Ancient near east
Millions of years ago the procreant low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris was probably the home of some animal life, but no great civilizations. However, things change over time, and just a few thousand years ago the same fertile low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris became the home of a very rich and complex society. This first high society of man was located in what some still call "Mesopotamia". The word "Mesopotamia" is in origin a Greek name meaning "land between the rivers." The name is used for the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries, roughly comprising modern Iraq and part of Syria. South of modern Bagdad, this alluvial plain was called the land of Sumer and Akkad. Sumer is the most southern part, while the land of Akkad is the area around modern Bagdad, where the Euphrates and Tigris are closest to each other. This first high, Mesopotamian society arose as a combined result of various historical, institutional, and religious factors. The reality of these factors occurring at a specific place within the fabric of space / time indeed established the basis for this first high civilization. Items like irrigation, t
In conclusion, modern, western behavioral schools of thought would emphasize historical sociological changes as dominant in the process of forming the first high civilization, but it seems that a combination of these and additional factors play a significant role in explaining the essential elements of man's first high civilization. It is the combination of cultural changes, technological innovations, new tools, and other factors like societal conditioning via religion that make up the true achievement that is Sumer and Akkad. This crowning achievement is indeed the first high civilization known to man, and must be viewed as a major turning point in the civilized evolution of man. When temple structures were built, independence became "a deep-rooted cultural norm, reinforced by the belief that each Sumerian city-state was the individual, inviolable estate of a particular god" (Knapp, 68). The existence of religion resulted in the construction of temples and the early literature points to the inner workings of the religion. According to Jacobson, starting with the forces of nature (Numen), and then personalizing these forces as gods create myths or mythic gods. The gods are natural forces that reflect the environment or local surroundings. The gods play many roles in early civilization. They start out as providers, become temple gods or rulers, and finally serve to represent quasi-benevolent parents of the society at large. They come to eventually represent caring, nurturing providers who are personal protectors in an impersonal world. Ishtar's descent is an example of this.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1597
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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