MESOPOTAMIA+1

Mesopotamia-Core 1

 Written by: : Kate  Rina Kaitlyn Natalie Ana Austin Ed Morgan

Dear Sir,

Our group’s paper about Mesopotamia should be chosen to be displayed because Mesopotamia was a very interesting and intriguing civilization. The word “Mesopotamia” actually means (in Greek) “the land between two rivers”.  The northern part of Southern Mesopotamia is made up of marshy areas and wide, flat, barren plain Mesopotamia was hilly and full of plains. Ancient Mesopotamia was located in a piece of the fertile crescent, in what is the fertile crescent includes the countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon,Cyprus, now southern Iraq. It covered an area about 300 miles long and about 150 miles wide. The Fertile Crescent's rich soil is very good for farming.people wanted to farm and grow crops in the fertile crescent, it was a valuable piece of land.

Politics were extremely important to the Mesopotamia because when they had wars about more land or more population. One of the wars included the __Hittites__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> they invaded Black Stine.Which if they won the war they could run a bigger empire to rule over many cities. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sargon 1__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was the first to create an empire in ancient Mesopotamia in 2300 B.C. Politics usually added to religious beliefs and cultures. Most laws were just from dry clay, made from the basic method and baked the same way as bread or other foods. The <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Code of Hammurabi__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was given by <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Shamash__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the god of sun and justice.The laws were written in cuneiform on regular clay,even though the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Code of Hammurabi__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was written on Dorita, a dark stone. Most laws were just from dry clay, made from the basic method and baked the same way as bread or other foods. Politics were very important to our civilization. If we didn’t have politics our civilization would not be as great as it was.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #660000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Today we wouldn’t have laws because the Mesopotamia started the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Code of Hammurabi__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #660000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> that has 282 laws. Today, we do have a lot rules but, we punish those who do criminals or murder and we put them to prison or jail to heal the punishment. The Mesopotamian's did punish their people. If they use their hands to steal something, they would cut off the robber's hand, so they won’t steal anymore things for the rest of their lives. They also cut off their citizen’s legs because some of their people use their legs to run away. Or they cut off their head because they used every body part to steal or murder it. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Code of Hammurabi__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was not fair to all people. If the crime was against someone of a different social class, the “eye for an eye” rule would be different. If a gentleman broke a commoner’s arm, he wold pay one of silver. if one broke the arm of the mans slave, the attacker would pay the owner halve the slaves worth. In other words, the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Code of Hammurabi__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was very discriminative with people of Mesopotamia.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Before 3000 b.c., <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sumerians__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> had begun trading with other people of south west Asia. After they began trading with other people out of the south west Asia. They would trade for animal skins, spices, food, crops, and tools.It makes our civilization best because we can trade with Egypt,and India. Other groups like Egypt needs to trade with us to conquest ideas of stuff. they also made a lot of things like the wheel, and crops. they also used ships to carry goods across the rivers,and streams. They used wagons to carry heavy things that they wanted to tread,but they can’t carry the object themselves,or with someones help.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mesopotamian's did trading and used donkeys by land or they traveled by to transport trade goods.Mesopotamia is the originator of politics itself.It is very important to the Mesopotamian's themselves because they were the first ones who had the punishments and the consequences.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia’s art and music made Mesopotamia a creative place. They made pottery from wet soil that their pottery became a trading item. Pottery was traded for food, clothing, and jewelry.They had many musical instruments, including the harp, reed pipes, and the drums. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They made jewelry of gold, fancy chairs, and vases that kept water cool.They were not very good at huge stone sculptures because their artists did not have stone with which to work,but they made things by hand. Archaeologists have found remains of their mosaics, helmets, harps, jewelry, pottery, and decorated. Sometimes they would give presents like these to the gods, like <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Anu__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the sky god. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia was the best civilization because they created a writing system called <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__cuneiform__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.The ancient <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sumerians__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> believed in education ,and record keeping was very important to them.They wanted their sons to learn how to read and write.Their written language began as pictographs, pictures of things that acted as words.Soon, the ancient <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sumerians__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">started to use wedge-shaped symbols for objects and ideas instead of pictures.Today, we call this written language of wedge-shaped symbols <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__cuneiform__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Mesopotamia's great inventions made their culture a great place.The wheel up to now is still a mystery to who invented it and when it was invented. According to archaeologist, it was probably invented around 8,000 B.C. in Asia.The oldest wheel however was discovered in Mesopotamia. Also it probably dates back to around 3,500 B.C.Like many ancient people, the ancient Sumerians believed that powerful gods lived in the sky.They built huge structures, called <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Ziggurats__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, with steps climbing up to the top. Religious ceremonies were held and they left offerings of food and wine on the steps of the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Ziggurats__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The priests enjoyed these offerings, as the gods could not for themselves.The <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"> __Ziggurats__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was built in the center of town. It was the center of daily life. Except for festivals, which, for the most part were fun. The <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Ziggurats__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> courtyard was happy and lively. You might see an artist painting, a boy racing by on his way to school, someone milking a cow, or making a basket.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia had great farming.It is true that ancient Mesopotamia is located inside the geographic region referred to as The Fertile Crescent. Today, The <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1dff96; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__F__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__ertile Crescent__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> includes the countries of Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Cyprus, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, the Sinai Peninsula, and Northern Mesopotamia. The <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> __Akkadians__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> In Northern Mesopotamia, the land is fertile and there is seasonal rain. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The rivers and streams are fed from the hills and mountains of the region. The area does have slight seasons. It can get quite cool at certain times of the year. Many thousands of years ago, early settlers wandered into the land between two rivers. Natural vegetation and wildlife kept the people well fed. The rivers provided fresh drinking water, and a place to bathe. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">These early people settled down, invented a system of irrigation, and began to farm the land.Mesopotamia had flat land and it was a good area for land development. Why would anyone wish to build a civilization in the middle of the desert in what is now lower Iraq? <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They chose to live there because it was a great place to live! In Southern Mesopotamia, the land is mostly flat and barren. Temperatures can rise over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. There is very little rainfall.Storms do blow in from the Persian Gulf, which cools things off. The fertile land brought in a population of around 24,000 residents. People built houses on the flat plains and were still able to farm. Mesopotamia was a great place to live from its wonderful food.Many thousands of years ago, early settlers began to build cities along the banks of the <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1dff96; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__E__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__uphrates__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1dff96; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__T__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__igris__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Rivers. Natural wildlife and vegetation kept them fed while they began to build their new world. It did not rain much, but the early settlers soon learned that if you irrigated the land, crops grew quickly. These early people built canals to bring water to the land from the rivers. They planted wheat, barley, dates, and vegetables including cucumbers, onions, apples, and spices. They raised sheep, goats, and cows. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They hunted wild game birds and other animals, and enjoyed fish, cheese, eggs, roasted duck, pork, and deer.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia’s strong civilization should be displayed because of its many achievements in political, economical, geographical, and social sections. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Without Mesopotamia, laws and society would never have come. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> These are the reasons why our group’s paper about Mesopotamia should be chosen to be displayed.Mesopotamia is a great civilization.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Thanks,

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Kate, Kaitlyn, Ed, Morgan, Austin, Natalie, Rina, and Ana.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Syncopate; font-size: 32px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">VOCABULARY WORDS:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Cuneiform:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Writing in which you use small wedge shaped elements.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Ziggaurts:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__A temple tower used for worshipping in the ancient Babylonians and Assyrians.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Fertile Crescent__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4c1130; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__A crescent-shaped area of fertile land in the Middle East that extends from the eastern Mediterranean coast through the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to the Persian Gulf. It was the cradle of the Assyrian, Sumerian, and Babylonian civilizations__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__- Euphrates:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__The river that divided the city into two parts; the old zone, where most of the palaces and temples were built and the new zone__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Akkadians:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #660000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__People who lived in the Fertile Crescent.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Sargon I:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Sargon I was the first to create an empire in ancient Mesopotamia around 2300B.C__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Sumerians:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__A native or inhabitant of Sumer.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Code of Hammurabi:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian lawcode.-written in__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__- Anu:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #5b0f00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__God of the sky and the father of the gods.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Hittites:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Warlike people who invade black stoned the Tigris-Euphrates Valley from Asia Minor.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Mesopotamia:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Literally translates to “land between two rivers”__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Tigiris:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__A main river of Mesopotamia connected to the Euphrates river__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Diorite:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;"> __A very dark colored stone on which the code of Hammurabi was written on__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Shamash:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__The god of sun and justice and the god who gave Hammurabi his code of laws__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Syncopate; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Gilgamesh:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__He epic story of the king, Gilgamesh, who searched for immortality. This is a Sumerian legend and is believed to be the first story.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__-Hammurabi:__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Heis the king of Babylonia__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">.