Mesopotamian society the nuclear family was the norm, although a married son and his family often resided with his parents. The father was the head of the family.

• A ruling elite had emerged
• Had a major share of wealth
• Followed nuclear family system and  patriarchal system
• Condition of women
• System of marriages

Town Planning: The discovery of the Sumerian city of Ur has shed light on the lives of the early Mesopotamians. The Mesopotamian cities fell short in terms of town planning as compared to the Harappan centres but followed a uniform pattern nevertheless. The city was divided into three parts - the sacred area, the walled city on a mound and the outer town. The sacred area consisted of the temple tower or the <i>ziggurat </i>dedicated to the patron god of the city. There were also smaller temples of other gods. This area also had the storehouse as well as the offices. People resided in the walled city and the outer town areas. Houses were constructed along the streets, and each house had a central courtyard with rooms attached around it.

The legacy of Mesopotamia to the world
a. The legacy of Mesopotamia is very rich and massive spreading throughout the world.
b. The future civilizations imbibed the legacy of Mesopotamia and the legacy set a precedent for the civilization.

c. The land of Mesopotamia left the legacies of urbanization, 

The postulation that Allah (the name of God in Islam) historically originates as the moon deity Al-Lat (who was worshipped in pre-Islamic Arabia) originates in early 20th-century scholarship, most prominently advocated by American evangelicals from the 1990s. In mythology, a lunar deity is a god or goddess of the Moon, sometimes as a personification. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Some form of Moon worship can be found in most ancient religions.

The division of labor is a mark of urban life. There must be a social organization in place. Organized trade and storage is needed because of need of various raw materials for manufacturers in the city. Many different activities need to be coordinated. In such a system, some people give commands that other obey. Urban economies often require keeping of written records.

1. The earliest cities emerged around temples, some cities developed as centres of trade and some were imperial cities.Early settlers began to build and rebuild temples at selected spots in their villages.
2.  The earliest known temple was a small shrine made of unbaked bricks. Temples were the residences of various gods: Moon God and sun God or the Goddess of Love and War.
3. Temples became larger over time, with several rooms around open courtyards. Some of the early ones were possibly not unlike the ordinary house but temples always had their outer walls going in and out at regular intervals, which no ordinary building ever had.
4. The god was the focus of worship: to him or her people brought grain, curd and fish. The god was also the theoretical owner of the agricultural fields,the fisheries, and the herds of the local community.

1. 1. In Mesopotamian society the nuclear family was the norm,although a married son and his family often resided with his parents.The father was the head of the family.
   2. We know a little about the procedures for marriage. A declaration was made about the willingness to marry by the bride’s parents. When the wedding took place, gifts were exchanged by both parties, who ate together and made offerings in a temple.
   3. Ur was one of the earliest cities to have been excavated in Mesopotamia. Narrow winding streets indicate that wheeled carts could not have reached many of the houses. Sacks of grain and firewood would have arrived on donkey-back. Narrow winding streets and the irregular shapes of house plots also indicate an absence of town planning.
   4.  There were no street drains of the kind we find in contemporary Mohenjo-daro. Drains and clay pipes were instead found in the inner courtyards of the Ur houses and it is thought that house roofs sloped inwards and rainwater was channeled via the drainpipes into sump sin the inner courtyards.
   5. Yet people seem to have swept all their household refuses into the streets, to be trodden underfoot!This made street levels rise, and over time the thresholds of houses had also to be raised so that no mud would flow inside after the rains.
   6. Light came into the rooms not from windows but from doorways opening into the courtyards: this would also havegiven families their privacy.

The civilization of the Indus River at Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa arose at about 2500 BCE and ended with apparent destruction about 1500 BCE. It is uncertain whether this civilization had its roots in Sumer or Sumer had its roots in this civilization Mohenjo-daro is another major city of the same period, located in Sindh province of Pakistan. One of its most well-known structures is the Great Bath of Mohenjo-daro Mohenjo-daro is located west of the Indus River in Larkana District, Sindh, Pakistan, in a central position between the Indus River and the Ghaggar-Hakra River. It is situated on a Pleistocene ridge in the middle of the flood plain of the Indus River Valley, around 28 kilometres (17 mi) from the town of Larkana.

The Sumerians developed the first form of writing. As Sumerian towns grew into cities, the people needed a way to keep track of business transactions, ownership rights, and government records. Around 3300 BC the Sumerians began to use picture symbols marked into clay tablets to keep their records.

Ali was the fourth Caliph. He fought two wars against those who were representing the aristocracy of Mecca. As a result of these wars, the rifts among the Muslims depened. Later on his supporters and enemies got divided into two sects. These two sects were: Shias and Sunnis. Ali established himself at Kufar and defeated Aisha’s (Muhammad’s wife) army in the Battle of Camel in 657.

Although Ali won this war but he was unable to suppress the group led by Muawiya, a kinsman of Uthman and the governor of Syria. Then he fought another war with him at Siffin, which ended in a truce. After the War of Siffin, Ali’s followers got divided into two groups. Some remained loyal to them, while others who left them came to be known as Kharjis.

Question.
What are the twin objectives of Caliphate?
Answer:
The two in objectives of the Caliphate are as follows:

To firmly establish control over the tribes constituting the ‘umma’.
To raise resources of the state.
 

Teachings of Islam:

• God, i.e. Allah is one. He is omnipresent and omnipotent.
• People should lead a simple life.

A new religion emerged which drew widespread adherence amongst the Arab population. A new and vigorous state emerged bringing peace to the warring tribes of Arabia. Expansion provided a common task for the Arab community, which reinforced the fragile unity of the umma. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by missionary activities, particularly those of imams, who intermingled with local populations to propagate the religious teachings.

A Nation State refers to a country with well defined delineated boundaries, resided by people with a similar culture, shared history and ethnic character. It is also supposed to have a government of its choice. The people in a Nation State are supposed to have unity, strength and cooperation.

• Writing began in Mesopotamia in 3200 BCE.
• Writing became as a records of transactions
• 2600 BCE the letters became cuneiform and language was Sumerian

• Cuneiform Script

  1. Meaning: It is a script of Mesopotamia. The word ‘Cuneiform’ is derived from the Latin words cuneus, meaning ‘wedge’ and forma, meaning ‘shape’. Cuneiform letters were wedge shaped, hence, like nails.

  2. Uses: By 2600 BCE or so, the letters became cuneiform, and the language was Sumerian. Cuneiform writing in the Akkadian language continued in use until the first century CE, that is, for more than 2,000 years.

Adolf Hitler, the leader of Germany’s Nazi Party, was one of the most powerful and notorious dictators of the 20th century. Hitler capitalized on economic woes, popular discontent and political infighting to take absolute power in Germany beginning in 1933. Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 led to the outbreak of World War II, and by 1941 Nazi forces had occupied much of Europe. Hitler’s virulent anti-Semitism and obsessive pursuit of Aryan supremacy fueled the murder of some 6 million Jews, along with other victims of the Holocaust. After the tide of war turned against him, Hitler committed suicide in a Berlin bunker in April 1945.