In ancient times, Mesopotamia was known as the “Land between rivers”. The two main
rivers that ran parallel to each other in Mesopotamia were called the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
The Tigris River was the more unpredictable river to the East of the Euphrates River and the
second largest river in the region. The Euphrates River is the larger of the two rivers and is
located to the West of the Tigris river. Both rivers flowed from Eastern Turkey all the way to
the Persian Gulf (Tigris-Euphrates river system) .The two rivers provided everything the earliest
civilizations needed in order to survive. The Sumerians, who were considered the greatest of the
earliest civilizations, depended on the two rivers for food supply, water and a vehicle for their
trade. The two rivers had a major impact on the earliest civilizations advancement in
technology and agriculture. Also, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers contributed to the development
of the earliest civilizations beliefs systems and values.
Mesopotamia was located in the middle of the desert and is known today as Southern
Iraq. The Sumerians were the first civilization that developed in that particular area in the
Middle East. Other civilizations soon joined the region including, the Hurrians, Hebrews and
Akkadians. Mesopotamia was an extremely dry region and had minimal rain fall per year. If it
were not for the two rivers occupying the region, Mesopotamia would not have been considered
a perfect location to start the earliest civilizations. However, due to both rivers habit of flooding
and overflowing it made the soil in Mesopotamia extremely fertile. It was a perfect location to
establish and provide for their new society. The region was so ideal ...
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people lived forever.
Works Cited
Ascalone, Enrico. Mesopotamia. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. Print.
Guisepi, Robert. "The History of Ancient Sumeria." Ancient Sumeria. History World International, 2003. Web. 19 Jun 2014.
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“The History Guide.”.Ancient Western Asia and the Civilization of Mesopotamia. Steven Kreis, 26022006. Web. 19 Jun 2014.
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"Tigris-Euphrates Civilization." The River Valley Civilization Guide.N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2014.
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“Tigris-Euphrates river system”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2011. Web. 19 Jun. 2014. . .
The first civilization to rise was the Mesopotamia, located in present day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and Egypt, along the Nile River. It’s split in two ecological zones. In the south Babylonia (irrigation is vital) and north Assyria (agriculture is possible with rainfall and wells). By 4000 B.C.E., people had settled in large numbers in the river-watered lowlands of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Archaeologists have shown that large-scale irrigation appeared only long after urban civilization had already developed, meaning major waterworks were a consequence of urbanism (population). Mesopotamia cities were made of people called the Summerians in the land of Sumer located on the south of Babylonia. The Summerian city was one of
was and still is an ideal spot to build such a canal because of its elevation and proportion.
They felt that their gods were resentful, envious, and spiteful. This view developed from the many natural difficulties the Mesopotamians were troubled with. Their two water sources, the Tigris and the Euphrates, would flood violently and unpredictably, often destroying whole villages and cities. At times the rivers would produce fatal floods and on other occasions there would be droughts that would greatly reduce their water supply. The riverbanks would often be too steep and the rivers too wild to allow for transportation or trade. While Egypt enjoyed a natural perimeter that evaded invasion, Mesopotamia’s exposed plains gave way to repeated attacks. These extreme conditions resulted in the suffering and hunger of the
I deeply agree with Jared Diamond’s ideas on the relationship between geography and history. Geography has had a lot to do with the way early civilizations grew and developed over the course of history. In this essay, I will explain in detail how and why certain civilizations grew quickly. Through my studying and interest in history I can see that it’s very clear that certain civilizations grew faster than others based on geographical location. There is a strong and clear link between geographical location and the history of early civilizations.
Geography plays an important role in the development of a civilization. The impact of geography can either make or break a civilization. Early civilizations inhabited features such as river valleys, deserts, rainforests, plateaus and other geographical structures. One important geographically defining structure are river valleys . River valleys had a significant impact on one particular civilization, Mesopotamia.
In ancient times, Iraq was known by the Greek term Mesopotamia, or the land between two rivers. These two rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, formed what was known as the “Fertile Crescent.” The vast stretch of low level land retained rain and flood water, making the soil exceptional for farming, thus it is said to be the cradle of civilization. It was home to the Sumerian Empire, beginning around
Mesopotamia’s climate consisted of temperatures rising from 110 to 120°F in the summer. This led to many dry days that eventually led to a severe drought. Basically, there was little to no rainfall from the months of May until October. This led to the devastation of agriculture. Not only did the Sumerians have to deal with the effects of the droughts, they had to deal with the consequences of flooding as well. The Tigris and the Euphrates surrounded Mesopotamia thus when it would overflow more devastation would occur such as the washouts of embankments. (Hause, 2001, pg. 7)
Mesopotamia was the first primordial, and influential cradle of civilization. Nestled in the valleys of the vehement Tigris-Euphrates Rivers around the time of the Lower Paleolithic period
The land of Mesopotamia sprouted many ideas for modern day technology. Mesopotamia was located in between two rivers. The Tigris and the Euphrates. The name Mesopotamia literally means between the rivers. Ancient Mesopotamia had many hard working rulers, great culture, and a polytheistic religion. All in all Mesopotamia accomplished loads of amazing things.
Approximately 5500 years ago four of the worlds' most prestigious ancient river civilizations had emerged. Our world has been left in astonishment and awe wondering how these civilizations were developed. Egypt and Mesopotamia were the first ancient river civilizations to create cities and their own ways of living. Society, geography, and religion played an enormous role in the development of the ancient cities. Although there is evidence of early Sumerian contact with the Egyptians, Egypt's civilization was largely self-generated and its history and cultural patterns differed from Mesopotamia.
The Mesopotamia was in between to very important rivers, which were the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Being between two rivers had some advantages, as well as disadvantages. Some of the advantages meant that they could produce enough food to support the people that lived around that area. Some of the disadvantages were that they had some flood problems. Sometimes the rivers would over flow, which caused floods that destroyed crops and villages. Considering that their main source for anything was agriculture, floods really brought chaos. After some time the Mesopotamian people learned different ways
Without a doubt, the Sumerians were highly innovative people who responded creatively to the challenges of the both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Not just any spot on the planet is a good prospect for irrigation, and it is the topography of the land and the intelligence of the people that allowed efficient irrigation systems to develop.
During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
Ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations would not be as successful as they were without living by the Tigris, Euphrates, and Nile rivers. Rivers shaped the development of civilization in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia by how they utilized the floods, what they traded, their views on religion, and controlling the rivers.
Ancient Mesopotamia was one of the first of the ancient civilizations. It formed in present-day northeastern Egypt, in the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is a crescent-shaped region of good farmland created by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The first people to settle in Mesopotamia made important contributions to the world, such as wheeled vehicles, and an early form of writing called Cuneiform. Later, the Phoenicians here developed an alphabet much like the one we use today. Also, the Sumerians of this region developed algebra and geometry. Most importantly, the Sumerians made extensive irrigation systems, dikes, and canals to protect their crops from floods. The Great Hammurabi of Babylon, another empire in the Fertile Crescent, made the Code of Hammurabi. It was the first significant set of laws in history. Also, the Hittites and the Lydians settled in Mesopotamia. The Hittites developed a way to produce strong plows and weapons. The Lydians created a system of coined money. The contributions from the region of Mesopotamia in ancient times are still used today and are very useful.