River Valley Civilizations: Tigris And Euphrates River Valley Civilizations

Improved Essays
River Valley Civilizations
Tigris and Euphrates River Valley Civilization
Mesopotamia was an ancient valley located in the eastern Mediterranean; this means “between two rivers” in Greek. This is where all modern societies came from, and they had a sophisticated way of doing things. Mesopotamia is modern day Iraq, and it was located between two rivers: Tigris and Euphrates. Mesopotamia lacked an adequate supply of water, so these rivers gave provided water for them. The rivers played a great role in Mesopotamian civilization, and this contributed to its status of being called the “cradle of civilization”. When the two rivers overflowed by flooding, the land would become fertile because of the thick mud that was deposited. This rich soil also
…show more content…
The fertile soil and the abundance of water made it possible for the people to produce large amount of food to feed the population. In addition, the population started growing, and this contributed to the division of labour and other specializations. Because the people had enough food, not everyone had to farm, so they had time to do other things like focus on their art and writing. Agriculture increased their wealth, and allowed them to trade their food for other things that could not be found in their area. The Sumerians also invented the wheel that made traveling by land easier, but the rivers provided the fastest way to get to other places. They used the rivers to travel to different areas, and merchants would also visit them to trade. Law and government are also important things that make civilized people, and as the Sumerians increased in population, they had to develop systems to handle disputes. The Sumerians were the first people to have monarchies and …show more content…
This river is located in Egypt and it flows north of the Mediterranean Sea. This river contributed to the civilization of the Egyptian society, and it was considered to be their source of life. The civilization of the Egyptians began when people started to live near the banks of the river. Egypt also has many myths about this river, and they are told in the stories of Osiris, Isis, and Set who determined how order came about in the land. The Nile was thought to be fertile because it had received the penis of Osiris, who was a god betrayed by his brother Set. He was killed by his brother and cut to pieces for fear of him coming back to life. His wife wanted to give him a proper burial so she set out to find all the pieces. She buried the pieces wherever they were found, except for his penis that wasn’t found and was said to be lost in the Nile. Egypt created their beliefs on this and other myths, so they saw the Nile as their source of all things. The Egyptians held the myth of Osiris and their agricultural skills were a result of his influence. In addition, the Nile had predictable annual flooding that was also credited to the gods. This flooding gave the land black fertile soil to grow their crops. Egypt also had very little rainfall, so the river was the main source of water them. To the Egyptians, the Nile was the giver of life because it provided everything to assist them in their survival and creation of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The Many Empires of Mesopotamia Through constant war, Mesopotamia was crudely shaped through cookie-cutter fashion of each empire’s peak, earning her the rightful place as a cradle of civilization. Her cultures changed with every dawning era, and her views grew more perceptive until a final, ethical Zoroastrianism. Whether Sumerian, Babylonian, Chaldean, or Persian, Mesopotamia cradled each, defining the meaning of civilization through life and the gods. Ultimately, introducing the basic way of life for Mesopotamia begins with the first of the people to settle in the area—the Sumerians.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The location of the cities was extremely important due to the availability of water. The need for water in agriculture caused the Sumerians to create irrigation systems necessary for a dependable food supply for the…

    • 841 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Four River Valley DBQ Essay Introduction: In the Neolithic time period early human created the four early river valley. The early river valley civilization started in four different geographical area around the world the Nile River Valley which is present-day Egypt, Tigris-Euphrates River Valley which is present-day Iraq, Yellow River Valley which is present day China, Indus River Valley which is present-day India. The reason that people created the civilization is because of the geographical factor to provided food supply for the people. I agree that Even though the early river valley civilizations developed in our different places, they have more similarities than differences like agriculture religion and language.…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout Global history, there have been many river valleys which play a big role on early civilization and make the important contribution to the world. Three civilization of these is Mesopotamia, India, and China. Mesopotamia is the land that located between Tigris and Euphrates river. This can be considered as the reason why Mesopotamia called Mesopotamia. In Greek, it technically means between two rivers, and obviously this is exactly what was happening.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Mesopotamia Dbq Analysis

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages

    How was Mesopotamia able to use all of its cultures to create one civilization? Mesopotamia was located between rivers Tigris and Euphrates as the name states. It was more precisely located in modern-day Iraq. This civilization is also credited for the invention of the wheel and sophisticated weaponry and warfare. Despite all of these characteristics a few stick out.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mesopotamia Dbq Essay

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages

    From the beginning of the Mesopotamian civilization to the end of the Indus river, many inhabitants of the river valley civilizations adapted to their environment. In order for them to adapt to their environment, they had to adapt to by living in caves, made use of their natural resources, built walls to protect from enemy attack plus floods, and create irrigation systems to get water for their animals and crops. The lives of people in ancient times were shaped by the geography of their region by the rivers, the shelter they lived and the natural barriers that surrounded their region. The lives of people were shaped by the geography of their region because of the rivers.…

    • 686 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Document E states that the Nile River kept the animals alive by giving them water. Some Egyptians worshiped their animals so the Nile kept their g-ds alive. According to Document E they had a religious poem on how the Nile was their source of life. They believed that without the Nile they wouldn’t have a religion. It is described in Document E that the Nile helped them make money so they got a good afterlife.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Nile provided crops , transportation for trad, and hope for the after life. Do you ever wondred how the Egyptions got crops? “The flooding seasons descided if Egyptions got crops. ( Doc. B )” Just think if you didn’t have floods you wouldn’t have crops. If you didn’t have a flood you wont have crops.…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The majority of ancient Egyptians settled on and around the Nile. (Document A) The Nile was the only reliable source of water in Egypt, and it held an abundance of fertile land around its edges. By settling there they were able to use the water to, farm, bathe, drink, and clean, amongst many other things. People needed to settle near fresh water because everything else in Egypt was dry barren desert.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Pharaoh depended on the Nile because he needed his civilization to thrive and with the Nile this would not be possible. He also needed the Nile because he was responsible for trading and the Nile was key in this area. (Doc C) The Nile shaped ancient Egypt in many ways and without it there would be no Ancient Egypt or any knowledge of this time and area. The Egyptians were an interesting people who worshiped gods (including the Nile), they lived hard honest lives and had a good central government, and they even had boats and oars.…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Because Egypt was the “gift of the Nile” and generally prosperous and harmonious, Egyptian gods tended to reflect a positive religion with an emphasis on a positive afterlife. This would only change late in the New Kingdom as the fortunes of Egypt changed. The most popular god, Osiris, was also the law giver as well as the custodian of the world of the dead. In contrast, Mesopotamian religion was bleak and gloomy.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This helped the Egyptians believe that the universe was a regular and orderly place this differs from the Mesopotamian view because they saw the world as being a random occurrence daily. The Nile was seen as the living force for all things within the Egyptian society. Hail to the O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt! If you cease your toil and your work, then all exists is in anguish (Hymn to the Nile 1)…

    • 1188 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How Did The Nile Shape Ancient Egypt What are the most important things in your house? To the Ancient Egyptians it was the nile river. The ancient egypt was one of the four “River Civilizations”. They were called that because if they didn’t have the river they would never have survived this long. The nile started in lake Tana in the highlands of Ethiopia, and Lake victoria in Kenya.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When we think of Mesopotamia or Egypt we can automatically assume that these two civilizations were of prominence to today’s society. Mesopotamia and Egypt were two very different civilizations with very different values, beliefs, norms and even Religions. Yet both artistic styles and interests were somewhat similar and composed of common materials and resources used to make certain sculptures and paintings. Both civilizations contributed greatly to our art advancements and made it possible for us to better advance over the years with the use of their techniques and style. Mesopotamia is considered to be one of the first human civilizations.…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    History tells the story of human kinds past. The human species evolved from hunters and gatherers to Neolithic people, who began to build villages, which turned to cities all around the world. This transition gave humans a new way of life, focusing on things like building cultures and monuments, which will stand the tests of time. Throughout history, many civilizations have sprung up with different cultures, ideas, technologies, and political systems. However, not all these civilizations were successful and many were destroyed for several reasons.…

    • 1459 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays