Mesopotamia

= Basic Mesopotamia: a little backround data = Mesopotamia; or land between two rivers, came to be in around 2500 B.C.E, it was one of the most innovative and well defined river valley civilizations of the time. This civilization was emerging in what is now Pakistan and India, between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. A lot of different ancient civilizations were glad to call this the "fertile crescent", including the Sumer, Babylon, and Persia.

Collon, Dr Dominique. "BBC - History - Ancient History in Depth: Mesopotamia." //BBC - Homepage//. 7 Jan. 2011. Web. 01 Feb. 2012. .

=** Sumer: The first people **= The Sumerian Civilization started up in the southern section of Mesopotamia, they are best known for their innovation in the first form of writing; cuneiform. a result they had the ability to set down laws, treaties, and several parts of their history (which is why we have a abundant amount of information from this civilization). They had several other inventions including the wheel, and the first 12 month calendar. They were governed by city-states, with regional rulers and laws, these were NOT full blown civilizations they were still barely governed and didn’t have any complex form of government. =** Religion: **= The residents of the Mesopotamian region followed a polytheistic religion. This religion emphasized the gap between humans and nature and the belief that divine forces were contained in natural objects. They believed the gods created the Earth from water and assigned a specific god to each city. Floods were thought to be punishments for human wrong-doings and the afterlife was alleged to include penalties for those who committed transgressions during life. This early concept of hell later influenced Jewish, Christian, and Muslim ideas. Mesopotamian Religious practices included making offerings and praying for good health and the prevention of floods.

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= = =** Interactions: **= Mesopotamians participated in trade with Egypt and possibly India. The invention of the wheel benefited trade greatly and was also used in warfare. Cuneiform was developed to record business transactions. They suffered invasions from Indo-European nomads, but ultimately fell to the Babylonians.

**Sources:**
Stearns, Peter N. //World Civilizations: The Global Experience//. AP ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2003. Print.

Armstrong, Monty. //Cracking the AP World History Exam//. New York: Random House, 2011. Print.