CIVILIZATION BEGINS IN MESOPOTAMIA

Mesopotamia, located in what is now southern Iraq, was one area where civilization began. The Tigris and Euphrates River valley supported agriculture and encouraged trade. Mesopotamians developed complex economic, political, and social structures. They invented written language, built the world's first empires, and codified their laws.

THE IMPACT OF GEOGRAPHY The physical environment of Mesopotamia led to the development of civilization and influenced people’s religious beliefs. Fertile river valleys could support a large population in permanent settlements. These farming villages grew into culture hearths, early centers of culture whose ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas. Highly organized societies then evolved in these regions.

THE FERTILE CRESCENT The ancient Greeks spoke of the valley between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers as Mesopotamia, the land ”between the rivers.” Mesopotamia was at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, an arc of land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. Rich soil and abundant crops allowed the land to sustain an early civilization.

Mesopotamia had little rain, but over the years its soil had been enriched by layers of silt (material deposited by the two rivers). In late spring, the Tigris and Euphrates often overflowed their banks and deposited their fertile silt. This flooding, however, was unpredictable. It depended on the melting of snows in the upland mountains where the rivers began. People in the valley could not tell exactly when the floods would come or how large they would be.

Therefore, people in ancient Mesopotamia learned to control the flow of the rivers. By using irrigation and drainage ditches, farmers were able to grow Crops regularly. An abundance of food allowed many people to live together in cities, and civilization emerged.

Mesopotamian civilization refers to the achievements of people from three general areas: Assyria, Akkad, and Sumer. The Sumerians were the creators of the first Mesopotamian civilization.

THE GROWTH OF RELIGION The physical environment affected the Way Mesopotamians viewed the world. A harsh climate and frequent famines convinced them that unreliable supernatural forces controlled this world.

In the presence of nature, Mesopotamians could easily feel helpless, as this poem relates: PRIMARY Source "The rampant flood which no man can oppose, Which shakes the heavens and causes earth to tremble, In an appalling blanket folds mother and child, And drowns the harvest in its time of ripeness.“ —in "Mesopotamia," from Before Philosophy, Henri Frankfort et al.

To them, powerful spiritual beings—gods and goddesses— permeated all aspects of the universe. The Mesopotamians identified nearly three thousand gods and goddesses. Their religion was polytheistic because of this belief in many gods.

According to the beliefs of the Mesopotamians, humans were supposed to obey and serve the gods. By their nature, humans were inferior to the gods and could never be sure what the gods might do to or for them.

Anu (or An) was the highest god in the Sumerian religion. He was the sky god and the father of all of the gods, as well as of their counterparts, evil spirits and demons. Two other major gods, Enki and Enlil, figure more prominently in myths, however.

Enki was the god of water. According to some myths, he created man to serve the gods. He is also credited with assigning each god his or her role and establishing civilization.

Enlil, the third god in the triad, was the god of wind, both harsh and gentle, and of agriculture. In one myth, it is related how he broke apart heaven and earth to form fields for seeds to grow. When he invented the hoe and used it to break open the earth, men sprang forth. These gods were omnipotent and given to sudden mood swings, demanding that the Sumerians work hard to keep them happy.