Introduction to TechSoup’s Digital Marketing Services and Use Cases
Mesopotamia
1.
2. Mesopotamia (it means “ the land between rivers in
Greek” ) was located in modern Iraq gave birth to
the first civilizations of the world. It was located
between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates . It not
only gave rise to the first civilizations but also saw
the rise and fall of other civilizations. That gave it
the nickname “The Cradle Of Civilizations”.
4. The Mesopotamian society was divided into 3 classes :
Upper, middle, lower. People in the upper class were the royal
people, priests and high officials. People in the middle class
were merchants and farmers. Slaves belonged to the lower class
of the society. Their families were mainly patriarchal. The Dad
was the head and had most rights. But women had some rights
but not as much as men.
5. Most towns in Mesopotamia followed a similar pattern. In the
middle of the town was a ziggurat (temple tower) . And around
was the outer town . That is where all the people lived and
where all the markets were. Some towns in Mesopotamia were:
Ur, Eridu, Nippur, Kish and Lagash.
6. ‐They had an excellent agriculture.
They were the inventors of wheeled
carts.
‐They tamed many animals
like cows, sheep and donkeys.
‐They had skill in in
pottery, metal work
and dyeing clothes..
7. People had a staple food supply from agriculture, so some
people engaged them in other activities. People were skill full
in art and craft. They knew a lot of bleaching, dyeing and
metal work. The Mesopotamians made cylinder seals tat
required a lot of hard work. They had pictures engraved on
them. This required considerable skill. The discovery of seals,
metal-work and pottery tell us how good Mesopotamians were
in art and craft.
8. Trade and commerce had flourished in Mesopotamia. They
traded with other civilizations like, the Harappans,
Egyptians and more. The imports were stone, timber and
metal ores. The exports were food grains and finished
products.
9. The Mesopotamians introduced the use of arches, domes and
columns. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon in the palace of
King Nebuchadnezzar II is one of the seven wonders of the
ancient world. It was built 23 meters above the ground and is
watered by the river Euphrates. It has a mountain like series of
terraces filled with plants.
10. The Mesopotamians believed in many gods and goddesses.
They worshipped nature forces like sun, moon and rain. The
chief gods were Anu(the god of sky), Enlil(the god of wind) and
Ninhursaga( the mother goddess). The king was the chief
priest. First they believed that every city was sacred but then
they believed different cities have different gods and goddesses.
Did You Know:-
The people believed that gods live in skies. So they
made zigguratats (temple towers) so that they
could contact the gods.
11.
12. The greatest achievement of the
Mesopotamians was the art of
writing. they were the first to
invent a pictographic form of
writing known as the
Cuneiform(wedge-shaped).
13. This script contained picture like symbols.
These symbols were written on wet clay tablets with a pen
made of reed, bone or metal.
The tablet was then baked in the sun or fire. The pictograms
represented an object or idea.
The people who wrote on these tablets are called scribes.
14. The Mesopotamians were technically very advanced They built
canals and reservoirs required a lot of technical skill. The
Mesopotamians were brilliant mathematicians. They were the
first to divide a day to 24 hrs, an hour to 60 mins and 1 min to 60
secs. They also invented the first calendar. They adjusted the
calendar by the phases of the moon.
16. Hammurabi was one of the greatest kings of
Mesopotamia. The Code of Law complied by him
was one of the oldest codes. This law made everyon
safe. Law-breakers were punished. However there
were separate sets of punishments according to the
social position of the person.
17. Decline of Mesopotamia
The land of Mesopotamia saw the rise and fall of the
world’s first civilizations. It declined because:-
1) The river Euphrates unexpectedly had flooded the
land.
2) Frequent war and attacks marked the end to the
civilization.
Nevertheless, Mesopotamia remains the cradle of
civilization and the land of geniuses.
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