Mesopotamia+One

 M esopotamia covered what we know today as northern Syria, southeastern Turkey, most of central Iraq, and a part of western Iran. It was generally known to be situated between two great rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris, that flow southward through the Middle East in this region. The region between them is Mesopotamia, but is also thought of as "the cradle of civilization". It was one of the places where main civilizations arose. It was here, from around 3500 BCE that the first cities, states, and empires blossomed. The empires of Mesopotamia had existed until in 539 BCE, when Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered the Babylonian Empire. The people who lived there did not have a name for the whole region, but the ancient Greeks called it Mesopotamia, meaning "between the rivers." Home to the Sumerian, Assyrian, and Babylonian civilizations, Mesopotamia was the birthplace of writing, as well as many other inventions and discoveries that changed the world.

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=**Climate **= In Mesopotamia, it is usually quite warm and dry, which has a term of semiarid. Also, Mesopotamia is known to have quite a range of precipitation. In some locations of Mesopotamia, approximately 200mm of rain can strike, but in other areas, mainly in the north, roughly 800mm of precipitation can clout. In other knowledge, quite a large amount of droughts can transpire*, and during those droughts the heat can reach roaring heights of over 43 degrees Celsius. In fact, the temperatures in the past have reached around 54 degrees Celsius! As another insertion, Mesopotamia has been victims of storms that waft from the Persian Gulf, which cools the temperature down. The sun is quite vigorous in the summers, which negatively affects irrigation* and harvesting, in spite of the crops' needs - rainfall. The weather in the winter can be generally cold, and in both winter and spring rainfall can occur, and it does quite often (mainly up north). Also, because of the fact that rainfall mainly occurs in the northern areas of Mesopotamia, that is the only part of this 'cradle of civilization' can effortlessly sustain the growth of crops.

Ancient Assyria has a semi-arid and steppe climate, dealing with a small quantity of approximately 200-400mm of rainfall in the western areas of this land. Ancient Babylonia had a hot and rather dry climate, attaining only 200-400mm of rainfall annually, comparing to British Columbia which receives an average rainfall roughly 1,529mm per every individual year! The Arabian Desert, far west of the Euphrates river receives a shockingly minute amount of rainfall per year (less than 200mm) which gives this western desert a very arid or dry climate. Lastly, the Zagros mountain range has a rainfall count of over 800mm per year, which gifts this mountain range with satisfying fertility.

=**Geography **= In Mesopotamia, lays the ancient Fertile Crescent, which ranges in the shape of a semi-ring from the southeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea, around the Syrian desert north of Arabia, and then ceases at the Persian Gulf. Also, North Syria, southeast Turkey, central Iraq, and a rather diminutive* fraction of western Iran are all denizens* of Mesopotamia. Additionally, because of all of the volcanoes Mesopotamia has great land, filled with minerals, but the Turkish area of Kurdistan is the richest in fecundity*. As another input, past farmers used irrigation canals which flowed between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (which extend into Armenia). The canals would flow water to where it is need for the nourishment of crops when the rivers overflowed from the elevated water tables (the Zagros Mountains and Armenian Cordillera).

Ancient Assyria, the country just east of the Tigris river, was known to be quite hilly, with great fertility and irrigation. Ancient Babylonia, located in the southern area of Mesopotamia and to the west of the Euphrates river, was quite fertile with rich and abundant soils. Also, there are the Zagros Mountains, which have their terrains in present-day Turkey and Iran.

In North Mesopotamia, steep hills and many cold mountainous areas are in close proximity to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. For example, the Kurdistan Mountains range in extremely close vicinity to the Choaspes, Diyala, and Ulai rivers.

In South Mesopotamia, wet marshlands* exist, and much desert land held in the Arabian Desert is a denizen* of this southern fraction of Ancient Mesopotamia.

=** Adaptations to the Environment **= Civilizations in Mesopotamia adapted to the environment in order to attain their needs. They were able to flourish in the Fertile Crescent, using the supply of water from Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Many different tribes and empires existed as residents in this area: Sumerian, Assyrian and Babylonian empires. However, they all had similar ways to adapt to the desert environment around them. In a hot climate with little rain, the Mesopotamians were fortunate to have the annual flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates which brought rich soil for farmers. However, these rivers flooded while crops were still in the field so dykes had to be built. In Lower Mesopotamia, river flooding was a problem that the Sumerians solved by a land reclamation scheme. They used the river silt to enlarge their farmlands. Farther north, ditches and canals and reservoirs were required for irrigation during hot seasons, and also allowed for water to be carried to the areas which had previously been desert, this allowed more food to be produced. This kind of sophisticated farming, produced a rich and varied diet. For example, the Sumerian diet consisted of cucumber, lentils, turnips, and also, beef, mutton, pork and many other foods.

As farmers produced surplus food, they wanted to begin trading with nearby villages. This led to the development of the wheel, which allowed people to travel farther than before. The development of the wheel also resulted in the invention of the chariot, which allowed the Mesopotamians to be successful warriors.

As Mesopotamian city-states grew, there was a demand for a variety of products they lacked, including stone, metal and good timber for building. The obvious trade routes were the rivers. And Mesopotamians became excellent boat builders. When people moved into cities and businesses grew, there was a need to keep accounts. The abundance of river clay provided soft surfaces inscribe pictograms on. This kind of early recording led to the development of cuneiform scripts, which happened around 3100 to 2000 BCE. This is the first known form of writing.

Mesopotamian climate has mostly sunny days, with clear skies and because of this, the astronomers were able to view the night sky, clearly. The observance of the heavens led to the development of a calendar, and this was aided by the Sumerian and Babylonian’s abilities to write and do math.

=** The Collapse of Mesopotamia **= Mesopotamia eventually subsided. A technique of irrigation spoiled the fertile soil with mineral salts, causing the ancient civilization to collapse and its existence as it once was to disappear.

Mesopotamian farmers had begun attaining salt water from the Persian Gulf for irrigation, which had left behind negative mineral salts on the fertile soil. The prolific soil had started to demolish when the ocean water which had been sitting on top of the soil evaporated, leaving behind nasty mineral salts. In fact, the ocean water also brought more mineral salts up to the surface from far below. When people tried to relieve the soil of these mineral salts it caused corrosion* to the fertility of the soils. By 2,300 B.C., all of these negative occurrences turned the soil poisonous to plants, preventing almost all farming in Mesopotamia, and causing food sources to undergo deduction. In spite of this disastrous happening, the civilization itself became no more. No families or individuals could be nourished enough in Mesopotamia to maintain a healthy life.

=** Modern Lessons **=
 * __** Modern Lessons **__ || __** Ancient Mesopotamia **__  || __** Modern Day **__  ||
 * Written Language || // Wrote on Clay tablets. There were no trees or papyrus available to make paper. // || //<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 95%; text-align: left;"> We use paper made from trees that were cut down from all over the world. // ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Irrigation || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">//When rivers flooded, farmers would build irrigation canals which would direct the excess rain water over planted fields to sustain the crops.// || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">//We use motors to pump water to farms and maintain dams which store water that is often used for irrigation.// ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Sustaining Drinking Water || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">//Mesopotamian people created dams and weirs* for not only irrigation purposes, but also for drinking purposes. People would often fill large buckets of water from the dams and weirs and carried them home to be used for household purposes.// || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">//We use and build dams today not only for irrigation purposes, but also to sustain an efficient amount of clean drinking water.// ||
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif;">Fishing || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">//Fishers used woven rope as netting and would offshore to obtain their catches. They would often sell or trade their catches.// || <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: left;">//These strategies are often and regularly used in modern times. Many people fish. Some people fish for food purposes, some fish for money purposes, and some fish for the enjoyment of it. Also, while some people fish from docks, many people go out to sea and fish.// ||

=** Glossary **= //Glossary inclusions have a * next to them.//


 * 1) denizens - a sort of inhabitants
 * 2) diminutive - little or small
 * 3) irrigation - to nourish dry land with water in order to sustain crops
 * 4) transpire - to occur or happen
 * 5) fecundity - to be fertile
 * 6) weirs - barriers
 * 7) corrosion - the act of wearing down

=** Resources **=
 * __IMAGES__**
 * 1) Geography Picture
 * 2) Modern Lessons Picture


 * __WEBSITES__**
 * 1) [|Heart of Wisdom Website]
 * 2) Geography + Climate of Mesopotamia
 * 3) Rainfall Info in British Columbia
 * 4) Wikipedia Article: Mesopotamia
 * 5) The Collapse of Mesopotamia

> __**BOOKS**__
 * __OTHER WIKIS__**
 * 1) @Mesopotamia Two
 * 2) @Mesopotamia Three
 * 1) Bertman, Stephen. //Handbook to Life in Ancient Mesopotamia//. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.
 * 2) Norman Bancroft Hunt. //Living in Ancient Mesopotamia//. New York: Chealsea House Publishers, 2010. Print.
 * 3) Deedrick, Tami. //Ancient Civilizations- Mesopotamia//. New York: Steadwell Books, 2002. Print.
 * 4) Chrisp, Peter. //Picturing the Past- Mesopotamia- Iraq in Ancient Times//. New York: Enchanted Lion Books, 2004. Print.
 * 5) Steele, Philip. //Eyewitness Books- Mesopotamia//. London: DK Publishing, Inc., 2007. Print.