[History] Summary of Mesopotamian Civilization

Summary of Mesopotamian Civilization

 

Summary of Mesopotamian Civilization

 

  If you have studied history, Mesopotamian civilization is a word you have probably heard of at least once. This civilization begins 9,000 years ago. I think it would be easier to understand if we summarize the process of civilization one by one from the perspective of the people at the time.

 

9000 years ago, most of the people who lived in caves began to live outside little by little. They only hunted to eat animals, but they also learned how to tame animals and raise them as livestock. As one or two people came out and lived in this way, villages began to appear, developed into cities, and eventually civilization emerged in human history. The place where all these stories began is a region called 'Mesopotamia'. 'Mesopotamia' means 'the region of the fertile crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers'.

 

 

Summary of Mesopotamian Civilization

 

  People who first learned how to tame livestock while living out of the cave led a nomadic lifestyle. Around 6000 BC, nomadic people came to Mesopotamia. Around this time, people were learning how to farm, not only hunting and hunting, but also farming crops. You no longer have to wander around looking for food. As they settled in farming, they built houses, and for the first time in human history, a community called a village is formed. Having a safe home while living a settled life, people can afford to work hard to make tools and things necessary for daily life. As I worked hard in each field, various jobs were created. And as people live together, conflicts increase when there are people who stick to their own thoughts. Accordingly, rules became necessary, and the need for administration to govern and manage people arose. Therefore, roles such as soldiers protecting people and kings in administration were created. Also, as people live together, they often witness the death of their close friends. And the question arises about his death. Life after death also made me think about the afterlife, and for this, I needed a priest to pray for, and I built a temple. In this way, rumors that people who settled in Mesopotamia made a village and lived together spread all over the place, and as people from other places also came to settle here, the size of the village grew bigger and bigger.

  The strongest group among the people who lived a diverse nomadic life in various regions and settled here were the 'Sumerians' who settled in southern Mesopotamia. Between 4000 BC and 2400 BC, the Sumerians built numerous cities such as Uruk, Ur, and Ubaid. And the Sumerians were the first to invent the written language. So, today, the Sumerian region in the southern part of Mesopotamia is considered to be the oldest civilization among Mesopotamian civilizations.   Birth of History Humans now have fertile land to farm, raise livestock, and have cities equipped with various fields such as government, military, and religion. However, some of the food or tools produced are insufficient and others are left over. While pondering what to do, he starts bartering for those who need it. This is how the business started, and the Sumerians also use the world's first wheeled transport tools. Thanks to the invention of the wheel, merchants could move long distances with heavy goods, and as commerce developed, methods and standards were needed to measure the value of goods. This is how mankind invented numbers and mathematics. The Sumerians use numbers with their knuckles. If you use your knuckles like this, you can make a total of 60 numbers, which is the 'decimal system'. Even today, in this decimal system, 1 hour is 60 minutes, 1 minute 60 seconds, and a year is 12 months.

 

Numbers of Mesopotamian Civilizations

 

  As commerce developed, wealthy people began to appear, and at that time and now, money has a lot of power, so the rich can exert great power. However, there was another way to make money, which is to invade and loot other areas. Thus the war began, and the nation with the strongest army became the wealthiest nation. Hundreds of people will follow this era. A nation with a strong army attacked the surrounding peoples at will, and took away other people's valuables. They even took people captive and made them slaves.

  The strongest army at that time was the Akkadian kingdom led by King Sargon. King Sargon was ambitious, and the Akkadian army descended south from the northern desert, conquering all of the Sumerian city-states around 2370 BC. In this way, King Sargon of the Akkadian dynasty established an empire for the first time in human history. However, when Sargon died, the empire collapsed and the territory was shattered into pieces.

 

Bronze head of the king of Akkad (probably a full body)

 

  And the Assyrians appear. Around 1000 BC, the Assyrians had formed a strong army and had taken the whole of Mesopotamia. Asia had strong tanks, strong infantry, and strong cavalry. But what made these Assyrians stronger were their iron weapons. The iron weapons were stronger than the bronze weapons used by other peoples. As a result, Assyria became a great power.

 

On the other hand, if we look at the tools made by mankind so far, the concept of 'homo', meaning 'good with dexterity', appeared in Africa about 2 million years ago. 'Homo habilis' means 'a person with good dexterity', 'a person who knows how to use hands', and 'a person who uses tools', and the first tools were made out of stones. The period when stone tools were used is called the 'Stone Age'. About 1 million years later, they become 'Homo ergaster' and 'Homo erectus'. 'Homo erectus' had better skills, so he knew how to build a hut and use fire.

  About 150,000 won from now, the first bow and arrow in history appeared. Herbs of these arrows were made from animal bones or stones. It is in Mesopotamia civilization 7000 years ago that tools and weapons made of metal appeared. The metal used at this time was copper, and about 5,000 years ago, Mesopotamians figured out a way to hot-melt copper and mix it with jou. It was the beginning of the Bronze Age, when metals stronger than copper were created.

  However, a much higher temperature was required to melt iron, which is harder than copper or bronze, and people at the time did not know how to make such a high temperature. ushering in the Iron Age.

 

  People's words disappear without a trace. However, if the letters are small, they do not disappear. If you write it down, others may read it. Historians have found out what people thought thousands of years ago by studying the writings of ancient people. Writing became widely used, establishing itself as a means of recording life and expressing thoughts and feelings.

 

Mesopotamian civilization cuneiform

 

  However, there was no paper in Mesopotamia at that time, so clay was used to make flat plates. Then, I wrote before the essence dried, and I baked a clay plate in an oven to keep these writings for a long time. Nails or wedges were used to write on clay tablets, so later generations call these characters 'wedge characters'.

  In 1792 BC, 'Hammurabi', the first dynasty of a country called 'Babylonia', succeeded his father's throne in Babylon and issued a national law, which was engraved on a rock much harder than a clay tablet. I thought that it was easy to follow the law because anyone could see it, and because there was a law that could be seen, it was easy to know who made a mistake. Code of Hammurabi'. King Hammuriva wanted to make the most equitable laws possible. So, the person who caused harm to another person was punished, and that punishment was the law of the Talio principle of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth', in which the person inflicted damage is given the same amount.

 

Mesopotamian Civilization Code of Hammurabi

 

  Herodotus was a famous Greek historian, called the 'Father of History' in the 5th century BC. He was working in Babylon, the most famous and powerful city in Mesopotamia.

  In the ancient city of Babylon, there is a 'hanging garden', one of the seven wonders of the world. According to a legend, the creator of this garden full of unusual flowers and trees was built by Nebuchadnezzar II, king of Babylon, for the perfume (longing for home) of Amitis, the queen at the time. ‘Nebuchadnezzar II’ lived around 600 BC, his father was the king who defeated Assyria and united Babylon. 'Nebuchadnezzar II' is the very king portrayed as a very bad character in the Protestant Bible, who destroyed the kingdom of Judah. Mesopotamians prayed in a place called 'Ziggurat Temple'. It is said that there was a really huge ziggurat in Babylon, which was 90 meters high and seemed to have reached the sky. Such 'Nebuchadnezzar II' is recorded as the king who led Neo-Babylonia to its heyday, and along with this, he also had an affinity for architecture, and Babylon became a beautiful and mysterious city called the pearl of Mesopotamia.

 

  As in any other era, astronomy is an integral part of civilization. The Babylonians also observed the night sky. The Babylonians thought that the earth was a motionless disk and that the sky revolved around the earth once a day. So I thought the stars were in the same spot every day, but I saw a few stars that moved differently. The Babylonians believed that these stars had a particularly mysterious and powerful power. The priests studied these stars every night and gave them names. Those stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The Babylonians believed that these five stars were gods who could change the fate of humans at will. The priests also predicted the future by watching the movements of these planets. Thus the Babylonians invented the astrological horoscope. Today, it is the Babylonians who unite the week into seven days. Each day of the week is named after the five planets, the sun and the moon, and the Babylonians still have traces of the name of the day of the week.

  The world's oldest epic, the 'Epic of Gilgamesh', also came out during the Mesopotamian civilization. The protagonist of this epic is a hero named Gilgamesh. 'Gilgamesh' is a brave, handsome and powerful king born between a goddess and a demigod. However, the gods wanted to punish Gilgamesh, who was full of pride, and sent a monster called 'Enkido' to the world. 'Gilgamesh' and 'Enkido' fought tiringly, but there was no final decision, and the two thought it would be better to be friends. In this way, their friendship began, but Gilgamesh's ordeal did not end. Her goddess of love 'Ishtar' loved Gilgamesh and seduced him, but 'Gilgamesh' ignored her goddess. It is said that the gods hate being ignored, and 'Ishtar' is angry that 'Enkido' dies because her father asks 'Anu'. 'Gilgamesh', who was suffering from the sorrow of losing his friend, decided to conquer his death, and went down to the bottom of the sea in search of the grass that gives eternal life to the soul. He eventually got the grass, but his dream of not dying is shattered by the snake taking the immortal grass. So Gilgamesh returns to Uruk.

 

Mesopotamian Civilization Gilgamesh Epic

 

 

  The story of the world's first civilization, born 8,000 years ago in Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, also ends here.