Mesopotamia Civilization: The Mesopotamian civilization was developed 6000 years ago and is located in the Fertile Crescent which is now the modern day Iraq. In Mesopotamia, there is an existence of a social structure that was divided into four. The priests were considered to in the top of the pyramid while the slaves which came from the different cities that the Sumerians conquered were considered to be at the bottom of the structure. In Ancient Mesopotamian family, men had more power than women. Men were taught about the business of trading and while women stayed at their homes, cooking and taking care of their family. The men were considered to be the masters of their house, but women have also the right to divorce their husbands (Mark, …show more content…
Due to this, women wore amulets during and after childbirth to drive away what they believe is a god that steals baby after birth. To Mesopotamians, the recording was very important to them. They need to write everything down. Which led to the presence of their own system of writing which was called the cuneiform. So there is an existence of schools which were attached to temples but only boys are privileged to go to school. In school, students need to do a perfect job or they are beaten up as a punishment. Also, the existence of the Code of Hammurabi became a guide to the Mesopotamians on what not to do in order to avoid punishments as stated in the book (Brien and Fin, 2012). For an average Mesopotamian, they eat about 1-2 meals a day compared to a rich one who eats about 3 meals a day. A lot of people eat unleavened bread and drank gallons of beer a day. The Mesopotamians believed in gods and goddesses possess divine powers. Also, they celebrate events like the Akitu which considered to be the earliest New Year celebration. They celebrated the Moon, the solstices, and equinoxes. They also thought that sickness and death are sins because of the existence of a belief that they are alive in order to serve the gods so if you are dead they consider you to be worthless (Brien and Fin, …show more content…
They constructed the 12-month calendar which they based on the cycles of the moon. Other than that, they also created a mathematical system based on the number 60 which they called the Sexagesimal. Though, our mathematics today is not based on their system it acts like a foundation for some mathematicians. They also used the basic mathematics- addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, in keeping track of their records- one of their contributions to this world, bookkeeping. It was also suggested that they even discovered the number of the pi for they knew how to solve the circumference of the circle (Atif, 2013). Also, they were considered the first people to use a metal plow in farming due to their development of the bronze which they also used in making weapons and tools. But one of their most prize contribution to this world is their invention of writing. From one of the empires of the Mesopotamians, the Sumerians are responsible for the oldest writing system that exist in this world. They called their form of writing as cuneiform which is composed of shape marks that represent syllables (Mark,
The ancient cultures of Mesopotamia and Egypt developed into successful civilizations. One civilization the Egyptians developed was in the Nile River valley. Based off the "Mesopotamia and Egypt DBQ" packet, "Ancient Egypt was an advanced civilization in many areas including religion, architecture, transportation, and trade. Ancient Mesopotamia was one of the first civilizations that developed a form of government as well as organized people in political states." Based on the documents, Egypt and Mesopotamia developed into successful and advanced civilizations by effectively using the resources that surrounded them to solve problems and live happily.
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.
What similarities and differences did Egypt and Mesopotamia have and why was Egypt more politically unified than its neighbor, Mesopotamia? I think in order to answer these questions it is important to look at how both societies lived. Egypt and Mesopotamia were two civilizations existing during the time period of 2000-1200 BCE.(text, 97) These civilizations were shaped by their environment, involved with trade, and faced changes in government after the 100 year drought; however, they differed in that Egypt was shaped by the Nile, traded goods for goods and changed their outlook on the pharaoh who was ruler of all; whereas, Mesopotamia was shaped by the Tigris and Euphrates, traded money for goods, and had a ruler over rulers. The governed harmonic life style of Egypt led this society to be more politically unified; whereas, Mesopotamia’s government led to many different ways of structure, thus creating a less unified society.
Mesopotamian and Egyptian religions shared two key similarities: polytheism and priestly authority. The religions in Mesopotamia and Egypt were both polytheistic. Their religions were polytheistic because Mesopotamians and Egyptians could not explain many things in that occurred in their lives. Therefore, they assumed that there are different gods for everything. This means that the religion had many gods for different things. In Egypt and Mesopotamia, priests were part of the upper class and were very important in the daily lives of civilians. Priests were part of the upper class because they were thought to have the ability to communicate with the gods. In Mesopotamia, the priests held the highest authority in the religious structure. Egyptian priests were not as powerful in government as Mesopotamian priests were, but they still had significant power. Egypt’s highest religious and military leader was encapsulated in the position of pharaoh. The pharaoh was at the top of all social classes and was considered to be a god-like figure.
The school system of the Sumerians set the educational standards for Mesopotamia culture and other cultures to follow. Their studies included mathematics, botany and linguistics. Some students tha...
...he people of Mesopotamia felt they helped maintain balance in the world and kept the forces of chaos and destruction with the blessings of all their female goddesses and their religions. Mesopotamian also have along with them the teaching resulting to expectations that one would honor one’s elders and treat people with respect, as what the citizens of the land were also to do and to honor the gods throughout their lives. Each female deity has special style and qualities that contribute to the development and the creation of arts, religion and culture in Mesopotamia. In addition, the influence of the Mesopotamian goddesses to the region and cities in such place made the people and civilization live a life of righteousness with specific path to follow in order to be guided and live a blissful and worthy lives which can be observed until this modern days of the world.
...onians for are the calendar, units of measurement including length, volume, and weight, the 360 degree circle, knowledge of lunar eclipses, square roots, and exponents. Obviously, the Babylonians were a fascinating people, and studying about them offers many insights into their culture. It is so important for modern people to look back on the contributions of this amazing society and to ponder what can be learned from them and their inventions. Today’s society and mathematical understanding would not be nearly as advanced if it had not been for the Babylonians. The people of today are forever indebted to them. Their achievements in mathematics are astounding to modern minds because we assume that such mathematical concepts are more modern in origin. But the proof is there, on those tablets, the ones baked in the Sun. Math in ancient Babylon was advanced indeed.
Ancient Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, and Greece were all historical civilizations that made history the way it is today. The three civilizations differed in many different ways, but they were also quite similar in other aspects. The focus of survival, beliefs, daily life, and many other focuses connect the three civilizations.
Abounding similarities exist between the Mesopotamian and Greek societies. As history progresses many cultural advances occur, but societies also adopt some of the same characteristics as preceding societies, you will notice this between the Mesopotamian and Greek civilizations. After learning about the Greek civilizations I immediately began generating connections to Mesopotamian societies. I noticed similarities in all aspects of society, whether it was religion, military, architecture or any other cultural idiosyncrasies.
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.
The mesopotamians were one of the smartest people around. Their technology was state of the art for the time. They were the first to use the number zero and the first to label a circle 360 degrees. The mesopotamians had many other huge accomplishments such as the Tower of Babel which was mentioned in the bible multiple times.The Mesopotamians had a good government who created the class ladder. At the bottom were free workers such as slaves. Right above that were farmers and merchants. At the very top were professional soldiers, generally rich people, priests, and government officials. The system for slaves was somewhat loose. Slaves were generally captives of war or they were someone who had done something bad. You could get out of slavery by completing your punished amount of time, earn some money, then buy back their freedom.To continue on, like many civilizations, the Mesopotamians had hunting dogs. These dogs were called mastiffs, large and fearsome hunting dogs. The mesopotamians were one of the first to use the wheel. They used this advantage for hunting, transportation, and battle. The mesopotamians made early forms of writing. They used a small stick and pressed it into soft clay to make different shapes. The rulers of Mesopotamia built huge and awesome palaces. Usually these buildings would be made of precious items. There would be a court yard and behind it a throne ...
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.
From 3,000 B.C.E to 1,500 B.C.E, in Southwestern Asia and the Middle East, Mesopotamia and the Indus River Valley civilization differed in their legal systems but, shared similarities in their city-states. Their political systems were theocracies, their religion and government worked together.
Mesopotamian civilization exercised profound and cultural influence throughout west Asia and beyond for about 3,000 years. Mesopotamia had many independent city-states with its own government and ruler. Priests ruled these city-states with other administrators such as organizers and managers. Since turmoil and tension would often arise between the city-states, Mesopotamian Political Unification was rarely achieved. Mesopotamia was constantly invaded by foreigners who would incorporate their culture into newly society and form a new one by force.
Over 10,000 years ago the human race was just beginning to understand the ways of farming and storing in a place known as Mesopotamia. Here is where civilization began to develop and gain knowledge of the world around them. As they progressed many civilizations began to develop governments, religions, and languages that would all help in shaping future societies. One of the first to appear in ancient Mesopotamia was governments (Kagan 1).