mesopotamia. this is known as the “cradle of civilization” or the location for the emergence of...
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Mesopotamia
• This is known as the “cradle of civilization” or the location for the emergence of civilization.
• When did this civilization emerge?– http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/time/explo
re/frame_mes.html
• Where was this civilization?– It was the area between the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers.–Mesopotamia literally means “land
between two rivers.”
Characteristics of Mesopotamia
• Religion – These people were polytheistic – worshipped many gods.
• Actually they worshipped hundreds of gods.
• Every city even had its own god.• Yet, only certain gods received major
attention. Like god of the sky, sun etc.• Main god = Anu father of the gods
and god of the sky.
Characteristics of Mesopotamia
• Cities• They were the first to develop cities
among anyone else.• Babylon was a famous city – It was considered a marvel of the
ancient world with a population of 200,000.
– Defensive walls around the city for 10 miles.
Characteristics of Mesopotamia
• Farming• They were the first farmers in the
world.• They domesticated animals such as
cattle, goats, and pigs.• Some of Mesopotamia did not have
steady rainfall in the summer, so they were the first to come up with irrigation.
Characteristics of Mesopotamia
• Writing – Developed the first form of writing.
• It was known as cuneiform – wedge shaped symbols.
• They wrote on clay tablets, and eventually had a very systematic form of record keeping.
• Wealthy students went to school as scribes which was very important and a very difficult job.
Characteristics of Mesopotamia
• Literature• The first piece of literature was
developed here.• It was passed down orally, but written
on clay tablets around 2000 bc, 1,000 years before the Illiad or Odyssey.
• It is called the Epic of Gilgamesh• It describes a part man, part god as he
journeys through life facing obstacles.
Characteristics of Mesopotamia
• Laws• Laws of Hammurabi - The longest
and best organized written laws that survived from Mesopotamia.
• It details crimes and punishments.• It also has a prologue stating that
laws very divine from the gods.
Characteristics of Mesopotamia
• Architecture• They made structures out of the mud
bricks which was good because they had a lot of it.
• They also made structures called Ziggurats – Stepped towers made of mud-bricks, every city had one, and it was part of a temple complex.
Politics
• Mesopotamia was a region that contained city-states similar to Ancient Greece.
• There was no centralized government.
• They had kings that ruled over each city-state.
Economics• They had a surplus of
crops, so they had plenty of workforce.
• They had an extensive trade network that reached to the Indus Valley where they would get gold.
• Recorded business transactions.