The Complete Civilization of the Euphrates
Euphrates and Tigris River Valley Civilizations
Euphrates and Tigris River Valley Civilizations (Sumerian, Ancient Babylonian, Assyrian and New Babylonian Civilizations) - The Euphrates and Tigris civilizations are known as the civilization of Mesopotamia which is now the territory of Iraq. Mesopotamia comes from the Greek words mesos, meaning middle, and potamos, meaning river.
Mesopotamia is defined as the area between the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris which empties into the Persian Gulf. If the Mesopotamia area is connected with the Jordan River valley area, a "prosperous crescent land" or called The Fertile Crescent is formed. The rainy season falls in October – April so that the land is fertile. Supporters of the Mesopotamian culture consisted of the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians and New Babylonians.
a. Sumerian Civilization
The Sumerians established their rule around 3000 BC near the Euphrates River centered at Ur. The form of government is a kingdom. The king has the title Patesi and has absolute power. The king is also the head of religion, head of the military, and holds the country's economic power.
His livelihood is farming. The Sumerians tied trade relations with the Akkadians who produced a lot of wood and stone as building materials. To facilitate trade, a caravan road was made, namely a trade road that connected Sumer - Akadia via the Persian Gulf to the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Sumerian belief system was to worship the god Anu as the god of the sky, the god Enlili as the god of the earth, and the god Ea as the god of water. The Sumerians knew cuneiform letters which consisted of 350 signs. His literary output is the heroic epic Gilgamesh. They can build houses and know almanacs, know astronomy to calculate time, know irrigation, know plows, and 360 degree circles. The collapse of Sumer around 2500 BC was caused by an attack by the Akkadians under King Sargon.
b. Ancient Babylonian Civilization
Babylonia is located in the valley of the Euphrates River which was established around 2000 BC with Babylon as its capital and in the form of a kingdom. The king's power is absolute, both as head of state and head of religion as well as head of the economy. Ancient Babylon reached its heyday when King Hammurabi issued the Book of Hammurabi as the first written law. It contained 4,000 lines on educational issues, property rights issues, family issues, military issues, marital issues, and accounts payable issues.
This book is placed on the side of the road in the form of a stone 2 m high. Laws that contain criminal law are retaliatory in accordance with the violation of balanced punishment. The purpose of the Book of Hammurabi is to prevent arbitrary actions by state officials. Punishment for nobles was increased.
Military technology already used war chariots, troops used copper helmets, strike troops were equipped with javelins, axes and swords. Cultural results in the form of the Hammurabi Act, knowledge of astronomy, knowledge of astrology, classifying animals and plants, using the number 60 as a basic count, the discovery of a tower-shaped building (ziggurat), and the existence of a letter of agreement that regulates trade transactions.
His belief is to worship many gods. God Marduk is considered the supreme god and savior god. The god Enlil was worshiped as the god of the earth and the god of the apocalypse and the ruler of water who served as the guardian god (Vishnu) under the god Marduk.
c. Assyrian Civilization
The Assyrians lived in the Euphrates and Tigris valleys, the capital city of Nineveh (900 BC). This nation includes wanderlust and is known as a nation of cattle herders. This nation has a cruel nature and likes to kill. The state is established in the form of a kingdom in which the king has absolute power.
This nation loves war so many enemies. The famous king is Ashurbanipal who in 650 BC managed to dominate Egypt. That is why the Medes, Persians, and Chaldeans united to defeat Assyria (612 BC). All the people were killed, the city of Nineveh was burned until the Assyrian cruelty ended.
The Assyrian agriculture produced a lot of grain, wine, vegetables, and trade was held in low esteem. Their beliefs worship many gods. Assur as the sun god is the supreme god and symbolized by the wheel, this god as the protector of the king.
They believe the spirits of the dead will live on and be guarded, even though their bodies have died. Therefore, the dead were given clothes. The result of the culture is heroism which reflects the atmosphere of heroism. This nation possesses forecasting skills (astrology) and high astronomical abilities, namely calculating the year's time of 365¼ days.
d. New Babylonian Civilization
Babylonia revived and became known as New Babylon in 612 BC, supporting the Chaldeans with the famous king Nebuchadnezzar. He invaded Jerusalem and brought all the Jews as Babylonian slaves, this is called the Babylonian exile.
The belief of the New Babylonians was to worship many gods, such as the god Saturn, the god Mars, the god Venus and Pluto. The remains of its cultural arts are the Hanging Gardens, which are gardens on a hill equipped with flora and fauna, the Babil tower which adds to the beauty of the city as a beacon for traders heading to Babil city, and the King's Bridge which connects the city of Babil to the Hanging Gardens. They are also familiar with astronomy, the almanac and the names of the planets.
In addition, they have the knowledge of mathematics to calculate the circumference and area of a circle with 360o and calculate that one week has 7 days, one day has 24 hours, and each hour has 60 minutes. The Babylonians collapsed due to the attacks of the Medes and Persians in 530 BC.