Mesopotamian Culture         The name Mesopotamia came from the Greek, meaning

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Mesopotamian Culture The name Mesopotamia came from the Greek, meaning land between the rivers. Since Mesopotamia is between the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates in Western Asia. Mesopotamia is just above Baghdad, where the rivers come closest together. Mesopotamia is now the present country of Iraq. Historically, it was one of the main founders of human civilization.

Recent archeology excavations in Mesopotamia, conducted since about 1840, have given us evidence of settlement back to 10,000 B.C. The environmental conditions allowed the people of Mesopotamia to pass from a rootless hunter-gatherer culture to a culture based on husbandry, agriculture, and permanent settlements. Trade with other regions also flourished during this time. Evidence of precious stones and pottery not available in Mesopotamia were discovered in early burial sites. Pottery and building methods based on clay bricks were developed to a high level, and elaborate religious cults evolved. All of these were discovered in ruins during their excavations of Mesopotamia.

Two major events happened during the time of Mesopotamia. The first is in the 4th millennium BC when the birth of the city occurred. The second is in about 3000 BC. This event was the invention of writing. Both of these events took place in southern Mesopotamia in a region occupied by the Sumerians.

During excavation of the cities of Eridu, Kish, Uruk, Isin, Lagash, and Ur, thousands of clay tablets inscribed with the characteristic cuneiform writing of the region were discovered. The earliest of these tablets were used for keeping track of their goods and brief records of transactions. Later tablets had dictionaries, grammar, religious and scientific work, king lists, and eventually literature. Some of the tablets even recorded disputes, battles, and war among various cities of Sumer and the triumphs and of varied kings.

One of those kings, Sargon of...