MESOPOTAMIA+4

﻿ ﻿Mesopotamia #4 //__M__ __e__ __s__ __o__ __p__ __o__ __t__ __a__ __m__ __i__ __a__ __C__ __o__ __r__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;">__e__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;">__#__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;">__4__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;">__P__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;">__a__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;">__p__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ffff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;">__e__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;">__r__ // <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 32px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia is the most amazing civilization because they have had so many contributions that impacted how we live today, including <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a variety of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> inventions and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">many <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">types of laws that influenced our laws today. Mesopotamia is <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">considered “the birthplace of civilization”, and is <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in an area called the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> __Fertile Crescent__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">which was 300 miles long and 150 miles wide. The Tigris and Euphrates river flow through what is now modern day Iraq. Mesopotamia was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">also <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the greatest civilization because the people used the rivers to their advantage. They did this by irrigating their crops with the river water when it flooded. The Mesopotamians had a culture that was better than any other because they were indeed pure geniuses.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia had the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">most outstanding <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">government because it was a very fair system. There was a ruler, but people still had a voice. The king wasn’t all-powerful and they couldn’t just do whatever they wanted--the king still had to to ask the Assembly to do certain things. This system of government is just like what we use today in the US-- there is a person that rules the country/civilization (the president/king), but the ruler doesn’t have complete control over the country/civilization. This is also like our government because there is a group of people that is in charge along side the ruler. (Congress/the Assembly) The laws <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">that the Assembly and the ruler came up with <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> had a very special place in <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Mesopotamian <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> peoples <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">’ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> way of living. Their laws were a large part of their government <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">which happens to be one of the first justice systems to be established. This being said <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> their laws and rights impacted what kind of laws and rights people in other civilizations might have had. The three societies that made up Mesopotamia each had a similar style of laws. Sumerian laws clearly said how you had to behave and what your punishment would be if you did not behave correctly. Most Babylonian laws followed the guidelines of if you did something the same thing would happen back to you. The Assyrians had the same type of laws as the Babylonians and Sumerians except the Assyrians punishments were more severe. Most of the Babylonians laws were on The Code Of Hammurabi. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__The Code of Hammurabi__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> made the Mesopotamian civilization great because it was very fair, and because of this code, the Mesopotamians were always following the golden rule: “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”In Mesopotamia, big stone pillars called diorte pillars were placed all over so everyone would know the laws and what would happen to you if you did not follow them. These laws were called the Code of Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">made by King Hammurabi, the ruler of Babylon, who reigned from 1795 BC to 1750 BC. The code had about 282 laws, and was also made in about 1740 BC. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The code that King Hammurabi made is not so far off from our present day constitution. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So overall, the Mesopotamian government consisted of a combination of monarchy and democracy, giving the Mesopotamian government the perfect balance of being ruled over and letting the people give their ideas. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All of these political aspects of Mesopotamia are unparalleled by any other civilizations government.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia was the best, because they were very skilled at farming. This meant they always had an abundance of food <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">so most people didn’t go hungry <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamian farmers <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">grew dates, grapes, figs, lentils, melons, apples, onions, radishes, beans, and lettuce. They also traded <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">clothes, and food for minerals like gold, silver, lime stone, and copper. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They invented a 12 month water clock/calendar to know when to harvest, plant, and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the dates of the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">flooding of the rivers. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They invented an irrigation tool called a <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__shadoof__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> to help planting go faster. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Most of their food <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was used <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to feed themselves, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">but <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">they also used it for trading <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">to get <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">other supplies they needed. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamians <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">needed more than just food, water, and shelter, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> so the Mesopotamians started to <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> trade <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">for what they needed <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There was always <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a great amount of food stored away <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">in Mesopotamia <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">after they <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> had <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #134f5c; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">gathered <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and harvested their crops <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">A reasonable amount of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">food <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was saved <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">forwinter, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">which is <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">when they grew their crops <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ffff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Children where used in farming a lot <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, which <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is another example of why the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamians <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">were big farmers. The adults did the trading and the children planted the food. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> In Mesopotamia, animals were <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">used to <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">be traded so they could <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">get food and supplies <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Though they did a lot of trading with their food, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">There was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">still a lot <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">of tradingof <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">their animals. The <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__wheel__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">helped greatly in trade and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">in the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">transportation of goods and people. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Trade was one of the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">reasons <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Mesopotamia was the greatest civilization. The Mesopotamian farmers learned the method of trade from irrigating their land. Mesopotamians used the Tigris, and Euphrates rivers for mainly trading, fishing, and water. They grew <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> their crops near <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">two <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">rivers, and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">also <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the many <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">streams <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and tributaries that extended off the rivers <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. The Mesopotamians used boats made <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">made of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> lumber with a triangular sail to get down the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The trade system developed because of peoples’ needs. Mesopotamia should be remembered for its <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">amazing <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> trading and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the fact that it was the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">very <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">first <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> true <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> civilization. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mesopotamians were <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">hands <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> down the most <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">impressive <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">civilization <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> because of their flabbergasting <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> inventions.The boats <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamians <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> created <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> also had a huge impact on transportation and trade. The Mesopotamians invented several types of boats such as river boats, rafts, gulf boats, and coracle boats. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They also created many of the first board games and toys including a famous one called the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Royal Game of Ur.__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They invented an irrigation tool called a shadoof to help planting go faster. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Aside <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> their <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> trading and agricultur <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">al innovations <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, the Mesopotamian’s structures also made them <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a terrific <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">civilization. Their homes were all made of sun dried mud bricks <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">that were made by hand <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. In the middle of their huge city state was a giant <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__ziggurat.__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The ziggurat was like the modern day church in pyramid form. The ziggurat was where the priests could contact the gods by burning incense and food. Now we can all go to a church if we would like to praise god. These ziggurats were covered in beautiful glazed sun dried bricks. Some churches have beautiful glass windows in <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">today's <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> modern <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> society <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. Now the most important reason why the Mesopotamian civilization is the best is their form of writing....... <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__CUNEIFORM!!!!__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cuneiform <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> was the first written <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">and recorded <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">language we know of. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Only boys <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">were allowed to <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> learn cuneiform, and to learn it they had to go to a school called a edubbas. In school they learned how to write on clay slabs with a reed stylus. If you messed up while writing on a clay slab you were beaten as a consequence. The Mesopotamians used cuneiform for many different things. They used it to record wars, keep track of purchases, sales, and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> also <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> to write stories like for example the Epic of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__Gilgamesh.__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Now we just use numbers and the alphabet to record purchases and other records <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">just <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">like the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">people of Mesopotamia <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">did. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">They also created special <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__cylinder seals__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">that could be used as signatures or a record.The economic aspects <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> of ancient Mesopotamia prove that it was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">truly a first-rate <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">society.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamian religion is the finest religion because they had four creator gods that they believed helped them to survive. Mesopotamians had many ways to worship the gods. They would give food, pray, and do other things like ceremonies to praise the gods. Each creator god had a special power or role in the Mesopotamian religion. The four creator gods were believed to have supplied the Mesopotamians with what they needed like water and food. In the middle of each city-state there is a temple called a ziggurat where priests could pray to the gods. Mesopotamia’s social class was exceptional because it was fair and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">based on the value of that person’s job and skills.The priests, king, and merchants were extremely important, so they were <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">a part of <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the upper class.The government officials, scribes, and farmers were not as important as the upper class, so they created the middle class.Then the prisoners, fisherman, and slaves were the least important, so they made up the lower class. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This social class is similar to the ones used in a lot of other civilizations however it is so special because it was the first <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">civilization to use and create it <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamian language <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">was the most <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">admirable <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">language because it was so advanced and <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">sophisticated. It was also one of the most organized languages, which made it a rather fine language to have. The Mesopotamian language was made by the Sumerians. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Babylonians and Assyrians followed in their footsteps and used it too. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamian <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">written language was called cuneiform. The people who wrote the cuneiform were called scribes. Scribes would write on a wet clay tablet with <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">__reed stylists.__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> A <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">reed <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">stylist is a long wooden reed with a point at the end. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> The social aspects of Mesopotamia demonstrate just how ahead of their time and mind-blowing their culture really was.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia was the most advanced and creative civilization there ever was. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It was <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> the birth place of civilization, so with out them we may not have had some of today’s simple necessities. Some of these necessities include the wheel, calenders, and laws. If they didn’t exist then we may not have <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">such <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">an advanced trading system like <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mesopotamia <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> once had. This makes them the best because they could get what they wanted when they wanted it. Mesopotamia is incomparable to any civilization because if they hadn’t been around, our present and past may have been a lot harder to get through <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, and we wouldn’t be where we are today.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 18px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">By: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff00ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gwen= Pink, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #9900ff; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Zoe= Purple, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #0b5394; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Michaela= Dark Blue, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff9900; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Max= Orange, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Kenny= Red, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #741b47; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Tony=Maroon, <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #00ff00; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Harrison= Green