Showing posts with label Mesopotamia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mesopotamia. Show all posts

Hittites: Empire of Mesopotamia

on 02 December 2012

During the time of early empires in the Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, several civilizations rose and fell during intense warfare and failed development. These early territories contributed a vast amount of cultural evolution into their societies as they tried to prosper including, language, myth and, warfare. The Hittite Empire faced many hardships as it continued to grow within Mesopotamia, but continued to prosper and develop until its collapse.

The Hittite Monument of Sultanhani:
This stele was erected in the name of
god Tarhui for a better year of crops.
[Brewbooks CC BY-SA 2.0]
In the North West area of Mesopotamia a new culture and empire grew into the Hittite Kingdom. The stronghold and capital city of the Hittite empire was called Hattusas and laid in central Turkey. With the rise of the Hittite Empire also came the first record of the Indo-European language being spoken and with a bit of luck it became one of the strongest empires of its time. The Hittite language was written in cuneiform and during the end of the empires time frame the use of hieroglyphics became prevalent.

Since the Hittite Empire was so close in time frame and proximity to the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires many deities and myths are similar or even just different interpretations or accounts of the same event. The Hittites worshipped the Goddess Ishtar who held domain over war, fertility, love, and the dead. In the myth The Descent of Ishtar to the Underworld, the Hittites and surrounding cultures used the myth to reason the changing of the seasons through out the years.

The myth accounts that Ishtar went down to the underworld demanding entrance and threatening to raise the dead to kill the living. After her threats the gatekeeper goes to Ereshikigal to ask if Ishtar could enter. After being allowed entrance Ishtar is trapped in the underworld and winter comes over Mesopotamia. In a plea to let Ishtar leave the underworld Ea created a man named Good-looks and offered him to Ereshikigal. Out of outrage to Ea trick Ereshikigal curses Good-looks and reluctantly makes Ishtar leave the underworld restoring spring to the nations of Mesopotamia.

During a time when the Babylonian Empire was frail the King of Hittite was able to attack was able to attack the city of Babylon in the seventeenth century BC. Though the Hittites were unable to make a significant amount of headway in their campaign to conquer other areas of Mesopotamia they did contribute to the growth of Mesopotamia’s culture and diversity. Around 1200 BC the Hittite empire lost most of its power and by 1000 BCE it dissipated completely.


For Further Reading

A World of Art. By Henry M. Sayre. ISBN: 978-0-205-88757-6

Gods, Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia: An Illustrated Dictionary.
By Jeremy Black and Anthony Green. Illustrations by Tessa Rickards.

Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, The Flood, Gilagamesh, and Others. A New translation by Stephanie Dalley ISBN: 978-0-19-953836-2


Contribution by: Margaret Smith, University of New Mexico, Anthropology & Japanese undergraduate

Sites Around the World: Jericho

on 06 March 2012

Jericho
Greatcommission.com
In the Old Testament, we have an account of the Israelites defeating the city of Jericho when they came into the Promised Land after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. According to the biblical account, after the Israelites marched around the city once a day for six days, on the seventh day they encircled the city seven times. On the seventh time around, the priests blew the trumpets, the people shouted and the walls fell flat.

Charles Warren rediscovered these walls in 1868. Jericho, also known as present day Tell es-Sultan, is considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, with evidence of settlement dating back to 9000 BCE.

During the Natufian phase (10,800-8,500 BCE), sedentary hunter-gatherers lived in large semi-subterranean oval stone structures. By the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A phase (8,500-7,300 BCE) roofed, oval semi-subterranean dwellings appear as a village. During this time, the first tower was built along with a defensive perimeter wall. Inhabitants began engaging in long distance trade and growing domesticated crops. Plastered human skulls appear in rectangular houses with red- and white-painted floors during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B phase (7,300-6,000 BCE). “Plastered skulls are a known trait from PPNB sites, such as Kfar HaHoresh, Beidha, Çatalhöyük and Beisamoun, and similar eerie statuary at 'Ain Ghazal” (Kris Hirst). 

Tell es-Sultan
Wikipedia Commons
By the Early Neolithic (6.000-5,000 BCE), Jericho was mostly abandoned. Throughout the Middle and Late Neolithic (5,000-3,100 BCE), there was very minimal occupation. Extra defensive walls and towers were added during the Early and Middle Bronze Age (3,100-1,800 BCE). In the Late Bronze Age (1,800-1,400 BC), Jericho is destroyed.
“The citizens of Jericho were well prepared for a siege. A copious spring which provided water for ancient, as well as modern, Jericho lay inside the city walls. At the time of the attack, the harvest had just been taken in (Joshua 3:15), so the citizens had an abundant supply of food. This has been borne out by many large jars full of grain found in the Canaanite homes by John Garstang in his excavation in the 1930s and also by Kenyon. With a plentiful food supply and ample water, the inhabitants of Jericho could have held out for perhaps several years.

After the seventh trip around the city on the seventh day, Scripture tells us that the wall ‘fell down flat’ (Joshua 6:20). The Hebrew here carries the suggestion that it “fell beneath itself.”5 Is there evidence for such an event at Jericho? It turns out that there is ample evidence that the mudbrick city wall collapsed and was deposited at the base of the stone retaining wall at the time the city met its end.

After the city walls fell, how did the Israelites surmount the four to five meter (12–15 foot) high retaining wall at the base of the tell? Excavations have shown that the bricks from the collapsed walls formed a ramp against the retaining wall so that the Israelites could merely climb up over the top. The Bible is very precise in its description of how the Israelites entered the city: ‘the people went up into the city, every man straight before him [i.e., straight up and over],’ (Joshua 6:20). The Israelites had to go up, and that is what archaeology has revealed. They had to go from ground level at the base of the tell to the top of the rampart in order to enter the city.” – Bryant Wood
After this, Jericho lost its power as a political center and was ruled by Babylonians, the Persian, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empire, and others up until present day. 

Panorama of Jericho
Wikipedia Commons


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I'm Melanie, the founder of BermudaQuest and an archaeology undergraduate at the University of New Mexico. I love writing about ancient and modern cultures. My goal is to make information about our origins available to everyone [in simple English!]

Civilizations Around the World: The Hittites

on 04 January 2012

The Hittites were a Bronze Age people from mountainous region of central Anatolia, modern Turkey. As powerful warlike people they battled constantly with the neighboring groups for control over the Mediterranean trade. The Hittites were forced to master a harsh homeland with land barely suitable to farm wheat and barley and domesticate sheep and cattle. Against the odds of the land and the success of their powerful army, the Hittites flourished between about 1600 and 1200BC, reaching its height in the 14th century.


Map of the Hittite Empire, courtesy of touregypt.net
The Hittite built a massive stronghold at Hattusas, the center of their kingdom. Here they recruited and trained their powerful army. Much of the military success of the Hittite came from their skill as charioteers. They among the first to use horses in warfare and developed the chariot as one of the most feared weapons in battle. Each of their chariots could hold up to three people, one to drive, and two to fight. Being an army centered group, the Hittites were almost constantly at war, either in order to claim and protect their territory from their neighbors. Most of what we know about them today comes from ancient texts that have been recovered from ancient cuneiform letters and clay tablets. The greatest contract, or at least the most extensively documented contact, was between the Hittites and the Egyptians. They made treaties with the Egyptian pharaohs to avoid any conflicts (the Hittites sometimes bought off their rivals with gold) and were documented on clay tablets and found in the massive royal archives at Hattusas.

Cuneiform, image courtesy of historicconections.web.com
Cuneiform, image courtesy of biblearchaelogy.org
One of the well-known remains of the Hittites is their lion gates. They were the fearsome lion decorated stone gateways of Hattusas. Their capital city was well protected from enemies because it was set among cliffs and mountains, and the lions appeared to be life-like as the capitals guardians. 

The Lion Gate, image courtesy of anthroarcheart.org
Although the Hittites had a strong land army, it was difficult for them to defend their coasts. Invaders from the sea, known to them as “sea peoples”, constantly attacked the Hittites. This, together with unreliable harvests and constant pressure from the Egyptians, eventually bought the empire crumbling down in 1200BC.


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I'm Jose Pierre and I like learning about all aspects of culture, both ancient and modern. I enjoy learning how they communicated, expressed themselves, and their technology.

Civilizations Around the World: The Sumerians

on 20 October 2011


Among the many of the world’s first cities built in Mesopotamia were the Sumerians. They arrived in Sumer in about 5000 BCE and lasted independently until 2300 BCE when the Akkadians conquered the Sumer area and made it part of their large Mesopotamian empire. The people from Sumer and surrounding area developed the first wheeled carts and chariots, and invented the world’s first writing system called cuneiform script. For these reasons, Mesopotamia became known as “the cradle of civilization.”


One of the great architecture of the Sumerians is the ziggurats. A ziggurat consisted of a stepped platform made of dry mud bricks and eventually created a pyramid shape because when they Sumerian’s extended or refurbished their temples, they simply built a new platform on top of the older one, increasing its height and length. The Sumerian’s believed that their gods lived on these ziggurats because of their great height. On the top of the ziggurats was a shrine for religious rites and rituals where only priests were allowed in. An example of the ziggurat and temple is the White Temple of Uruk, made of whitewashed bricks, and dates back to late 3000 BCE.  

The Sumerian’s first city was Uruk. It was built by the Euphrates River because the climate was hot and farmers relied on the water of the river to irrigate their fields to grow crops including wheat, barley, and vegetables. By 3500 BCE, 10,000 inhabitants lived in Uruk. The city’s streets and buildings surrounded its biggest architecture, the temple of Anu, the greatest of Sumerian gods. The priest’s and the people made generous offerings to the temple in hopes of good weather and rich harvests.

Another important Sumerian city is Ur. The site is marked by the ruins of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, which contained the shrine of Nanna, the Sumerian moon god. An artifact that came from Ur that is well known is the Standard of Ur, a rectangular box of unknown function. The excavator, Leonard Wooley, believed the box was to be mounted on a pole with military standard. The two long sides of the box are referred to as the “war side” and the “peace side.” Each Side has three registers or bands depicting a scene.The war side shows a battle field victory. The top register shows soldiers presenting captives to a kinglike figure who is larger than everyone else. The peace side shows a victory celebration, following the same standard that the larger the figure, the higher of importance in society.


The Sumerian civilization consisted of independent city-states such as Ur, Lagash, Umma, and Uruk. They emerged from the area of Mesopotamia, which covers most of what is now present day Iraq. The people of this time gave rise to pottery and metal work that later flourished as a necessity for human sustainability.


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I'm Jose Pierre and I like learning about all aspects of culture, both ancient and modern. I enjoy learning how they communicated, expressed themselves, and their technology.

Mesopotamian Art - An Overview

on 19 October 2011

Mesopotamian Art - An Overview

by Jose-Pierre Estrada and Melanie Magdalena

A Companion Guide to Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History (13th edition)


Humans gave up the hunter-gatherer lifestyle first in Mesopotamia (“the land between the [Tigris and Euphrates] rivers”), beginning the practice of farming and herding. In the 19th century, excavations revealed extraordinary art from stone reliefs depicting warfare to colossal statues of monstrous human-headed bulls.

Map of Ancient Mesopotamia

SUMER

The female head is made of lustrous white marble. For this material to be available, the summarians must have had imported the marble. There are holes drilled in the head so it can be attached to other pieces such as a torso.


Female head (Inanna?), from Uruk (modern Warka), Iraq, ca. 3200–3000 BCE. Marble, approx. 8” high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.
_ _ _ _ _

The Warka Vase is considered to be the first great work of narrative relief. The Vase depicts a religious festival in honor of the goddess Inanna. The vase was divided into three segments (also called registers or friezes), resembling a modern comic book. Each register or band tells a different story, the bottom band shows Uruk’s crops and herds, the middle one shows a procession on naked men in line carrying baskets and jars overflowing with votive offerings (a gift of gratitude to a deity), and the uppermost band contains a female figure a tall horned headdress next to two poles that are the sign of the goddess Inanna.


Presentation of offerings to Innana (Warka vase), from Uruk, Iraq, ca. 3200-3000 BCE. Alabaster, 3' 1/4" high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.
_ _ _ _ _

The statuettes of two worshipers are carved out of soft gypsum and are inlaid with shell and black limestone. The figures represent mortals rather than deities, with folded hands that gesture prayer, or holding small beakers that were used in Sumerian ritual rites. Their oversized eyes symbolize the wakefulness of the worshipers as they offer their prayers to the deity.


Statuettes of two worshipers, from the Square Temple at Eshnunna (modern Tell Asmar), Iraq, ca. 2700 BCE. Gypsum inlaid with shell and black limestone, tallest figure approx. 2’ 6” high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.
_ _ _ _ _

Inscriptions in the fragment of the Victory Stele of Eannatum (stele of the vultures) describe the victory of Eannatum of Lagash over the city of Umma. The fragment depicts the king larger than the soldiers he is leading into battle.



Fragment of the victory stele of Eannatum (Stele of the Vultures), from Girsu (modern Telloh), Syria, ca. 2600–2500 BCE. Limestone, full stele approx. 5’ 11” high. Louvre, Paris.
_ _ _ _ _

The Standard of Ur is a rectangular box of unknown function. The excavator, Leonard Wooley, belived the box was to be mounted on a pole with military standard. The two long sides of the box are refered to as the “war side” and the “peace side.” Each Side has three registers or bands depicting a scene.

The war side shows a battle field victory. The top register shows soldiers presenting captives to a kinglike figure who is larger than everyone else.


War side of the Standard of Ur, from Tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, approx. 8” x 1’ 7”. British Museum, London.



The peace side shows a victory celebration, Following the same standard that the larger the figure, the higher of importance in society.


Peace side of the Standard of Ur, from Tomb 779, Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood inlaid with shell, lapis lazuli, and red limestone, approx. 8” x 1’ 7”. British Museum, London.
_ _ _ _ _

The royal bull-headed lyer is adorned with a gold bull’ head with inlaid figures of a Gilgamesh-like hero and animals acting out scenes of unknown significance also placed in registers.


Bull-headed lyre (restored) from Tomb 789 (“King’s Grave”), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Gold leaf and lapis lazuli over a wooden core, approx. 5’ 5” high. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.


Soundbox of the lyre from Tomb 789 ("King's Grave"), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Wood with inlaid gold, lapis lazuli, and shell, approx. 1’ 7” high. University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

_ _ _ _ _

Designs are incised into small stone cylinders and then rolled over clay to produce artwork such as a banquet. Seals were used to identify goods.


Banquet scene, cylinder seal (left) and its modern impression (right), from the tomb of Pu-abi (tomb 800), Royal Cemetery, Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar), Iraq, ca. 2600 BCE. Lapis lazuli, approx. 2” high. British Museum, London.
_ _ _ _ _

AKKAD AND THE THIRD DYNASTY OF UR

The head of an Akkadian Ruler is a copper, hollow-cast sculpture that was once attached to a full body statue. The Artist carefully portrays the rulers distinctive facial features.


Head of an Akkadian ruler, from Nineveh (modern Kuyunjik), Iraq, ca. 2250–2200 BCE. Copper, 1’ 2 3/8” high. Iraq Museum, Baghdad.
_ _ _ _ _

The Victory stele of Naram-Sin commemorates his conquest of Lullubi, the people of the Iranian mountains of the east. Naram-Sin is shown leading his army up a mountain.


Victory stele of Naram-Sin, from Susa, Iran, 2254–2218 BCE. Pink sandstone, approx. 6’ 7” high. Louvre, Paris.



Victory Stele of Naram Sin, 2254-2218 B.C.E. from Smarthistory Videos on Vimeo.
_ _ _ _ _ 

The alabaster votive disk of Enheduanna is the most important object associated with Enhuadanna, the oldest recorded name of a poet. The Disk bears a cuneiform inscription saying she was “wife of Nanna” and “daughter of Sargon, king of the world.”
_ _ _ _ _

Gudea built and rebuilt many temples and placed statues of himself within all of them. The seated statue of Gudea is made of diorite. Gudea is seated with his hands gestured of prayer; on his lap is a tablet with a plan for a new temple.


Seated statue of Gudea holding temple plan, from Girsu (modern Telloh), Iraq, ca. 2100 BCE. Diorite, approx. 2’ 5” high. Louvre, Paris.
_ _ _ _ _


THE SECOND MILLENNIUM BCE

The stele of Hammurabi’s law code is one of the first examples of foreshortening – depicting depth by representing a figure or object at an angle, instead of frontally or in profile. A sample of the Laws and penalties described in the code of law include:
If any one steal the minor son of another, he shall be put to death.

If any one take a male or female slave of the court, or a male or female slave of a freed man, outside the city gates, he shall be put to death.

If any one receive into his house a runaway male or female slave of the court, or of a freedman, and does not bring it out at the public proclamation of the major domus, the master of the house shall be put to death.

If any one find runaway male or female slaves in the open country and bring them to their masters, the master of the slaves shall pay him two shekels of silver.

If the slave will not give the name of the master, the finder shall bring him to the palace; a further investigation must follow, and the slave shall be returned to his master.

If he hold the slaves in his house, and they are caught there, he shall be put to death.

Stele with law code of Hammurabi, from Susa, Iran, ca. 1780 BCE. Basalt, approx. 7’ 4” high. Louvre, Paris.


This life size copper and bronze statue of Queen Napir-Asu weighs almost 4000 pounds! In the inscription it says the queen wanted her statue to be an immovable offering in a temple.


Statue of Queen Napir-Asu, from Susa, Iran, ca. 1350–1300 BCE. Bronze and copper, 4’ 2 3/4” high. Louvre, Paris.
_ _ _ _ _


ASSYRIA

Lamassu were colossal limestone monsters that guarded the gates of King Sargon's palace. Lamassu was a winged, man-headed bull that had five legs – two seen from the front, and four seen from the side. The artist wanted to present a optical view of the Lamassu as it would stand in space in both angles.


Lamassu (winged, human-headed bull), from the citadel of Sargon II, Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad), Iraq, ca. 720–705 BCE. Limestone, approx. 13’ 10” high. Louvre, Paris.



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The Difference between Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia

on 05 October 2011


Ever wonder what the difference between Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia is?

Thе аncіent Egyрtіаnѕ and the Meѕороtаmіans ѕhаred mаnу traits, but differеd aѕ well, dеѕpіte emеrging аround the ѕame yеаrs. Thе Egурtіanѕ, а rеligiоusly оptimiѕtic рeоple, sеt up a burеаuсratiс gоvеrnment thаt evеntuаlly reflеcted thеir ѕoсіаl ѕуѕtеm. In Meѕoроtamia, whеrе life waѕ not vіеwеd аѕ oрtimіѕtiсally, thе mоrе dіvеrѕе ѕociаl sуѕtem led to а dеcentrаlіzed роlіtical ѕуѕtеm. Evidеnсе ѕhоwѕ, hоwеvеr, thаt bоth ѕocietiеѕ truѕtеd іn аn aftеrlifе, еѕtаblіѕhed a uniquе wrіting ѕtructure аnd exсеllеd ѕіgnificаntlу іn the аrtѕ аnd sсiеnсеѕ.

Map showing Egypt and Mesopotamia
Mesоpotаmіa, unfоrtunatеly, did nоt hаvе а sеаѕоnаl flооding from thе Tіgrіѕ and Euphrateѕ rivеrѕ, whiсh wоuld fоrce thеm tо сreаtе an оrganіzеd agriculturаl ѕуѕtem. Thіѕ would exрlаіn thеіr nеgаtіvе viеw of thе afterlіfe and the genеral moоd of thе godѕ. Egyрt, nеvеrthеleѕѕ, ѕtооd alоng thе fеrtile sоіlѕ of the Nilе Rіver vаllеу, which рrоvіdеd а fаmiliаrizеd flooding. Thіѕ allowed the Egуptіаns to ѕее the unіvеrse as orderly and bеnеfіcіal. Sо ѕаcred thіѕ aftеrlife thаt thеу beliеved in prеѕеrvіng the body аt dеаth fоr thе јоurnеy to the аftеrlife bу thе рrоcеsѕ оf mummіfіcаtion. Thе Mesоpоtаmiаns, fеarіng to disappoіnt the godѕ, bеliеved thаt their purposе waѕ to ѕеrvе thе gods аnd thus relіgiоn рlауеd а mоre importаnt rоlе in government. Prіеѕtѕ, fоr еxаmрlе, werе much morе prоminеnt than іn Egyрt. Nо mattеr thе situatiоn, bоth сivіlіzаtіоns thrived іn аgriculturе.

Book of the Dead
Bоth communіtіеs hаd а ѕосial sуstеm brоken dоwn іntо thrеe grouрѕ. King Hammurabі's lаw deсlаred theѕе thrее grоuрs: thе freе landownіng, соntаіnіng rоуаltу, рriеsts, and оffіcіаlѕ; thе dерendеnt fаrmerѕ аnd аrtisаnѕ; and thе slаvе claѕs, whо were usuаllу priѕоnеrѕ of wаr. Temрlе lеadеrs were соnѕidеrеd rоyalty and соntrolled largе еѕtateѕ аlоng wіth thе Lugal (king). Whіlе male dоminаnсе exіѕtеd, wоmеn dіd have rіghtѕ іn Mеsoроtamіa. Thеy соuld own lаnd аnd buѕіnеѕs and could trаdе, but сhіld rеarіng wаѕ preferred. Wоmеn еvеntuаllу lоѕt soсіal stаnding frоm thе ѕрrеad of аgrісulturе аnd thе rіse оf thе mіddlе clаѕѕ. Sоcіаl сlаѕs in Egypt was leѕѕ pronоunced: сonsіstіng оf thе kіng аnd hіs offісіalѕ; thе lоwer lеvel offiсiаlѕ, рriеѕts, fаrmеrѕ, and рrоfеѕѕіоnalѕ; and thе реаѕants аt the bоttоm. Thе реаsant clаѕѕ еxeсutеd much of the agrісulturаl labоr, ѕinсe ѕlаvеrу wаs limіtеd. Obeѕіty, as іn many аnсіеnt civilіzаtiоnѕ, wаs a sіgn of wеаlth аnd ѕtаtuѕ. Fеmаlе ѕubоrdinаtіоn to man іѕ аpраrent іn Egурt аs wеll. Womеn yеt hаd slіghtlу morе rightѕ. Thіs inсludеd оwnіng рroperty, іnhеrіtanсe аnd thе abіlity tо wіll рrорertу to whomеvеr.

Hammurabi
A kіng оf ѕomе ѕоrt ultіmаtеlу ruled both Egурt and Meѕоpotаmіa. Egуptians werе gоvеrned by a bureаuсrасy, where the phаraоh wаs thе suрrеme ruler, fоllowеd bу hiѕ aрpоіntеd offiсiаlѕ. Thе offісіalѕ were сhоsеn by merіt, rather than bу hеritage as in Mesороtаmia. Thе рharаoh was viewed aѕ gоd оn eаrth, grаntеd with the reѕроnѕіbilіtу tо еnѕurе wеlfare аnd рrоsрeritу. The pаlаcе wаs іn contrоl of lоng dіstаncе соmmеrсе аs wеll aѕ соllecting tаxeѕ tо рut tоwаrds сonѕtruсtion and the аrmу. Priestѕ, оn thе othеr hand, dіd nоt рlау а bіg rоle in роlіtіcѕ аs іn Meѕороtamіа. The two сеntеrѕ of рowеr іn Mеѕopоtаmia wеre the templе аnd the palасе оf thе kіng. Thе tеmple аnd the раlacе were uѕuallу thе centеr аnd ѕurrоundеd bу agrісulturаl lаnds, knоwn as a сіty ѕtаtе. Thеse cіtу-stаtеѕ dеvеloрed іndеpendentlу аnd trаded amоng themѕеlveѕ. Thе theoсrаtic kіng was саlled thе Lugal аnd wаs reѕpоnsіblе for рrоperty rіghtѕ, dеfensе, аnd the lаw. Slіghtly dіffеrent from Egурt, thе Lugal wаѕ оnly the reрresеntаtivе or mеdіatоr of the gоdѕ.

Anсiеnt Egурt and Meѕороtаmiа based thеir есоnоmіеѕ оn аgriсulturе. Thіs tеdіоus lаbоr demаnded fоr morе prоduсtivе wаyѕ to wоrk, hореfullу through technоlogіcal аdvаnсemеntѕ.

Cuneiform writing
Both socіеtіeѕ uѕеd the рrоcеѕѕ оf irrіgаtiоn through canals аnd dіkеѕ. Stоnе toolѕ werе the mоst commonlу uѕеd аlong wіth some brоnzе. Egуpt ѕkіllfullу utilizеd simplе machіnеs suсh аs lеvеrѕ аnd pulleуs tо buіld thе magnіfісеnt monuments. Mеѕoрotamianѕ facilіtаted potterу makіng with thе creation оf thе pottеr'ѕ whееl. The mоst conѕidеrablе іnnоvаtіon wаs thе dіstinсtіvе wrіtіng ѕtruсturеѕ of thе two cіvіlizatiоns. Thе Mеѕopotаmіanѕ рrefеrrеd the mеthоd of cunеіfоrm- by сreаtіng wеdgе shарed ѕymbоls with rеedѕ. Fortunatеlу fоr thе disсovеry of the Rоѕеtta ѕtоnе, wе саn іnterprеt thе multitudе оf hіеrоglурhѕ оf the Ancіеnt Egyрtiаns.

Dеѕріte bеing іsolated, both cіvilizаtionѕ mаnаged tо аbide by thе bаsіc ѕtruсturе оf human naturе and аррly thе іndісаtоrѕ оf а cіvilіzаtion. From this сamе the ѕреcifіc quаlіtiеѕ thаt makе uр the clаsѕeѕ оf Mesoроtаmiаnѕ and ancient Egурtiаns.

About the Author : Rohitesh Naik, a Freelance writer and a Internet Marketer who presently writes about the Upcoming Verizon Phones. It includes all the the news and updates about New Verizon Phones.

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Images courtesy of: Ricardo Liberato (Pyramids of Giza), Aurbina (Moai), Maria Reiche (Nazca), Zunkir (Gobekli Tepe), Bjorn Christian Torrissen (Chichen Itza), Gareth Wiscombe (Stonehenge).

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