The land that was once Mesopotamia now lies between the two major rivers in present day Iraq.
Rivers: - Tigris - Euphrates The rivers provided major resources to the people that lived in Mesopotamia. They provided rich nutrients for farming and provided water to be used for cleaning and many other purposes such as bathing and drinking water. The two large rivers let people irrigate their fields assuring them they would have enough food to feed their families for a long time. Mountains: Mesopotamia had the Ragros mountain range to the North taking up a lot of space in Mesopotamia, leaving a smaller amount of space to build homes and live. Desert: The fertile crescent was surrounded by the Arabian desert. This also made it harder to find a suitable place to live since people's needs included water and a place to plant their crops. Living near the desert didn't provide any solutions to these needs. Major Cities: - Uruk: This was one of the first major cities ever in the entire world. It reached it's peak around 2900 B.C. when it had 80,000 people, making it the largest city in the world. Uruk was located in southern Mesopotamia along the Euphrates river. - Babylon: This was the capital city and center of the Babylonian Empire. During it's peak it was the largest city in the world with over 200,000 people on record for living there. It was located in central Mesopotamia along the Euphrates river. - Akkdad: Akkad was the center of the world's first empire, the Akkadian Empire. The people of Akkad, under the leadership of Sargon the Great, conquered many of the Sumerian city-states and took control of Mesopotamia - Assur: Located in northern Mesopotamia on the western bank of the river Tigris, Assur became the first capital city of the Assyrian Empire. Although other cities would later take over as capital of the Assyrian Empire, Assur was always recognized as the religious center of the empire. - Persepolis: Persepolis was the capital of the Persian Empire. The name is actually Greek for "Persian city". The city was originally built by Cyrus the Great around 515 BC. |
|
Mesopotamian | Geography |