The empires of Mesopotamia used Bronze to develop one of the most advanced societies of the ancient world. Access to the revolutionary material allowed them to create a breath-taking range of Bronze artefacts, examples of which you can purchase from Artemission.

Bronze Age

Human society began the Stone Age, which experts predict spanned roughly 3.5 million years, ending between 6000 B.C. and 2000 B.C. At this point, humans created metal working, marking the beginning of the Bronze Age. The greater versatility of early metal work allowed societies to facilitate technological and economic expansion, leading to the creation of the city-state and the first forms of writing.

Mesopotamia

The progress humanity made during the Bronze Age supported the rise of the great empires of Mesopotamia. Often regarded as the ‘cradle of civilisation,’ the region is most famous today as the home land of Biblical empires such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites and Persians.

These empires, along with other ancient powers such as Egypt, created one of the world’s first forms of writing, and made major advances in science, astronomy, medicine and technology. The historic city-state empires of Mesopotamia were gradually swept away between roughly 600 B.C. and 700 A.D. They were weakened by a series of bitter civil wars and the rise of the Roman Empire, before they were eventually conquered by the first Muslim Caliphates.

Bronze in Mesopotamia

None of this progress would have been possible without the onset of the Bronze Age, because items made of Bronze are harder and more durable than those crafted of stone. This gave the empires of Mesopotamia the ability to create effective tools, weapons, armour and building materials.

The Mesopotamian Bronze Age began in roughly 2900 B.C. Access to bronze allowed societies to create innovative architecture such as ziggurats (thought to be the inspiration behind the Biblical Tower of Babel). It also facilitated vital societal advances such as glass making, textile weaving, water storage and irrigation, which led them to develop one of the most advanced agricultural systems in the ancient world.

With the help of Bronze, Mesopotamia grew to become one of the richest regions in the world. Its empires celebrated their status by crafting a fine array of bronze artefacts such as jewellery, animal figures, kitchenware and religious icons. This ensured that the durable metal sat at the heart of every aspect of Mesopotamian life.

As the empires of Mesopotamia fell, their stunning Bronze artefacts were lost to the annals of history. Many were rediscovered by modern archaeological expeditions; you can buy a range of fantastically preserved Mesopotamian Bronze items from the Near East section of Artemission.com.

Artemission.com

Artemission.com (Atticart Ltd.) is the leading antiquities gallery online. Starting the very first internet site dealing with authentic antiquities, Artemission specialise in ancient art from Egypt, the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, as well as Islamic Art and An