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There are many geographic features that helped people decide to settle in Mesopotamia. Two things are  the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and rich soil.

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The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers helped people decide to settle in Mesopotamia because they caused floods. Most people think floods are a bad thing, but the floods made the soil rich which is good for farming crops. Due to the rivers flooding, people had to learn to control the water when floods came otherwise it would wash out their crops.  So, the rivers also helped people to be forced to think of and make better technology. Also, the rivers were a great source of water for the people in Mesopotamia

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The rich soil helped people decide to settle in Mesopotamia because it made farming easier. The crops grew better because the soil was so rich which gave the people of Mesopotamia more food for the winter and every other day. So, the rich soil is a very important geographic feature of Mesopotamia.

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Laws are important because they set the rules. If we didn't have rules, people would be doing even more bad things than they are right now.  Also, laws give people consequences for what they do. The government is important because they make the decisions that keep us safe. Some of these  decisions are whether or not to enter a war, to let a man out of jail or not to let him out of jail, or whether or not to send a man to jail. Also, the government leads the people, and without a leader, people wouldn't know what to do or where to go.

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What does Hammurabi’s Code of Laws tell you about Mesopotamia?

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What does Hammurabi’s Code of Laws tell you about Mesopotamia?

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Hammurabi's code of laws tells you that Mesopotamia believed that people should have consequences for their actions. Since these consequences were normally death, people probably didn't want to do bad things. This would make Mesopotamia more safe because people wouldn't want to be put to death so they didn't do bad things.

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Why were class divisions created in Mesopotamia?

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Why were class divisions created in Mesopotamia?

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They had class divisions because they had to separate who had more money and how much they will be paid. People towards the bottom had the least money and weren't paid a lot. People towards the top had more money and were paid more than others. So, they had class divisions to keep people separated on their money.

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What class divisions were present in Mesopotamia?

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What class divisions were present in Mesopotamia?

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Some class divisions were king, government officials and priests which were higher positions. Below them were scribes, merchants and artisans. The class divisions at the very bottom were the slaves and farmers.

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The Kings ruled the land. They earned a lot of money even because they were on the top of the social pyramid. They didn't have much education, but they were still successful because they were wealthy. Their skills were to make deals and make the laws and enforce them. Some benefits were that you were paid a lot of money and that you were the highest person on the social pyramid so you were looked at very highly.  A drawback was power could go to your head and you may become a bad person.

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Government officials and priests were paid well. They didn't have as much money as the King, but they had a lot. Government officials probably were trained in school or by another government official. Priests learned from other religious believers or they went to school or church. Government officials mostly made the laws with the king and enforced them. Priests made offerings and prayers to the gods and goddess. Some benefits were that you were paid very well and you were looked at as an important person. Some drawbacks were that people got jealous of your pay and wanted to kill you.

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Artisans, merchants and scribes were below government officials and priests. They were paid much less than the priests and officials. Artisans, merchants and scribes were trained by other artisans, merchants and scribes that passed down their skills to them. Artisans' skills were to create art and goods such as pottery, painting and furniture. Merchants' skills were to trade with other towns and cities. Scribes' skills were to write down important events and letters. Some benefits were that they were paid pretty well and they were being trained to do things others couldn't. Some drawbacks were that you weren't paid a lot, but just enough and that you were always working and had no free time.

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Farmers and slaves were not paid at all. Slaves didn't have much education, but they did learn from other slaves how to do chores. Farmers learned from other farmers who had worked before them. But, some farmers and slaves had no education at all. Slaves skills were to do chores around the house and help work in the fields. Farmers skills were to farm crops and grow crops.  There were not many benefits, but there were many drawbacks. Some drawbacks were they weren't paid much and they were not treated as well as others.

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What type of religion did Mesopotamia have?

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What type of religion did Mesopotamia have?

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The people of Mesopotamia believed in gods and goddesses. The belief in gods and goddesses is called the polytheistic belief system. The gods each had a special talent. They could control beauty, storms, sunrise, sunset and other things.

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One important belief is that they believed that the gods each had a special talent. They could control beauty, storms, sunrise, sunset and other things. Another important belief is that they believed that each god lived in a ziggurat. They would build these in the middle of their towns. Lastly, another important belief is that they thought that the gods owned the land making them think that everything they did was for the gods.

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Some of the art forms in Mesopotamia are writing, calendars and pottery/sculpture.

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Pottery/sculpture were made by Artisans.  Most of the time they were made out of clay or mud bricks depending on the size. Their purpose was to be used for decoration, cooking, storage and religion.

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Calendars in Mesopotamia were made of 365 days in a year with 366 days in a year every 4 years. They had 12 months in one year. Their calendar is very similar to today's calendar. It's purpose was to help people tell time and to know when the floods would come. It was important to know when the floods would come because if they didn't the floods would wash out their crops. So, it would leave them no more food and they would starve.

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Writing in Mesopotamia was a bunch of symbols that represented letters and numbers. The writing's purpose was to help people keep track of things and to communicate better.

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The writing in Mesopotamia is called cuneiform. It was a bunch of symbols made of lines and triangles that represented letters and numbers. The people who used it were the Sumerians. The Sumerians were the only people who knew how to read and write. It was important to write because it would help you keep track of what you bought or traded and allowed better communication. When you bought or traded something, you would write it down so you wouldn't forget. Also, people would write messages to other people allowing better communication which was important.

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Why was Hammurabi’s Code of Laws was important to Mesopotamia AND why is it important today?

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Why was Hammurabi’s Code of Laws was important to Mesopotamia AND why is it important today?

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It was important to Mesopotamia because it set the rules and gave people consequences that they didn't want making Mesopotamia more safe. Also, it Influenced the lives of Babylonians in a good way to not do bad things.  Those rules are important today because it helped make our system of rules be clear and have clear punishment.

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How did the geography make Mesopotamia survive, thrive or fail?

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How did the geography make Mesopotamia survive, thrive or fail?

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Mesopotamia's geography made them thrive because they had great farming because of the very rich soil and great water sources of fresh water both helping people live longer.

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Did the Code of law resolve the conflicts it was meant to address? Did this form of government make Mesopotamia survive, thrive or fail? 

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Did the Code of law resolve the conflicts it was meant to address? Did this form of government make Mesopotamia survive, thrive or fail? 

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The code of laws resolved some conflicts, but not all. If they did, no one would steal or kill but people still did. In other cases, those people stopped. This form of government helped Mesopotamia survive because it didn't solve everything, but it did solve some things. If they would thrive, there would be no crime at all.

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Did the social class make Mesopotamia survive, thrive or fail?

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Did the social class make Mesopotamia survive, thrive or fail?

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The social class made Mesopotamia survive because it kept people organized and helped people understand their job and pay. One bad thing is that people towards the bottom of the social pyramid may become jealous of the people higher on the social pyramid which can cause crime.

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Ziggurats are pyramid like sculptures that gods were believed to live in. They were normally placed in the middle of the town because they were very important. They were made out of mud bricks which was hardened mud in the shape of a brick. Some ziggurats still exist today in modern Iran.