Sennacherib moves the Assyrian capital to a new site at Nineveh

The Assyrian king, Sennacherib, destroys with great brutality the city of Babylon

Ashurbanipal commissions a great library of cuneiform clay tablets at Nineveh

The Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh is known in its complete form from texts in the library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh

Ashurbanipal commissions a magnificent relief of a lion hunt for his new palace at Nineveh

The Medes and the Babylonians destroy Nineveh and bring to an end the power of Assyria

Nebuchadnezzar comes to the throne of Babylon, beginning a prosperous reign of more than forty years

The Jews, taken into captivity in Babylon, form the first community of the Diaspora

Nebuchadnezzar builds the hanging gardens of Babylon, supposedly to comfort a homesick wife

The synagogue, as a simple place of Jewish worship, develops during the Babylonian captivity

The optimistic concept of the Messiah is part of the Jewish response to captivity in Babylon

A Persian army captures Babylon and brings it into the empire of Cyrus the Great

Moving northeast into Mesopotamia, Alexander again defeats Darius III (at Gaugamela), leaving Persia open to his advances

Alexander, still only 33, dies in Babylon following a banquet

Seleucia is founded as a new capital on the Tigris, eclipsing Babylon and recycling much of the older city as building material

Seleucus founds Antioch as a Greek city on the trade route between Mesopotamia and Europe

The oasis city of Palmyra acquires importance on the caravan route between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean

The Parthians develop the site of Ctesiphon, on the east bank of the Tigris opposite Seleucia

Khosrau I builds himself a superb new palace, of which the great vaulted Taq-e Kisra remains today at Ctesiphon

Khosrau I commissions a spectacular Spring Carpet for the floor of his hall of audience in Ctesiphon

The Byzantine emperor Heraclius recovers the True Cross from Ctesiphon

The Arabs defeat a Persian army at Kadisiya and then sack the city of Ctesiphon, effectively bringing to an end the Sassanian dynasty

Othman is assassinated, and Ali wins power as the fourth Muslim caliph - defeating Muhammad's widow Aisha at the 'battle of the camel' near Basra

Husayn, the son of Ali, dies at Karbala in a battle against rival Muslims and becomes the most holy of Shi'ite martyrs

Karaism, relying on scripture rather than rabbinical commentary, develops among the Jewish community in Babylon