Assyriology is the historical and archaeological study of ancient Mesopotamia. The field covers not just Assyria but also that nation's eventual conqueror, Babylonia and the predecessor of both civilisations, Sumer. The large number of cuneiform clay tablets preserved by these cultures provide an enormous resource for the study of the period and the region's (and the world's) first cities such as Ur are archaeologically invaluable as for studying the growth of urbanisation.
Noted assyriologists include Austen Henry Layard, Leonard Woolley and Hormuzd Rassam.
See also
