Ancient Mesopotamia Reading Comprehension Pdf Common Core

Mesopotamia is a region of southwest Asia in the Tigris and Euphrates river system that benefitted from the surface area's climate and geography to host the ancestry of human civilization. Its history is marked by many important inventions that changed the world, including the concept of time, math, the wheel, sailboats, maps and writing. Mesopotamia is also defined by a irresolute succession of ruling bodies from different areas and cities that seized command over a period of thousands of years.

Where is Mesopotamia?

Mesopotamia is located in the region now known as the Middle Eastward, which includes parts of southwest asia and lands around the eastern Mediterranean Ocean. It is part of the Fertile Crescent, an area besides known equally "Cradle of Culture" for the number of innovations that arose from the early societies in this region, which are among some of the earliest known homo civilizations on world.

The discussion "mesopotamia" is formed from the ancient words "meso," meaning between or in the middle of, and "potamos," meaning river. Situated in the fertile valleys betwixt the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the region is at present home to mod-day Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria.

Map of Mesopotamia.  Shown are Washukanni, Nineveh, Hatra, Assur, Nuzi, Palmyra, Mari, Sippar, Babylon, Kish, Nippur, Isin, Lagash, Uruk, Charax Spasinu and Ur, from due north to south.

Goran tek-en/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0

Mesopotamian Culture

Humans first settled in Mesopotamia in the Paleolithic era. Past 14,000 B.C., people in the region lived in small settlements with circular houses.

V m years after, these houses formed farming communities following the domestication of animals and the development of agronomics, most notably irrigation techniques that took reward of the proximity of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Agricultural progress was the work of the ascendant Ubaid culture, which had captivated the Halaf culture before it.

Ancient Mesopotamia

These scattered agrarian communities started in the northern part of the ancient Mesopotamian region and spread south, continuing to grow for several yard years until forming what mod humans would recognize equally cities, which were considered the piece of work of the Sumer people.

Uruk was the showtime of these cities, dating back to around 3200 B.C. Information technology was a mud brick metropolis built on the riches brought from trade and conquest and featured public fine art, gigantic columns and temples. At its superlative, information technology had a population of some 50,000 citizens.

Sumerians are also responsible for the earliest form of written language, cuneiform, with which they kept detailed clerical records.

READ More: nine Ancient Sumerian Inventions That Changed the Earth

By 3000 B.C., Mesopotamia was firmly under the control of the Sumerian people. Sumer contained several decentralized urban center-states—Eridu, Nippur, Lagash, Uruk, Kish and Ur.

The first king of a united Sumer is recorded as Etana of Kish. It'southward unknown whether Etana really existed, as he and many of the rulers listed in the Sumerian King List that was developed effectually 2100 B.C. are all featured in Sumerian mythology as well.

Etana was followed by Meskiaggasher, the rex of the city-state Uruk. A warrior named Lugalbanda took control effectually 2750 B.C.

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh, the legendary subject of the Epic of Gilgamesh, is said to exist Lugalbanda'southward son. Gilgamesh is believed to accept been born in Uruk around 2700 B.C.

The Epic of Gilgamesh is considered to exist the primeval bang-up work of literature and the inspiration for some of the stories in the Bible. In the epic poem, Gilgamesh goes on an adventure with a friend to the Cedar Forest, the state of the Gods in Mesopotamian mythology. When his friend is slain, Gilgamesh goes on a quest to notice the secret of eternal life, finding: "Life, which you look for, y'all volition never find. For when the gods created human being, they allow decease be his share, and life withheld in their ain hands."

King Lugalzagesi was the concluding king of Sumer, falling to Sargon of Akkad, a Semitic people, in 2334 B.C. They were briefly allies, acquisition the urban center of Kish together, but Lugalzagesi's mercenary Akkadian ground forces was ultimately loyal to Sargon.

Sargon and the Akkadians

The Akkadian Empire existed from 2234-2154 B.C. under the leadership of the now-titled Sargon the Great. It was considered the globe'due south first multicultural empire with a central government.

Lilliputian is known of Sargon's groundwork, but legends requite him a like origin to the Biblical story of Moses. He was at one point an officeholder who worked for the king of Kish, and Akkadia was a metropolis that Sargon himself established. When the city of Uruk invaded Kish, Sargon took Kish from Uruk and was encouraged to continue with conquest.

Sargon expanded his empire through armed forces means, acquisition all of Sumer and moving into what is now Syrian arab republic. Nether Sargon, trade beyond Mesopotamian borders grew, and compages became more sophisticated, notably the appearance of ziggurats, apartment-topped buildings with a pyramid shape and steps.

Gutians

The final rex of the Akkadian Empire, Shar-kali-sharri, died in 2193 B.C., and Mesopotamia went through a century of unrest, with different groups struggling for command.

Among these groups were the Gutian people, barbarians from the Zagros Mountains. The Gutian rule is considered a disorderly one that caused a severe downturn in the empire'southward prospects.

Ur-Namma

In 2100 B.C. the urban center of Ur attempted to institute a dynasty for a new empire. The ruler of Ur-Namma, the king of the metropolis of Ur, brought Sumerians back into control afterwards Utu-hengal, the leader of the urban center of Uruk, defeated the Gutians.

Under Ur-Namma, the first code of law in recorded history, The Code of Ur-Nammu, appeared. Ur-Namma was attacked past both the Elamites and the Amorites and defeated in 2004 B.C.

The Babylonians

Choosing Babylon as the capital, the Amorites took control and established Babylonia.

Kings were considered deities and the near famous of these was Hammurabi, who ruled 1792–1750 B.C. Hammurabi worked to expand the empire, and the Babylonians were virtually continually at war.

Hammurabi's almost famous contribution is his list of laws, better known equally the Lawmaking of Hammurabi, devised effectually 1772 B.C.

Hammurabi's innovation was not but writing downwards the laws for everyone to meet, but making sure that everyone throughout the empire followed the aforementioned legal codes, and that governors in dissimilar areas did not enact their own. The list of laws also featured recommended punishments to ensure that every citizen had the right to the same justice.

In 1750 B.C. the Elamites conquered the city of Ur. Together with the control of the Amorites, this conquest marked the end of Sumerian culture.

The Hittites

The Hittites, who were centered around Anatolia and Syria, conquered the Babylonians around 1595 B.C.

Smelting was a pregnant contribution of the Hittites, allowing for more sophisticated weaponry that lead them to aggrandize the empire even further. Their attempts to go on the technology to themselves eventually failed, and other empires became a lucifer for them.

The Hittites pulled out before long after sacking Babylon, and the Kassites took control of the city. Hailing from the mountains due east of Mesopotamia, their menstruum of dominion saw immigrants from India and Europe arriving, and travel sped up thanks to the apply of horses with chariots and carts.

The Kassites abased their ain civilization after a couple of generations of dominance, allowing themselves to be absorbed into Babylonian civilization.

The Assyrians

Reception of a victorious general of the Assyrian Empire in Mesopotamia.

Stefano Bianchetti/Corbis/Getty Images

The Assyrian Empire under the leadership of Ashur-uballit I rose effectually 1365 B.C. in the areas betwixt the lands controlled by the Hittites and the Kassites.

Effectually 1220 B.C., King Tukulti-Ninurta I aspired to rule all of Mesopotamia and seized Babylon. The Assyrian Empire connected to aggrandize over the next two centuries, moving into mod-24-hour interval Palestine and Syria.

Under the rule of Ashurnasirpal Two in 884 B.C., the empire created a new capitol, Nimrud, congenital from the spoils of conquest and brutality that fabricated Ashurnasirpal 2 a hated figure.

His son Shalmaneser spent the majority of his reign fighting off an alliance betwixt Syria, Babylon and Egypt, and conquering State of israel. One of his sons rebelled against him, and Shalmaneser sent some other son, Shamshi-Adad, to fight for him. Three years later, Shamshi-Adad ruled.

Sargon II

A new dynasty began in 722 B.C. when Sargon II seized power. Modeling himself on Sargon the Great, he divided the empire into provinces and kept the peace.

His undoing came when the Chaldeans attempted to invade and Sargon Ii sought an brotherhood with them. The Chaldeans made a separate alliance with the Elamites, and together they took Babylonia.

Sargon II lost to the Chaldeans only switched to attacking Syria and parts of Egypt and Gaza, embarking on a spree of conquest before somewhen dying in battle against the Cimmerians from Russian federation.

Sargon II'southward grandson Esarhaddon ruled from 681 to 669 B.C. and went on a subversive campaign of conquest through Ethiopia, Palestine and Egypt, destroying cities he rampaged through subsequently looting them. Esarhaddon struggled to rule his expanded empire. A paranoid leader, he suspected many in his court of conspiring against him and had them killed.

His son Ashurbanipal is considered to exist the concluding great ruler of the Assyrian empire. Ruling from 669 to 627 B.C., he faced a rebellion in Egypt, losing the territory, and from his brother, the king of Babylonia, whom he defeated. Ashurbanipal is best remembered for creating Mesopotamia'south first library in what is now Nineveh, Republic of iraq. It is the earth'south oldest known library, predating the Library of Alexandria past several hundred years.

Nebuchadnezzar

In 626 B.C. the throne was seized by Babylonian public official Nabopolassar, ushering in the dominion of the Semitic dynasty from Chaldea. In 616 B.C. Nabopolassar attempted to accept Assyria merely failed.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Universal History Archive/Universal Images Grouping/Getty Images

His son Nebuchadnezzar reigned over the Babylonian Empire following an invasion attempt in 614 B.C. by King Cyaxares of Media that pushed the Assyrians farther away.

Nebuchadnezzar is known for his ornate architecture, especially the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Walls of Babylon and the Ishtar Gate. Under his rule, women and men had equal rights.

Nebuchadnezzar is as well responsible for the conquest of Jerusalem, which he destroyed in 586 B.C., taking its inhabitants into captivity. He appears in the Old Testament because of this action.

The Persian Empire

Western farsi Emperor Cyrus Ii seized power during the reign of Nabonidus in 539 B.C. Nabonidus was such an unpopular king that Mesopotamians did not ascent to defend him during the invasion.

Babylonian civilisation is considered to have ended under Persian rule, following a slow decline of utilise in cuneiform and other cultural hallmarks.

By the time Alexander the Smashing conquered the Persian Empire in 331 B.C., virtually of the neat cities of Mesopotamia no longer existed and the culture had been long overtaken. Eventually, the region was taken past the Romans in 116 A.D. and finally Arabic Muslims in 651 A.D.

Mesopotamian Gods

Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, with followers worshipping several master gods and thousands of pocket-size gods. The three master gods were Ea (Sumerian: Enki), the god of wisdom and magic, Anu (Sumerian: An), the sky god, and Enlil (Ellil), the god of earth, storms and agriculture and the controller of fates. Ea is the creator and protector of humanity in both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the story of the Corking Flood.

In the latter story, Ea made humans out of dirt, but the God Enlil sought to destroy humanity by creating a flood. Ea had the humans build an ark and mankind was spared. If this story sounds familiar, it should; foundational Mesopotamian religious stories about the Garden of Eden, the Great Inundation, and the Creation of the Tower of Babel found their way into the Bible, and the Mesopotamian religion influenced both Christianity and Islam.

Each Mesopotamian City had its own patron god or goddess, and most of what nosotros know of them has been passed down through clay tablets describing Mesopotamian religious beliefs and practices. A painted terracotta plaque from 1775 B.C. gives an example of the composure of Babylonian fine art, portraying either the goddess Ishtar or her sister Ereshkigal, accompanied by night creatures.

Mesopotamian Art

While making art predates civilization in Mesopotamia, the innovations there include creating art on a larger scale, oftentimes in the context of their grandiose and complex architecture, and frequently employing metalwork.

A Kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel, one of the primeval examples of metalwork in art from Mesopotamia.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Buy, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1966

One of the primeval examples of metalwork in art comes from southern Mesopotamia, a silver statuette of a kneeling bull from 3000 B.C. Before this, painted ceramics and limestone were the near mutual fine art forms.

Some other metallic-based work, a goat standing on its hind legs and leaning on the branches of a tree, featuring aureate and copper along with other materials, was constitute in the Great Death Pit at Ur and dates to 2500 B.C.

Mesopotamian art often depicted its rulers and the glories of their lives. Likewise created around 2500 B.C. in Ur is the intricate Standard of Ur, a crush and limestone construction that features an early on example of circuitous pictorial narrative, depicting a history of war and peace.

In 2230 B.C., Akkadian Rex Naram-Sin was the subject of an elaborate work in limestone that depicts a war machine victory in the Zagros Mountains and presents Naram-Sin as divine.

Among the most dynamic forms of Mesopotamian art are the reliefs of the Assyrian kings in their palaces, notably from Ashurbanipal'south reign around 635 B.C. One famous relief in his palace in Nimrud shows him leading an army into battle, accompanied by the winged god Assur.

Ashurbanipal is also featured in multiple reliefs that portray his frequent king of beasts-hunting action. An impressive lion prototype also figures into the Ishtar Gate in 585 B.C., during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II and fashioned from glazed bricks.

Mesopotamian art returned to the public eye in the 21st century when museums in Iraq were looted during conflicts at that place. Many pieces went missing, including a iv,300-year-one-time bronze mask of an Akkadian king, jewelry from Ur, a solid aureate Sumerian harp, 80,000 cuneiform tablets and numerous other irreplaceable items.

Sources

Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Nativity of Civilization. Paul Kriwaczek.
Ancient Mesopotamia. Leo Oppenheim.
Ancient Mesopotamia: This History, Our History. University of Chicago.
Mesopotamia 8000-2000 B.C. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
30,000 Years of Fine art. Editors at Phaidon.
Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses. UPenn.edu.

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Source: https://www.history.com/topics/ancient-middle-east/mesopotamia