The Influence of the Mesopotamia Civilization - Essay Example

Mesopotamia serves as one of the most ancient civilizations of the world. Its modern day existence has undergone number of phases (McCannon, 57). Like any other civilization or society, it was set of individuals who flocked together as an entity. This was further transformed through the establishment of the tribes, castes, and ultimately a grand civilization that spread across the borders into different regions of the world. Owing to its existence in terms of the most ancient civilizations, it is also dubbed as the cradle of civilizations that paved way for other cultures and other societies to flourish. Before looking into the overall existence of the civilization, it is highly imperative to look into the kind of atmosphere and global climate that the civilization enjoyed. Based on this, the given civilization adopts a certain means of occupation, living and survival. The Mesopotamia Civilization largely relied on hoarding of the sheep, cattle and other animals. They flocked through the deserts and other barren parts in search of the stock for their animals. This gave them a more The size and domain of this civilization was so large that the modern day states such as Iraq, Syria, Kuwait and other adjoining states make up for the part of the once rich Mesopotamia civilization (Fairmont, 51). The influence of Mesopotamia civilization was so grand that it is safely being said that the Western civilizations took up to the incumbent civilization in adopting the new patterns of life, living together as a social unit and paving way towards the modern times based on advanced social co existence and societies. Diversity within: Given the fact that the surrounding terrain was non uniform, it allowed for a dynamic outlook to the inhabitants of the region, as a result more diverse outlook. There were elements of distinction and initiation that can be characterized to have been formally clustered by this civilization. Some of the variables and components of a collective society in this regard include belief in the gods, the kind of scripture being adopted, the language used for communication, their undertaking of the women’s affairs and the religiously sacred functions were few of the characteristic functions of this civilization. Different Epochs within the civilization’s life: The overall journey can be stretched back from the 4th B.C. The initial point of initiation was the Zagros Mountains. The locals made inroads towards the outer areas and reached up to the region of Jezirah and ultimately to Baghdad. Towards the earlier phase, the major dynasties that came forth include the likes of Jemdat Nasr era, Halaf, and most famous Babylonian traces can be found from that era. This era spanned from 4th B.C century to 1st B.C century. To many historians, the formal means of occupation came about when agriculture was adopted for earning and making a living. This incorporated the use of tools, the use of animals for this purpose and plough through the firms and fields. This allowed for exploring more land and with the help of rivers nearby, the fertile land was helpful towards the overall cause of agriculture and horticulture in the region. Harvesting and other means allowed for bringing along the like minded people together. This in turn gave rise to the concept of developing tribes and nations within and as a result flourishing of the society and civilization as a whole. Samara Culture: Samara culture was one of the distinctive functions that emerged from that era. Large amount of progress was seen in this phase in terms of the social standing to the refined outlook and structural development. Pottery, enamel and other artifacts of culture emerged during this era. The era of their control and influence was between late 4th century B.C to 5500 B.C (Anthony, 189). The development and coming of age of the textual expression of Mesopotamia Civilizaiton : Establishment of Sumerian which is by many historians believed to be one of the earliest original and complete text oriented language is also attributed to this civilization. It was one of the major developments that came about in the journey of the civilization’s life time. The introduction of Samarian language tools allowed for introducing other components that made the purpose and methods of communication further easier all together. The overall development led to the introduction of tools like wheel which was used for carrying the carts. Furthermore, with sense in aesthetics, the items like bronze and copper were introduced which found large importance and usage amongst the women. The modern day ball points are also believed to be a continuation of what was originally initiated by the great Mesopotamia civilization. So much so, the modern day calendar is also believed to have found its origin in the Mesopotamian art and skills that the people possessed. Concept of city states: Given the amount of progress and development in the social sector, the regions stated developing their own rules and mechanism for working in the social sphere. Kings were chosen from the tribes based on the superiority of the family they belonged to. The kings had the divine authority to call over the major decisions of the tribe in terms of the social decisions and other basic and necessary factors. Amongst the social classes, different categories were existent. The King mostly belonged to the noble castes, they were followed by the clergy and the high ups who enjoyed influence and good relationship with the king. The priests were assigned the duties of administering over the religious places and guiding the people with the teaching of the sacred. Political structures consisted of the different hierarchies within which allowed the deciding and administering over the roles and responsibilities in the social and political sector. The boundaries were clearly drawn between the regions which allowed for governing and declaring the authority over a region and prevented other tribes from infiltrating into them without permission. Road towards the post Mesopotamian Empire and other civilizations within: The Mesopotamian Empire lasted for good number of centuries; however it soon started to decline in its power. This was forced by number of reasons. One of them was the encroachment of the other progressing civilizations. Babylonians were the first who came around. They were soon followed by the likes of the Hammurabi. The Hammurabi also brought along developments in terms of the art and architecture. They also introduced new ways of live which added to the overall progress in terms of the societal and cultural progress. The overall progress of the Mesopotamian and the Babylonian civilization was disrupted by the rise of the Persians and other foreign forces who came along from outside. The consequences of this transformation: Mesopotamian civilization started off from scratch and ended up with giving the mankind with an idea and flare of nearly everything that was in its capacity. It laid the foundations for the modern tools, techniques and the items of transport and other means of comfort. It is rightly and without a doubt being said that the Western civilization got influenced by it. The Roman Empire and the Greeks had nearly all the doings and actions that were initially seen in Mesopotamian civilization. The traces of Mesopotamian civilization kept showing themselves in different forms till the 6th and 7th century A.D. the rise of Islam in Arabia was the formal period when new civilization emerged and laid this civilization to rest eventually (Ring et.al, 522). References: Anthony, David W. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World. Princeton University Press, 2010 Fairmont, Louis. The Link: The Secret Relationship Between Saddam and Al Qaida. Lulu.com, 2008 McCannon, John. AP World History, 3rd Ed. Barrons Educational Series, 2010 Ring, Trudy, Paul Schellinger and Noelle Watson. Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places. Routledge, 2014 Read More