User:SomeGuyWhoRandomlyEdits/Early Dynastic IIIb
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The Early Dynastic IIIb period (abbreviated EDIIIb period or EDIIIb) is the fourth out of four sub-periods to an archaeological culture of Mesopotamia collectively referred to as the Early Dynastic (ED). Depending on which chronology for the Ancient Near East (ANE) is preferred among the present-day general consensus of mainstream historians, the Early Dynastic IIIb is usually said to have succeeded Early Dynastic IIIa c. 2500/2450 BCE by the Middle Chronology (MC), or c. 2375 BCE by the Short Chronology (SC); then, gradually transitioning into the Akkadian Period c. 2350/2334 BCE (MC), or even up to c. 2270/2230 BCE (SC).
Geographical range | Near East |
---|---|
Period | Early Dynastic |
Dates | c. 2500/2450 – c. 2350/2334 BCE |
Major sites | |
Preceded by | Early Dynastic IIIa |
Followed by | Akkadian Period |
Defined by | Henri Frankfort |
EDIIIb saw an expansion in the use of writing and increasing social inequality. Larger political entities developed in Lower and Upper Mesopotamia; as well as, Southern and Western Iran. The Royal Cemetery at Ur dates back to EDIIIb. The EDIIIb is especially well-known through the Ebla tablets and Barton Cylinder.
The end of EDIIIb is not defined archaeologically but politically. The conquests of Sargon of Akkad and his successors upset the political equilibrium throughout Iraq, Syria, and Iran. The transition is much harder to pinpoint within an archaeological context. It is virtually impossible to date a particular site as being that of either EDIIIb or Akkadian using ceramic or architectural evidence alone.