Anicent Mesopotamia Quest
By: Vanya Bhat
Geographers Quest
Historian's Information
Have you heard of Hammurabi? Hammurabi was a king that made many laws. Hammurabi's laws are important because some of our law:
59. If any man, without the knowledge of the owner of a garden, fell a tree in a garden he shall pay half a mina in money.
129. If a man's wife be surprised (in flagrante delicto) with another man, both shall be tied and thrown into the water, but the husband may pardon his wife and the king his slaves.
157. If any one be guilty of incest with his mother after his father, both shall be burned.
168. If a man wish to put his son out of his house, and declare before the judge: "I want to put my son out," then the judge shall examine into his reasons. If the son be guilty of no great fault, for which he can be rightfully put out, the father shall not put him out.
200. If a man knock out the teeth of his equal, his teeth shall be knocked out.
Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh was a great leader. The Sumerians created a story, that said he was a great hero. Here is the story:
Once upon a time a powerful king called Gilgamesh ruled the Sumerian City, Uruk. Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu became bored with everyday life. They wanted to find adventure, so Gilgamesh suggested they go across the flat plains to the distant mountains, to bring back ceder wood. There was a demon named Humbaba, who guarded the ceder forests. Humbaba was evil!! Gilgamesh and Enkidu weren't scared though, they thought they could defeat Humbaba in battle. Gilgamesh and Enkidu set out for the ceder forest. They brought enough supplies to last them weeks, and they also brought weapons. They arrived at the mountains, and saw that many forests covered the moutains. As they stopped for the night, they made an offering to the sun god Shamash, and as soon as it was morning, they entered the forest. They climbed and walked until they reached came to the place the best ceder trees grew. They put down their supplies, and perpaired to cut down the tallest trees. Suddenly they heard a terrible noise! Gilgamesh and Enkidu guessed that it was Humbaba. Suddenly Humbaba stood before them and demanded to know why they'd entered his forest. When they told him, he threatened to kill them if they didn't leave. Gilgamesh and Enkidu decided to stay and fight. They summoned the thriteen winds, the north wind, the south wind, the east wind, the west wind, the icy wind, the whirlwind, the scorching wind, the hurricane wind, the gale wind, the devil-wind, the blasting wind, the storm wind, and the typoon wind, with the help of the sun god Shamash. The winds trapped Humbaba, and he begged to Gilgamesh let him go. Gilgamesh didn't, instead he cut of Humbaba's head. Afterwards they cut many trees, and made a raft to travel home. After many days they reached Uruk, and lived happily ever after.
Argriculturalist's Quest
In Mesopotamia it didn't rain a lot. If you irrigated the land, the crops grew quickly. Farmers in Mesopotamia planted wheat, barley, dates, cucumbers, onions, apples, and spices. Farmer's also raised sheep, goats, and cows. Mesopotamians enjoyed fish, cheese, eggs, roasted duck, pork, and deer.
Did you know that the field in which farmers farmed comtributed to the collapse of Mesopotamia. Scientists believe that the destruction of the fields were by mineral salts. "As the water evaporated, it not only left its dissolved mineral salts behind, but also drew salts upward from lower levels of the soil. Over time, the soil became toxic and would no longer support crops. By about 2300 B.C., agricultural production in Mesopotamia was reduced to a tiny fraction of what it had been." Many fields were abandoned.
Mesopotamian Cuisine
Have you ever wondered why civilizations like Mesopotamia are near water? Well, it's because animals tend to stay near water, so there's always food. Plus there also might be fertile land, so farmers can farm crops. Talking about farming, if you farm a crops at least a year in Mesopotamia, you'll need to follow these steps:
1. Let officials decide when to let water flow into your farm, so the crops can get water.
2. Let animals eat weeds.
3. Break up soil using your tools.
4. Plant seeds.
5. Havest plant when they're ready.
Archaeologist's Dig
Have you heard of the Seven Wonders of the Anicent World? Well one of them the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, is the one we're going to talk about today. The hanging gardens were built by King Nebuchadnezzer, to cheer up his homesick wife, Amyitis. The Hanging Gardens didn't really hang, it was more like a "man-made mountain". The Hanging Garden was supposed to have large trees, green plants, and flowers. One problem was that it didn't rain much in Mesopotamia, so the plants would wither if they didn't get any water. The way architects used to solve this problem was to use a chain pump. A chain pump is used by using buckets to carry water up, by using a lever.
Inventions of Mesopotamia
Checkers
Checker's board
Cuneiform
Cuneiform tablets.
Gilgamesh
Statue of Gilgamesh