Author: Shi Xiaowen (Associate Professor, School of History and Culture, Mudanjiang Normal University, this article is a phased achievement of the general project of the National Social Science Foundation "Research on the Ancient Assyrian International Trade System and Its National Governance Strategy in the Early 2nd Millennium" [22BSS047])
The two river basins show different regional differences between the north and the south in terms of geography and environmental resources, resulting in uneven development between the north and the south in the process of national formation. The process from the beginning of the agricultural revolution to the establishment of the early state can be roughly divided into three stages: the first stage (9th millennium BC-7000 BC), the agricultural revolution occurred on the periphery of the two river basins and the emergence of early large-scale settlements; In the second phase (7,000-4,000 BC), urbanization tended to occur in both the south and north of the two river basins; In the third stage (4,000 BC-2,000 BC), the expansion of Uruk culture and the second urbanization of the north, the civilization of the two river basins entered a new stage in the north and south. Over the course of thousands of years, the social development processes in the south and north of the two river basins and the entire surrounding area have produced complex and subtle linkage effects.
It is known that the first agricultural revolution in the world was not in the core area of the Two Rivers Valley, but in the Levant region in the western Fertile Crescent and the adjacent Anatolian region, where the first large-scale settlements of mankind were born. The production of agriculture has enhanced the stability of housing, and the increase in food production has also led to population growth and the emergence of surplus products. This led to a gradual increase in the size of the settlements, and a part of the population was separated for other productions such as animal husbandry and handicrafts. The specialization of production has caused the right to redistribute products into the hands of a few families, and the gap between the rich and the poor has emerged. In the initial stages of state formation, the economic growth brought about by the agricultural revolution played a decisive role.
Around 8000 BC, Jericho in the Levant had begun growing barley and wheat, with thick walls and tall towers around the settlement, and scholars speculated that its inhabitants had shifted from hunting to farming, numbering 2,000 to 3,000. From the mid-8th millennium BC to the late 6,000 BC, Catalan hills developed in present-day southern Turkey. The walls of the site are 20 meters high, and the temple area has been unearthed with beautiful frescoes, statues and altars. These findings indicate that the social organization of its inhabitants is quite mature and has a rich religious life. Some scholars judge from the scale and pattern of their construction, and the above two sites can already be called the earliest cities. Some scholars even believe that the emergence of cities preceded and after the emergence of agriculture, the emergence of cities gave birth to agriculture. However, most scholars believe that these settlements are still prehistoric villages, daily life is dominated by agriculture and animal husbandry, and the complexity of society has not yet reached the scale and level of cities.
Early Uruk clay tablet profile picture
From the mid-7th millennium BC, the number of agricultural settlements increased rapidly in both the south and north of the two river basins, and there was a trend from rural to urban development at almost the same time. The north belongs to the Haraf culture, which is characterized by agriculture mainly dry land cultivation, supplemented by artificial irrigation, pottery is yellow, red and brown pottery tires of painted pottery, and houses belong to irregular aggregation buildings. The south is dominated by the Obeid culture, which is characterized by agriculture's dependence on irrigation, pottery is black painted pottery with higher requirements for furnace temperature, and the houses living in are three-part buildings with an atrium and two wings.
At the end of the 6th millennium BC, the Obaid culture in the south entered a period of expansion, spreading south to the coast of the Persian Gulf and north to the north of the Two Rivers Valley, influencing Khalaf cultural settlements in the north and further spreading to Syria and Anatolia. At that time, cross-regional long-distance trade centered on the two river basins was an important driver for promoting cultural dissemination and strengthening the interaction between civilizations. Archaeological excavations have shown that during this period, there was a process from attraction to competition to conflict between the Haraf culture in the north and the Obeid culture from the south. Archaeological excavations at the site of Gauraqiu in the northern part of the Two Rivers Valley have shown that the site's early house styles, pottery types, and burial patterns all reflect the characteristics of the Haraf culture. But over time, the influence of the Obedd culture gradually deepened, and by the beginning of the 5th millennium BC, the cultural style of Gaurachu was almost not much different from the southern Obedd culture. In the late 4th millennium BC, this change was reversed, and Khalarf culture became mainstream again. This may mean that the clash between the two cultures ended in the victory of the indigenous Haraf culture, or it may be the result of the replacement of the Obeid culture in the south by the emerging Uruk culture.
In the mid-4000 BC, the Uruk culture arose in the southern part of the Two Rivers Valley, and dozens of Sumerian city-states such as Eridu, Kish, Uruk and your emerged . Excavations of these sites indicate a number of technological innovations during this period, including writing, pottery wheels, rolling prints and architecture. Around 3200 BC, a complete and mature urban culture had formed in the southern part of the Two Rivers Valley. The city of Uruk is typical of these city-states, with complex temple structures dedicated to the god Annu and the goddess Inanna of Venus. Unearthed at the site is a 105 cm high alabaster vase dating from the late 4th millennium BC, with reliefs showing a group of men led by a king offering agricultural and pastoral products to Goddess Inana. This suggests that temples played a vital role in the economic life of early Sumerian city-states, as well as that secular kingship ruled with the help of religious power.
The wave of urbanization led by the Uruk culture then quickly spread throughout the ancient Near East and radiated to the periphery: east to Susa in western Iran, to Shar I-Sokht in eastern Iran, and possibly even to the creation of the Indus civilization; spread northward to places such as Habuba Kabila in northern Syria, which in turn influenced the Anatolian region and the Aegean region of Greece; The westward spread to ancient Egypt may have inspired the emergence of ancient Egyptian writing, promoting the birth of the Egyptian concept of kingship and the formation of the state.
It should be noted that although urbanization began in the north and south almost at the same time as the south, it stopped at the end of the 4th millennium BC and returned to the rural era. It was not until about 2500 BC that the north began urbanization again under the influence of the south and remained dependent on the south for a long time. At this time, the south entered the era of city-state hegemony, and in the city-state chaos, the royal power gradually evolved into autocratic hegemony. After about 2300 BC, the Akkadian dynasty and the Third Dynasty of your successively unified the two river valleys. Although the two dynasties each lasted only a hundred years, the state apparatus was gradually perfected under the framework of imperial rule. During this time, the south was undoubtedly the center of civilization in the Two Rivers Valley. It was not until after the collapse of the Third Dynasty of your, through long-distance trade, that the northern city-states of Ashur began to enter the historical stage as an independent political force, and the history of ancient Assyria began. At the same time, Babylon in the south also began to rise in the ruins of the Third Dynasty of your. Since then, the civilization of the two river valleys, represented by Assyria and Babylon, has entered a new stage of development.
Generally speaking, the process of early state formation in the two river basins not only reflects the phased characteristics of overall development, but also reflects the different regional characteristics of the north and the south. During the agricultural revolution, the main factors for the development of human settlements were natural geographical conditions such as climate and water sources, and primitive religion became an important ideological means in the process of social organization. In the stage of settlement transition from rural to urban, southern society based on irrigated agriculture gained development momentum due to higher requirements for social organization management, and thus took the lead in transforming into a state form. After the rise of the city-state, the competition between city-states for the possession of resources in a limited area made military power more important in social management, and economic, religious, military, and political power was continuously concentrated in the secular elite, pushing society to continue to move towards a more mature state form.
Guang Ming Daily(2023-09-04-14th edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily