Mesopotamia And Its Impact On Ancient Civilization

“The plains flood when the river rises, and is blessed with the riches that brings people merriment.” ( Egypt Mesopotamia Comparison Essay, page 1). For the majority Mesopotamia and Egypt were both agricultural civilizations. Due to the geographical features, life from these two civilization were crucially rely on their rivers. However, the Nile were far more significant to the Egyptians than the Tigris and Euphrates do to Mesopotamia. Although they all shared the same demandings but they were exceptional different from each other in many ways. Egyptian and Mesopotamian economy, agriculture, geography, political societies, culture, and religion varies in more ways than one may realize.

Mesopotamia, also known as the Fertile Crescent, was located inside the Euphrates and Tigris River. The fertile land was a home to the many city-states. Although the city-states are not unified, they share the same curse/ blessing. All city states are located near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The rivers provide rich soil that is favorable for farming. The

The first topic of comparison is the prospect of culture and environment in each society. Due to cultural diffusion amongst the civilizations, except geographically isolated China, among other factors, it can be deduced that the civilizations had many similar practices. However, each society boasted distinctive qualities. Early Mesopotamia, known by the moniker of “the land between the rivers,” was a fertile plain settled near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers located in the Fertile Crescent. All of the river valley civilizations settled near a river. Egypt settled near the Nile; the Indus Valley

Ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes referred to as the “Cradle of Civilization”, was located in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, bringing the Greek origin of its name, of “land between rivers”. There were two very different regions in ancient Mesopotamia:

It is undeniable that the natural environment of ancient Mesopotamia had a profound effect on the earliest civilizations known to the world. Humankind’s ability to control irrigation waters directly correlates with the rise of mass agriculture. With this mastery of their river environment, early farmers were capable of supporting large urban populations. However, in Mesopotamia the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were both a source of life as well as destruction for early societies. In many ways, the geography of ancient Mesopotamia fostered a sense of catastrophic determinism within the Sumerians, Akkadians, and Babylonians. The scarcity of resources as well as the untamable nature of their deluge environment led these early people to

Known as the “cradle of civilization”, the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia was the first known society that began near rivers. The Tigris and Euphrates were natural barriers as well as a source of maintenance for a growth in population. The rivers served as a source throughout the Fertile Crescent within Mesopotamia. These rivers provided a means of transportation which ultimately led to trading and it had fertile soil. Through trading with other civilizations such as Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, the economy of Mesopotamia would flourish as well as incorporate cultural diffusion. Settlements were mostly situated along the river banks since the land was more fertile. The Sumerians were one set of people who occupied Mesopotamia in Sumer. The two rivers were able to help them to have urbanization, thus domesticating animals. The city of Harappa and Mohenjo- Daro are also similar to the Mesopotamian civilization because they also built cities along the Indus River, and traded during the ancient times. This river civilization corresponds to that of the Nile River that is located in Egypt. Since Egypt was a desert, the Nile River provided a slew of resources. Tigris and Euphrates were also related to the Nile River because, whenever they flooded over, it was an advantage for farmers because it fertilized the

The Mesopotamian civilization was located in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was very fertile because of the layers of silt deposited over the years by the waterways. Agriculture was easily produced in this territory with the help of human intervention through irrigation and a drainage system. The abundance of food allowed for a greater population to form and eventually build up. With a larger society, the civilization was able to form a very refined culture.

The first civilizations and the rise of empires began with small groups or villages existing with the use of hunting, fishing, and foraging. (William J. Duiker and Jackson J. Spielvogel, World History, vol. 1, 1) Within a few thousand years, people learned how to cultivate food crops and this led to an increase in population. Increased food production resulted in larger communities. The cities began to expand their cultural and religious developments leading to the beginnings of civilization. (Duiker, World History, 1) The first civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia and Egypt during the fourth and third millennia B.C.E and had various components in common. Each of these civilizations was established in a river valley so they were able to provide and produce the agricultural resources needed to survive and uphold the population. (Duiker, World History, 1) Mesopotamia developed in the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates River known as “the land between the rivers.” These rivers provided irregular and catastrophic flooding for the city-state. They created an intensive irrigation system to improve their agriculture. The first people to create Mesopotamian civilization were known as the Sumerians. These people were the first city builders and created the major city’s named Eridu, Ur, Uruk, Umma, and Lagash. These cities were built with surrounding walls and defense towers. A six-mile-long wall enclosed the city of Uruk. Mesopotamia lacked

Mesopotamia was once a vast fertile, green landscape with two mighty rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, running from the north to the south flowing into the Persian Sea. Sandy river valleys covered most of the south and mountain ranges dotted the north. This land was also known as the Fertile Crescent. Mesopotamia is one of the first major of civilization along with others that sprung up along major rivers around the world at approximately the same time. Mesopotamia was home to the Sumerians, who became known as one of the most influential innovators of the ancient world. A couple thousand miles southwest of Mesopotamia lies the land of Egypt. Like Mesopotamia, Egypt had the mighty Nile flowing south to north, pouring into the Mediterranean Sea. Egypt was covered in rich fertile soil near the Nile and surrounded by desolate desert outside of the river valley. Egypt was home to the ancient Egyptians who created the well-known monumental engineering feats, the pyramids. Even though, these two civilizations were close in region, their geographical conditions generated vastly different ways of life, belief systems and governmental systems.

Mesopotamia means “between the rivers” and is found by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Around 3300 B.C , the oldest civilization formed in Mesopotamia, in a land called Sumer. Mesopotamia was part of the fertile crescent. The fertile crescent is a fertile arc of land from the eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea, through Mesopotamia,to the Persian gulf.

Mesopotamia was the birth place of the world’s first civilizations. Located along the Tigris-Euphrates Rivers, the valley was ideal for hunter-gathering peoples to settle. The many groups had varying religious beliefs that eventually melded together due to the new agricultural based settlements.

Firstly, a civilization must have cities. Mesopotamia has Babylon (the capital), Uruk, Ur, Ashur, Lagash, Kish, Eridu, Nippur, and Nineveh. Nineveh and Ashur in the Northern parts, while the other cities are located in the Southern parts of Mesopotamia. Each city in Mesopotamia had many people, for example, Babylon had a population of 200,000 people. All the cities in Mesopotamia were near the Tigris River or the Euphrates River. Being near a river lead to flooding,

“Around 5000 BCE, things slowly began to change. For the first time, humans started to settle down in one place.” As people began to switch from hunter-gathering and moving from one place to the next in search of food, to farming and depending on agriculture in order to survive, early ancient river valley civilizations began to emerge. With the emergence of these civilizations came political, environmental, religious, social, economic, technological and architecture developments that resulted in the significance in each. These early river valley civilizations are what set the stage for not only modern day but helped with the development of another. Among the several early civilizations stood, Mesopotamia, established between the Tigris

The oldest civilization was in Mesopotamia between two rivers. Mesopotamia means “the land between the rivers.” Hence the name, Mesopotamia is found in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers, which is now known as Iraq. Since the land was very fertile in Mesopotamia, the crops grew incredibly well and that helped lead to the development of civilizations. Mesopotamia had eight civilizations: Sumer, Akkad, Babylon, Hittites, Assyria, New Babylon, Phoenicians, and Israel.

Mesopotamian civilization began in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and was where agriculture, the Bronze Age, and writing (cuneiform wedges to ideograms/combination of pictures, to phonetic writing) developed.