Mesopotamia
Ashleigh Sage
Role: Geographer
Mesopotamia was located where present day Iraq is. It lay between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These rivers are still in Iraq. The word Mesopotamia means "land between rivers" in Greek.
Climate
The climate in Mesopotamia is:
- Modern Day- The average temperatures in Iraq range from higher than 48 degree C (120 Fahrenheit) in July and August to below freezing in January. A majority of the rainfall occurs from December through April and is heavier near mountain regions and may reach 100 centimeters a year in some places.
- Ancient Day- The climate for ancient Mesopotamia has a range that varies from hot to cold seasons, often with the temperature going over 110 degrees. Mesopotamia had moderate rain fall, although if a lot of rain fell, the rivers could overflow. (Until the built the irrigation systems!!)
Role: Historian
Invaders of Mesopotamia
The Hittites
The Hittites were the first to invade the Mesopotamians. They had strong weapons and were the first to use horse drawn chariots, which gave them an advantage.
The Kassities
We don't know much about the Kassities, just that they had control for 400 years.
The Assyrians
The Assyrians came to battle Mesopotamia twice. They had a strong, organized army, which gave them an advantage. The king of this civilization was the first to have the idea of local leaders. Local leaders are people that are in charge of small sections of the Assyrian empire.
Hammurabi's Laws
5 Laws That Caught My Eye:
1. If any one ensnare another, putting a ban upon him, but he cannot prove it, then he that ensnared him shall be put to death.
65. If the gardener do not work in the garden and the product fall off, the gardener shall pay in proportion to other neighboring gardens.
252. If he kill a man's slave, he shall pay one-third of a mina.
259. If any one steal a water-wheel from the field, he shall pay five shekels in money to its owner.
271. If any one hire oxen, cart and driver, he shall pay one hundred and eighty ka of corn per day.
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh is a superhero. He is actually the first "superhero". He was 1/3 man and 2/3 god. He had a friend that was also 1/3 man and 2/3 god. They started as enemies, but later became friends. They heard of this awful daemon who lived in a cedar tree forest. A cedar tree is a holder of very nice, valuable wood. Many people have been to scared to go and get cedar trees, which are used for doors and gates in their city. They, of course, went to see this so called horrible daemon themselves. They got to the forest and started to cut down a tree. Then they heard a nasty growling behind them and turned face to face with a ugly demon. He claimed to kill them if they didn't turn around and go away, but his claim became the reverse. The two "superheros" "saved the day" and made the cedar tree forest available for harvesting.
Role: Archaeologist
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
You mad bro?
The queen was homesick and longed for her beautiful shrubs
How about THAT?!?
The king decided to build a large, fake mountain that he then covered in pretty plants.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Inventions
- The wheel
- The sailboat
- The chariot
- Cuneiform