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Geography and early civilization
Mesopotamia and Egyptian societies
Mesopotamia and Egyptian societies
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The historical land of Mesopotamia significantly contributed to early civilization in relation to its close proximity to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and rich fertile land it provided. The rivers offered the people of Mesopotamia fertile soil, irrigation water for crops and fishing, and also supplied an abundance of wild barley and wheat for food or could stored as a food supply. The first settlers of Mesopotamia learned to cultivate and harvest crops, which would provide a bountiful supply for food. This enabled the people to settle and create villages, which eventually led to larger communities and cities. People no longer had to move throughout the land hunting animals in order to feed but instead could live off the land and in turn learned to domestic their animals for multiple uses (Easeen, 12/2007). Though the river had many benefits it also had, it’s disadvantages such as flooding and water shortages related to droughts (Soomo, 2013). Mesopotamians had to be inventive and so created levy’s, canals and irrigations systems to help them adapt to the river’s challenges. They learned how to live with these environmental factors and came up with inventive strategies to overcome obstacles. For the people of Mesopotamia living near the Tigris and Euphrates rivers created many achievements to the settlers lives. They built homes, shops and had a temple for worship and as the population grew so too did the need to create a civil existence. The Priest and Kings held hierarchy and then eventually came the written law for people to follow (Easeen, 12/2007). It also provided many of the social fundamental values that still carry on in societies today. Their innovations of government, commerce, taxes farming, town... ... middle of paper ... ...rom http://history-world.org/mesopotamia_a_place_to_start.http://history-world.org/mesopotamia_a_place_to_start.htm Mesopotamia. (2013). In Soomo. Retrieved from http://courses.soomopublishing.com/context/77b7f503-dee2-4f23-9cdd-41e483edf615/tocs/51db14842e0b830002000001/chapters/51db149e2e0b8300020001ed/assignments/51dd94375dbc824a7d000042 Mesopotamia. (“n.d.”). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamia Mesopotamia. (“n.d.”). Retrieved from http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/menu.htm Sederquist, B. (2013). The California Gold Rush of 1849. Retrieved from http://www.coloma.com/california-gold-discovery/history/california-gold-rush/ The Gold Rush of 1849. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.history.com/topics/gold-rush-of-1849 Trueman, C. (2000-2013). The Great Famine of 1845. Retrieved from http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/ireland_great_famine_of_1845.htm
With the rich soil, foods were plentiful around the farm lands, which gave both countries the chance to establish largely dense areas, like what we now know as a city-state. The Nile River also served as a defense for the Egyptians. They enjoyed centuries of tranquility and peace in which they used to develop their civilization. For the Mesopotamians, this wasn’t the case. Mesopotamian society consisted of classes and social differences.
Even though the Nile River valley, Mesopotamian and the Indus Valley civilizations all surrounded bodies of water, they each had individual geographic characteristics which largely contributed to their development. The Sumerian people of Mesopotamia developed complex irrigation systems in order to control the flow of rivers, due to unpredictable flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers into the regions soil (Duiker and Spielvogel 9). The Sumerians
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
...d and write for kings and become vassals. Local priests were appointed by local lords, and were expected to uphold their wishes. Thus, the role of the church, government and the economy became interconnected.
The geography impacted life in Ancient Mesopotamia. The civilizations had arose in this part of the world because it was easy to grow food in this area. The ease of food production gave the people to settle down in a place, population growth, and the production of towns and cities. This was possible because
Mesopotamia remains a region which has a vast amount of different features surrounding the area making it enticing for civilization; for example, there are rivers (Tigris, Euphrates), a valley known as the ‘Indus Valley’, mountains, floodplains, and deserts. However, the most significant being
The Mesopotamians settled in Mesopotamia for many reasons. A reason is that there were two rivers, the Tigris river, and the
Egypt, and mesopotamia both have the use of rivers, Egypt can use their river for more trade, and agriculture due to the niles calmness compared to the Tigris, and Euphrates.
Mesopotamia is located on the fertile crescent and had very few natural resources here. Rivers dominated life, so as you can guess their relationship with the environment wasn’t the best. Not when they didn’t know whether or not if the river was going to kill you that day or not. But if you never brought the flooding into consideration the river provided silt, food and transport for the people of Mesopotamia. As for Egypt it was located right next to the Nile River which gave them fertile land, water, a supply of animals and the flooding of the Nile was predictable. Not only that, the Nile provided transportation, trade, papyrus for paper, and the most important thing, it gave Egypt unity. So as you can imagine and see Egypt had a lot better relationship with the environment than
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were both facilitated by rivers that ran in their midst. The Mesopotamia was located along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates River and Egypt located in Africa with the Nile River running through it. They both relied heavily on the rivers for the survival of their civilization.
The new stone, or Neolithic Age, marked the beginnings of established society for modern man. Although only a few Paleolithic societies adapted to agriculture from hunting/gathering, this shift led the way for advancement with society, economy, and technology. Man began to raise small herds of sheep and goats and food crops such as wheat and barley were able to be domesticated in mountain foothills. As more of the nomadic bands began to settle as farmers instead of hunter/gatherers, an economic system emerged. Although most of the nomadic societies were still self-sufficient, trading was established from items like stones and shells.
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.
Mesopotamia is recognized as one of the first places where civilizations began to form. In this area, many people were exchanging their nomadic lifestyles for sedentary lifestyles, hence why Mesopotamia is commonly referred to as “The Cradle of Civilization”. The definition of Mesopotamia is the land between rivers. Ancient Mesopotamia was a section of land located in the Middle East, between the Tigris and Euphrates River. The physical geography played a large role in the blossoming of this civilization. The Mesopotamians had access to natural levees that were scattered along the Euphrates River. This was a feature that attracted numerous settlers. Levees are embankments which were produced through the build-up of sediment over thousands of years. They served as dams due to their slopes and offered protection from flooding. The sediment from the levees was fertile, and easily cultivated. The levees were also used as irrigation systems to supply water to dry land. One of Mesopotamia’s greatest empires was Assyria, which was renowned for its military accomplishments. They were the most feared army in the Near East. No civilization was able to surpass the proficiency of the Assyrian military staff (administrators, engineers, ...
There were farms with agriculture, and with that came common tools, and irrigations. Then people would help harvest the grain and take it to the cities store houses and they would use it to barter. Then eventually, governments were formed and a percentage of the grain would be set aside as a tax for the government, which would later be for the kings of the kingdoms. People had to work hard back then for their food, and they found out more hands helping to produce food was better being that they had to irrigate the water from the two
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.