Agriculture was the main occupation of the Mesopotamian followed by cattle rearing and dairy farming. To that end, they developed **** of binds to lands and artificial irrigation. They gave to the world the know how about digging of canals, construction of dykes, embankments and storage basins to regulate water consumption and usage throughout the year. It is believed that the Shadow was developed by them for artificial irrigation.
They had a barter system in the beginning, but later started using metal coins. Weaving, dyeing, wood works, pottery, jewelry and metallurgy were the important crafts. They exported wooden articles and fibre clothes and had trade relations with India and Egypt.
As stone was not available in Mesopotamia, we do not find sculpture and architecture as we find in Egypt. Most of the buildings were built with brick and mud and only very few of them have survived.
King Nebuchadnezzar constructed a Palace with a variety of gardens on the roof known as the Hanging Garden of Babylon which was considered as one of the Seven wonders of the Ancient World. Mesopotamian were excellent artisans and sculptors. They carved beautiful images of eagles and other animals. Student copybooks and a library of clay books of 4,000 years old were found at excavations. They used flat bricks for writing which was known as ‘cuneiform’ writing. They composed many myths, legends and poems. Their Epic of Gilgamesh is a rich poetry.
They knew about the Planets and believed that Sun and Moon influenced the life of men. They had ***** in Astrology which was based on Astronomy. They divided the year into 12 months with 354 days. They followed the lunar Calendar. Their hour had 60 minutes and a minute had 60 seconds.
They had made good progress in the field of medicine. Their book ‘Matoria Medica’ mentions of 550 medicines prepared from vegetables, minerals and animal products. That book also gives details of various **** and their symptoms.
Mesopotamia’* worshipped Nature along with innumerable Gods and Goddesses. They built Ziggurats – Temples with tall towers. The Temples were also centres of education. They had streamlined Central and Provincial administrations. Governors were appointed to look after the provincial administration. They had a horse borne postal system for communication.
The greatest contribution of the Mesopotamian civilization was the ‘Code of Hammurabi’. King Hammurabi was a great Conqueror and an able Administrator. He collected all the existing laws, classified them, improved them, added new ones and codified all into one body of laws. It covered all aspects of human life and was a mixture of enlightened laws and barbarous punishments. It was an everlasting and monumental legal achievement of Hammurabi, which has made him immortal.
