Ancient Civilizations
Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India are some of the early civilizations, that helped to shape the world as we know it. Each ancient civilization had many contributions to society. Some would include irrigation, grid like house system, and written languages. Ancient Egypt is one of the most common ancient civilizations. We all know them for the pyramid but that 's not all that they achieved. The farmers of Ancient Egypt came up with a system to water their fields, called irrigation. This system was consisted of dams, ditches and canals to move the water to their fields (Document 3). Irrigation is still used in present day. Everyone knows about the pyramids, and that the Ancient Egypts built them, but not everyone knows how they
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Ancient Mesopotamia had four first cities: Sumer, Uruk, Ur, and Babylon. Sumer is located in modern day Iraq. The people of Sumer are known as Sumerians. Sumerians built many cities and because they lacked stone and timber they used mud bricks to build with instead. They influenced many cities with their arches, ramps, columns and pyramid shaped ziggurat (Document 1). They also developed the world 's first known form of writing called cuneiform. They used clay tablets to write on (Document 1). Uruk is one of the most important cities in Ancient Mesopotamia. The reason for this is because, the origin of writing originated here. The city of Ur was a very important trade center. The last city is perhaps the most famous city out of all of them, Babylon. The name Babylon means “Gate of the Gods”. This city is known for its impressive walls and buildings. Another reason is because of a man named Hammurabi, he was the king. He created one of the earliest written set of laws, called the Code of Hammurabi. In these laws covered almost everything that affected his community. Hammurabi created these laws because he wanted his empire to be unified and to provide protection for the weak (Document
During the 18th century, Hammurabi conquered the four quarters of the world, made great the Kingdom of Babylon. After he conquered those lands, he wrote set of laws to bound every other citizen in his territory under that law where no other person would be under-represented. He wrote that code to bring righteousness to the land and planned to bring the well-being of the oppressed. It is even mentioned that Hammurabi feared gods and wrote that code to please them. However, Hammurabi Law Code dealt with different aspects of society ranging from the health care system to family life, from criminal justice to commercialization of businesses and rights of women; law structures were clarified and well designed.
Hammurabi declared the code of law to establish justice throughout the city state. In his code, Hammurabi included information about the severity of punishment one would face if a crime was committed, as well as fees for different services, compensation for specific injuries and charges for hiring boats, livestock and more ("Hammurabi."
Mesopotamia was the first complex civilization to be developed. Civilizations have been well known by their means of subsistence, types of living, settlement forms, forms of government, economic systems, literacy, social stratification, and other cultural behaviors. E: Geography influenced the rise of civilization because it has to be able to maintain many people. Many civilizations started different bodies of water, because if they want to live, they have to consume water.
The laws and rules were made with a cause and effect, an eye for an eye. “UShistory.com states that he sent legal experts throughout his kingdom to gather existing laws. These laws were reviewed and some were changed or eliminated before compiling his final list of 282 laws.” The laws were made from preexisting ones and new ones. Hammurabi was very focused on having a strong justice system UShistory.com was quoted on saying, "To make justice visible in the land, to destroy the wicked person and the evil-doer, that the strong might not injure the weak."
In text 1: Hammurabi Establishes Law, Hammurabi writes these code of law so that the strong might not injure the weak, and to protect the widows and orphans. These code of law were written on a big stone tab and put in the middle of the city to remind every one of the laws they must abide by. By the command of Shamash, the great god and judge of heaven and earth, Hammurabi was told to write these set of laws so there will be order and justice. The logic of the laws is to that there is order and providing consequences for bad actions.
The Stele of Hammurabi is one of the earliest identified codes of laws. Inscribed upon an impressive seven-and-a-half feet tall pillar are 282 laws and standards, which the King of Babylon, Hammurabi, formed in the 18th Century B.C. These laws that he created for his people covered topics from adoption to property rights. Although it contains a retributive justice system, primitive punishments, and gender and status inequality, it was one of the most comprehensive compendiums of law of its time.
But these laws were actually good. Also these laws were so important they were written on a sele and placed in an empire. Hammurabi based these laws on his own authority, but not on the words of the gods. But Hammurabi did claim that the gods had told him to write the laws that applied to everyone. Now you may or may not want to know what they did or what they are.
He is known today for his law code that supported “an eye for a eye” and the civil rights he gave to members of the society other than men. Hammurabi set a strong foundation for our society today, with his rules and family relationship changes, he did it by making a set in stone law code, and giving the women of ancient Babylonia more civil rights in marriage. Hammurabi’s law code was the first of its kind that we base our legal system off of today. Hammurabi’s Code
The most significant factor that influenced the development of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia was their geography, because their locations by large rivers led the civilizations to produce an abundance of food, leading to a population increase and for several cities to form which influenced the cultural, economic, and political influence of both civilizations. The flooding within both ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia allowed their agriculture to thrive Mapping sentence for culture. Mapping sentence for economic. Mapping sentence for Political. Transition.
Ancient Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt were two early human civilizations that lived during the bronze age in harsh desert environments located not far from each other. Both civilizations were built around rivers that they depended on for survival. There is evidence that these rivers had great influence on both the societies politics and culture. Egypt was built around the very strong and reliable Nile River. Ancient Mesopotamia was established in the fertile crescent between the less reliable Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
4) The 1) The Sumerian king list was composed in the early second millennium in southern Mesopotamia. The king list is supposed to act as a written list of all the kings that have ever ruled over southern Mesopotamia. However, no two Sumerian king lists show exactly the same kings in each one and differences occur among many of them. (carter) Yet, despite the fact that differences occur among the various lists one thing that the lists do show is the cyclical nature of kingship in Mesopotamian history this meaning that the ‘true’ king of Mesopotamia was never always from the same city and that power shifted from city to city over time.
Few of the architecture skills used by the Egyptians are still used today. They built huge tombs for their Pharaoh, called pyramids. It was really important for these pyramids to be done correctly. Ancient Egyptians were masters at what they built. Most of these pyramids and inventions are still standing today.
1) The Ubaid period in general is estimated to have been from about roughly 6,000 to 5,000 B.C. Eridu (in Ubaid I c. 5500-5000) is estimated to be one of the oldest sites from the start of Mesopotamian history. (Carter, ) Located in southern Mesopotamia archeological records indicate that it may be one of the first cities created relying heavily on the local agriculture to supply the city with food. Eridu shows the basic nature of a city to in the fact that it had a type of organized system with the temples acting as a center for food procurement for its citizens as well as craft (textile) production.
After reading chapter one, “Early Civilizations”, and spending some time navigating through the University of Chicago’s library site of Ancient Mesopotamia, I have come to appreciate the time period that we live in. A normal day in my life is not anywhere near as hard as it was for the average Mesopotamian. The Mesopotamians brought forth many changes. Before there were cities, in a time called the Paleolithic Period, they lived in open-air campsites and small caves. They hunted animals, fished and even collected exotic plants; and they even roamed around large areas of land using their own two feet as their only means of transportation.
The cities of the old world such as the cities of Mesoamerica and the cities of the far east and the cities in Africa all had similar traits and they have their own unique traits as well that made them unique in own right and helped these early cities lay the foundation for the modern cities we inhabit in the present day. The early cities all had their own set up and design the Architecture was dependent on the culture, the religion of the empire or city and most importantly on the rulers or kings of the time. Some of the early cities such as Uruk in Mesopotamia, the early city to be recorded in the world according to the functionality of the city. Uruk was a city that was completely surrounded by walls because of the constant threat of war from neighboring cities and their kings trying to expand and grow their own empire so the people of Uruk migrated from the rural areas to the urban city to seek protection and refuge from the wars that occurred.