Mesopotamia Research Paper

Mesopotamia was an ideal place to start civilization. It has natural barriers as well, which are rivers and mountains. Because the rivers surrounded Mesopotamia, it was suitable for farming. With the Map of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent seen in document 2, it can be proven that the area of Mesopotamia is located in the Fertile Crescent. In Mesopotamia, farming

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.

Mesopotamia means “the land between two rivers” (Tigris and Euphrates rivers). In Mesopotamia, A man named Hammurabi conquered and united all of the cities of Mesopotamia under his rule (Document 2). His advancement of Mesopotamia was his set of laws. It is an advancement because his laws were one of the first written laws. These laws were called “Hammurabi’s Code”. The type of laws were an “Eye for an Eye” which means if you killed someone you would also be killed. It wasn’t a fair policy because if you killed someone of a lower class all your punishment would be is a fine.

In conclusion there is many reasons why Mesopotamia and Egypt develop into a successful civilization some of them are the nile river floods that people depended on for food and water and the rivers that provided resources such as transportation, trade and plants or pharaoh that the Egyptians believed in and thought he had absolute power or the sumerians and akkadians that were polytheistic and believed in many gods and keeping the gods happy for their own happiness, also Hammurabi code that concerned to a daily life laws like making justice or destroying evil and wicked all of these reasons made Mesopotamia and egypt successful

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:

Each Mesopotamian city states worshiped local gods and spirits. If they were part of a large kingdom or Empire, then they might be forced to worship the religion of the state but usually kept local beliefs intact. This is primarily because of how fragmented ancient Mesopotamia used to be. Egyptian Polytheism differs a lot from Mesopotamian Animism and Polytheism in several ways. The Egyptian’s worshiped the state religion alone and did not have separate local religions as often. The rough geography most likely helped with this along with the unity of Egypt. The ziggurats of Mesopotamia and the various monuments of Egypt have similarities and seemingly different functions. The Mesopotamians built ziggurats as temples, but the monuments of Egypt have various roles including for burial which reflects another major religious difference, the Egyptians believed in an afterlife which resulted in many artifacts preserved helping historians know more about their culture, not what was intended, but useful later

In Egypt specialized labor was a feature to societies in the southern part of the Nile River valley, Egyptian and Nubian lands build patriarchal societies that placed authority in the hands of adult males. The Egyptian economy was really productive because of it’s location and prosperity of the location, Egypt was a center of trade, linking lands in southwest Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, and sub Saharan Africa. The Nile allowed Egyptians to travel back and forth due to the winds, all you needed to do is change your sail. Mesopotamia is known as the fertile crescent. There was much farming in ancient Mesopotamia. Farmers would dig trenches from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to keep their soil moist. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were very important in Ancient Mesopotamia,

The ancient lands of Mesopotamia are unknown territory for many people. It is one of the earliest civilizations in the world. The first great civilization, located between Tigris and Euphrates rivers, was developed in 3500 BC. Word “Mesopotamia” is derived from two Greek words meaning ‘land between two rivers’. The region is a vast, dry plain through which two great rivers flow. People of Mesopotamia were ‘Sumerians’. Tigris and Euphrates created fertile river basins for the region. World’s first cities grew up in Mesopotamia. The people of Mesopotamia were among the first to use the written words and a language of their own. Mesopotamia is known as the “cradle of civilization”. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers provided rich fruitful soil and

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 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

A need for social interaction, the ability to trade goods, and a place to worship would develop and cities would form. The first written languages called Cuneiform, were established by the Sumerians, which consisted of symbols and were used for record keeping with trade deals (Steele 12). Throughout the modern world, people are required to pay their taxes to the government, well you can thank the first rulers from Mesopotamia. Although they did not have a currency system set in place, so taxes were paid with livestock and grains (Steele 13). Government and religion would play off of each other. It was believed by the people of Mesopotamia that the humans were to serve the gods, Anu, was considered the Chief Sumerian god, and Inanna was the goddess of love and war ((Hunter, Corbishley 48). A much later time Hammurabi would be considered a fair ruler, but harsh ruler of the land. While other states had their own beliefs and rituals, they respected him. The Code of Hammurabi was carved into stone for all to see. The statue stood about seven feet tall, and consisted of 272 laws but, what made this different from prior rulers is the laws were passed down from the sun god, Shamash, and not from man (Kerrigan 25). If someone broke the law, there was no way around saying, I did not know. Punishment could vary depending on your status within the community. A surgeon would be held responsible, and his punishment would be

Mesopotamia is a rich flat plain created by deposits from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. At the southern end of this plain developed the first recognizable civilization, in the area known as Sumer. In 3000 B.C. Sumer contained a dozen or more city-states, each ruled by its own king and worshiped its own patron deity. The citizens of these city-states were classified into three classes: nobles and priests, commoners, and slaves. In the center of a

Mesopotamians developed specialized crafts and supported private entrepreneurship. They also were involved in foreign and domestic trade.

Agriculture was central to ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia; it was the basis of both their economies. While both civilizations utilized agriculture in similar fashions, ancient Egypt had a more stable efficient system due to geographic location and resources, therefore relishing in a more positive economy. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers surrounding Mesopotamia were harsh, unpredictable, and prone to erratic flooding, causing

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.