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.
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
These individual states traded with each other. They would most likely trade things specific to that area. They also had a very multifaceted and planned irrigation system. Last but not least they were all tiny domains that were actually well prearranged. On their own they were fairly solid and had a very organized government. Although they were then all united by King Menes. The citizens were fairly obedient and did what they were told to do by their god, the pharaoh. They felt as if bad things would happen if they went against a god. The government became one hundred percent centralized and they controlled every single last one of the resources in the vast region in which we call the Nile River Valley. Just imagine being a part of this structured civilization. Now the Mesopotamia civilizations were a little different, well a lot. Although they had similarities. They did have slight similarities though. Mesopotamia was made of many independent states. They never became united and stayed this way as to what feels like the end of time. In earlier times this probably seemed like a good idea although later they realize that it is now. This separation made the region tremendously susceptible to attacks. The Mesopotamians apparently never heard the saying there is no I in team! Although, despite all of this separation the region worked together in order to do massive projects which included things like
The ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt began to develop circa 3,000 B.C. Located near rivers, the lands offered fertile soil and an excess of crops that drew in many people. As more people arrived, the small settlements flourished into large, thriving civilizations. Many aspects of Mesopotamia and Egypt, such as their cities, their strongly organized government, and their religion, greatly contributed to the success of these two civilizations.
Do you know the name of the mighty, 4,160-mile-long river that runs through eastern Africa? If you guessed the Nile, then yes, you are correct. But other than setting the record of being the longest natural river in the world, the Nile has been of great importance to the people of Ancient Egypt. In fact, without the Nile River, Ancient Egypt as we know it today would never have existed! Therefore, the Nile River shaped life in Ancient Egypt through economy, religion, and government.
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.
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while at the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Israel are all important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. In the first civilization, both Mesopotamia and Egypt relied on a hunter-gatherer economic system, during that time, every country in the world strived on it. Mesopotamia has rich soil for agriculture, but experiences floods. For the Mesopotamians, these floods would destroy major cities, but for the Egyptians it would keep the soil rich all year long without the damage that the Mesopotamians had experienced.
The region known as Mesopotamia, deriving from the Greek term Μεσοποταμία meaning “land between the rivers”, is situated between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern day Iraq and Syria. It can be divided into two sections, northern and southern Mesopotamia, the later of which will be the focus of this study.1 Archaeological remains suggest that small agricultural communities began to populate southern Mesopotamia during the Ubaid Period (5500-4000BC).2 However, settlement patterns shifted during the Uruk period, as people were no longer interested in establishing small agricultural sites, but began moving towards larger urbanised cities.3 The movement eventuated in the development of the Sumerian culture during the Early Dynastic Period (2900-2334BC). However in 2334BC, the Semites from northern Mesopotamia undertook a series of military campaigns to gain control over their southern counterparts. 4These campaigns, led by Sargon, were successful and they subsequently led to the formation of the Akkadian Empire. Arguably, it was during this time that the Sumero-Akkadian culture developed within southern Mesopotamia.5
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt are a factor of the evolution of civilizations in present-day. Though, it wouldn’t occur if both of these ancient civilizations didn’t develop into successful ones. There are three similar components that led Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia to become prosperous. These are the locations, their way of life, and their beliefs. All of these elements will be explored more thoroughly throughout this essay.
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
"All of Egypt is the gift of the Nile." It was the Greek historian Herodotus who made that observation. The remarkable benefits of the Nile are clear to everyone, but through history he was the first to talk about it and consider its fascination. Through history, the Nile played a major role in the building of civilizations. The first civilizations to appear in history started on a river valley or in a place where resources are numerous and example of these are in India where Indus river is found and Tigris where Euphrates is found and many other places (cradles of civilization).
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.
Although both Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilizations lean on different river floods they had similar water system. As showed in source 2 (Major Ancient Levees Identifiable in LANDSAT Imagery) the Mesopotamia had a spread irrigation system that could reach the entire civilization, so everyone could use water to increase their income with agriculture. The lifting machine that the early societies used to their water supply and irrigation system also reveal a large amount of information about their economy; source 5 (Saqiya) and 7 (Noria) shows that the machines did not required any kind of labor, thus not taking people away from their jobs (that they could actually be paid), the sources also shows that the materials required to build each machine is cheap and easy to operate; once again leading the irrigation system and the water supply available for everyone especially for those seeking farming purposes; source 8 (Sections from the Code of Hammurabi Referring to Irrigation, 1750 B.C.E.) indicates that Hammurabi, the king of Mesopotamia, established some taxes over water making the Mesopotamian and the civilization much powerful economically. Water also helped Rome to develop their economy, source 10 (Suetonius´s Description of the Water Projects Undertaken by Emperor Claudius) express how the emperor
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.
The Mesopotamian art work above is a relief sculpture plaque made out of stone-like material. The plaque has a distinct narrative that has been divided into three registers, and which is read from the bottom register upwards, in a left to right motion. In addition, there is a vertical rectangle cut in the middle of the plaque which might suggest that something belonged there.