Babylon, Sumer, and Assyria:
There are three civilizations that live in Mesopotamia; the Babylon, Sumer, and the Assyria. The first civilization that began was Sumer. Later, Babylonians took over the north and the Assyrians went to the south. Sumer still exists, but its population has decreased over the years. Each civilization is different from each other, but they all have their similarities.
Geography:
Mesopotamia is located inside the geographic region called The Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent is now southern Iraq. In Greek, Mesopotamia means "the land between the rivers." Mesopotamia is called this because it is located between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers. In Northern Mesopotamia the land is fertile and there is seasonal rain. There is also lots of rivers and streams created by the hills and mountains in Northern Mesopotamia. In Southern Mesopotamia the land is flat and not fertile. It's pretty much a desert. There is little rainfall and it can be very hot.
Classes of People:
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There are four main classes of people in Ancient Mesopotamia, the priests, upper class, lower class, and the slaves. The priests are one of the highest classes and are powerful. They are in charge of making sure everyone behaves, so the gods are happy. The priests are also the doctors of Ancient Mesopotamia. Then there is the upper class. They live in luxury and are one of the highest class. The next class is the low class. They have a home, but they don't live as luxurious as the upper class. The slaves are the lowest class. Whenever a civilization defeats another town, they bring back people as slaves. Slaves typically work for the king, temple, and the wealthy (highest classes). Slave are bought and sold for less than the cost of a donkey.
Clothing, Jewellery, and Beauty:
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Mesopotamian men mainly wear kilts made out of sheep's wool. People from different classes wear different things. The priests shave their heads and wear the same thing as the upper class. The upper classes men and woman wear magnificent jewellery and men wear skirts and have long, curly hair, moustaches, and long beards. Women wear gorgeous dresses, which have one side off the shoulder. They have long hair which is braided or worn up in fancy arrangements. Both the priests and the upper class wear cloaks from sheep wool in the winter. The low class don't wear as luxurious items as the upper class, but they still wear nice things. They wear jewellery (mostly not made out of gold) and try to wear the clothing fashions of the present time. Men slaves wear a loin cloth and women wear a simple tunic. For jewellery they wear necklaces, earrings, tiaras, finger rings, and bracelets. These are made out of gold, silver, stones, glass, and beads. If men and women can afford makeup they wear lots of it. Bluish-black antimony is used on the eyes and to blacken their eyebrows and eyelashes. Henna is painted on fingers and toe nails and sometimes on the palm of their hands. After they have a bath they are rubbed by a slave with perfumed oil. If they were poor they would have a bath in a nearby river or canal.
School:
Schools are important to Mesopotamia because they provide the king many educated government officials. Girls don't go to school, but if they are born into a wealthy family they are usually educated at home. On the other hand, boys born into a wealthy family go to a school. The schools are located beside the royal palace. In the morning, the boys practice their writing exercises, which include copying words from a list the teacher has given them on to a damp, clay tablet. This writing is called Cuneiform. The boys also have to learn the meaning of the signs they are copying. If their work is messy the children will get a light hit with a wooden stick. The school boys get a short lunch break, which usually includes bread and figs. During the afternoon, they do oral tests in language and arithmetic. All of the boys take their work very seriously.
Government and Laws:
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Ancient Mesopotamia government is both a monarchy and a democracy. The kings and the elected officials who serve the Assembly both rule the people. Even the kings ask the Assembly for permission to do certain things. Sumerian laws are not written down, but all the people know what they are and what the punishment is if you don't follow them. Later when the Babylonian's started to appear, the laws were written down using cuneiform.
Marriage:
Women don't have the same rights that all women have today. A man can sell his wife and children into slavery. He can also divorce with his wife at any time, while women can't. If a woman is in the upper class some of her rights include to own property, have a job, and to offer evidence in a law court case, but if you were in the lower class or a slave you would not have these slaves. Even if a woman is in the upper class, men still make the major decisions for the family. One of the major jobs of a men is to arrange marriage for their sons and daughters.
Food:
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Every animals Mesopotamians see they try to catch. Mesopotamians eat what ever they see and they eat whenever they want to. Food isn't just eaten for nourishment, food is also eaten for enjoyment. For breakfast they have bread without yeast or any other rising ingredient. They also use wheat and barley to make porridge. Mesopotamians use dates and honey to sweeten items, such as porridge. For lunch, they also have porridge and bread and they have dried or fresh fish with vegetables. An ordinary dinner includes fish with cucumber, onions, apples, spices, cheese, and eggs. If you were more wealthy you would have much more variety. Also, you might have beef, mutton, wild fowl, ducks, wild boars, deer, milk, butter, cheese, and dates. Honey is one of the most important ingredients. Honey not only sweetens food, it also is used in making beer. Beer is a very popular drink to the wealthy. People also drink wine from dates, but it's not as popular. Only the wealthy can afford these luxurious drinks. Poor people only drink water from rivers, which is kept in a long-spouted kettle to help filter out the muddy sediment.
Music, Entertainment, Art:
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Sumerians are very good craftsmen and musicians. Some of the crafts they make include jewelry of gold and lapis, funky chairs, unglazed vases which kept water cool. They also create colourful mosaics in detailed and pretty patterns. They make these by assembling little pieces of painted clay. The Babylonians create the same art as the Sumerians, but they also make huge gates and massive sculptures to honour special events. The Assyrians are completely different then both the Sumerians and the Babylonians. They didn't create art because of its beauty, they created art to display scenes of their military achievements and the daily life of the military when they are not at war. They also create murals of royals and their activities. Some of the many instruments the Sumerians, Babylonians, and the Assyrians use include the harp, reed pipes, drums, and the lyre.