Mesopotamia is an area found in the Fertile Crescent, which is an area watered by the Tigris and Euphrates River. Mesopotamia was an Arabic civilization, and it was the first one in the world. It consisted of Babylonia, Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria. The Mesopotamians had a grand culture a destructive history, and they created many vital inventions, all of them in use today.
The civilization started slowly forming when Neolithic farmers began filtering into the Fertile Crescent (around 6,000 B.C.). The Fertile Crescent was a very advantageous area for farming because of the two rivers, which allowed the Mesopotamians to irrigate the land, and provided water. The first records of any writing, art, or culture were found in Babylonia and Sumer. After it began growing as more people belonged to the civilization, people could choose between varieties of jobs (craftsman, artist, architect, etc.), so they wouldn’t necessarily have to be farmers. This allowed for progression in culture, art, and architecture. However, Mesopotamia lacked some important resources, such as timber, stone, and iron, so they had to be transported from Syria and Asia. Thus Mesopotamia expanded its relations with other cultures.
After a period of growth, Sumer was divided into 12 city-states. Sumer lacked resources to build houses of stone or wood, so most of Sumerian architecture is made of clay. Ziggurats were large pyramid-shaped temples in the center of every city-state. They were the central point of culture and worship, and were taken care of by priests and the people. Unlike an Egyptian pyramid, ziggurats had a flat pinnacle and were made of clay. The temples were made to honor the many gods of Mesopotamia. Around the base of the ziggurats were the homes of the craftspeople and merchants. Farmers lived closer to the edges of the community, and their fields stretched along the very boundary. Craftspeople had different roles, such as casting bronze tools/weapons or making pottery. Merchants traded grain and other goods for resources Sumer lacked, in order to help build houses or for the artists and craftsmen to use.
Generally, Mesopotamia was polytheistic; they believed in many gods. Originally, their religion was generally “natural”, they believed in natural spirits and there were gods for elements such as fire, sky, earth, rivers, etc. Over time, it changed and some of the gods had a more “human” form, and gods tended to politically represent the different city-states. Their pantheon (all the gods of the religion) has many myths and legends. The Mesopotamians had gods for almost everything, but a formidable amount was related to natural elements. There were many festivals held at the time, which were mainly centered on the gods. The festivals also celebrated “divine journeys” or pilgrimages that brought fertility and abundance, which were considered very important. Clearly, the festivals and temples were the main cultural contributions of the religion. This religion created a hierarchical system of pleasing the gods. The gods had representatives on earth, which were called the ensi (high priests and city governors). The ensi had by far the most respect, power, and influence in each city/state. The priests who oversaw the maintenance of the temples and served the gods were the second highest of the upper social class. Managers and merchants constructed systems of law and commerce in order to organize the ever-growing society. Most craft makers worked to make goods and pieces of art for the temples. Farmers, although arguably with the most important role, had little or no influence in the society. Eventually, priests and ensi started being corrupt, power-hungry, and began oppressing the common people. After seizing so much power, they were called lugals (kings).
North of Sumer is the region of Akkad, which was inhabited by Semites who were influenced by Sumerian culture. The Akkadians were the earliest Semitic people to filter into Mesopotamia. Around 2,350 B.C., an Akkadian ruler named Sargon conquered Sumer and established a large empire. Sargon looked after the welfare of lower classes and promoted peace and prosperity. Many things are unknown about Sargon and his empire. For example, Sargon’s real name has not been as of yet discovered (Sargon is a title meaning “the rightful king”). Around 2,106 B.C., after the rule of Sargon’s successors ended, there was an era of order and prosperity in Sumer and Akkad. The lugals of the city-state of Ur created a fair system of government to ensure peace, and they supervised the people. High priests were now appointed by the state and the temple economic system was used by the state to control free enterprise. The lugals of the city-state were worshipped as gods. The Lugals imposed social rules and legislations on the people. They called these legislations “rightings” (the intent was to right wrongs). It was considered the rulers duty to protect the sick, poor, and unfortunate, and to appease the gods. Ur was mostly destroyed in 2,000 B.C. by invaders from foreign areas. After it was destroyed, war and disunity plagued Mesopotamia. Although after the hardships the Sumerians were no longer a powerful or particularly influential political force, their culture and civilization became the foundation for all other following civilizations in the Tigris-Euphrates valley.
Ancient Mesopotamian civilizations created many things that are either in use today (the wheel), or upgraded (the plough). Mesopotamians not only created vital inventions for agriculture, but also advanced (or one could say created) science and math. Also, the Sumerians developed the first known alphabet. This was called cuneiform, and it was a system of substituting pictures for objects or ideas. Many facts currently known about Mesopotamia were obtained from ancient cuneiform texts. The word “cuneiform” is derived from the Latin words “cuneus” (wedge) and “forma” (shape). The pictographic alphabet was inscribed into soft clay tablets by a “stylus”, which was a sharpened stick. Cuneiform tablets were not only used as records of economic and social achievements, but also to write epic stories or philosophy. Although originally the writing was pictographic, a phonetic alphabet was later developed after the scribes realized it would be simpler for pictures to represent sounds rather than words. This alphabet had 22 letters, and was created by the Phoenicians. Many of these ancient texts parallel the bible and other great works of literature. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest recorded hero tale, and it was an epic poem with some stories that have a definite resemble to the myths in the bible. For example, the story of Noah’s Ark is very much like a part of The Epic, where a large boat was boarded with animals and grain.
Along with the alphabet, Mesopotamians were the first civilization to use the wheel. Initially, the wheel was only used for pottery, but after discovering how well it can roll on the ground the chariot was created. The wheel is clearly one of mankind’s most useful and simplest developments. It is also one of the only ancient inventions whose basic “design” was not enhanced or modified. The Mesopotamians were also the first civilization that knew how to farm (specifically, to plan their own food, rather than foraging for it). They developed the plow to help break up soil used for farming, and it is still used (although a highly upgraded version). After attaching a metal blade to the original plow, it was more efficient and was very useful for farmers to break up soil. The climate in the region is hot and dry all year long, which was major problem for farmers. To combat this problem, Mesopotamians created the first irrigation system by digging canals that allowed water to flow from the nearby rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) to the fields. After creating the canals used for irrigation, they built canals for boat travel and connecting cities.
Because of developing these new efficient methods of farming, their crop yield greatly increased. They had to keep track of yearly crops and livestock, so they developed a system of recording this on soft pieces of clay. Mesopotamians were also responsible for some important mathematical developments. The 360-degree circle, used in geometry, trigonometry, and other types of math was created. Methods of calculating area of distance were used for land. The system of measuring time with 60 minutes/60 seconds was created. The Mesopotamians used some of these mathematical principles to create the first forms of astronomy.
Currently, Mesopotamia is a part of Iraq. Mesopotamia was the basis of all other civilizations on earth. It is the first example of organized society and culture. By definition, a city-state in Mesopotamia consisted of the main city (sometimes more than one), other towns and settlements, and the surrounding countryside. There are some facts that are not proven, such as Kind Gilgamesh of Uruk, about whom many legends were made. Many things still remain a mystery about Ancient Mesopotamia, and the historical facts that are known are mostly interpreted from ancient written texts.