Ancient Messopotamia

By Rashad Elawar

Mesopotamia Geography

Mesopotamia was in between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the word 'Mesopotamia' means 'between the rivers', so whoever came up with the name probably thought Mesopotamia was a fitting name. Mesopotamia also had a dry, desert-like climate. In the spring, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flood leaving behind rich soil that is used for farming. If Mesopotamia is still a country today, it would be located where Iraq is. Mesopotamia would be approximately 7,000 miles away from Wilson, North Carolina. There will be a colored picture of Mesopotamia below.

Mesopotamia History

Some empires that made Mesopotamia were the Akkadian Empire, the Sumerian Empire, the Assyrian, and the Babylonian Empire. The requirements of a civilization are listed below.

1. Tame and domesticate animals.

2. Build a permanent home.

3 Make a government and economic system.

4. Make achievements and inventions.

5. Create laws.

Another big part of the Mesopotamian Empire were the laws of Hammurabi. These laws he made were so important, because they kept things going smoothly. The laws made people get along, it helped make peace and understanding. Below, there will be 5 rules of his I find interesting.

1. "If a slave has said to his master, "You are not my master," he shall be brought to account as his slave, and his master shall cut off his ear."

2. "If a man has induced either a male or a female slave from the house of a patrician, or plebeian, to leave the city, he shall be put to death."

3. "If she has not been discreet, has gone out, ruined her house, belittled her husband, she shall be drowned."

4. "If a man's wife, for the sake of another, has caused her husband to be killed, that woman shall be impaled"

5. "If a son has struck his father, his hands shall be cut off."

Along with such an empire, there had to be a ruler. In fact, one of the most famous rulers was Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, and was consider one third man and two thirds god, because of his ability. So his story went like this:

Gilgamesh was usually bored and alone, so he scared villagers for his amusement. The gods noticed that he was lonely, so they a "wild man" to cheer him up. Once he defeated the wild man, everyone called him a hero.

Mesopotamia Farming and Agriculture

In Mesopotamia, farming and agriculture was very important. Farming brought people together, they harvested and gathered their crops together. The economy was based off of wheat and grains. The economy became more powerful because of irrigation. Irrigation caused Mesopotamians to have an increased food supply, or surplus. Irrigation helped give dry lands water from streams, canals, or pipes. Farmers actually planned and prepared for seasonal flooding. They also used wooden plows , pulled by a pair of oxen. However, by 2,000 BC, Mesopotamians learned how to make bronze tools, and used those instead if wood. They also used flint to make tools used to cut wheats and put seeds in the ground to grow fruits and vegetables. Farmers let farm animals off their leashes, and let them trample the seeds into the soil. But, sadly, these great achievements got ruined. Their fields got poisoned by mineral salts that concentrate in the upper levels of soil, and this was very bad. It doesn't sound like too much of a big deal, but it was. People used the soil and used irrigation for nearly all their food. And with the fields they grow in being poisoned, they couldn't support themselves, so this led to the fall of Mesopotamia. And usually, people think that Mesopotamians didn't grow more than a few things, but they did. They ate things that they planted, but they also ate meat, such as pigs, chickens, cows, doves, ducks, geese, wild bulls, boars, hares, and sheep. They also ate bread served with olive oil or sesame oil, vedgetbles, beer, cow milk and goat milk, wine, fish, fruits (apples, grapes, pears, apricots, figs, plums, and pomegranates). They also ate butter, cheese, and flour, and occasionally made cakes. They also had spices. The spices they ate were mustard, salt, and cumin. They also loved to eat garlic and onions. These are the advantages of living near water, and that's why Mesopotamians liked it there. They could control the water just right to water their plants, their soil, and use the water in general for fluids. They had a very good way to plant things to, and there will be the steps to what the did below.

1. Flood the soil (lightly).

2. Plow the field so you can break up the soil.

3. Run the harrow through the field to make it smooth.

4. Sow.You put the seeds in the soil using the seeder-plough.

5. Water the field three times once it's been sown.

6. Harvest the crops.

Mesopotamia Archaeology

Mesopotamia had great archaeology, and the most popular one is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon is so magnificent, that it is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was made by King Nebuchadnezzar, and the reason he built this amazing place was for his wife and him to have a lovely, private time. He also built it for her, because she was a little bit depressed, so he built it to make her feel better. It had plants, fountains, flowers, and it was huge! People say it was 400 feet long, 400 feet wide, and 80 feet high. Even with this amazing place, there were also ziggurats. Ziggurats weren't meant for private time like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were, but they were still amazing. They were meant for worshipping gods, and doing prayers, and basically anything else that is related with the gods. There will be an image of a ziggurat above. Along with all these amazing things, there had to be some handy inventions. Some of those inventions will have images below with explanations on why they were important. There are also important people. Mesopotamia was split up into priests, being the best place, upper class, being the second best, lower class, being second to worst, and slaves, being the worst position. Priests and people of the upper class got to wear nice clothes and jewelry, with better food and no labor, while people of the lower class and slaves got treated poorly with bad clothes, normal food, and got to do the most work.