9.4 Mesopotamia

In its narrowest sense Mesopotamia is the region between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers north of the bottleneck at Baghdad. However, the term now usually covers the region from the Gulf in the south to the Taurus Mountains in the north along the two river valleys and the adjacent foothills and plains.

Map indicating location of Mesopotamia

The rivers were always crucial as a source of drinking water, irrigation and fish, but increasingly transport and communication became important. Village settlements existed here from about 8,000 BC. From 6,000 BC trade between settlements in this region became extensive, and boats were rapidly developed, with sails being used around 5,000 BC.

The environment in Central Mesopotamia near Baghdad is long, hot, dry summers and cold wet winters, although rainfall is only 6 inches per annum. Rainfall south of a line from Hassuna to Choga Mami was inadequate for agriculture without irrigation, so the north developed first. Over time, rivers shift course, and flow varies considerably from year to year, with most floods occurring in April and May as mountain snow melts. In the south, near the Persian Gulf, the soil is fertile sediment, “the Alluvium”, with no stone for building and little timber, but plenty of clay. Further north towards the foothills of the Taurus Mountains the environment makes pastoralism easier than agriculture. The Mesopotamians had a much tougher time with agriculture than say the Egyptians because of the extreme climate and their total reliance on floods and irrigation, with the constant threat to crops and animals. Sumerians consequently had a more pessimistic view of the world that is reflected in their religion and art.

Local tribes based on one or more settlements grew to become ‘Cultures’, some covering significant areas. A “Culture” is a group of people who have common traits, such as religion, language, pottery style, agricultural practices, house construction and so on. However it does not preclude groups from the same Culture falling out and fighting each other. It usually covers an area or region and a particular time frame. Often Cultures are known by their (long lasting) pottery, and named after the settlement where it was first discovered. There is often a lack of definitive information on the origins of the various Cultures, as people migrated continually either in dribs and drabs or outright invasion. In particular, the region north of the Zagros Mountain Region had continual population surpluses between 10,000 and 3,000 BC, leading to migrations to the more fertile river valleys. Once pottery had developed some character, it is probably the only way to follow the different Cultures as they waxed and waned. Certainly between 6,000 and 4,500 BC the aesthetic expression of the people took the form of a bewildering variety of regionalised and successive decorated pottery shapes and styles, together with stylised figures of humans, particularly female, and other animals. However, sometimes the Culture and technology would pass on even if the people became absorbed and their personal characteristic differences disappeared. Ancient Mesopotamia had many languages and Cultures, with no real geographic unity or lasting Capital City, contrasting with, for example, Egypt. Almost always each Culture influenced the technology and methods of the next.