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