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Events and Trends

• AssyrianThis article concerns the ancient Mesopotamian kingdom. For the modern-day peoples in northern Iraq and neighboring areas, see Assyrian. Assyria a country named after its original capital city, Asshur on the Tigris, was originally a colony of Babylonia, a king AshurbanipalThere were several Assyrian kings named Assur-bani-pal also spelled Asurbanipal, Assurbanipal (most commonly), Ashurbanipal and Ashshurbanipal, but the best known was Assurbanipal IV . Ashurbanipal or Assurbanipal (reigned 668 627 BCE), the son of Esarhad founds library, which includes our earliest complete copy of the Epic of GilgameshDeluge tablet of the Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian The Epic of Gilgamesh is from Babylonia, dating from long after the time that king Gilgamesh was supposed to have ruled. It was based on earlier Sumerian legends of Gilgamesh. The most complete version of th.
• 649 BC - Indabigash succeeds Tammaritu as a king of the Elamite EmpireThe ancient Elamite Empire lay to the east of Sumer and Akkad, in what is now southwestern Iran. The Elamites called their country haltamtu or hallatamti which was translated as Elam by the neighboring Akkadians. The high country of Elam was later more an
• 649 BC - BabyloniaBabylonia was an ancient state in Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. Its capital was Babylon. The earliest mention of Babylon can be found in a tablet of the reign of Sargon of Akkad, dating back to the 23rd centurn revolt under Shamash-shuma-ukin is crushed by the Assyrians
• 648 BC - PankrationPankration is a sport or martial art introduced in the Olympic games in 648 BC. It combined striking and grappling, and a match would be won by submission of the opponent. A contestant could signal submission by raising his hand, but sometimes the only fo becomes an Olympic event
• 648 BC - Earliest GreekAncient Greece is the term used to describe the Greek-speaking world in ancient times. It refers not only to the territory of the present Greek state, but also to those areas settled in ancient times by Greeks: Cyprus, the Aegean coast of Turkey (then kno-chronicled solar eclipseFor Solar Eclipse the alien friend of the rubber doll Betty Spaghetty, see Betty Spaghetty Zambia 2001 eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth are on a single line with the Moon in the middle. Seen from the Earth, the Moon is in front.
• 647 BC - King Assurbanipal of Assyria sacks Susa
• 642 BC - Ancus Marcius becomes king of Rome (traditional date)
• 640 BC - Great victory of Assyria over Elamite Empire

Significant People

• 645 BC - Death of Archilochos, Greek poet (approximate date)
• 643 BC - Death of Manasseh, king of Judah
• 641 BC - Josiah becomes king of Judah
• 640 BC - Birth of Stesichorus, Greek poet (approximate date)