Essay On What Were The Contributions Of Mesopotamian Civilizations To Our Civilizations

Called the “cradle of civilization”, Mesopotamia has seen the development of the first civilizations of the world. The Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians dominated the region for thousands of years and some of their discoveries have contributed to our own civilization.
Two major revolutions took place in Mesopotamia. The first, the agricultural revolution meant that people stopped being hunter-gatherers, abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and settled in permanent settlements cultivating crops and domesticating animals. The second, the urban revolution, followed several thousands of years later, with the development of the first cities and the first urban civilizations.
Writing was first discovered in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC. The Sumerians first invented a form of writing called cuneiform that they used for administrative purposes. This script was later adopted by subsequent civilizations in the region and was the basis for the development of writing in other areas as well.
As a result of the development of cities, political administration grew and the first political systems of humanity were introduced. At the same time, this meant that the first laws were also introduced. From the Babylonian period and the time of the reign of Hammurabi, we have the first written code of laws, known as the code of Hammurabi.
The ancient Mesopotamians also introduced monumental architecture to the world. They were able to construct buildings on a gigantic scale. These were called ziggurats, were connected to the religious beliefs of the people and were also part of the political and administrative lives of the cities. On a more practical level, the ancient Mesopotamians were probably the first to learn how to irrigate, that is to divert through canals the rivers’ waters in order to help the cultivation of crops. This was vital for their survival and it put the basis for agriculture even in climates with few rainfalls.