Mesopotamia's Major Accomplishments

Commonly called “The Cradle of Civilization”, Mesopotamia was an ancient region located in the Eastern Mediterranean. Mesopotamia gets its name from its location, Mesopotamia literally translating to “between two rivers” in Greek; those two rivers being the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers.

Mesopotamia was the foundation of western civilization. This was around 3500 BC when cities started evolving in world history. It was also known as the “land between the rivers.” The first city-states developed in southern Mesopotamia by the Sumerian citizens around 4000 BC. The history begins at Sumer; this society brings many things to the table for a starting civilization. In 3500 BC the Sumerian people learned their own writing system. They would write on cuneiforms, clay blocks which were easy to be transported but they were very fragile. The Sumerian people had an independent government which was ruled by a king, Sargon. The cities as well as

Ancient Mesopotamia The region of Mesopotamia has left behind a huge legacy that still has an effect on our daily life. This region was the first region for humanity to move from a semi-nomadic lifestyle to a more urbanized civilization. This region is also referred to as the Fertile Crescent. The three big civilizations that this region held are the Sumerians, Babylonians, and Assyrians.

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:

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.

About 3500 B.C., the first cities were built in Mesopotamia. The first system of writing was invented about 3300 B.C. Sumerian is credited with these accomplishments.

This topic includes Who ruled Mesopotamia, How the civilization came into power, and how long the power or reign of authority. The person who mostly ruled Mesopotamia was Hammurabi. (Rest in introduction) Mesopotamia’s power came to be through the Babylonian’s rise of power. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, two new empires rose to power. They were the Babylonians in the south and the Assyrians to the North. The Babylonians were first to form an empire that would encompass all of Mesopotamia. The city of Babylon had been a city-state in Mesopotamia for many years. After the fall of the Akkadian Empire, the city was taken over and settled by the Amorites. The city began its rise to power in 1792 BC when King Hammurabi took the throne. He was a powerful and capable leader who wanted to rule more than just the city of Babylon. Not long after becoming King, Hammurabi began to conquer other city-states within the area. Within a few years, Hammurabi had conquered all of Mesopotamia including much of the Assyrian lands to the North. Under Hammurabi’s rule, the city of Babylon became the most powerful city in the world. Located on the banks of the Euphrates River, the city was a major trade hub bringing together new concepts and products. Babylon also became the largest city in the world at the time with as many as 200,000 people living there at its peak. At the center of the city was a large temple called a ziggurat. This temple looked

The earliest civilization in Asia arose around 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia meaning "land between the rivers" because of its convenient location between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This river valley region's rich soil and access to waterways made early civilization thrive on agriculture and trade. Although much has changed since its beginnings, the Mesopotamian River Valley has continued to grow and develop as a civilization to this day. During the time period 2000 BCE to present, Mesopotamia has changed geographically, religiously, and economically, but the rich resource of the Tigris and the Euphrates river has stayed the same.

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

One of the very first civilizations was ancient Mesopotamia. Many of the tools and items created

Mesopotamia was a great place for a civilization because it was parked between two rivers which is also what Mesopotamia means. Because it was near not one but two rivers, Mesopotamia was able to be home to, and sustain a much larger number of people people than if it was only near one river. This is because there was significantly more water with which to irrigate farms, and as a result, a much larger amount of food could be produced therefore allowing civilizations within Mesopotamia to sustain even more citizens.

Thousands of years ago, there was a land known as Mesopotamia, there were some great and powerful leaders of Mesopotamia which were, Sargon and Hammurabi, They were both leaders of the Mesopotamian empires. All of the civilizations that lived in Mesopotamia rose and fell like the sun.

came the first villages and the beginning of towns. By 3500 B.C. the Sumerian city-states began forming, all centered around temples to the gods. By this time, Sumerian people had invented writing, the wheel, irrigation and water control and sailboats. One of the names for Mesopotamia is the “cradle of civilization,” as the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers was the birthplace of civilization as we know it.

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.