Compare and contrast at least two Fertile Crescent cultures. Discuss ways in which the various cultures influenced each other. Also, identify specific examples of ideas, beliefs, and knowledge, moving from one culture to another. Continue by exploring the impact it has had on our culture today.
The Sumerians and the Babylonians both lived and flourished in the area around the two great rivers of Tigris and Euphrates thousands of years before our times. We usually call this area Mesopotamia as it lies between two rivers. It is situated in modern day Iraq (British Museum). Although Sumerians and Babylonians flourished in different time periods (the two cultures are more than one thousand years apart), they share striking similarities in knowledge, ideas and beliefs.
The Sumerians lived in several autonomous city-states that began to flourish from approximately 4000 BC (Webb). On the contrary, the Babylonians under the king Hammurabi, who came to power in 1792 BC gradually expanded and conquered neighboring cities controlling much of the surrounding areas while ruling from Babylon and forming one of the first “empires” in history (Van De Mieroop, 106-108). The Sumerians came to the area as immigrants some time in prehistory. The Babylonians were a Semitic population indigenous in the area at the time of their rise (Webb).
Sumerians and Babylonians shared the same script, although not the same language (Van De Mieroop, 32). The cuneiform script was developed by the Sumerians in around 3000 BC and is considered the first script in the world (Webb). It was gradually adopted by other cultures of the area, initially by the city of Akkad and the Akkadians, and later by the Babylonians and the Assyrians, all of whom adapted the script to their own languages.
The two cultures also shared religious beliefs and myths. It is interesting to note that common myths circulated in the area of Mesopotamia for thousands of years and Sumerian religion must, in its turn, been influenced by earlier beliefs of prehistoric populations (Webb). In particular, Sumerians and Babylonians had common or similar gods and creation myths and rituals. The road of transmission must have been once again through Akkad who was particularly influenced by the Sumerian culture (Webb).
In terms of technological advancement, the Sumerians were the first to built massive structures, the so-called Ziggurats which raised several stories high and were religious centers (Webb). This knowledge too passed to the Babylonians and other cultures of the area that created similar structures in their own cities.
It is important to remember that many of the aspects we today consider part of civilization developed in the Fertile Crescent thousands of years before our time. The script is the important among them as it gave rise to the most powerful tool of human communication. The technology of building massive structures is also very important as all subsequent human civilizations have been greatly profited by this knowledge. It is thanks to advancements like these that Mesopotamia has been known as the place where civilization began.
WORKS CITED
“Sumerians”. The British Museum. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/cultures/middle_east/sumerians.aspx
Van De Mieroop, Marc. A History of the Ancient Near East. Malden, MA: Blackwell. 2004.
Webb, Eugene. “Mesopotamian Religion: a supplement RELIG 201, for the use of students”. University of Washington. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. http://faculty.washington.edu/ewebb/Mesopotamia.html
