still learning how to record and use my not-so-great mic. Definitely more on the way and hopefully better quality, stay tuned and thanks again for watching!

[@timdench2583]

Superb information, very well presented. Thanks

[@hakuna840]

U my friend are a good person. As an indigenous syrian (suryoyo, syriani) almost crying because the land between two rivers was and still invaded and divided all the time. And for every invasion our culture and people get erased and attacked and many of us know very little about our culture. So getting this information means the world to us. when you do what you are doing, know that it is a truly honorable act. Thank you a 100 times!

[@srinidhiskanda754]

Very interesting and enjoyable series thanks for the videos

[@valenciawalker6498]

Great video ! I’ve always been interested in early Mesopotamia era .

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you! Haha this was one of my first videos and I sometimes cringe when I see it now... the sound...the visuals... I can make these a bit better now. I'll probably redo this one eventually with more info. As always, thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it!

[@briancooley8777]

Valencia Walker me too!

[@karenbartlett1307]

Saw this listed in my "feed", so naturally watched it. Great!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks so much, I really appreciate, especially since this is one my older videos where I lacked any skills in video or audio production lol. More to come, thanks for stopping by and stay safe!

[@karenbartlett1307]

@@HistorywithCy You too, Cy!

[@titnesovic4522]

Thank you for this short and informative lesson.

[@Fifthsunrising]

Your videos are always awesome!!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, glad you liked it! More on the way, stay tuned!

[@igleonshu256]

My teacher too recommended your video Your explanation is simple and comprehensive Love you

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks so much for the kind feedback, I really appreciate it! Tell your teacher thanks too! Stay safe!

[@skye1386]

Thank you for this video. I played it during my History Class about Mesopotamian Civilization. My students listened and watched attentively. It aids their learning aside from reading the book.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks so much and honored! This was one of the first videos I ever made so glad it's still useful after so long. Will have a lot more on the way, stay tuned and thanks for watching!

[@skye1386]

@@HistorywithCy Very welcome. 😊

[@adrianobier7593]

Your first video looks really impressive! It's a different style if we compare it to later videos, but it's excellent as well. Great job!

[@HistorywithCy]

haha thanks, I sometimes cringe when I watch and listen to this. Not that the information is bad, just the video/audio seems so...bad. But I still keep it up to remind myself of where I was and how I started. Glad there's still an audience for this. Thanks for watching these and the other videos, really means a lot! Lot's more on the way, stay tuned and thanks for the support!

[@adrianobier7593]

@@HistorywithCy Ha, it's understandable for you to cringe, cause it's been a while, and your videos became a lot more visually complex, but this one's really good too, no wonder there's teachers telling their students to watch it. I started watching your Egypt videos, cause I was interested about that society, then I moved to the Persian ones and now I went back to the beginning. There's so much interesting stuff! Thank you for putting the effort into this, we can see you're passionate about it.

[@kirubelmillion6404]

The 15 mins compression is awesome. Thanks

[@pill2y669]

I from iraq and happy to be iraqi because my history is the oldest history

[@itarry4]

Agriculture was a very big thing but I've always found it interesting that humans were better fed for much of our hunter gatherer history than for nearly all of our history after agriculture until very recently. The size and shape of the bones found appear to prove that we has a better nutritional diet than after we learned to farm...

[@Ahmed-qs4xo]

Well explained...keep up the good work

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, I appreciate it!

[@herberthutchinson8237]

It's totally mind blowing how it occurred to someone one day many years ago how to cultivate that kernel of wheat that grew naturally there ( we assume ) and reproduce it to go beyond the rivers. Food control is what made civilizations. But that moment when that first person had the idea to cultivate it. It would be so interesting to be there and know the exact time...

[@peter84211]

All jokes aside this is a great channel i Know it will help me and my other classmates out

[@vnmalpha6969]

Good job taking time of my class

[@gda295]

yes easy to digest and informative at the same time

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate it...stay safe!

[@rabianadeem9213]

You’re the reason I’m going to pass my finals

[@HistorywithCy]

That's great to hear, glad that this helped. Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it!

[@theemperor2017]

We know you got an A+💯

[@jordoncole3609]

I did the same thing. and now I'm 26 and relearning it because I never really learned it in the first place. I'm very appreciative for this video

[@ameribraheem6312]

Thanks for the informations .

[@clanpsi]

Especially, this is especially interesting. Especially good video.

[@HistorywithCy]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for stopping by, appreciate it!

[@mervynmontague1811]

Interesting and informative 💎

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!

[@ananyav1896]

The video was really good. One suggestion I'd like to make, though: perhaps it'd have been better to spell out the names of the people, and also of the places that weren't shown on the map.

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi, and thanks for stopping by the channel, I really appreciate your comment! Yes, you're right about all of the things you said. This was actually one of the first videos I ever made and at the time didn't know much about the editing software I was using. The newer videos on the channel are much better and include titles and better maps / animations. I think one day I'll remake this video to include better sound as well as the suggestions that you mentioned. Thanks again for stopping by, I really appreciate and hoped you learned something!

[@ananyav1896]

@@HistorywithCy Yes, I definitely did learn something. First video, but very informative - you covered a lot of things in such a short span of time. I appreciate that. 👏👏👏

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you!

[@jah6593]

my teacher recommended this, its actually pretty interesting!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thanks to both you!

[@laurenp8197]

same

[@johnstamos9797]

Hehe zero two

[@jah6593]

Hadi Hamzah Hehe

[@snowsak777]

?

[@liviaevangelista1561]

Thank you!

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you, glad you found it useful!

[@TheJulior1983]

I wonder how long it took us between when we learned to plant food and we started making towns.

[@anitapollard1627]

Watching this one again 😁❤

[@Grovesie35]

Fantastic.

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you!

[@tqzama1421]

Awesome video. Very informative and well-researched. Could you please do a video on Tiglath Pilesar? He is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and influential figures in Mesopotamian history imo. Certainly one of if not THE greatest Assyrian monarch ever.

[@mrb6309]

Hey Cy! Could you do a video on Halafian and Samarran cultures?

[@redtobertshateshandles]

Never seen the giant statues before. Thanks mate. Aggad is clearly Baghdad.

[@slipperyslope6184]

That's probable. I bet its remains are buried under Baghdad somewhere.

[@amintavakoli3795]

Nice video. thanks. can you please make one about Jiroft civilization in Iran?

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi, thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate it! I'll definitely look into it! Thanks for the suggestion and stay safe!

[@biljanamilanovic1682]

Video e' bellissimo e molto interessante! Grazie tante!

[@HistorywithCy]

Grazie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@itscrazymas4731]

Thanks

[@HistorywithCy]

No, thank you!

[@paradisecityX0]

"It's really difficult to summarize 8thousand years (including after Mesopotamia's heyday up till now?) in a 15 minute video, but we're gonna try.", Lol

[@emiliospowerballer1441]

Great information and insight. But i have 2 questions for you 1) Are you Greek? 2) Why couldnt cities form earlier than 5000BC, even though agriculture started taking place at around 10000BC. What took them 5000 years to settle into small cities which then transformed into modern civilizations and empires?

[@elvisii4220]

Food surplus for bigger population

[@herberthutchinson8237]

Also I just noticed the old time em down and rip out the beard torture technique on on of the murals....

[@drdoom1786]

8000 years. Imagine what they had achieved in span of eight thousand years. To put into context, imagine year 1021 and 2021... Only a thousand year but we had achieved so many things...

[@HVLLOWS1999]

Hey Cy what's you favorite ancient state? Like BC and before.

[@HistorywithCy]

Oh for me it's the Achaemenid Persian empire and its aftermath, including the wars of the diadochi (Alexander's successors). I actually can't wait to cover that in 2020!

[@HVLLOWS1999]

@@HistorywithCy Achaemenid Persia is mine as well. "It would have been much more fortunate had the Persians become masters of the Greeks rather than the Romans of all people assume that role." - Friedrich Nietzsche Of course free Hellos is best Hellos but Rome over Persia c'mon( I think was his point.)

[@HistorywithCy]

@@HVLLOWS1999 Yeah another thing I also want to produce content for are the wars between the Romans and Sasanians... but that'll have to wait until I finish the earlier stuff

[@HVLLOWS1999]

@@HistorywithCy I feel it man.

[@trondsi]

1:45 For a second I thought that was a fake photo, but is it perhaps from Tell Halaf?

[@itarry4]

Any chance of doing the same for the Indus civilisation around the same early period.

[@PiotrDzialak]

Good job. But, also, remember that 10 000 years ago, agriculture was very inefficient and people that were ploughing the fields were working long days doing shitty job and obtaining shitty quality of food. During fertile years, they would produce a lot of this shitty food and multiple to epic proportions. As a result they would then expand and overwhelm hunter-gatherers, whose lives were much better in virtually all regards.

[@mahadevaswamym3370]

Nice

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you!

[@Dr_Callidus_Corvus]

Where did the Assyrians come from? And which group were from indoeuropean descent besides the hittites? Where do Semites come from?

[@islandboysproductions3870]

Cool

[@christineperez7562]

This makes sense how we all come from the same area. Africa, Europe, and Asia. How did the America's split apart?

[@Loots1]

Fun fact: the earth is physically different every day

[@englisheducation5222]

Came for ETERNALS

[@christinaly8917]

my teacher recommended this haha

[@christinaly8917]

Exploring History Haha you don’t need to thank me!Ur vid was awesome and I learned so many things about Mesopotamia!!!!!

[@christinaly8917]

Exploring History Nahh don’t thank me!It is just the truth!

[@ashleybrister5033]

Just discovered your channel.. I know what I'm doing today. 😏

[@peterbreis5407]

It is incorrect to say that people were gifted with spare time to think after the discovery of agriculture. Hunter-Gatherers actually have far more free time than civilized people and use the time out hunting-gathering for social interaction, as evidenced by the Australian Aboriginal and Indigenous Amazonians. What allowed the idle time that was required for the advancement of civilization was the discovery of the husbandry of humans. People went from exploiting plants and animals to exploiting other people. It was the domestication of humans that allowed aggressive humans to advance their own interests by making others do the hard menial work under duress.

[@snieves4]

Brilliant.

[@TheMsmith3490]

pretty good video i would say for my kids :)

[@fatematuzzohra9322]

thanks to you i did not fail my test

[@HistorywithCy]

Awesome, glad it was useful! Thanks for stopping by, appreciate it and good luck!

[@fatematuzzohra9322]

This person is an absolute legend because he still hearts comments

[@OGAUQROBAN]

Iraq 🇮🇶 (Mesopotamia) is the greatest and oldest 🇮🇶💪❤

[@OGAUQROBAN]

@Khashayar Shah yes bro

[@OGAUQROBAN]

@Khashayar Shah yes they are but just in the military bases like al anbar and some places they are so few

[@OGAUQROBAN]

@Khashayar Shah and thank you bro respect iran

[@ler2037]

One of the best civilisations the world had! Love from morocco brother ❤

[@OGAUQROBAN]

@Khashayar Shah thank you my brother we are the same we hate our governments,❤️💕✊😻

[@chaudharysultan8569]

Where are now mesopotamian and whose mesopotamian now? Please answer?

[@HistorywithCy]

I would say that the people of Iraq are the main heirs of the Mesopotamian civilization, although the whole world benefits from their great contributions to society. Thanks.

[@mahamedaden7237]

Ancient Mesopotamia

[@flaviuraduciocan2039]

So assyrians and babylonians were not akkadians? What's the difference between akkadians and babylonians and assyrians?

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi, thanks for stopping by and great questions. It's actually interesting. So, Akkadian is the language that both of them spoke, but they had different dialects (there was Babylonian Akkadian and Assyrian Akkadian). The Babylonians didn't call themselves Babylonians like we do, but themselves Akkadians, one because of the language but also because the area that Babylon was located in was called Akkad. To the south was Sumer (referred to later on as the Sealand) and the north, Assyria, home of the Assyrians (in Akkadian called "mat-Ashur" meaning "land of the god Ashur"). So, they all spoke versions of the same language, Akkadian, but were part of different geographies and kingdoms. Hope this helps, if something is unclear, please don't hesitate to ask more questions. Thanks, stay safe!

[@kvelez]

9:36 Interesting. 14:12 I see.

[@RepeatLawrence]

Oh my gosh, you don’t need to watch the video to know how good it is 1.2K likes and 50 dislikes, hilarious 🤣 that just shows how good it is

[@lazymoriisie]

🌺✨My teacher asked us to make Reaction paper about this🌸🌈☕

[@HistorywithCy]

Awsome, thanks so much for stopping by, appreciate it! Good luck on the paper!

[@nestorilarde6418]

Ang mesopotamia ito ang isang dako na pinagmulan ng civilization, dito unang nilalang ng Diyos ang mga unang tao si Adan at Iva ayon sa Bible, dito nagkaroon ng halamanan ng Eden, pero nawala na ito, at pinalitan ang dating pangalan na mesopotamia ang kahulugan nito ay land between two rivers, ito ang Iraque ngayon...pero dapat e explained mabuti ng may vlog itong topic na ito kc napaka importante nito sa history ng tao.

[@googleuser4203]

Imagine if Babylon didn't cooperate with the Medes to overthrow Assyria ..... Mesopotamia would've flourished till who knows when.. I like that alternative...

[@user-rz1wo9kz8v]

Great mesopotamia civilization

[@quantumacademy4144]

cool

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you!

[@jah6593]

cool

[@Kilgore2k12]

what if cyrus the great never invaded mesopotamia... 😮

[@madelinerodriguez6234]

you need to make the vid sound fun

[@madelinerodriguez6234]

1 like =1 =)

[@madelinerodriguez6234]

your welcome

[@antnfs]

I enjoyed the vid, but I think some quiet music related to the theme of the video playing in the background would add a little more appeal. Just what I needed though, good job man 👍🏻

[@2Fiddle4U]

They discovered agriculture recently? I don't know, the earliest cultivation of grains dates to 10,000 years ago, and didn't become a dominant mode of subsistence until around 6,000 years ago, so either 4,000 years ago is considered recent, or ssomething's off with what I've read and heard. And I wouldn't say other societies "failed" to develop grain surpluses, rather other societies had no need for a surplus, having chosen other forms of subsistence. 'Cause, well, farming's hard and laborious

[@estivengonzalez615]

Hi hi 👋

[@msalmiali5713]

jamal

[@chaudharysultan8569]

Where migrated mesopotamian?

[@HistorywithCy]

As far as I know, no where. Most other people migrated into Mesopotamia and became part of the population there. Thanks.

[@Coopermcfaden]

My teacher made me watch this 😔

[@Treasurecoastragdolls]

On my test

[@cm8088]

So according to legend Sumerians started the first retail type of system. First walmarts 🤣

[@chaudharysultan8569]

Are the jatt mesopotamian?

[@HistorywithCy]

I don't know, never heard of them being related to the people of ancient Mesopotamia.

[@panafricandesignsandapparel]

I'm just trying to figure out IF these people were so knowledgeable where are the monuments they built like Egypt???

[@peter84211]

I know

[@peter84211]

Egypt

[@peter84211]

@Wet Mustard do u like ketchup?

[@dflowers6771]

skyscrappers are pyramids that lost their step-ness

[@Psyxic_Crimes]

Was it really 8000 YEARS?? Jumping jesus christ, civilization has been around for awhile

[@slipperyslope6184]

Jesus ain't shit compared to mesopotamia.

[@user-sc5wh2zz7w]

🇮🇶😌💪👍

[@HistorywithCy]

Thank you!

[@shadowskill_s550]

Good video but Assyrians are not amorites just saying 🧐

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi! Yes, the Assyrians were not... Shamshi-Adad though was. Thanks for stopping by!

[@shadowskill_s550]

@@HistorywithCy anytime love your channel keep it up just saw it am an Assyrians myself lol

[@HistorywithCy]

@@shadowskill_s550 Oh awesome! Then you're in luck because I'm going to be putting together a lot of new stuff on ancient Assyria (will be redoing much of my older series). Thanks and stay tuned!

[@shadowskill_s550]

@@HistorywithCy absolutely man thank you everyone thinks we're extinct lol we still here 😁 can't wait to see em

[@shadowskill_s550]

Anonymous hahahah u can’t be serious are u delusional the Assyrian of today are the same people of Mesopotamia u make no sense the Arabs are indigenous to the Arabian peninsula the migrated to Mesopotamia after the Islamic conquest the modern day Assyrian or Chaldean are the indigenous people of Mesopotamia the land between two rivers we are not Arabs never were we are Christians not Muslims we have different cultures we speak different languages we have different genetics. You have no idea of your talking about go and actually learn some history 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@BRYKS22]

BCE smh

[@_robustus_]

Not everyone likes your religion

[@_robustus_]

Anonymous Yup. Anthropology degree here. I use the shit out of it.

[@CarolineAllardDoucet]

It's surprising that you are not aware of the content of the Sumerian tablets. What you're saying is somewhat correct, but you're way off on something. It's all written in the tablets. Your story doesn't talk about the main important aspect of the history.

[@HistorywithCy]

Hi. Check the rest of this channel. It's pretty much devoted to this entire region. Thanks.

[@madderhat5852]

Spoiler free 😉

[@peterelkhouri116]

It is pronounced "kaldea"

[@AnimatorEthan2009]

I am Batman

[@notslumpt1376]

i like a girl name mollyna

[@jaredsmith112]

Justice for the Neo-Sumerians and Ur-Nammu

[@peter84211]

U like Jazz?

[@peter84211]

Kinda, How bout U

[@AfrikanLifestyle]

Correction.The Medu Netchr or medu neter of Kem-Africa-now modern day Egypt precedes the cuneiform language by 6 to 7 thousands years or so Around 10,000 years ago....

[@akotrance]

Beautiful kurdish people that never mentioned

[@omgitsjoetime]

Koksal Ceylan kurd

[@yet.4587]

Because they have nothing to do with it

[@alex-sv8ru]

You mean Mountain TURKS, right?

[@kingzagros8554]

@@alex-sv8ru No, kurds aren’t mongols

[@firewalkerbob3938]

These were the pre flood people of noahs generation.

[@HVLLOWS1999]

Yuuuuup.

[@eldin8910]

Idk if they were pre flood. Babylon was after the flood. These are post noah people groups. The waters would easily flood and destroy all mud architecture. The world became corrupt not long after noah

[@WHELTZJK]

true..:) and there's a deep history about that which is related to Bible. :)

[@aarongreenyt]

Sumerians>Americans Did I miss any?