Falls of Major Civilizations

There were several major civilizations in history, but they all fell in the end. Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages were all major powers in their day, but they all eventually fell from power.

Mesopotamia or “the land between rivers,” as it was called by the Greeks, was a cross road of 3 continents. It was a major port, they specialized in trading a hard to make purple dye. They had one king who would communicate through the gods, unlike the Egyptian king, who was seen as a god. In Sumer, they figured out how to use wheels for a purpose, and to use animals for farming. They invented chariots, using wheels and their horses; it gave the military a great advantage after their enemies on foot. But there were many rivalries between cities, each city worshipped a different god. Often, they would fight to exalt their city over the other and fight over the river.

Mesopotamian priests were selected from Aristocracy, their social system consisted of free persons and dependents. Dependents were, for the most part, slaves; although in Mesopotamia slaves had some rights. Their government was similar to a democracy. Eventually Hammurabi also known as “judge” and “lawmaker” came to rule, Mesopotamia achieved a degree of political integration by creating rules to govern the people.

The most important contributions from Mesopotamia are metal casting, weapons and jewelry, cuneiform (wedged shape writing), and scribes.

The culture of Greece was shaped by the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Phoenicians, and Dorians. Greece was located in the southern portion of Europe. They are famous for three products the produced: cereal grain, olives, which made olive oil, and grapes. The greeks became master ship builders because they liv...

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...rs, and they both like to live in “luxury.” There is a saying by George Santayana, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is why we need to learn about our past, so that we can prevent it from repeating itself in the future. All of these civilizations grew to be very powerful, and yet they all fell. But they created a legacy that we all should learn from to keep moving forward in the future.

Works Cited

Boardman, John. "Greece: The Rise Without Fall." Common Knowledge 11.2 (2005): 306-310. Academic Search Premier. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.

Cole, Joshua, Carol Symes, Judith G. Coffin, and Robert C. Stacey. Western Civilizations: Their History and Their Culture. New York: W .W. Norton &, 2012. Print.

Norman, Yoffee. "American Antiquity." Society for American Archaeology 44.1 (1979): 5-35. http://www.jstor.org/stable/279187. Web.