Weblog
Jan 20, 04:25 PM: Civilizations Through Out Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia was invaded and conquered many times. It was the prize to be won with its fertile valleys and surrounding rivers. In the Bible, Mesopotamia is referred to as Aramahaharaim (Ceram 214). In Greek, Mesopotamia means “between the rivers” (“Mesopotamia”1). Aramahahaim lies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and is now located in present day Iraq and eastern Syria (“Mesopotamia” 1). People that lived in this fertile valley of prosperity are referred to as “Semites.” Their influences set a foundation for western civilizations (Caldwell 29). Mesopotamia was a flourishing area that attracted many settlers, present day explorers, and archeologists.
Mesopotamia had many invasions because its natural boundaries did not provide any form of protection. This also led to “Cultural Diffusion.” The migrants were mostly Indo-Europeans from between the Black and Caspian Seas (“Mesopotamia”1). The rivers had much appeal in this area because they could provide fish and a proper irrigation system could be formed (Mesopotamia 1). Although the rivers were a blessing, their floods were very fierce and erratic (Mesopotamia 1). The Land between rivers was divided into two regions. The upper region was called Akkad, which was a fertile plane, and the lower region was called Sumer, which was made up of swamps. The winters were short and rainy and the summers were long and hot (“The Geo od Meso”23).
The first known civilization in Mesopotamia was Sumeria. The civilization began in 3500BC and the people migrated from the region of the Black and Caspian Seas (The Sum Civil 1). Their literature was nearly always religious or a record of the king (Sum Cult and Sci Ach 1). The Sumerians also developed the first form of writing: cuneiform. In Latin it means, “wedged form” (Robinson 61).
The tools used to write cuneiform were a clay tablet and wedge shaped stylus (Sum Cult and Sci Ach 1). The Sumerians believed in many gods such as: Enlil, Anu, Enki, Ishtar, and many more (Sum Cult and Sci Achiev 1). This civilization also had many scientific achievements such as: the inventing the wheel, basing their mathematical scale on the numeral sixty, developing some of the earliest forms of algebra and geometry, and mapping many constellations (Sum cult and Sci Achiv 1). They were also artistic and expressed their religion through their art. Painting and sculpture were the main medians, and many places were created using their amazing architectural abilities. The Ziggurat was the first great architectural structure of their time (Sum Cult and Sci Achiv 1).
The Sumerian social class was broken down into three parts: the upper, class, which were the nobles, priests, government officials, and warriors, the middle class (the freeman’s class), which was made up of merchants, traders, and artisans, and the lower class, which consisted of serfs and slaves (Sum Cult and Sci Achiv 1). The Sumerian civilization was put to an end when the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers flooded around 1600BC (Sum Cult and Sci Achiv 1). The Akkad and Sumer began to take over Mesopotamia around 2350BC and after the flood, Akkadian ways began to replace the Sumerian (The Sum Civil 1). King Sargon, “The Great,” founded the empire of Akkad and was liable for their converting Mesopotamia to the Akkadian customs (Mesopotamia 1). Sargon ruled from 2360Bc-2305; one of his great achievements was he unified the two regions of Mesopotamia (Ceram 303). His men were originally nomadic tribesmen that wandered the deserts (Robinson 67). The Gutians gained parts of land in Mesopotamia during this time period but were gone by 2281BC (Mesopotamia 1). Around 2000BC the Babylonians overthrew the Akkains.
The Babylonians were also known as the Amorites. Hammurabi ruled them from 1792-1750BC (The Sum Civil 1). He built the city of Babylon and wrote the first written law code. The law code contained 2821 laws, was based on justice, but was not fair between social classes (Sum Cult and Sci Achv 1). Hammurabi was the greatest of all the Amorite kings, but was overthrown by the Hittites.
The Hittite citizens subjugated Mesopotamia from 2000-1200BC (“The Hittite and Pheos” 1). They migrated from an area now known as present day Turkey, the Anatolia Peninsula (The Hittie and Pheos 1). Suppilulimas was the only recorded king during this empire. He ruled from 1380-1340BC. Suppilulimus along with the Hittites were branded as warriors and spent most of their time trying to expand their empire (“The Hittite and Pheos” 1). They were remembered for their advance in iron used for weapons of war. Their civilization was ended abruptly by the Assryians in 1200BC (Hooker 2).
The Assyrians were originally from the upper Tigris River valley in the Armenian Mountains (“The Assyr. And Chad” 1). The Assyrians, like the Hittites, were considered war-like and ferocious. There were four great rulers though out the Assyrian empire: Tiglath-Pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Ashurbanipal. Tiglahth-Pileser III ruled form 746-727
BC; he was thought to be the founder of the Assyrians. Sargon II ruled from 721-705BC; he expanded the empire to it greatest size. Sennacherib ruled from 705-681; he created the capital of Nineveh and crushed Babylon and Jerusalem. Ashurbahipal ruled from 669-626BC; was the last recorded king and was remembered as a cruel and war-like person. The Assyrians established the first postal system to encourage communications. Assyria fell to its knees when numerous tribes united and formed an alliance to destroy it (“The Assyr and Chad” 1).
Many civilizations and rulers continued to pass through Mesopotamia, but the greatest ruler of Mesopotamia was Neberchanezzar. He ruled from 604-561 and created the “hanging gardens,” one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Neberchadnezzar is also a character mentioned in the Bible.
He was a magnificent ruler of the Chaldeans, but was defeated by the Persians around 561BC(Robinson 78&74). In 330BC, the Persians were over run by Alexander the Great of Greece (“The Pers. Emp” 1).
Some of the greatest civilizations developed in the Fertile Crescent, of Mesopotamia. These civilizations developed cuneiform, the wheel, mapped constellations, the first law code, Ziggurats, and many other contributions in art, science, math, literature, and weapons of war. The constant invasions show the desirability of this area. The successes of these civilizations laid the foundations for cultures that followed. The land between rivers is still important today as archaeologist keep uncovering the secrets from the past.
Author: Ashley Tucker
Bibliography:
Calwdwell, Wallace Everett.The Ancient World. New York: Rinehart and Company, 1955.
Ceram, C. W., and Alfred Knoph. Gods, Graves, and Scholars. New York: Borzoi Books, 1970.
Hooker, Richard. “Mesopatamia Timeline.” Internet.WSU, 1993.
http://luna.cas.usf.edu/~murray/classes/ah/timeline.htm. October 16, 2000
“Mesopotamia.” Internet. Microsoft Corporation, 1997-2000.
http://encarta.msn.com/find/concise.asp?ti=OLE4E00. October 12, 2000.
“The Persian Empire.” Internet. November 13,200.
Robinson, James Harvey and James Henry Breasted. Earlier Ages. Boston: Gin & Company, 1951.
“The Geography of Mesopotamia.” Internet. November 13, 2000.