Murdter 1
Lizzie English 105 Mina Brunyate
The Ancient land of Mesopotamia
The Fertile Crescent is described as a region between two rivers with the western part being the Syrian coast of the Mediterranean connecting the area to Egypt. At the North and the East are the Zagros Mountains and in the south is the Arabian Desert. The region includes Sumer and Akkad which reaches from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf. It is believed the area was once much smaller, but changes in the two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates, shrank the size of the land. ()
The Sumerians lived in the Fertile Crescent, along the Tigris and the Euphrates, so called because the rivers provided rich nutrients for their crops, yet they also produced floods that were unruly and unpredictable. Though potentially a source of life and renewal, the rivers were often the source of destruction. The Sumerians built their homes out of sun dried brick which could not hold up to the severe floods. (24) The Sumerians used irrigation systems to provide water for the parts of land that were farther away from the rivers and did not grow crops as well. Dikes and canals were also constructed to attempt to control the river. (20) The Euphrates and the Tigris had a much stronger current than the Nile, and would periodically flood followed by a period of drought. The Sumerians had no way of really predicting what would happen, and crops suffered because of the extreme conditions.
2 The Sumerians relationship with their rivers was much like their relationship with their gods. The gods were thought to control every aspect of life and all events on the earth. Similar to beliefs about the Greek and Roman gods, their gods were believed to behave like humans. Therefore, the gods could be vengeful, cruel, and greedy and may play games with the fate of humanity. Some of the most important gods were Anu the god of the sky, Ereshkigal the goddess of the underworld, and Ishtar the goddess of war. (internet) The Sumerians attempted to appease the gods in several ways. Ziggurats were built, which were large pyramid temples made up of stone steps. The Tower of Babel, written about in the Bible, was one such temple. Sacrifices were made to the gods, and sometimes songs were written in their honor. The land was said to be the god's land, so everything that was done was in order to serve the god. (9) Governors were said to be the agents of the gods and were given the task of keeping the land safe by protecting it from invaders and floods. (8) The rivers may have been the source of the people's entire worldview and certainly impacted Sumerian views of religious deities. The Sumerians had a very pessimistic view of the afterlife, which many historical scholars believe was a product of living among such erratic and unpredictable conditions. In the Sumerian afterlife, one became a spirit that dwells in a house of ash in the underworld. The house of ash was a place of despair and suffering, a view that was in stark contrast to the more optimistic views of the afterlife held by Egyptian and Christian religions. The Mesopotamians were continually challenged by the of power the rivers and had to adapt. They used animals as a food supply for when periods of scarcity came about due to flooding, but other problems ensued. For example, the Fertile Crescent was
3 frequently invaded by surrounding peoples, which may have contributed to the dark, cynical outlook on life and the afterlife. The region along the Tigris and Euphrates was not well protected from invading tribes and was conquered by many different leaders. The society of the area would change according to who was in power. For instance, the Assyrians were known to be pugnacious and concerned with land acquisition. One conqueror of the area, Hammurabi, the sixth of the Babylonian kings, was famous for developing a code of laws, the basis of which inspired future social structures and written laws. (23) Sumerian society also developed an aristocratic class, free landholders, traders, and slaves. The laws were greatly biased in favor of the aristocratic class and the punishments for most crimes were based on the principle an "eye for an eye". If an aristocratic citizen were to commit a crime against a lower class citizen, they would have to pay a fine. If a lower class citizen were to commit a crime against an aristocratic citizen, in most cases they would have to endure bodily harm, or if the crime was severe, even death. In this way, the law determined a citizen's worth. Later societies, such as the Romans adopted the same social hierarchy in their own law systems. The Romans had a Patrician (aristocratic) and Plebian (peasant) class, and the laws ruled in favor of the rich, granting them more rights and societal influence in terms of the state. Additionally, the Sumerians had a male dominated society, and the husband had absolute power over his family. He could even sell his wife and children if he was in debt. (24) In contrast to some of the legal and social injustices previously described, the Sumerians developed many important contributions to their own culture and influenced later civilizations. One such important contribution was the first system of writing, called cuneiform, which was made up a series of wedge shaped marks written onto clay tablets.
4 Moreover, the system of time the Sumerians developed organized by hours, weeks, and months is a predecessor to our own system. Furthermore, the first astrologists were the Sumerians, who kept careful records of the stars and planets and their movements and created beliefs about how they influenced humanity. The phalanx, a military strategy first employed by the Sumerians, was also refined and used by the Greeks, the Romans, and the Macedonians and continued on to influence other later military strategies. In could be said that our entire civilization would be vastly different if it had not been for the historical legacy of the Sumerians. One cannot forget that their civilization would not have been able to exist if it were not for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which served to sustain their crops and lifestyle. These important rivers were responsible for the beginning of civilization and the continued existence of humankind.