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The rise of civilization
History of western civilization 1 paper
Impact of ancient civilizations on the modern world
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It takes a lot of trial and error to create something as great as a successful organized society. The development of Western Civilization didn’t just happen overnight, it was a long drawn out process that was heavily influenced by the evolutions of the societies in Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. When each society can learn from the mistakes of the last, and improve on the achievements, then there is no stopping that society from becoming successful. Mesopotamia is known as the “land between the rivers” because it is located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. These rivers provided fertile land to Mesopotamia which enabled them to begin farming, which was a much better alternative to the laborious, tedious hunting for food. With
Religion has greatly influenced western civilization. Religion is a way to express ourselves in our own way. To be able to choose who or what we believe in freely. This gives us a sense of individualism and helps our civilization to grow and develop each religion. Just about every ancient culture practiced religion in some way. They were either monotheist, polytheist, atheist, or believed in “magic”. Western civilization was impacted by religion in more ways than one. Every religion contributed in their own way. Some religions even worked together to help create a stronger, more structured civilization.
The civilization of Mesopotamia strived off of the fertile crescent ( also known as the Tigris and Euphrates river). The Tigris and Euphrates rivers were ideal for growing crops. The rivers gave fertile soil to begin farming which was the first step in starting a civilization, essentially obtaining a food source. The river
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia and Egypt are important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. Mesopotamia was the first civilization, which was around 3000 B.C., and all other countries evolved from it. Mesopotamia emerged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was rich and agriculture was plentiful. The Semitic nomads occupied the land around Akkad. The Sumerians established the city-states. Villages became urban centers. Because of the formation of the city-states everything flourished. However, Mesopotamian agriculture lacked stones; therefore mud brick became their major building block. Their diet consisted of fish from the rivers. The rivers were flooded frequently destroyed the cities. Mesopotamians made their living from crops and pottery.
...downfall.Mostly societies fall due to whoever is leading them, like in Athens they were told to retreat inside of the walls which lead to an outbreak that killed ⅓ of the city’s population.Although trying to make a “perfect” society never ends up working out, we can learn from our mistakes and always try to make ours better. As I once said, “It is not possible to create a perfect society for imperfect beings.”
The beginning of Mesopotamian Civilization established in c. 3000 B.C.E., in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Southwest Asia. Mesopotamia is a Greek word and it means ‘between the rivers.’ In contrast, the beginning of Egyptian Civilization established in c. 3100 B.C.E., in a valley of the Nile River in Northeastern Africa. Egypt is a Greek word and it means ‘House of the Spirit of Ptah.’ There were several similarities and differences between the geography of Mesopotamia and Egypt. The Mesopotamians had the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Egyptians had the Nile River. The Mesopotamians had a difficult time farming and harvesting because the rivers and floods were unpredictable. They had to irrigate the land for various times when the river did not overflow and to wash away the salt from the land. The dry and arid Mesopotamian climate meant that they harvested small amounts of grain. It was much easier for the Egyptians to decide when to farm and harvest because the The Nile River is predictable. The Nile River regularly overflowed and washed away the salt from the land. The Nile River was the quickest way to travel through the land, and made transportation and communication easier for the people of Egypt. Sailboats moved quickly from north to south through the winds. When the sailboats were heading from south to north, The Egyptians used the long poles or paddles to push their sailboats. The arid climate in Egypt
It was one of the main environmental factors that helped them achieve a sense of sustainability. It is their source of existence. The river helped the region cope with the fact that they are overwhelmed by desert land, and henceforth a very dry climate. The reason being is that the Nile tended to flood annually, but in a way that eventually allowed for the grounds and land to be suitable for agriculture. Egypt as a whole also has three supposed “defensible” borders. The east, west, and the south consists of connections among suitable and strong land. The north, which entails the Nile valley is filled with deserts ad is therefore unfitting for defenses to walk along/amongst them. In contrast, Mesopotamia was vast and open, obtaining fewer boundaries. Mesopotamia is defined by the Tigris and Euphrates River. Their flowing of water provided well enough nutrients to the land and the people around it. There was no regular cycle of flooding like the Nile; however, whenever there was flooding, there was massive destruction. Mesopotamia also has mountains that are unfortunately seen as one of their weaknesses. The routes along these mountains allowed for attacks and invasions on the civilizations. Because of this reason, there was much influence from the outside; therefore, Mesopotamia consisted of different kinds of cultures and people, such as Sumerians, Elamites, Mittanni, and much more. Whereas in Egypt, although not entirely monolith, consisted of a majority of the Egyptian
Firstly, geography impacted life in Mesopotamia because Mesopotamia was made up of different regions and each with its own geography. The geography of each area and the natural resources found there affected the ways that people lived. The Tigris and Euphrates also affected how civilization lived. The Tigris and Euphrates were very important rivers in Mesopotamia. Seasonal rains and water flowing from the mountains flooded rivers and created fertile soil from the silt
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were both facilitated by rivers that ran in their midst. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers ran through Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt had the Nile that provided the ancient Egyptians extremely fertile land. The way the Egyptians and Mesopotamians traded were different because Egyptians were lucky because they lived right next to the Niles. The Nile river influenced the
The Mesopotamian geography affected their society because Mesopotamia was located on an open plain without protection from foreign intrusions. Egypt, on the other hand, was centered on the Nile River ad protected by natural boundaries. This allowed Egypt?s kingdom for prosper and last for thousands of years. Mesopotamia was not considered a nation or country, it was considered a region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that established a number of highly organized city-states. Since each city-state was independent there was no capital of Mesopotamia.
Millions of years ago the procreant low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris was probably the home of some animal life, but no great civilizations. However, things change over time, and just a few thousand years ago the same fertile low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris became the home of a very rich and complex society. This first high society of man was located in what some still call "Mesopotamia". The word "Mesopotamia" is in origin a Greek name meaning "land between the rivers." The name is used for the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries, roughly comprising modern Iraq and part of Syria. South of modern Bagdad, this alluvial plain was called the land of Sumer and Akkad. Sumer is the most southern part, while the land of Akkad is the area around modern Bagdad, where the Euphrates and Tigris are closest to each other. This first high, Mesopotamian society arose as a combined result of various historical, institutional, and religious factors. The reality of these factors occurring at a specific place within the fabric of space / time indeed established the basis for this first high civilization. Items like irrigation, topography, and bronze-age technical innovations played a big part along with the advent of writing and the practice of social conditioning (through the use of organized religion) in this relatively early achievement of man.
Mesopotamia used the two rivers, Tigris and Euphrates, because every time they would flood it would make the soil fertile around the banks. Modern day Iraq and Kuwait are where Mesopotamia was formed. Mesopotamia was in the crossroads of Egypt and the Indus River Valley which made Mesopotamia a giant melting pot of religions and languages which helped them produce some of the first inventions in the world. The state’s of Sumer were ruled by a type of priest-king. Mesopotamia used there cuneiform for their transactions too. They used a barter system as well as a buy and sell system. Northern Mesopotamia is made up of hills and plains while Southern Mesopotamia is made up of marshy areas and wide, flat, barren plains. Almost all there cities developed along the rivers. The Mesopotamian social structure was highly stratified. There were the high class
The Mesopotamians had two rivers surrounded them, the Euphrates and Tigris, that were beneficial especially for trade, but also had ups and downs for farming. These rivers were completely unblocked so the people of Mesopotamia could travel without worry of having to be slowed down or stopped. These rivers’ floods were impossible to time and would potentially fatal for the farmers’ crops. If the rivers didn’t destroy the crops, they would leave a substance that was great for the growth of crops called silt and they were also great for irrigation. These rivers were also good for transportation. They could be used for trading or human travel. This meant that they were able to spread ideas domestically or internationally. This was called multiculturalism.
These features can be seen in the Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations. In Document 2, a picture of the Nile Delta is shown. This is ultimately where Egyptian civilization began. “The life of Ancient Egypt centered around the river Nile and the fertile land along its banks.”7 This led to new technologies and techniques stemming from the need to control the annual flooding of the Nile, agriculture, trade, etc. Egypt’s achievements involved advancements “...in irrigation and agricultural methods; as well as in developing some of the earliest ships.”8 Mesopotamian civilization began between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. The land Mesopotamia encompassed was a section of the Fertile Crescent, a large patch of ultra-fertile land. This was an excellent place to begin a civilization, as they were able to become prosperous in the field of agriculture. “Thanks to the fertile Mesopotamian soil and expansion of irrigation from the rivers, agriculture took off, letting civilizations grow in size and complexity. The river also aided with the trade needs of Mesopotamian city-states. “Since they did not have many natural resources, contact with neighboring lands was important.”9 They used the surplus of food from farming to trade for the goods they required. “The Tigris and Euphrates rivers made transport of goods easy and economical”11 Through all of this, the Mesopotamians were able to
The "Land Between the Rivers" has been a source of both savage barbarism and great civilizations. Mesopotamian culture reached its peak between ca 3000-550 BCE. Yet, much of Mesopotamian culture goes unnoticed, despite its rich heritage. A vast bulk of the great early civilizations developed in the land known as Mesopotamia. It can, in fact, be proven, without question, that because of Mesopotamia's extensive trade routes, its excellent leaders, and the astronomical growth in technology that occurred, that Mesopotamia was one of the greatest civilizations to have ever existed.
Greek philosopher Herclitus [535BC – 475BC] believed that change was inevitable in the universe. One of his popular sayings was “The only constant is change”. Humans and indeed the world have evolved over the millennia to its current state – The Information Age. This is an age during which technology, social networks, and the internet rule peoples’ lives. Consequently, countries are constantly growing, trying to keep up with their neighbouring nations in terms of its infrastructure, people, economy, culture, technology and communication. Countries take in different ideals, norms and ways from other countries around the world in an attempt to compete and “stay ahead”. A common example is the Western influence and the impact it has on some Eastern countries. The way people talk, dress, live and behave can be attributed to the prevalence of Western culture.