MESOPOTAMIA (3100 B.C-539B.

C)

“The Cradle of Civilization”

INTRODUCTION
 Mesopotamia the cradle of the
civilization was a collection of varied
cultures whose only bonds were their
script, their gods and their attitude
towards woman. Also known as the land
of the two rivers,”Al-Jazirah” as it laid
between the two rivers of Tigris and
Euphrates.It is here in this fertile crescent
the civilization what now we know as
Mesopotamian civilization began.

Geography Of Ancient M esopotamia
Geography of Ancient
Mesopotamia
Geography of Ancient Mesopotamia

The vast dry land of Mesopotamia have too little rainfall to grow crops on but the rich mud brought down from the rivers Euphrates and Tigris makes the land some of the best farmland in the world. But there use to be catastrophic flooding of the rivers every spring. This flooding resulted in the production of embankments called natural levees by the build up of sediments over the years

The vast dry land of Mesopotamia have too

little rainfall to grow crops on but the rich mud
brought down from the rivers Euphrates and
Tigris makes the land some of the best farmland
in the world. But there use to be catastrophic
flooding of the rivers every spring. This
flooding resulted in the production of
embankments called natural levees by the build
up of sediments over the years
History Of Mesopotamia
 Over the centuries, many different people
lived on this area creating a collection of
independent states.
 Sumer – Southern part ( 3500B.C- 2000B.C)
 Akkad - Northern part( 2340B.C- 2180B.C)
 Babylonian – These two regions were
unified (1830B.C-1500B.C & 650 B.C-500
B.C)
 Assyria – Assyrian Empire (1100 B.C – 612
B.C)
 Sumerian Empire
 Sumerian Civilization first took form in
Southern Mesopotamia around 4000 B.C.
 This era was noted for the first written scripts
pressed into clay tablets called Cunaiform is
also the first script where The Epic of
Gilgamesh was written in.
 Sumerians also built ships that allowed them
to travel into Persian gulf and trade with other
civilization.
 Sumerian religion was polytheistic temples
of this massive gods were constructed atop
massive Ziggurats which were in the centres of
most city
Akkadian Empire

 Around 3000 B.C the Sumerians had a significant

cultural interchange with a group in Northern
Mesopotamia known as Akkadians.
 The Akkadian language is related to modern
languages of Hebrew & Arabic.
 Around 2334 B.C Sargon of Akkad came to power
and established what might be the first dynastic
empire.
 The empire of Akkad collapsed around 2154 BC
within 180 years of founding.
Assyrian Empire

* Assyria is named after the ancient city

of Ashur in Northern Mesopotamia.
* Within the 700 Years of collapse of
Akkadian Empire Assyria became the
major empire.
Till 7th Century B.C Assyrian Empire
stretch from Egypt and Cyphrus in the
west to the borders of Persia in the east.
Babylonian Empire
 They overtook Sumerians around 2000 B.C
and they built capital Babylon on Euphrates
river.
 The most famous king of Babylonian Empire
was Hammurabi(1792- 1750 B.C)
 Famous code of law “The Punishment Fits
the Crime” & “Eye For An Eye”.
 He took all the laws of the region’s city –
States and unified them into one code. This
helped unify the region.
 The Babylonians reunited Mesopotamia in
1830 B.C.
Religion
 Religion was central to Mesopotamians as they
believed the divine affected every aspect of human life.
Mesopotamians were polytheistic; they worshipped
several major gods and thousands of minor Gods. Each
Mesopotamian city, whether Sumerian, Akkadian,
Babylonian or Assyrian, had its own patron god or
goddess.
 Gods were worshipped at huge temples called
Ziggurats.
 They believed that gods lived on the distant mountain
tops, each god had control of certain things and each city
was ruled by a different god.
 Kings and priest acted as interpreters as they told the
people what the God wanted them to do.
Prominent Mesopotamian Gods

* Enlil (Supreme God & God of air)

* Ishtar (Goddess of fertility and life)
* Enki (God of Water )
* Utu Shamas (God of Sun & Giver of Law)
* An (God of Heaven)
 Society of
Ancient
Mesopotamia
 Ancient Mesopotamia was fundamentally agrarian society,
the principal occupation was growing crops and raising
livestock.
 Other occupations included that of a scribe healers, artisans,
weaver, potter, shoe-maker, fisherman, teacher and priest or
priestess.
 Women enjoyed equal rights & could own land, file for
divorce, own their business and make contracts in trade.
 The work one did was never considered simply a job but
once contribution to the society and by extension to the god’s
effort in keeping the world at peace and harmony.
ART & CULTURE
Government Of Ancient Mesopotamia
 The role of king was established at some
point after 3600B.C and unlike priest rulers
who came before the king dealt directly with
people.
 Then the king while honoring and placating
the gods was considered powerful enough
representative of those gods to be able to speak
their will.
 As Mesopotamia was a vast region with so
many different cultures and ethnicity within its
borders a single ruler would invariably be met
with some resistance from some quarter
 LITERATURE
o Literature was written in cuneiform script .

o It contained prayers, hymns, myths, epic

poetry, works on theology, philosophy and
astrology.

o The best known piece of Mesopotamian

literature is Gilgamesh epic.
 ARCHITECTURE
 Mesopotamian temples were designed to a
rectangular plan which gradually became taller and
gave rise to the classis Mesopotamian ziggurat.

 Mesopotamian rulers lived in large palaces lavishly

decored with carved stone slabs with large expansive
gardens and parks.

 Materials used to built a Mesopotamian house are

same as that of today and were usually built around
the courtyard.
 ART

 The main forms of Mesopotamian art comes down to us as sculptured figures in stone or clay.
It often depicted animals as well as mythical creature such as lions and bulls with men’s head,
It also showed Gods and Goddesses as well as priests and worshipers.
Under the Assyrian and Babylonian empires, sculptures takes on a colossal form, with giant
Statues guarding the royal palaces.
 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Technological advances contributes to the Mesopotamians are: Irrigation, ploughing ,
sail ,potter’s wheel, metal works, accounting, weaving and much more.

 The number system used during that time is extremely important even in
modern mathematics today.

A major branch of Mesopotamian science was astronomy. They worked out a 12-
month calendar based on cycles of the moon.
 MESOPOTAMIAN IMPACT
IN TODAY’S LIFE
 Development and contributions made by these people forever shaped the
present day society.

 The use of cuneiform led to the development of literature, poetry, accounting

systems and bills.

 Another important contribution was the invention of wheels which led to

further development of arm tools.

 The 12 month calendar was also a Mesopotamian contribution.

 Hence that flow of innovation and creativity has progressed throughout time
and continues today.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://www.ancient.eu/Mesopotamia/
https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historica
l-region-Asia
www.history.com/topics/mesopotamia
THANK YOU