achievement of Mesopotamia people for 5 marks
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#1 MESOPOTAMIA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANY “FIRSTS” IN HUMAN HISTORY
Located in modern-day southern Iraq, Sumer was the first civilization in Mesopotamia and arguably the earliest civilization in the world. Renowned expert in Sumerian history Samuel Noah Kramer has listed 39 “firsts“ in human civilization that originated in Sumer. These include The First Schools, The First Bicameral Congress, The First Historian, The First Legal Precedent, The First Pharmacopoeia, Man’s First Cosmogony and Cosmology, The First Proverbs and Sayings, The First Animal Fables, The First Literary Debates, The First Love Song, The First Library Catalogue, The First Literary Imagery, The First Sex Symbolism, The First Lullaby, The First Literary Portrait, The First Elegies and The First Aquarium.
#2 THEY BUILT THE FIRST CITY IN THE WORLD
The Sumerian city of Eridu is regarded as the first city in the world. It was founded around 5400 BC on the coast of the Persian Gulf in Southern Mesopotamia. Prehistoric people known as Ubaidians are believed to be the first civilizing force in Sumer, draining the marshes for agriculture, developing trade and establishing industries.
#3 MESOPOTAMIA HAD THE LARGEST EMPIRES IN THE WORLD TILL THAT POINT
The Akkadian Empire and the Assyrian Empire of Mesopotamia were the largest empires in the world till that point. The Akkadian Empire of 23rd century BC is also considered by some as the first empire in history as it ruled over a multi-ethnic territory through a central government. There were numerous rebellions during the reign of Sargon of Akkad and it is considered by several historians that he had the world’s first professional standing army to protect his empire from the rebellious subjects. The Assyrian Empire triumphed over most of the powerful Mesopotamian kingdoms by 8th century BC to become one of the first superpowers of the ancient world. The phalanx formation is a famous military formation associated with Ancient Greek warfare. The earliest known depiction of a phalanx-like formation is in a Mesopotamian stele from 25th century BC. Also, since many Mesopotamian cities were surrounded by defensive walls, they might have invented siege warfare.
#4 THE INFLUENTIAL CUNEIFORM SCRIPT WAS INVENTED IN MESOPOTAMIA
The most famous achievement of the Sumerian civilization of Mesopotamia is the invention of the cuneiform script around 3400 BC. Cuneiform is a Latin term meaning “wedge-shaped”. Sumerian writing developed from pictograms but grew in sophistication and ultimately became a full-fledged writing system that could be used for creating pieces of literature as well as prayers and laws. Though it is not the oldest example of writing, cuneiform script is considered a great milestone in human history. It was used for over 3,500 years; and was adapted for writing multiple languages including Akkadian, Hittite and Urartian. Knowledge of how to read cuneiform was lost by 2nd century AD as it was replaced by alphabetic writing. Cuneiform was re-deciphered in the 19th century with the help of the Behistun Inscription.
#5 THEY ENACTED THE EARLIEST KNOWN COMPREHENSIVE LEGAL CODE
Ur-Nammu was a Sumerian king who reigned from around 2047 to 2030 BC. He is famous for his legal code, the Code of Ur-Nammu, which is the oldest known law code yet discovered. The most famous Mesopotamian law code is however is the Code of Hammurabi. Hammurabi (r. 1792 BC to 1750 BC) was a king of the First Babylonian Dynasty who brought almost all of Mesopotamia under Babylonian rule. Unlike earlier Mesopotamian law code, the Code of Hammurabi was one of the first law codes to place greater emphasis on the physical punishment for the perpetrator. It contains as many as 300 laws that discuss a wide range of subjects, including homicide, assault, divorce, debt, adoption, tradesman’s fees, agricultural practices and even disputes regarding the brewing of beer. It was also among the first codes to establish the presumption of innocence, the principle that one is considered innocent unless proven guilty.