Mesopotamia Essay

They didn’t have the proper farmland and the same animals. Furthermore, this digressed the way their civilization spread and grew. Diamond researched and established that certain lands were blessed only due to their geographical location. The earliest civilization began in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East. This land had rich soil and a variety of animals, which made the land promised and geographically lucky. As time passed people living in the area learned new ways to keep their civilization alive. The Fertile Crescent became known as the “Promised Land” and a way of survival was introduced as farming and the domestication of

Due to the significant differences between the behaviors of the Nile and Tigris/Euphrates rivers, there were multiple differences between the way that both civilizations created their cities. As previously stated, Mesopotamia was regularly threatened by the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; causing the civilization to construct multiple independent cities with protective walls at their borders. Since the size of each Mesopotamian city was restricted by its protective borders, each city was compact with congested alleyways and streets; each housing crowded single or multileveled living quarters and shops that circled a large ziggurat. The way in which Mesopotamian cities were constructed was significantly different than that of ancient Egypt, for the Egyptian civilization was less urbanized and composed of loose, peasant-centric cities. This lack of discipline found in the formation of ancient Egyptian cities was mainly due to the Nile river's calm behavior; meaning that the Egyptians did not require walls or extensive canals to protect their cities and facilitate farming. Without the need for restrictive walls, the Egyptians were enabled to farm freely on the banks of the Nile river.

The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt develop into successful civilizations by having floods from the nile river that provided water, food and fertile area in the middle of the desert as document 1 states. In document 2 it says that they also had rivers that provided many resources such as transportation, trade as well as plants, the rivers were surrounded by deserts.

The Nile River is approximately 4,260 miles long. It holds the record for being the longest river in the world. The Nile was a life source for Egyptians. The fertile land from the frequent flooding was very beneficial for Egyptians. They began to grow crops alongside the Nile. Beans, wheat, and cotton were among the crops being grown. However, the amount of crops grown was limited because the land did not extend very far. The land good enough to support farming was composed of two thin strips of land on either side of the river. Farming opened the door to a critical advancement in human life.

The civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and China were all different but were also developed similar ways of doing things. The political, economic and intellectual outlooks of these ancient peoples say a lot about their ways of life. The religious views of Egypt and Mesopotamia were rather different.

Time after time throughout history we see civilizations succeeding by rivers such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Indus Valley and the Yellow River. One of the things the rivers provided in Mesopotamia was the “ground is extremely fertile”. The Mesopotamians used the river for irrigation and the rich soil to produce and abundance of resources to support a large population.

They also depended on it for good drinking water out in the middle of the desert. ( doc 2) Also, rivers were an essential part of the development of a civilization. The rivers provided many resources. Some of which are, food,

This land around the Nile and the Delta by the Mediterranean Sea was seasonally flooded. This part of the land was very fertile and good for growing crops because of the rich silt. Also spread out through Egypt, there were oases, quarries and mines. After 3000 BC, the population was mainly gathered along the Nile River, and the deserts became centrally used for trade and mining excursions. Dry climates in 2500 BC had forced the Egyptian populations to move towards the Nile Valley. Eventually, the dry climates caused the formation of deserts in the areas that had been abandoned. On the contrary, the land in the Nile Valley was very fertile, because of the silt brought by flooding, and caused agricultural successes. Main crops included barley, wheat, and flax. Not much else was grown due to a lack of innovation. Away from the main river, limited areas were suitable for settlement. In the Faiyum specifically, there was little area that was suitable for settlement because of too wet of land around Lake Moeris, though the Delta experienced its own share of seasonal flooding.

The civilization that flourished in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Palestine were located in river valleys or along the Mediterranean coast. These civilizations developed highly complex cultures that shared many common characteristics. Some of the characteristics that they shared were justice, cultural diffusion, architecture and inventions. Because of these characteristic they achieved and contributed a lot to society as well as to future civilizations.

It states,” When the [Nile] arises earth rejoices and all men are glad… That givest drink to the desert places which are far from water.” The Nile gave people a source of happiness and gave deserts water even though far away. Document 2 is a map of where Mesopotamia used to be. The maps show how close they were to a desert but can still survive with the help of the rivers.

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

The achievements of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley included technological advancements and increased government direction and organization. These civilizations had lasting impacts on humanity by being the building blocks for later societies’ structures, both architectural and legal. One of the accomplishments of the three aforementioned ancient societies was the increased development of technology. In southern Mesopotamia, the technological innovations were majorly centered around the building of cities. Document 1 states that “... they used mud bricks to build walled cities, temples, and palaces.

Egypt and Mesopotamia were successful civilizations because they were able to adapt to their harsh surroundings because of the influence of their powerful leaders. This is first example of this when it mentions that their only building tool was mudbrick due to their lack of resources(document 1). They were able to brilliantly adapt to their surroundings and were able to invent things like the arch and the dome out of hardened mud. Mud brick was also used to create the ziggurat(document 7). Mud brick was their only resource because they were so isolated from everything else. They also could really only inhabit the euphrates river because the Tigris river would flood a lot, so that’s why all of the cities are on the Euphrates (document 2).

Mesopotamia is credited for inventing the first written language and the first written laws. Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia needed an efficient way to keep track of their business dealings with other people who lived thousands of miles away. The people often could not remember or agree upon what they had traded; this led to nasty disputes. As a result,the Sumerians created Cuneiform, the first written language. It was quickly accepted and widely used throughout Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamia was an ancient region in the eastern Mediterranean between two rivers named the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. Mesopotamia is known as the “cradle of civilization” primarily because of two developments that occurred there in the 4th millennium BCE: