Western Civ Blog

Today in Western Civ class, we took notes out of the textbook and we learned about early river valley civilizations from 2500BC-4500BC.  Some of the most important things that I took notes on were that the earliest civilizations formed on fertile river plains, facing challenges such as seasonal flooding and a limited growing area.  Projects such as irrigation system required leadership and laws. They were controlled by priests, military leaders, and or kings.  Also, early civilizations developed bronze tools, the wheel, the sail, the plow, writing and mathematics.  These spread through trade, wars, and the movement of peoples.  The Hammurabi's code was the first set of laws that were written down in 1792BC.  I learned that the regions curved shape and the richness of its land led scholars to call it the Fertile Crescent.  Mesopotamia means "land between the rivers."  One other thing I learned is that the two rivers framing Mesopotamia are the Tigres and Euphrates River.

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