-Mesopotamia was a REGION, not a civilization
Uruk
-In about 5000 BCE the city was founded
-had about 50-80k people-made it one of the largest cities
Nippur
-considered a sacred group, formed around 5000 BCE, peaked in 2500 BCE
-special place of worship to the Sumerian gods
Nineveh
-one of the oldest cities
-founded around 6000 BCE
-by 3000 BCE it became very religious--once an earthquake destroyed an important temple that was soon rebuilt
Tigris and Euphrates were very important rivers--deposited silt
-many early civilizations rose up in the valley between the two rivers
-Mesopotamia was situated between the Tigris and the Euphrates
-desert in the north, marshy in the south because of heavy rain
-animals were a main trade
-main clients were the Persians and ancient India
-all trading was done between 6000 and 4000 BCE
-cuneiform was the Mesopotamian way to write
-they invented the wheel through advanced mathematics
-only the sons of prominent people could go to school
-the Mesopotamians thought the world was flat with an overarching heaven, the sea surrounded this, and the universe was born from the oceans surrounding the earth
Sports: hunting, wrestling, polo, majore (rugby)
Government: monarchy
-wrote the first code of laws
-believed their rulers were descendants of gods
-broken up into city-state systems
Indus
- had deserts and mountains that protected them naturally
-the religion is uncertain--may have been similar to Hinduism
-People were born into social classes
-these classes didn't change
-women were valued because they made babies
-highly organized agriculture
Harappa
-one of the first cities
-three classes: religious elite, trading class, the poor workers
Mohenjo-Daro
-divided into two portions
-citadel (public bath)
-had sanitation systems
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