The Inventions of Mesopotamia

The name "Mesopotamia" is derived from Greek language meaning "the land between rivers". This alludes to the actual location of ancient Mesopotamia, which is located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in modern day Iraq. The rivers were a major part of ancient Mesopotamia because of the fertility they brought to the location, causing it to be known as the Fertile Crescent. The Fertile Crescent was a sought after location due to its rich soil, causing many different cultures to be a part of its history. 

Originally, ancient Mesopotamia was called Sumer, and it belonged to the Sumerians. The Sumerian people arose from the ancient city-state of Ur. Four centuries later, the Akkadian ruler Sargon I conquered the Sumerian lands around the time of 2300 B.C., renaming the people as Akkadians. Sargon I brought Semitic culture to Mesopotamia, which was adopted into the land for many centuries. 

After the Akkadians came the Babylonians, centered around the city of Babylon, which was known for the hanging gardens of Babylon. Succeeding the Babylonians, the Assyrians gained control of Babylon. The most notable fact about them was their conquest of Judea. Next, the Babylonians gained power and reasserted dominance over Mesopotamia. They held control over Mesopotamia for around 300 years. After this period, the Persians, led by Darius I, established the reign of a Persian empire over Babylon. 200 years later, Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conquered the Persian empire and gained possession of their territories. Having many different cultures be a part of Mesopotamia developed a rich cultural history. This caused a great variation of beliefs and eventually led to an array of inventions to be created, solving many once current problems in ancient Mesopotamia.