---
title: Mesopotamian Warfare: Early Development of Armed Conflict
author: Joshua J. Mark
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Warfare/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
updated: 2026-04-20
---

# Mesopotamian Warfare: Early Development of Armed Conflict

_Authored by [Joshua J. Mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/JPryst/)_

Ancient Mesopotamian [warfare](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) progressed from companies of a [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/)'s militia in [Sumer](https://www.worldhistory.org/sumer/) to the professional standing armies of [Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/), [Babylon](https://www.worldhistory.org/babylon/), [Assyria](https://www.worldhistory.org/assyria/), and [Persia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Persia/), and from conflicts over land or water rights to wars of [conquest](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) and political supremacy. Developments in weaponry, training, and tactics made the armies of [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/) among the most effective in the ancient world.

The first [war](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/) in recorded history was between Sumer and [Elam](https://www.worldhistory.org/elam/) circa 2700 BCE, though there were no doubt military conflicts left unrecorded before that date. Afterwards, armed conflict is regularly attested through inscriptions, artwork, and archaeological evidence from the time of the [Early Dynastic period in Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Early_Dynastic_Period_(Mesopotamia)/) (circa 2900 to circa 2350/2334 BCE) through that of the [Sassanian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sasanian_Empire/) (224-651). Scholar Stephen Bertman comments:

> The geography of Mesopotamia encouraged war. Mesopotamia is geographically defined by its mountains in the north, its alluvial plains in the south, and the rivers that connect them. The existence of not one but two major river valleys promoted the development of multiple settlements; the fertility of the valleys generated wealth; wealth, in turn, incited competition and greed; and the flatness of the plains made individual communities vulnerable to attack.
> The net effect in the south was a coalescence of power through imperialism: Akkad absorbed Sumer, and Babylon absorbed both. Eventually, mountainous Assyria in the north – which had always been topographically separate from the south and, because of its terrain, more defensible – marched upon the south and conquered it, and then went on to build an even wider [empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/empire/). To [life in Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/collection/169/life-in-mesopotamia/), therefore, warfare was a natural condition.
> (262)

Bertman's claim is supported by the inscriptions of kings, [Mesopotamian literature](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Literature/), archaeological evidence, and [Mesopotamian art](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Art_and_Architecture/) (including the Royal Standard of [Ur](https://www.worldhistory.org/ur/)) and [architecture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/architecture/) (especially in the form of defensive city walls), all strongly suggesting a state of ongoing warfare for over 3,000 years broken by periods of peace briefly maintained by victors.

### [Sumerian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/) Warfare

Among the many 'firsts' of ancient Sumer, as noted, is the first recorded war as well as the first monument to a military victory, the Stele of the Vultures, dated to the period of [Early Dynastic](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Early_Dynastic/) III (2600-2350 BCE). The stele commemorates the victory of Eannatum, king of Lagash, over Ush, king of Umma. The monument, which takes its name from the depiction of vultures flying over the bodies of the fallen, shows Eannatum leading his victorious army over the corpses of the men of Umma on one side, while on the obverse, the war [god](https://www.worldhistory.org/God/) [Ninurta](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ninurta/) captures Eannatum's enemies in a net, and the mother goddess [Ninhursag](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ninhursag/) is shown giving her blessings.

The two sides of the Stele of the Vultures (which today exists only in fragments in the Louvre) illustrate how wars were fought in ancient Sumer as well as the rationale given: the war was not between two kings but between their gods. In this case, Ninurta, patron god of Lagash, was warring with Shara, patron god of Umma; Eannatum and Ush were merely the instruments they worked through. Humans were thought to have been created to serve the gods and kings to be those gods' representatives. Accordingly, warfare was justified as the will of the gods to maintain the established order.

The war of Lagash and Umma was over a piece of irrigated land that lay between the two [cities](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/), which had been marked by a boundary stone. Ush had removed that stone and entered the territory of Lagash. Open land for grazing livestock in Mesopotamia was vital to a city's survival, as the fields directly surrounding a settlement were given over to [agriculture](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Agriculture/). Further fields were necessary for livestock, and there were no doubt many more unrecorded conflicts over these spaces as well as over water supplies.

By removing the boundary stone, it would have been thought, Ush transgressed against the will of the gods, who had created order out of chaos, as well as failed in his responsibility to help maintain that order. Eannatum, responding according to the will of Ninurta, claims in the stele that he triumphed in the name of justice, of the restoration of order, and Ush is depicted as promising to never threaten the stability of the region again.

[ ![Stele of the Vultures](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/750x750/17003.jpeg?v=1675646080-1675761760) Stele of the Vultures Eric Gaba (CC BY-SA) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17003/stele-of-the-vultures/ "Stele of the Vultures")Whether a king actually believed this is unknown. Eannatum's war against Umma was only one of many as he steadily conquered Sumer to create an empire, and although he may have believed he was doing so to maintain order, it seems more likely it was for control of centers of production and [trade](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/trade/) routes that ran through the region. The king Lugalzagesi of Umma (died 2334 BCE) would later follow the same course and, probably, for the same reasons.

Each of the city-states Eannatum or Lugalzagesi marched against had its own militia mobilized as needed. The soldiers carried [bronze](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/bronze/) or iron spears for thrusting, javelins for hurling, axes, daggers, slings, and simple bows. Chariots, pulled by donkeys, were four-wheeled heavy vehicles, which moved slowly and seem to have served as mobile armories, as they are usually depicted with a supply of spears or javelins. The armor and helmets of the troops were initially leather, but by circa 2500 BCE, they were [copper](https://www.worldhistory.org/copper/) and bronze. The [Sumerians](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/) also have the honor of the 'first helmet' – the so-called Golden Wig (Helmet of Meskalamdug) – dated to 2500 BCE.

[ ![Golden Wig - Meskalamdug Helmet](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/17002.jpeg?v=1716365283-1675762143) Golden Wig - Meskalamdug Helmet Gary Todd (CC BY-NC-SA) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/17002/golden-wig---meskalamdug-helmet/ "Golden Wig - Meskalamdug Helmet")### The Army of Akkad

Militia forces could number from a few hundred to 6,000 or more, depending on the size and wealth of a city. Scholar [Paul](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Paul/) Kriwaczek describes the troops as they would have been formed for [battle](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/battle/):

> We should see a Sumerian military unit as consisting of a central shock-force, a tightly packed phalanx of several hundred, perhaps thousand, spearmen. To control them, drill them, and keep them in proper formation would have required many skilled and loud-voiced NCOs; to keep them in step, marching steadily forward or maneuvering in close order, they would have needed [music](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Music/), perhaps a corps of drummers.
> And behind this central strike-force another thousand or so slingers, the equivalent of today's riflemen, fusiliers, or even gunners, would have been drawn up in loose formation, buzzing around like angry wasps, sending lethal showers of both small and large projectiles into the heart of the enemy's formations, supported by the ass-drawn battle chariots carrying supplies of missiles.
> (93)

This would have been the kind of army Eannatum led against the other city-states, and it would form the basic model improved upon by [Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/) ([Sargon the Great](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/), reign 2334-2279 BCE), who conquered Sumer in 2334 BCE and established the [Akkadian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/akkad/) (2350/2334-2154 BCE), the first multinational empire in the world. [Sargon](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/sargon/) began his conquest with troops loyal to him and then conscripted others from the cities he vanquished. Once he had consolidated power and Sumer was subdued, he established a professionally trained, standing army and expanded his empire up through the region of modern-day [Syria](https://www.worldhistory.org/syria/), down through Lebanon, and over to the Zagros Mountains and the region of modern-day Iran.

[ ![Map of the Akkadian Empire at Its Height](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/750x750/15457.png?v=1779124750-1775119601) Map of the Akkadian Empire at Its Height Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15457/map-of-the-akkadian-empire-at-its-height/ "Map of the Akkadian Empire at Its Height")To maintain order throughout his empire, he installed trusted officials and family members as governors, high priests and priestesses, and administrators in all his cities, people who were loyal to him, not necessarily to the people of a given city, and garrisoned each with his troops, having disbanded the militias of the cities. Kriwaczek writes:

> This must have been a highly militarized society, with armed warriors often seen patrolling the streets, particularly in provincial cities, on whose loyalty the center could not always depend. Sargon wrote that every day 5,400 men, perhaps the nucleus of a standing army, took their meal before him in Akkad.
> (125)

Having replaced the local militias with a professional army, Sargon then improved upon their formation and reach. He had the troops trained to fight in a tightly formed, six-man-deep phalanx with the front line protected from enemy fire (from slings and bows) by long, rectangular shields. As the phalanx marched toward the opposing army to break their front line, slingers and archers behind it would open fire on the enemy, with the archers using the most significant improvement in warfare: the composite bow.

[ ![Archer Relief, Khorsabad](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/3140.jpg?v=1767466751) Archer Relief, Khorsabad Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/3140/archer-relief-khorsabad/ "Archer Relief, Khorsabad")The composite bow, made of layers of wood and bone (or sometimes wood from different types of trees) glued together, with sinew as string, had greater strength – and so farther reach – than the simple bow of the Sumerians and was more accurate. Bertman quotes the historian Yigael Yadin's comment, [writing](https://www.worldhistory.org/writing/):

> The invention of the composite bow with its comparatively long range was as revolutionary in its day, and brought comparable results, as the discovery of gunpowder thousands of years later.
> (265)

As Sargon improved his weaponry, his opponents tried to match him with their own, as Bertman notes:

> Offensive and defensive equipment evolved reciprocally and supported an ongoing arms race: developments in weaponry led to countermeasures in armor, and innovations in armor inspired further advances in weaponry. The introduction of the [metal](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/metal/) helmet, for example, led to the introduction of a battle-axe with a head like an adze to pierce the helmet's metal shell.
> (264)

Sargon also moved the heavy chariots further to the rear and relegated them to transport vehicles to keep them from interfering in troop movements and because he no longer needed the mobile armories, as he had his new bow, and the archers carried their own arrows. Slingers created their own projectiles from the abundant clay outside any Mesopotamian city, forming them into 'bullets' that could be fired from the sling with substantial accuracy and speed. Some of these, recovered from sites in the modern day, show how they were not fully dried when used in battle, as trace materials had adhered to them, as opposed to fully dried "bullets" which have no such additions.

The [Akkadian](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/akkadian/) army also traveled with scribes who were responsible for calculating the amount of force to take down a city [wall](https://www.worldhistory.org/wall/) or how much earth was needed to build an offensive ramp up a battlement. Scribes also calculated the number of prisoners taken and noted what was done with them, as in which of them were sold as slaves, kept by generals, or executed. With this army, Sargon conquered Mesopotamia, securing the trade routes and centers of production, as Eannatum had done earlier, only on a much larger scale.

### Ur III & Babylonian Conquest

The Akkadian Empire declined and fell to the [Gutians](https://www.worldhistory.org/Gutians/), who were defeated and driven from the region by the Sumerian kings of the Ur III period (circa 2112 to circa 2004 BCE). [Ur-Nammu](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ur-Nammu/) (reign circa 2112-2094 BCE) associated himself directly with Sargon and his successors, but as a kinder and more fatherly version of the Akkadian kings. His son, [Shulgi of Ur](https://www.worldhistory.org/Shulgi_of_Ur/) (reign 2094-circa 2046 BCE), seems to have drawn on Sargon's military model to defeat the Gutians but, like his father, encouraged a gentler image of the monarchy than the Akkadians had. The literary poetic cycle, *[Matter of Aratta](https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2164/matter-of-aratta/)*, written during the Ur III period, presents a vision of non-violent resolutions to political conflicts.

[ ![Map of the Third Dynasty of Ur](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/750x750/15308.png?v=1749041886-1749189519) Map of the Third Dynasty of Ur Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-ND) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/15308/map-of-the-third-dynasty-of-ur/ "Map of the Third Dynasty of Ur")By the 20th century BCE, the Amorites had established themselves in the region, ruling important trade and cultural centers, including Babylon. The [Amorite](https://www.worldhistory.org/amorite/) king [Hammurabi](https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/) (reign 1792-1750 BCE) also drew on Sargon's military model. When he first came to power, he quietly trained a professional fighting force and allied with Larsa to defeat the Elamites. As soon as the [Elamite](https://www.worldhistory.org/elam/) threat was neutralized, he turned on Larsa, took from it the cities of [Uruk](https://www.worldhistory.org/uruk/) and Isin by allying himself with Larsa's rivals, including Lagash and [Nippur](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/nippur/), conquered them afterwards, and then took Lagash. By this process, he subdued all the city-states of Mesopotamia and ruled from Babylon.

Hammurabi perfected a tactic for taking cities used by his father, Sin-Muballit (reign 1812-1793 BCE), of either damming up the water supply of the city until it surrendered or, when circumstances suggested it, damming the water and then releasing it suddenly to flood the city just prior to his attack. This tactic proved effective, and, after his conquest of the region, Hammurabi ruled effectively, issuing his famous laws, the [Code of Hammurabi](https://www.worldhistory.org/Code_of_Hammurabi/), and rebuilding or improving upon what he had damaged or destroyed.

### Assyrian Empire

Hammurabi's empire barely outlived him and was then taken by the Kassites circa 1595 to circa 1155 BCE. The [Hittites](https://www.worldhistory.org/hittite/), by that time, already held significant cities and controlled most of the region between 1700 and 1200 BCE, also using a professionally trained army that drew on the Babylonian model. Their king [Suppiluliuma I](https://www.worldhistory.org/Suppiluliuma_I/) (reign 1344-1322 BCE) conquered the Kingdom of [Mitanni](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mitanni/), which had held the Assyrians as vassals, and, with Mitanni power broken, the Assyrians under [Adad Nirari I](https://www.worldhistory.org/Adad_Nirari_I/) (reign circa 1307-1275 BCE), asserted themselves and established the Assyrian Empire.

[ ![Stele of Adad-Nirari III](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/500x600/10755.jpg?v=1726815707-1726815744) Stele of Adad-Nirari III Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/10755/stele-of-adad-nirari-iii/ "Stele of Adad-Nirari III")[Tukulti-Ninurta I](https://www.worldhistory.org/Tukulti-Ninurta_I/) (reign circa 1244-1208 BCE) defeated [the Hittites](https://www.worldhistory.org/hittite/) at the Battle of Nihriya circa 1245 BCE and, that same year, sacked Babylon, using the plundered wealth to fill the Assyrian treasury. Although he was later assassinated for the sacrilege, as Babylon was considered a holy city, the wealth accrued helped fund the military and enabled the later success of [Tiglath Pileser I](https://www.worldhistory.org/Tiglath_Pileser_I/) (reign circa 1115-1076 BCE), who revitalized the [economy](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/economy/) and improved the military.

The Assyrian Empire expanded through military conquest, and by the time of [Ashurnasirpal II](https://www.worldhistory.org/Ashurnasirpal_II/) (reign 884-859 BCE), they had perfected the art of the siege in taking cities. Scholar Simon Anglim writes:

> More than anything else, the Assyrian army excelled at siege warfare, and was probably the first force to carry a separate corps of engineers…Assault was their principal tactic against the heavily fortified cities of the [Near East](https://www.worldhistory.org/Near_East/). They developed a great variety of methods for breaching enemy walls: sappers were employed to undermine walls or to light fires underneath wooden gates, and ramps were thrown up to allow men to go over the ramparts or to attempt a breach on the upper section of wall where it was the least thick.
> Mobile ladders allowed attackers to cross moats and quickly assault any point in defenses. These operations were covered by masses of archers, who were the core of the infantry. But the pride of the Assyrian siege train were their engines. These were multistoried wooden towers with four wheels and a turret on top and one, or at times two, battering rams at the base.
> (186)

The Assyrians perfected [the art of war](https://www.worldhistory.org/The_Art_of_War/) and continued the tradition of justifying conflict as the will of the gods. Eannatum had invoked Ninurta, Sargon called on [Inanna](https://www.worldhistory.org/Inanna/)/[Ishtar](https://www.worldhistory.org/ishtar/), Hammurabi claimed the great god [Marduk](https://www.worldhistory.org/Marduk/) as his commander, and the Assyrians elevated their god [Ashur](https://www.worldhistory.org/ashur/) ([Assur](https://www.worldhistory.org/assur/)) to an almost monotheistic level of supremacy as the leader of their troops. When [Sargon II](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_II/) (reign 722-705 BCE) of the [Neo-Assyrian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Neo-Assyrian_Empire/) defeated [Urartu](https://www.worldhistory.org/Urartu_Civilization/) in 714 BCE, against all odds, he took no credit for the victory but attributed it to Ashur.

[ ![Assyrian Army Assaulting a City](https://www.worldhistory.org/img/r/p/750x750/7271.jpg?v=1697119626) Assyrian Army Assaulting a City Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (Copyright) ](https://www.worldhistory.org/image/7271/assyrian-army-assaulting-a-city/ "Assyrian Army Assaulting a City")### Conclusion

The Neo-Assyrian Empire fell in 612 BCE to a coalition of Babylonians, [Medes](https://www.worldhistory.org/Medes/), and Persians, and, afterwards, the Persian king [Cyrus II](https://www.worldhistory.org/Cyrus_the_Great/) ([Cyrus the Great](https://www.worldhistory.org/Cyrus_the_Great/), reign circa 550-530 BCE) established the [Achaemenid Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Achaemenid_Empire/) (circa 550-330 BCE), which, again using a professionally trained army, conquered a larger expanse than even the Assyrians had managed. [Alexander the Great](https://www.worldhistory.org/Alexander_the_Great/) toppled the [Achaemenid](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Achaemenid/) Empire, which, after [Alexander](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Alexander/)'s [death](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Death/), was replaced by the [Seleucid Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Seleucid_Empire/) (312-63 BCE), which gave way to the [Parthian Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Parthia_(Empire)/) (247 BCE-224 CE), which fell to the [Sassanian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sasanian_Empire/) Empire (224-651). Although there were significant reforms along the way, including the much faster and more mobile two-wheeled [chariot](https://www.worldhistory.org/chariot/), the paradigm of all these armies was based on the one first established by Sargon of Akkad.

The Sassanian Empire fell to the invading Muslim Arabs, who also invoked a deity to justify their conquest. The claim that a god is on one's side in a military campaign has been made by many leaders over the centuries and continues, in one form or another, into the present day. Each time, the claim is presented as self-evidently true and completely novel when, actually, it is only a repetition of a justification for violence and bloodshed going back over 4,000 years.

#### Editorial Review

This human-authored definition has been reviewed by our editorial team before publication to ensure accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards in accordance with our [editorial policy](https://www.worldhistory.org/static/editorial-policy/).

## Bibliography

- [Anglim, S., et. al. . *Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World, 3000 BC - AD 500.* St. Martin's Press, 2010.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/1853675229/)
- [Bertman, S. *Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia.* Oxford University Press, 2005.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0195183649/)
- [Kramer, S. N. *The Sumerians: Their History, Culture, and Character.* University of Chicago Press, 1971.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0226452387/)
- [Kriwaczek, P. *Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization.* St. Martin's Griffin, 2012.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/1250054168/)
- [Oppenheim, A. L. *Ancient Mesopotamia: Portrait of a Dead Civilization.* University of Chicago Press, 1977.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/0226631877/)
- [Van De Mieroop, M. *A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC.* Wiley-Blackwell, 2015.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/111871816X/)
- [Von Soden, W. *The Ancient Orient.* Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1994.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/B004GGUBO4/)
- [Wise Bauer, S. *The History of the Ancient World.* W. W. Norton & Company, 2007.](https://www.worldhistory.org/books/039305974X/)

## About the Author

Joshua J. Mark is World History Encyclopedia's co-founder and Content Director. He was previously a professor at Marist College (NY) where he taught history, philosophy, literature, and writing. He has traveled extensively and lived in Greece and Germany.
- [Linkedin Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/joshua-j-mark/38/614/339)

## Timeline

- **2900 BCE - 2334 BCE**: [Warfare](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) rages between [Sumerian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/) [city](https://www.worldhistory.org/city/)-states during the [Early Dynastic](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/Early_Dynastic/) Period.
- **c. 2700 BCE**: First recorded [war](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/War/) in history between [Sumer](https://www.worldhistory.org/sumer/) and [Elam](https://www.worldhistory.org/elam/); Sumer wins.
- **c. 2600 BCE**: Stele of the Vultures monument celebrates victory of Lagash over Umma.
- **c. 2500 BCE**: Oldest helmet in the world - the "Golden Wig" - worn by [Sumerian](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sumerians/) commander.
- **2334 BCE - 2279 BCE**: [Sargon of Akkad](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sargon_of_Akkad/) reforms the military, disbands militias, and creates a professional standing army.
- **c. 2112 BCE - c. 2004 BCE**: The kings of the [Ur](https://www.worldhistory.org/ur/) III Period build on [Sargon](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/sargon/)'s military model.
- **1792 BCE - 1750 BCE**: [Hammurabi](https://www.worldhistory.org/hammurabi/) of [Babylon](https://www.worldhistory.org/babylon/) uses [Sargon](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/sargon/)'s military model to [conquer](https://www.worldhistory.org/warfare/) [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/).
- **c. 1307 BCE - 612 BCE**: The Assyrian [Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/empire/) conquers and then rules [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/).
- **c. 550 BCE - 330 BCE**: The [Achaemenid Empire](https://www.worldhistory.org/Achaemenid_Empire/) conquers and rules [Mesopotamia](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamia/).

## Questions & Answers

### What was the first war in recorded history?
The first war in recorded history was between Sumer and Elam in 2700 BCE; Sumer was victorious. 

### How long did warfare continue in ancient Mesopotamia? 
Wars were fought in ancient Mesopotamia from the first recorded conflict in 2700 BCE through the fall of the Sassanian Empire in 651. 

### Why were wars fought in ancient Mesopotamia? 
Wars in ancient Mesopotamia were initially fought over land and water resources and later as wars of conquest to control those resources, as well as centers of production and trade routes. 

### What was the justification for war in ancient Mesopotamia? 
The justification for war in ancient Mesopotamia claimed it as the will of the gods to maintain order and punish wrongdoers, as it has been claimed ever since up to the present day. 


## External Links

- [The Concept of War in Ancient Mesopotamia by Michael Cserkits, PhD](https://www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Marine-Corps-University-Press/Expeditions-with-MCUP-digital-journal/The-Concept-of-War-in-Ancient-Mesopotamia/)
- [Facts & Details/Ancient Mesopotamian  Warfare and Weapons](https://africame.factsanddetails.com/article/entry-86.html)
- [War History/Early Warfare in Mesopotamia](https://warhistory.org/article/early-warfare-in-mesopotamia)
- [The Archaeologist/Ancient Mesopotamian Warfare in Sumer and Akkad](https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/ancient-mesopotamian-warfare-in-sumer-and-akkad)

## Cite This Work

### APA
Mark, J. J. (2026, April 20). Mesopotamian Warfare: Early Development of Armed Conflict. *World History Encyclopedia*. [https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian\_Warfare/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Warfare/)
### Chicago
Mark, Joshua J.. "Mesopotamian Warfare: Early Development of Armed Conflict." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 20, 2026. [https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian\_Warfare/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Warfare/).
### MLA
Mark, Joshua J.. "Mesopotamian Warfare: Early Development of Armed Conflict." *World History Encyclopedia*, 20 Apr 2026, [https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian\_Warfare/](https://www.worldhistory.org/Mesopotamian_Warfare/).

## License & Copyright

Submitted by [Joshua J. Mark](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/JPryst/ "User Page: Joshua J. Mark"), published on 20 April 2026. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.