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.
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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. . .
As farming procedures improved and therefore allowed for surplus, the Sumerian civilization began to grow not only in numbers, but also in the complexity of how it functioned on every level; its religious leaders became more powerful, its degree of specialization more complex and inventions and discoveries came fast...
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.
geography. Since the times of Ramses II to the present day canal, waterways have been
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.
Water is one of the most important elements needed to sustain life. Some ancient civilizations struggled to maintain a steady supply of usable water, while others gained consistent access, and those that did, thrived. Nonetheless, these civilizations, whether they failed or succeeded, depended on water to drink and irritate their crops; without it, they suffered food shortages and famine. Ancient civilizations such as China, Egypt, Mesopotamia and Rome were among those whose advancement benefited from the successful cultivation of water. Even though man started out as hunters and gatherers, once knowledge about growing their own food and the domestication of plants occurred, civilizations are believed to have formed, and thus became dependent on agriculture and water. Water was the driving force of growth in ancient civilizations. A reliable source of water impacted the development of economies, drove religious views, shaped political and legal discussions and influenced the advancement of technologies in diverse civilizations that shared a common bond, the need for water to sustain life.
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
Hause, S., & Maltby, W. (2001). The Ancient Near East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia and Israel. Essentials of Western Civilization (pp.7-15). California: Wadsworth.
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 four river valley civilizations, formed in Mesopotamia (Tigris Euphrates River), Egypt (Nile River), the Indus River basin (Indus River), and China (Huanghe River), all had common features as well as distinctly different ones. When comparing these four civilizations, one may notice that each of their governments were run by kings. The difference though, is that China, Egypt, and India’s kings came from dynasties, whereas Mesopotamian rulers were chosen by their importance and strength as military leaders. They were also similar because of their reliance on agriculture and the river they built their civilization along. The river provided food, water for agriculture, and was a means of transportation and communication. The four civilizations
Egypt and Mesopotamia were two of the world’s earliest city-based civilizations, creating the basis for Middle Eastern and Western history. Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations existed on the banks of major rivers. While Egyptian civilization thrived along the Nile, Mesopotamia settled between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Although they shared this characteristic, it was also the cause of many of their differences in political systems, religions, and social stability.
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.
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.
Centuries before Julius Cesar, Galileo, Aristotle, Socrates, and albert Einstein; There was an ancient civilization that arose out of nowhere. They Settled upon the Tigris, and Euphrates Rivers, known as the fertile crest of Mesopotamia. These settlers are known as the Sumerians. The Sumerians were an agricultural society, who lived off their crops and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to trade goods. So when presented the terrible question “Why they existed?” The Sumerians believed that they existed to serve their gods by worship and dedicated work. Through the Sumerian Literature, architecture, and artwork the Sumerians let their purpose be known.
The people referred to as Sumerians resided in portions of Mesopotamia beginning from “3150 to 2350 B.C.E. and…. from 2060 to 1950 B.C.E.”. (Tullock, & McEntire, 2012, pg. 24) Although the Sumerians were responsible for several significant cities during their time, this was not their gift to humanity. First, they developed an early writing method known as cuneiform; also, they are responsible for the method which we use to tell time. Finally, historical research has led scholars to believe that the Sumerians built the first city of their time (Uruk) (Wilcox, 2014).
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.