Ancient Iraq Used to b Mesopotamia

The territory that Iraq occupies today is considered to be the site of the earliest civilizations of the past. Ancient Iraq was then known as Mesopotamia which had been a land of abundant vegetation, wildlife and has numerous water resources. Mesopotamia in 6000 B.C. was already a civilization with different people from neighboring areas. Mesopotamia was settled by mostly Turkish and Iranian migrants.

Mesopotamia was between two rivers, namely; the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers - which provided the land with rich and fertile soil. However, the two rivers that are surrounding Mesopotamia were unpredictable and would sometimes swell up to flood the entire area. This unpredictable characteristic of both rivers helped structure the lifestyles and the different cultures of the people of Mesopotamia since they adjust to the rising and swelling of the rivers. The people of Ancient Iraq or Mesopotamia structured a form of collective management in order to protect the low lands from the swelling of the rivers and for the prevention of floods. The advancement of this form of management made Ancient Iraq to become urbanized.

Ancient Iraq was before a site of migration since many people from different neighboring areas flock towards the land because of the fertile soil and plentiful water resources. This led to the production of surplus food. The Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia was a civilization of diverse linguistic and ethnic backgrounds and were very innovative in adapting and responding to the changes of the river systems of the Tigris and the Euphrates. The Sumerians used innovative technologies such as the water wheels and irrigation systems to respond to the Tigris and Euphrates challenges.

The Sumerians of Ancient Iraq were the first people to develop a form of writing called the cuneiform which was a form of writing by stamping pictures on a clay tablet. This allowed the different technologies that were used by the older generation to be saved in writing and to be communicated to the next generation for their basis of improvements. This led to the advancement of their technologies in the field of agriculture. The Sumerians were also the first to record literature and have provided the first ever literary epic of their king, Gilgamesh. This epic of Gilgamesh showed the writing sophistication of Ancient Iraq.

Southern Mesopotamia was also the site for the development of a deep sense of religion for its people. Different cult centers in southern Mesopotamia were important places of pilgrimage and devotion. Cities and governments were built based on the locations of these cult centers which led to the close relationship of government and religion in Ancient Iraq. The gods of the Sumerians were basically elements of nature personified. The priesthood in Ancient Iraq was powerful and would intervene with religious practices as well as political events. The Sumerian priests who ruled from their ziggurat temples, were responsible for different important political aspects such as agricultural issues, trade and commercial relations, land rentals and even war.

Science was also a focus of the priests of Ancient Iraq since their land depends on the close observation of natural phenomena such as the rising and swelling of the rivers. Different scientific advancements such as notational degrees and minutes of an hour were developed in Ancient Iraq. Different technologies such as the irrigation and water control systems were refined and advanced in Mesopotamia which led to the surplus production of food that caused the development of large cities. Innovations such as brick buildings and construction were the result of the advanced urbanization of Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamia also developed technologies for warfare and developed the wheeled chariot. The people of southern Mesopotamia were also the first ones to produce bronze by smelting tin and copper together. Both the chariot and the bronzed weapons were instrumental in warfare success of southern Mesopotamia.

Through time, the power of the priests diminished as kingship was developed in Ancient Iraq. The kings were given distinct political authority to the city-states that they rule over. This however led to the war of different city-states to gain control of the river valleys of southern Mesopotamia. War of city-states continued in southern Mesopotamia until the time of Sargon I, which was the king of Akkad, a Semitic city. Sargon I was the first to develop a unified empire which ended the war of city-states. This led to the further development of the political system of Ancient Iraq and gave a clearer separation of government and religion. Sargon I created the first army of enlisted men which helped in irrigation and water-control operations of southern Mesopotamia.

All in all, Ancient Iraq or Mesopotamia developed into a civilization because of the need to adjust to the changing nature of the two rivers. Development of the civilization was also caused by the numerous migrations of different people to the lush land of Mesopotamia. The differences in people created an intellectual diversity that produced different ideas and technologies in responding to the Tigris and the Euphrates.

REFERENCE:

Georges Roux. (March 1993) Ancient Iraq. 3rd Edition. Penguin.