Mesopotamian civilization. Mesopotamia itself, the real heart of the civilization, only after artificial irrigation had been invented, bringing water to large stretches of territory through a widely branching network of canals.

Mesopotamian civilization

Introduction:

Mesopotamia is the area between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, north or northwest of the bottleneck at Baghdad, in modern Iraq; it is Al-Jazirah ("The Island") of the Arabs. South of this lies Babylonia, named after the city of Babylon. However, in the broader sense, the name Mesopotamia has come to be used for the area bounded on the northeast by the Zagros Mountains and on the southwest by the edge of the Arabian Plateau and stretching from the Persian Gulf in the southeast to the spurs of the Anti-Taurus Mountains in the northwest. As a result of the slow flow of the water, there are heavy deposits of silt, and the riverbeds are raised. Consequently, the rivers often overflow their banks (and may even change their course) when they are not protected by high dikes.

History

Mesopotamia itself, the real heart of the civilization, only after artificial irrigation had been invented, bringing water to large stretches of territory through a widely branching network of canals. Since the ground is extremely fertile and, with irrigation and the necessary drainage, will produce in abundance, southern Mesopotamia became a land of plenty that could support a considerable population. The cultural superiority of north Mesopotamia, which may have lasted until about 4000 BC, was finally overtaken by the south when the people there had responded to the challenge of their situation. The present climatic conditions are fairly similar to those of 8,000 years ago.

Culture

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Culture

The availability of raw materials is a historical factor of great importance, as is the dependence on those materials that had to be imported. In Mesopotamia, agricultural products and those from stock breeding, fisheries, date palm cultivation, and reed industries--in short, grain, vegetables, meat, leather, wool, horn, fish, dates, and reed and plant-fiber products--were available in plenty and could easily be produced in excess of home requirements to be exported. There are bitumen springs at Hit (90 miles northwest of Baghdad) on the Euphrates (the Is of Herodotus). On the other hand, wood, stone, and metal were rare or even entirely absent. The date palm--virtually the national tree of Iraq--yields a wood suitable only for rough beams and not for finer work. Stone is mostly lacking in southern Mesopotamia, although limestone is quarried in the desert about 35 miles to the west and "Mosul marble" is found not far from the Tigris in its middle reaches. Metal can only be obtained in the mountains, and the same is true of precious and semiprecious stones. Consequently, southern Mesopotamia in particular was destined to be a land of trade from the start. Only rarely could "empires" extending over a wider area guarantee themselves imports by plundering or by subjecting neighboring regions.

Architecture

Contrary to popular belief, Mesopotamia architecture was not created during the reign of a single emperor. There were people from diverse lands, and Mesopotamia, which nestled between the rivers, Tigris and the Euphrates, was the seat of popular culture.

The architecture was fashioned from 3500 BC to 539 BC by the Sumerians and various other groups who were absorbed into the local population in succeeding centuries.

As the cities flourished, the architecture in Mesopotamia also developed. The main architecture revolved around the numerous temples that were built during the period. The Mesopotamian temples were shaped like a pyramid and had a large base with stairways receding downwards from the top.

Even though the shape of the temples varied according to local traditions, they still maintained a rectangular CELLA which was known as a sacred chamber with an access to what was popularly referred to as the statue of god.

Large temples:

The temples were regarded as the abodes of gods in ancient Mesopotamia. In cities like Lagash and Al 'Ubaid, the temples took an unusual form and were very large compared to temples in smaller cities that dotted Mesopotamia. In large temples, there was a big oval platform on which the temple stood. There was a second outer oval wall encircling the entire temple complex.

Excavations have also revealed much of the architecture of Mesopotamia that was built during the period. Archaeologists have dug up gigantic looking palaces at Mari and Kish which gave an idea of the growing power of the rulers.

Cities were fortified with large walls to prevent invading armies from coming in easily. Ancient Mesopotamia was characterized by regular warfare and the large city walls unearthed in Urk show how rulers encircled their city states as a preventive measure.

Townships in ancient Mesopotamia existed around the temples. The 1930's excavation by the Iraq Expedition of the Oriental Institute revealed winding and narrow streets with brick homes clubbed together. All houses had thick walls for insulation and flat roof tops with very large living places. The architecture of Mesopotamia differed according to the economic condition of the home owner.

Mesopotamia and Education

As a civilization contemporary with Egyptian civilization, Mesopotamia developed education quite similar to that of its counterpart with respect to its purpose and training. Formal education was practical and aimed to train scribes and priests. It was extended from basic reading, writing, and religion to higher learning in law, medicine, and astrology. Generally, youth of the upper classes were prepared to become scribes, who ranged from copyists to librarians and teachers. The schools for priests were said to be as numerous as temples. This indicates not only the thoroughness but also the supremacy of priestly education. Very little is known about higher education, but the advancement of the priestly work sheds light upon the extensive nature of intellectual pursuit.

As in the case of Egypt, the priests in Mesopotamia dominated the intellectual and educational domain as well as the applied. The center of intellectual activity and training was the library, which was usually housed in a temple under the supervision of influential priests. Methods of teaching and learning were memorization, oral repetition, copying of models, and individual instruction. It is believed that the exact copying of scripts was the hardest and most strenuous and served as the test of excellence in learning. The period of education was long and rigorous, and discipline was harsh.

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