2.1.1.1: Mesopotamia
- Page ID
- 206868
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Mesopotamia was the cradle of Western Civilization. It has the distinction of being the very first place on earth in which the development of agriculture led to the emergence of the essential technologies of civilization. Many of the great scientific advances to follow, including mathematics, astronomy, and engineering, along with political networks and forms of organization like kingdoms, empires, and bureaucracy all originated in Mesopotamia.
- 2.1.1.1.1: Prelude to Mesopotamia
- Mesopotamia is a region in present-day Iraq. The word Mesopotamia is Greek, meaning “between the rivers,” and it refers to the area between the Tigris and Euphrates, two of the most important waterways in the ancient world. It is no coincidence that it was here that civilization was born: like nearby Egypt and the Nile river, early agriculture relied on a regular supply of water in a highly fertile region.
- 2.1.1.1.2: Belief, Thought and Learning
- Mesopotamians believed that the gods were generally cruel, capricious, and easily offended. Humans had been created by the gods not to enjoy life, but to toil, and the gods would inflict pain and suffering on humans whenever they (the gods) were offended. A major element of the power of the priesthood in the Mesopotamian cities was the fact that the priests claimed to be able to soothe and assuage the gods, to prevent the gods from sending devastating floods, epidemics, or plagues of locusts.
Thumbnail: Map showing the Tigris–Euphrates river system, which surrounds Mesopotamia. (CC BY-SA 2.5 Generic; Kmusser via Wikipedia).