Civilization in Mesopotamia free essay sample

SumerIn the ancient times, the Greeks called the area of the world’s first civilization ‘Mesopotamia’ which means, â€Å"The land between the two rivers. † This name was given because; Ancient Mesopotamia is where the first foundations of ancient city -states were laid. Ancient Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Fertile Crescent, which today is known as modern Iraq. Its location played a large role in its flourishing civilizations. The soil in this area was incredibly fertile, allowing for agricultural technology to thrive and support the growing population. Around 3500 B. C the world’s first civilization was established in southern Mesopotamia, and the people who did so were known as ‘Sumerians. ’ The Sumerians were the first great civilization to utilize the overabundance of resources that Mesopotamia had to offer . The Sumerians learnt how to control the Tigris and Euphrates rivers by constructing levees and irrigation canals. As a result, a stable food supply existed, and the Sumerian villages evolved into self-governing city-states. We will write a custom essay sample on Civilization in Mesopotamia or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They grew crops such as; wheat, rye, barley, flax seeds, sesame, fruits and vegetables. At the centre of the city-state there was a temple which was called a ‘Ziggurat’, surrounded by courts and public buildings. Radiating from the all-important city were the two-story houses of the priests and merchants, or the upper class; the one-story homes of government officials, shop keepers and craftspeople, and the lower class homes of farmers, unskilled workers and fishermen. Since there wasn’t any building stone and very little timber in Sumer, the people constructed their own homes, public buildings, and city walls out of sun-dried mud bricks. In 3200 B. C. E the Sumerians invented â€Å"Cuneiform,† the first ever writing system. Cuneiform means ‘wedge-shape’. This is because, scribes used a reed to mark symbols onto wet clay tablets, thus giving the symbols a peculiar or wedge- shaped appearance. Writing developed because people had to keep a track of business deals. When people lived in villages they knew everyone and could remember what goods they exchanged with whom. When cities arose, there were too many people and goods to remember. At first, the Sumerians used pictures to represent objects. Later, they used pictures to represent ideas. Still later, they used pictures to represent symbols. In addition to business transactions, cuneiform was used to record daily events, astronomy and literature. Not everyone was able the master this form of writing, only the elite. Scribes and important religious figures were among the select few. Around 2400 B. C, Sumer’s civilization started to decline. King Sargon I, a ruler from north Mesopotamia took over Sumer and it was now called the Akkadian Empire. He began conquering the city-states and expanding his empire, and in the end he conquered most of Mesopotamia. Sargon I unified all city states and made the official language of Sumer; Akkadian. But in the temples the people still spoke Sumerian, because that was the only language that their gods understood. When Sargon I died, his empire disintegrated and each city-state resumed control of itself once again. Around 1800 B. C, the Babylon’s Empire conquered Akkad and Sumer combining their territory to create the Empire of Babylon. The king who rules this empire was called ‘Hammurabi,’ he created the first legal system. The improvement for which Hammurabi was best known for was a ‘Code of Law. ’ Each city-state had its own code. Hammurabi took what he believed were the best known laws from each code. He put these together and then issued one code by which everyone in the empire was to live. Hammurabi wanted to make sure that his code was carried out fairly and justly . To do this, he appointed ‘royal judges.  Ã‚  Judges who were not honest and witnesses who did not tell the truth were punished. Hammurabi’s code covered almost everything in daily life. The most important code of Hammurabi was â€Å"Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,† which meant that whatever crime was committed, the perpetrator would be punished by having the same crime applied to him. † A person was believed innocent until proven guilty. Once proven guilty, a person was punished. Punishme nts ranged from fines to death. There were no prison sentences. Members of the uppers class were punished more severely than the members of the middle and lower class. Some other reforms of Hammurabi are that, he improved irrigation systems by building and repairing canals, he re-organized the tax system, he began a government housing program and he also changed the religion by making everyone worship the god of Babylon who is ‘Marduk. ’ Mesopotamia also had many contributions which are very useful in today’s everyday life, such as the; wheel, 12 month calendar, plough, sailboat, mathematics and the clock.