What Are the Political and Cultural Developments of the Ancient and Term Paper

What Are the Political and Cultural Developments of the Ancient and Medieval Eras - Term Paper Example The Medieval Era is also referred to as the Dark Ages as there was very little writing, science or culture during this period. This period is finally believed to have ended with the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453. During all these years, the world has been a witness to innumerable events and discoveries, which have had a tremendous impact on our lives. Mesopotamia, was originally the area around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Today, we know this region as the modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. Historians believe that the earliest civilizations began in a land which today is the modern Iraq. Geographically Iraq belongs to Mesopotamia of the Old Testament. The land of Mesopotamia was filled with surplus water resources and was a land with plenty of valleys and rivers. It was a land of fertile vegetation, plentiful wildlife, and abundant water. This paved way for producing surplus food and for the development of civilization. Civilization here was initialized by many rulers like Hammurabi (1792-1750 B.C.), Cyrus (550-530 B.C.), Darius (520-485 B.C.), and Alexander (336-323 B.C.). By 6000 B.C., Mesopotamia was occupied chiefly by Turkish and the Iranians. Southern Mesopotamia was the area from where a high sense of religion developed. Many of the important Mesopotamian cities developed in areas that surrounded Sumerian culture cente rs. This helped in the development of a close relationship between the government and religion. The ancient cities like Babylon and Assyria were a part of Iraq. There were also many attempts made for flood control and joint irrigation. This was very helpful in initializing the development of this civilization. Mesopotamia was controlled by different people at different times, starting with the Sumerians in around 3500 B.C. The Sumerians are said to have invented the wheel and the Cuneiform script, which most historians regard as the earliest form of writing. Ancient Mesopotamians had ceremonies for each month based on the waxing and waning of the moon, equinoxes and solstices, etc. Music played a very important part in their lives, and songs were sung to children, which and these were passed on through many generations as an oral tradition. Later these provided a valuable source of information about their past history. They used a small stringed musical instrument called the Oud, wh ich is considered as a forerunner to the European lute. They enjoyed games like boxing, wrestling, and some form of polo. Mesopotamians were known to bury their dead in family graves along with their possessions. The political history of the Sumerians was one of constant warfare, where each city-state would try to conquer and unify the other, but mostly failing in their efforts. Though it was eventually unified by Eannatum, the Sumerian King of Lagash for a short period, it was later conquered by the Akkadians, who survived for a few generations before being taken over by the Babylonians. EGYPT The Egyptian culture has about six thousand years of recorded history. Life here began along the banks of the river Nile. This place has a very rare geographical unity and also cultural unity. The Egyptian people even today feel proud about being a descendant of humankind who belonged to the earliest civilized community. Egypt was one of the earliest civilizations, which maintained such a dis tinctive and stable culture that it was powerful enough to later influence the cultures of Europe, the Middle East and the African countries. Most of the dynasties of the ancient Egyptians developed along the river Nile. A lot of