In this article I consider the issues of temporality and periodization in the
ancient Near East under three rubrics: how modern scholars have periodized
ancient Near Eastern history, how societies of the ancient Near East periodized
their own history, and, more broadly, how they conceptualized the temporal
dimensions of their world and mapped themselves onto time. In each case I
illustrate the issue with a selection of examples, which in no way represent
comprehensive coverage. Under the last rubric, I focus on Sumer and Akkad.