Mesopotamia by A Verosky

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Mesopotamia

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

MESOPOTAMIA

BY ADAM VEROSKY

HOW WAS MESOPOTAMIA CIVILIZATION FORMED?

Ur, the main advanced city of Mesopotamia, was created when the Sumerians (the inhabitants of Mesopotamia) made new advancements in technology, such as the wheel, more advanced versions of writing, business records, and much more. There were many other cities, but none compared to Ur.

WAS THERE ANY RELIGION?

Yes. In fact, religion, or the worshipping to their multiple (hundreds) of gods were their main guidance in civilization. Every city contained a ziggurat (ZIG-e-raht) which was a temple that had many levels of clay brick slabs, that got smaller as they went up, some could be as tall as 70ft! At the top lie a small hut of brick, which was where people worshipped the god of that specific city, or per haps, their own. Ziggurat in Sumerian, translates to “Stairway to the gods.” This, funnily enough, was why it looked like a giant staircase, because Sumerians believed gods were super-human size, and needed a large staircase from the sky, to come and visit the city.

WHO RULED THESE CITIES?

Sumerian cities had rulers called “Nobles.” These Nobles consisted of priests, and royal family like kings, and queens. It was believed that these noble rulers were chosen by the gods. The Nobles ruled the Commoners, Freemen, and the Slaves. Commoners might have been a doctor, craftsman, metalworkers, farmers, etc. They were the normal citizens of Sumerian cities. Freemen were freed slaves. They were allowed some jobs and could purchase. Slaves were usually captured raiders, or people who owed money to the city, so they pay off with slavery time. They were owned by Commoners, or Nobles, and usually were not paid to work.

ISN’T MESOPOTAMIA REALLY DRY, AND LIKE, IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT?

HOW DID THEY FARM?

This is where it gets pretty interesting. Mesopotamia is Sumerian for “The Land Between Two Rivers,” which were the Euphrates, and Tigris river. Sumerians thought of an efficient way to transport water through their cities from the rivers to drink, and water plants. What they did, was they made canals, which were trenches for water to run in from the river. This took water from the river, and could actually be controlled with water gates to where the water went. This type of system was called an “Irrigation System,” as it irrigated crops.

IS ANCIENT SUMER STILL AROUND TODAY?

Unfortunately, not anymore. Only ruins in Mesopotamia. Sumer was attacked by raiders over the years, and cities did not work together to defeat them. One after another, they got picked off, and eventually, all Sumerians were captured, or killed. But that wasn’t exactly a bad thing. You see, civilization advances when civilizations grow, and get conquered. From the Sumerians, the “Babylonians (the raiders)” learned from the Sumerians and advanced even further. They learned to take records and tell time just like the Sumerians. From there, all the cities in Mesopotamia were all considered as “Babylonia” which was similar to Sumer, but very one was unified as one city, so it was easier to defend, and work together.

SOURCES

A Verosky