Mesopotamia is an ancient region in the Middle East, east of the Mediterranean by the Zagros mountains, between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates. The name ‘Mesopotamia’ comes from the Greek meaning ‘between two rivers’. The region is now known as Iraq but once included some parts of modern-day Iran, Syria, and Turkey. This area is also known as the Fertile Crescent, and as the Cradle of Civilization.
This video is a small snapshot of the vastly rich history of #Mesopotamia, which a small introduction to some of the key names from this time. From this short introduction, it will be very clear how much the modern city - and culture overall - have to thank Mesopotamia for!
TIMESTAMPS: 0:20 Where is Mesopotamia? 1:20 Home of the First Empires 1:30 Sumer and Important Developments 2:08 Inventions and Developments 2:23 Length of Human Occupation 2:39 Introduction of Writing 2:55 Schooling in Mesopotamia 3:07 Epic of Gilgamesh 3:20 Jobs and Occupations 4:30 Temples and Architecture 5:25 Kingship 5:52 Hammurabi of Babylon 6:22 Sargon of Akkad
Hello and welcome to Ancient History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today
I'm going to be introducing to you the ancient region of Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamia is an ancient region in the Middle East, east of the Mediterranean by the Zagros
Mountains and between the two rivers the Tigris and the Euphrates. The word Mesopotamia in Greek
means between two rivers. The region is now known as Iraq but once included parts of modern-day Iran,
Syria and Turkey. The area is also known as the Fertile Crescent and it is where the
Mesopotamian civilization began. Mesopotamia was less unified than civilizations such as Egypt and
Greece and contained multiple different cultures which all shared the same script, gods and
attitudes towards women. In different periods and regions the gods' names differed yet the pantheon
which spanned over 1,000 deities was shared overall even though the language, certain laws
and social customs of different kingdoms would change over time. Mesopotamia is best understood
as a region containing multiple empires, kingdoms and civilizations which rose and fell, not a single
unified nation such as Egypt. Mesopotamia was home of the very first empires which included the
Akkadian, the Babylonian and the Assyrian Empire. The region of Sumer was the southeastern part of
In the fourth millennium BCE two major developments occurred in Sumer which gave
Mesopotamia the honor of being known as the cradle of civilization. These were the development of the
modern idea of the city and the invention of writing which was also developed in other regions
such as Egypt and the Indus Valley. The invention of the wheel is also credited to Mesopotamia
due to an ancient wheel found at the site of the ancient city of Ur. Mesopotamia is credited with
many different inventions and developments which includes agriculture, the domestication of animals,
beer and wine, the chariot, demarcation of time into hours minutes and seconds, irrigation,
sophisticated weaponry and warfare and many more. Archaeological excavations reveal that human
occupation dates back 10 000 years BCE. Due to the fertile condition of the land between the
Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, communities were able to settle the land, domesticate animals and
work in agriculture. With the introduction of trade, writing was invented to aid in long-distance
communication. From there came urbanization which prompted the birth of the city. It is believed
that the first Greek philosopher Thales of Miletus studied at Mesopotamia in Babylon in around
585 BCE in a city that was known in antiquity as a seat of learning. Schools in Mesopotamia were
numerous and taught astrology, law, medicine, religion, reading and writing. The world's oldest
story, the Epic of Gilgamesh, is from Mesopotamia and some biblical stories such as the fall of man
and the flood of Noah are generally accepted to have originated in the region. The occupations
in Mesopotamia were held by both men and women. Some of these jobs include the scribe, the artisan,
healer, weaver, potter, fisherman, shoemaker, teacher, priest or priestess. In Mesopotamia
women were almost as equal as men and were able to file for divorce, own land and own their own
business. It is known that early brewers of wine and beer and healers in the community were initially
women. In order to keep peace and harmony in the world the people performed these jobs as a
contribution to the community and to please the gods. The Sumerian culture of southern Mesopotamia
were the first group to practice the scientific hypothesis and create the written word. They also
developed mathematics, astrology and astronomy and created the concept of time itself. Some of
other important inventions by the Sumerians were writing, irrigation and farming, the sail, the
wheel, cities, maps, medicinal drugs and surgery. It was the Sumerians that laid down the foundations
for scientific inquiries that has continued by the Egyptians and the Greeks and has carried on
to the present day. Each city had a temple for the city's patron god, often on a raised platform
which towered over all the other structures. It is thought that the temple was constructed first
and all other buildings then rose around it, giving birth to the first cities which were largely made
of sun-dried mud brick. The temples in Mesopotamian cities are well known for the ziggurat, a step
pyramid with a temple room on the top and stairs up to allow access. The temple was considered
closer to the heavens by being on top of the stepped structure. Specific prayers recited
in a specific order were necessary for the planning and construction of any building project
as it was thought that the gods were present during the entire process. Rituals and prayers
were essential for the success of the project and for the prosperity of the future occupants.
At some point after 3600 BCE, the concept of kingship was established which created a new
position for the monarch other than the priest ruler which came before. Instead of dictating law
according to religious precepts and divine messages, the kings could create their own law
and were considered powerful enough to be representatives of the gods on earth. Still,
they did rely on the gods for legitimization of rule and they invoked them in their decrees.
Hammurabi of Babylon who ruled between 1792 and 1750 BCE is the most famous example of a king
who proclaimed his own law code by decree claiming that he received it directly from the gods. This
type of claim is common for a ruler no matter how successful would only be legitimate as long as they
had the god's support. Proof of the god's support was a prosperous reign exemplified by good harvest,
military victory and the general well-being of the people. Sargon of Akkad who ruled between
2334 and 2279 BCE was a very efficient monarch yet regions still contested his rule and revolted.
Sargon is an important man to remember as the creator of the first empire. Due to the size
of the region of Mesopotamia and the numerous cultures who called it home, it would have been
impossible to enforce laws of a central government across the whole region without
some resistance from one group or another. Even so, Mesopotamian monarchs were able to provide
the people a society stable enough to create some of the most important aspects of world culture.
This video is a short introduction to the vastly rich history of Mesopotamia with an introduction
to some of the key names from this time. It is clear from just this short introduction how much
modern city and culture overall has to thank Mesopotamia for. This video was brought to you
by Ancient History Encyclopedia. For more great articles and interactive content please head to
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