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Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia (GB)
Mesopotamia (ES)
Mésopotamie (F)
Mesopotâmia (PO)
Mesopotamia (I)

Name (from the ancient Greek Mesopotamia) for the Middle Eastern landscape stretching from the Anatolian highlands to the Persian Gulf between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers (hence "Mesopotamia") with an area of around 350,000 km². Today, most of it belongs to Iraq, with smaller parts in the north and north-west belonging to Armenia, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. In the north lies Transcaucasia(Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as neighbouring parts of Turkey), which, together with Mesopotamia, is considered to be the possible origin of cultivated vines and wine culture. The two huge areas of Mesopotamia and Transcaucasia overlap extensively.

Mesopotamien

According to the latest research, one of the origins could also lie in the neighbouring Turkish south-eastern Anatolia to the north (arrow). This is near Mount Ararat, where, according to the Bible, Noah landed and became the first winegrower. However, the first wine was probably made from dates and beer was drunk first and foremost. Beer is probably the oldest alcoholic beverage produced by humans, even before wine. In the 1st millennium BC, wine was regularly drunk by the upper classes in this area, with one variety being referred to as the "drink of the king". The term "wine of the mountains" indicates that wine probably originated mainly in the mountainous north (northern Iraq and northern Syria).

First advanced civilisations

The first advanced civilisations of mankind emerged in Mesopotamia from the 4th millennium BC and the area is also referred to as the cradle of culture par excellence. The four large ethnic groups of the Sumerians, Semites, Hittites and Khurrites were mutually influential in the cultural development. The Sumerians founded many city-states in the south 6,000 years ago (e.g. Kush and Ur) and developed a pictographic script as a precursor to cuneiform, which is considered to be the first script ever. In the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero Gilgamesh (around 2700 BC) enters the realm of the sun in search of eternal life, where he discovers an enchanted vineyard. The story also tells of the development of "cultivated man" through the consumption of beer. Beer and wine are among the oldest examples of ceremonial drinking culture.

Assyria and Babylonia

However, the cultural landscape of Mesopotamia was never a self-contained cultural unit, but rather several city states, empires and cultures existed side by side. One of these was the area of Phoenicia. In the 3rd and 2nd millennia, however, the history of the southern and north-eastern parts largely coincided with that of Assyria and Babylonia. These two peoples then alternated several times in succession in ruling the area or large parts of it. The city of Babylon as the centre of the empire (successor to Cush and Ur) was founded by the famous King Hammurabi (1728-1686 BC), at whose time the Babylonian empire encompassed almost the whole of Mesopotamia.

Landkarte Bybylonien - zur Zeit von Hammurabi

Other great empires

In the 9th century BC, an Assyrian empire developed that stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, i.e. almost the entire area. Under Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC), Babylonia once again developed into a great empire. In 539 BC, the Persian king Cyrus II (590-530 BC) conquered the Babylonian Empire including the Assyrian area. It was then conquered by Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), then fell to the Greeks and finally to the Parthians. In the first centuries after Christ, it was temporarily under Roman rule until it finally fell to the Arabs in the 7th century. See also under Ancient wines and Ancient grape varieties.

Karte von Assyrien zwischen dem 9. und 7. Jahrhundert v. Chr.

Mesopotamia: By Goran tek-en - Own work,
based on Mesopotamia Syria, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Babylonia: Bibelwissenschaft.de
Assyria: By Ningyou, Public domain, Link
all edited by Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer 8/2020

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Egon Mark
Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)

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