Can you tell me about Mesopotamian wars?

Dr. dig responds:
An excellent resource for you if it is available in libraries where you are, is: Michael Roaf's Cultural Atlas of Ancient Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. He has written several good pages with illustrations on Mesopotamian warfare. Be that as it may, here's a little something to get you started.

The earliest evidence of warfare in the ancient Near East comes from the fourth millennium B.C. (that is, about 4000-3000 B.C.), when clay seals show images of fighting and of prisoners. These are some of the first ever images of warfare known in the history of man.

You will find images of warfare, battle machinery and weapons on works of Mesopotamian art such as the beautiful Standard found at the Royal Cemetery at Ur and in the relief carvings from the Assyrian Palace of Nineveh.

For great images and further information, see the University of Pennsylvania Web site, which will introduce you to the wonderful collections from the Royal Cemetery found at Ur.