IRivcrs and CivilizationsThe earliest civilizations - Mesopotamia, Egypt,

India, and China -had at least one common characteristic: they developed along river

valleys. Mesopotamia grew up along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, Egypt drew its life

from the Nile, India's earliest civilization sprung from the Indus River Valley, and Chinese

civilization originated along the mighty Yellow River. All of these relied on rivers for a steady

source of water, fertile soil, and fish to supplement their diet. In most cases, the rivers also served as an easy means of communication, facilitating trade and

the exchange of ideas.The decision of early farmers to settle in the

river valleys and attempt to control and utilize rivers

had profound implications for the rise of early civi

lizations. The great river valleys of the world pro

vided the key ingredients for the world’s first

civilizations to flourish.

MESOPOTAMIA: THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION

The earliest of all civilizations arose in a land the Greeks would later call Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia means "land between the rivers," and refers to the area between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (in present-day Iraq). It was in this region that humans first abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and began to form permanent settlements. The changes that occurred in the river valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates were revolutionary. Codified laws, the concept of kingship, the building of places to wor ship the gods, writing, and even the wheel were all first developed by the Mesopotamians.

In ancient times, the southern part ofMesopotamia was known as Sumer and the northern area was called Akkad. Eventually, the two regions were unified under Babylonian leadership and became known as Babylonia.

The land of Mesopotamia is essentially a bleakalluvial plain that receives too little rainfall for crops to mature. The climate is hot and dry, and the soil is arid and sterile if not cared for properly. The land

ca. 9000-4000 BCE

MesopotamiaUruk ca. 4500-3100 BCE Sumer

ca. 2800-1800 BCE Akkad ca.

2340-2180 BCE Babylon ca.

1830-539 BCE Assyrian Empire

1100-612 BCE Ancient Iran ca.

5000-331 BCE

Achaemenid Persia 559-331 BCE

CHAPTER 0 N E The March to Civilization • MHR 39

contains no minerals and almost no stone or timber for building. The soil is baked by the long, hot sum mers, causing vegetation to wither and die. During the winter, stormy south winds brought unpre dictable downpours that turned the river valleys into slippery mud. Spring was the most dangerous time for those living in Mesopotamia. Spring rains combined with the melting snows from the neighbouring Zagros Mountains and made the Tigris and Euphrates rivers swell, often causing catastrophic flooding.

So, what attracted settlers to this seeminglyinhospitable region? The answer lies in the natural levees along the course of the Euphrates River. Natural levees are embankments produced by the build-up of sediment over thousands of years of flooding. The levee surface slopes gently downward away from the river. The highest and safest ground

• Levees in the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia

on a flood plain is along the portion of the levee adjacent to the river. Aside from the protection it provided, the silty sediment of the levees was fertile and easily drained, planted, irrigated, and cultivated. Adding to the richness of the area around the levees were the swamps that teemed with fish and water fowl and produced an abundance of reeds. In the spring, the reeds provided excellent food for sheep and goats, and when mature, were an important building material. It was around these natural levees that the first settlers in Mesopotamia saw promise, and established permanent settlements.

While the natural levees did hold promise, this could only be realized with irrigation and better drainage. The land between the rivers and streams was desert and swampland, and this proved to be a great hindrance to the unity of Mesopotamia.

The fertile soil deposited on levees made it possible for people to grow enough food for themselves and create settlements. Why did the first cities form on rivers?

40 MHR • u N 1 T oNE The Near East

Communication was difficult and dangerous. Unlike the predictable Nile River in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates were givers of both life and death. Sudden floods often ravaged Mesopotamian

villages without warning.

The PeopleMesopotamian civilization was the product of a cross-fertilization of four distinct ethnocultural groups. The Sumerians, who arrived about

3000 BCE from central Asia, were the first to develop writing, and large social organizations. These would become the first cities of the world. Throughout the history of Mesopotamia, Semitic-speaking peoples arrived from the Syrian desert; the Akkadians arrived ca. 2600 BCE and the Amorites, ca. 2200 BCE.

The third major cultural group to settle in Mesopotamia were the Indo-Europeans, represented by the Luvians and the Hittites. These migrations took place around 2000 BCE. Finally, the Hurrians, who were a people from the Caucasus, in Asia, began migrating to Mesopotamia around 1800 BCE.

The study of ancient Mesopotamia is the study of

several distinct peoples who settled the area.

The Growth of the EmpireFor much of its history, Mesopotamia was a collection of independent states. Although Mesopotamia would eventually become unified, it occurred much later than in neighbouring Egypt. The early government of the towns and villages was democratic. An

intermittent wars. During times of war, many Mesopotamian villages found it necessary to appoint one of their strongest and ablest warriors to lead them to victory. The Sumerian title for king was lugal, meaning "big man." Although the appoint ment was initially temporary, the frequency of wars led to the decline of democratic government and the rise of a monarchical system in which kingship was

hereditary and despotic.

Sumerian figures such as these surprised-looking worshippers (ca. 2700-2500 BCE) have been found in temples excavated in Iraq. Their wide eyes are probably meant to indicate thay they are

in the presence of a god.

Sumerian SocietyThe Sumerians were the dominant culture in Mesopotamia between 2900 and 2400 BCE. Their society was divided into four main classes. The top class was the nobility, comprised of the king and his family, the chief priests, and the high palace officials. The king's prominent role in society was further enhanced when it was given a religious dimension. Although the king was never deified, kingship itself

was believed to be one of the basic institutions ofadministrative bureaucracy was established to lookafter an increasingly complex society. The govern ment built and maintained roads and canals, enforced laws, and settled disputes. As the towns grew and prospered, rivalries developed that led to

human life created by the gods. The power of the king was not derived from brute strength. It was divinely ordained. The king and other members of the nobility owned the most and best land.

cHAPTER oNE The March to Civilization • MHR 41

Those men and women who worked for the nobility in exchange for the use of the land were known as "free clients." These people were depend ent on the nobility for their livelihood and were a major portion of Sumerian society. Commoners were free citizens who owned their own land and were not dependent on the nobility. Among this group were those who produced and traded a wide range of goods. Talented artisans created beautiful goldwork, ceramic bowls, and even board games. Others were involved in the day-to-day administration of the empire, making sure that the land was properly irri gated, laws were followed and enforced, and taxes were collected. The fourth group in Sumerian soci ety was the slave population.

The AkkadiansThe basic social, economic, and intellectual frame work of Mesopotamia was established during the period of Sumerian domination. Despite repeated attempts to attain mastery over lower Mesopotamia, however, the Sumerians were never successful. Instead, the unification of lower Mesopotamia was accomplished by a Semitic chieftain named Sargon. After conquering the Sumerians in 2331 BCE, Sargon established his capital at Akkad, from which the Akkadians took their name. Sargon's greatest achievement was finally to unify Mesopotamia and spread Mesopotamian culture throughout the area known as the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is a belt of rich farmland that stretches from Mesopotamia northeast to Syria and southwest to Egypt. The dynasty established by Sargon was short lived; by 2200 BCE, the Akkadians fell to invading

barbarians.

42 MHR • u N 1 r oNE The Near East

The BabyloniansMesopotamia was eventually reunited by another Semitic people known as the Babylonians. The Babylonians used their central location to domi nate trade and, eventually, establish control over all of Mesopotamia. Guiding Babylon's rise was the tal ented King Hammurabi, who came to the throne ca. 1750 BCE. He established Babylon as the leading power in Mesopotamia by conquering Akkad and Assyria, gaining control of both the north and the south. The most lasting and famous element of Hammurabi's reign was his law code. This code was inscribed on a stone pillar set up in public for all to see. On the pillar, Hammurabi is depicted receiving his authority from the god Shamash. The laws of ancient Babylon were not only considered divinely

King Hammurabi receiving the Law from Shamash, ca. 1750 BCE.

us much about life inMesopotamia. The punishments were

,_: wcu to fit the crimes. This code was the origin the concept of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a

For example, if a son struck his father, the5DDS hand was cut off; if someone were to break.->ther's bone, they would have the same bone bro lnt. The consequences of these laws, however, dif

laed according to rank. Members of the nobilityked much more lenient penalties, often beinged only to pay a fine.

Despite the talents and efforts of Hammurabi, Mesopotamia was not to remain united for long. By1550 BCE, the Babylonian kingdom was in decline..d the unity of Mesopotamia was again crumbling.

years, Mesopotamia experienced turmoil and uncertainty. The invasion of the warlike Hurrians was but one of the events

that contributed to centuries of chaos. Finally, in the

tv1th century BCE, Assyria began to emerge as the dominant force. Led by Assurnasirpalll and drawing on the best army in the Near East, Assyria was able to reunite Mesopotamia and establish the first true empire the world had ever seen. Using boasts such as, “I built a pillar over against his city gate, and I flayed all the chief men... and I covered the pillar

with their skins; some I walled up within the pillar, some I impaled upon the pillar on stakes... and I cut off the limbs of the officers," the Assyrians soon became the most feared army in the Near East. By the seventh century BCE, the Assyrians had estab lished an empire stretching from the Persian Gulf north and west to Syria, Palestine, and Egypt.

vlded. an ..n,r.rrnnlr< ...ml

dence of life in Mesopotamia during the third

millennium BCE, including an example of the Royal

Game of Ur. This was a racing game for two people

that used a decorated gaming board and circular

pieces that resembled a cross between checkers

and dominoes.

The power of fear was insufficient to hold together the Assyrian Empire. The Assyrians overextended themselves and terrorized all that they had con quered. It was only a matter of time before the subject states rose up in revolt. The revolts began to occur in the late seventh century BCE, and by the end of the century, the collapse of the Assyrian Empire was com plete. Although Babylon would later enjoy a short lived resurgence, it too had passed its prime and was in decline. By 539 BCE, Mesopotamia had become a part of the vast Persian Empire, which stretched from the Indus River to the Mediterranean Sea.

The Persian leader Cyrus the Great replaced Assyrian rule by fear with tolerance and fairness. Differences in religion were accepted, taxes imposed on subject peoples were fair, and local officials were retained in the administration of the Persian Empire- reporting to Persian governors called satraps.This benevolent rule brought stability to the Persian Empire, which would survive some 800 years before the Greeks under Alexander the Great conquered it.

Many would say that the greatest contribution of Mesopotamia to western civilization was the invention of writing. Writing allowed the transmission of wisdom and knowledge, the codification of laws, and the keep ing of records to facilitate trade. The earliest writing we

CHAPTER oNE The March to Civilization • MHR 43

have found dates to 3500 BCE and was discovered at

the ancient Mesopotamian city of Uruk.The written language of the Mesopotamians was

developed by the Sumerians and is called cuneiform, which means "wedge-shaped." A scribe would record information by pressing a wedge shaped stylus into a slab of soft clay. Other writing materials included stone and chisel, metal and chisel, and paint on glazed terracotta (red clay). Before the development of cuneiform script, written communication was in the form of pictograms. At

Could you make a sentence with these words? What's missing?

44 MHR • u N 1 T oNE The Near East

this point, writing was used only for record keeping, and thus only concrete words (nouns) such as "ox," "grain," and "sheep" were needed. As society became more complex, the language evolved, enabling signs to be used to depict homonyms (words that sound the same and are spelled the same but mean different things e.g., "bow," "light") and, eventually, abstract thoughts. In time, the system of cuneiform writing spread to Persia and Egypt, and for centuries was the only international script. It was

a great vehicle for the growth and spread of civiliza

tion and the exchange of ideas among cultures.

Science and TechnologyWriting was only one of the many advances credited to

the ancient Mesopotamians. By developing a vari ety of tools and techniques, the Mesopotamians were the first to make a prosperous living based on large-scale agriculture. The earliest and, perhaps, most

significant development came in the fourth millennium BCE, when a Sumerian crafter built the first known wheeled vehicle. The design, using solid wooden wheels, allowed oxen to pull three times as much weight as before. Aside from the use of wheeled vehicles, Mesopotamian farmers developed seeder-plows and pickaxes to make their work easier and more efficient. The Mesopotamians became tal

ented bakers, brewers, weavers, and tanners. Someof their buildings, constructed of mud-brick and tile,

were so well built that they survive today.

lhs panel from a tomb in the ancient Sumerian city of Ur show us soldiers, priests, and charioteers on the first known wheeled vehicles.

BeliefsMesopotamian religion is the oldest in the world for which written records exist. It was a polytheistic religion comprising some 3600 various gods and demigods. This vast number of deities reflects the diversity from region to region. Despite the differ ences in the representation of the gods and the vari eties found in the local towns, all of Mesopotamia

shared essentially the same religion. The five most prominent deities were Enlil, the supreme god and god of the air; Ishtar, the mother goddess of fertility and life; An, the god of heaven; Enki, the god of the underworld and the water; and Shamash, the sun god and the giver of law. The names used here are Sumerian. Throughout Mesopotamian history, the names would change but the basic functions

remained the same.

cHAPTER oNE The March to Civilization • MHR 45

The oldest written records of a story of cre ation date back to ancient Mesopotamia. The cre ation of the universe was conceived in human terms, explaining life to the Mesopotamians as they knew it: a story created by people for people. The main creation roles were played by four gods: An, the god of heaven; Enlil, the air god; Enki, the water god; and the Earth goddess who had various names, such as Nammu. These supreme deities planned and created the main components of the universe and then delegated these components to

their offspring to rule.

Ziggurats: Temples to the GodsAccording to the beliefs of the ancient Mesopotamians, it was vitally important that the gods be honoured by religious ceremonies. These ceremonies were performed by the priests in sacred temples. Like most Mesopotamian architecture, tem

ples were constructed of mud brick. Constant threat of flooding meant that the temples had to be placed on platforms. Over time, the temples evolved into the imposing structures known as ziggurats. This was a stack of platforms decreasing in size from bottom to top. The structure resembled the step pyra

mids of the Egyptians except that a small chapel sat on top of the ziggurat. Ziggurats ranged from one to seven platforms and were decorated with painted stucco and coloured, glazed bricks. To further enhance their appearance, the structures were often

planted with flowers, shrubs, and trees.One of the most famous ziggurats was the

Tower of Babel. The original structure was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The final restoration was undertaken by Nebuchadnezzar, who hoped to raise the tower up to heaven. Once completed, the Tower of Babel was called one of the great wonders of the

48 MHR • UNIT 0 N E The Near East

ancient world. This ziggurat's temple was perched almost 100 m above ground. The base measured91 m on each side and covered half a square kilo

metre. Surrounding the massive structure were

storehouses and apartments for the priests who

served the temple.

The Ziggurat of Ur was built ca. 2000 BCE

Review ... Recall ... Reflect

1. Explain why the earliest civilizations developed

in river valleys.

2. How did geography shape the nature of ancient

Mesopotamian society?

3. For each of the seven elements of a civilization

described above, provide an example from

ancient Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamia's Lasting LegacyThere are many reasons why Mesopotamia has been called the cradle of civilization. It was in the river val leys of the Tigris and Euphrates that people first aban doned their nomadic way of life and began to build permanent homes and villages. This settlement led to

an increasingly complex society that developed the concept of kingship and the city-state. Mesopotamia.as also the birthplace of writing, astronomy (including the seasonal equinoxes), and a written legal code. Even the wheel, one of the most revolutionary techno logical advancements in history, was a product of the ingenuity of the ancient Mesopotamians. We are the inheritors of all this and much more. Later civilizations.-ould borrow heavily from the Mesopotamians, taking

EVALUATING CIVILIZATIONSThroughout the pages of Echoes from the Past: World History to the 16th Century, you will learn about the development of several civilizations. There are, of course, other civilizations not discussed. The process of selection involved value judgements, and your class will also have to make judgements when it decides which of these civilizations to study in the limited time available. How do we judge a civilization? Should a civilization be judged on the gandeur of the monuments it leaves behind? Should it be judged by the lasting contributions it makes in science, technology, and the arts? Or is a civilization measured by the breadth of land it occu pies and the number of people it represented? Perhaps, some consideration should be given to the quality of life enjoyed by the people of a civilization. Is a civilization that conquered huge areas and built impressive monuments and buildings with the sweat of slaves greater than one that left few monuments but gave all members of society basic human rights? There are no easy answers to these questions, but they are worth thinking about as you study ancient civilizations of the world.

History Continues to Unfold

The quest to understand the origins of modern humans continues in many fascinating ways. Some anthropologists are focusing their research on the evolution of the human mind and human con sciousness. This is leading to questions such as: When in human evolution did consciousness as we experience it today develop? What evolutionary advantages would the mind provide for humans in their struggle to survive? Current scientific research into the brain is helping us to understand our ancestors as well as ourselves.

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