All About: Magnificent Mesopotamians

By P S Quick

This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for ancient Mesopotamians. It gives an in-depth account of all aspects of life and people of the time - including sections about the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Mythology, Gods, famous people, everyday life and much more!

The ‘All About’ series is an educational collection of books from P S Quick, and is targeted to interest 7 to 11 year olds - but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AUK Academic
• Release date: Mar 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781783337705

Book preview

9781783337705.jpg

Title Page

ALL ABOUT

MAGNIFICENT MESOPOTAMIANS

P S Quick

Publisher Information

Published in 2014 by

Andrews UK Limited

www.andrewsuk.com

The right of P S Quick to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998

Copyright © 2014 P S Quick

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Any person who does so may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

Introduction

This book, filled with amazing facts and photographs, describes what life was like for ancient Mesopotamians. It gives an in-depth account of all aspects of life and people of the time - including sections about the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, mythology, gods, famous people, everyday life and much more!

The ‘All About’ series is an educational collection of books from P S Quick, and is targeted to interest 7 to 11 year olds - but will fascinate readers of all ages. At the end of each book there is a quiz section for the reader, featuring 150 questions and answers.

Ancient Mesopotamia

Ancient Mesopotamia was home to the earliest civilization in history and dates back over 6000 years. It was the land that we know today as Southern Iraq.

The word ‘Mesopotamia’ comes from the Greek words ‘mesos’ and ‘potamos’ translated as ‘middle’ and ‘river’. The word ‘Mesopotamia’ means ‘the land between two rivers’. These two great rivers were the Tigris and the Euphrates.

1.jpg

Map of Mesopotamia from the Atlas of Samuel Butler

Mesopotamia was not just one country but an area where varied cultures developed rapidly and successfully to create a number of empires. These included the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians.

It is often referred to as the ‘cradle of civilization’ because it was the place where society, as we know it today, began to take shape. It was here that the nomadic tribes who had roamed the land as ‘hunter gatherers’ 8000 years ago began to farm, domesticate their animals, build villages and live together with a common language and traditions. It is amazing to discover that the wheel had been invented here by 3000 BC. Our modern counting system, a form of writing and also many other inventions that have helped shape our world today came from Mesopotamia.

Landscape and Resources

Ancient Mesopotamia was bordered by the Zagros Mountains in the northeast and the Arabian plateau in the southeast. It was part of what was later known as the ‘Fertile Crescent’. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers rise in eastern Turkey and flow through the area then unite before reaching the Persian Gulf. These rivers and their many tributaries provided fresh water to drink, fish to eat and also places to bathe.

Although the climate was dry, apart from the seasonal rainstorms, fertile soil was washed from the mountains by the rain and deposited onto the floodplains between these rivers and their tributaries. This soil was easily cultivated and crops grew well.

In winter and spring this land was flooded and was often dangerous but the people who lived along the banks of the rivers created ways to control the water in order to protect their people. They built dykes and canals to fortify the vulnerable areas. They created systems such as reservoirs to store water for when it was needed in the dry season and dug channels to carry the water to irrigate their crops when there was no rain.

The area offered few resources such as timber, metal or stone but the deposits of clay were used for building. However, often there was a surplus of food which was used to trade with neighbouring communities for the commodities that were needed.

The trade routes from Africa and Europe into Asia passed through Mesopotamia because there was no real challenging landscape to cross. With many people passing through their land the Mesopotamians were often influenced by external ideas. Sometimes they had no choice