Middle Eastern Civilizations 3500 BCE-395 CE

Mesopotamia One of the world’s great civilizations developed along mighty river systems in Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia dates around3500 BCE. The source of life for Mesopotamia was the Tigris-Euphrates River system in Asia.

Mesopotamia Mesopotamians learned how to use their natural environments to their advantage. They achieved this by learning how to control the floodwaters of the rivers, and how to work the rich soils along the riverbanks. A constant food supply in these areas allowed these peoples to have more free time, and to develop successful cities, marvelous temples, and powerful empires.

Map of Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia: Cradle of Civilization Located in the Tigris-Euphrates valley of present day Iraq is the ancient Sumerian city-state of Ur. Ur was one of the great city-states (an independent state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory) of ancient Mesopotamia. Ur was a highly sophisticated society with soldiers, court servants, musicians, and a strong belief in the afterlife.

The Land Between the Rivers The empires of Mesopotamia included Sumer, Babylonia, Assyria, and Chaldea. Mesopotamia was part of an area known as the fertile crescent, which was the site of some of the world’s first permanent farming villages.

Map of the Fertile Crescent

Land and Climate The land and climate of this region hardly seem ideal for a thriving civilization. The south was mainly a flat flood plain. Summers were very hot and dry with droughts that could kill crops and cause famines. Spring often was a time of flooding from the melt waters from the nearby Zagros Mountains Winter was often a time for sudden downpours that turned the plains to mud.

Assignment With your elbow partner discuss and describe the location of Mesopotamia and the features of the surrounding area using today’s notes and map. Based on what you now know about the early civilization of Mesopotamia, how would you explain the benefits of farming in the fertile crescent?