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Seven
Domination and Resilience in Bronze Age Mesopotamia
Tate Paulette
Although Mesopotamia has long occupied a prominent position in the public
imagination, recent events—in particular, the military occupation of Iraq and
the large-scale looting of museums and archaeological sites—have drawn the
Iraqi present and the Mesopotamian past vividly into the spotlight. Images of
legendary ancient cities, now stranded in arid wastelands, and broken monuments
to kings of vanished civilizations resonate powerfully with modern
audiences, themselves increasingly uncertain about our collective future. For
a world in which environmental disaster and economic collapse loom on the
horizon, ancient Mesopotamia can provide both cautionary tales and success
stories. Recurring hazards such as drought, flooding, and locust attacks were
regularly planned for, counteracted, and endured in Mesopotamia; however,
several much-debated episodes of political and economic collapse testify to the
precarious nature of human-environment dynamics in the region.
This chapter provides an introduction to the range of hazards—whether
strictly environmental or human-induced—that confronted the inhabitants
of Bronze Age (ca. 3000–1200 BC) Mesopotamia. Particular emphasis
is placed on institutional organization and institutional management as
key factors in determining the impact of these hazards. The chapter begins
with an introduction to Bronze Age Mesopotamia and to the most pertinent
archaeological and written sources; it then focuses more narrowly on the evi-
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