Daily life in ancient Mesopotamia cannot be described in the same way one would describe life in ancient Rome or Greece. Mesopotamia was never a single, unified civilization, not even under the Akkadian Empire of Sargon the Great. Generally speaking, though, from the rise of the cities in c. 4500 BCE to the downfall of Sumer in 1750 BCE, the people of the regions of Mesopotamia did live their lives in similar ways. The civilizations of Mesopotamia placed a great value on the written word. Once writing was invented, c. 3500-3000 BCE, the scribes seem almost obsessed with recording every facet of their cities lives and, because of this, archaeologists and scholars in the present day have a fairly clear understanding of how the people lived and worked. The American author Thornton Wilder once wrote, “Babylon once had two million people in it, and all we know about `em is the names of the kings and some copies of wheat contracts and the sales of slaves” (Our Town). Wilder was writing fiction, of course, not history, and there was much about Mesopotamian history still unknown at the time he wrote his play; still he was wrong about what the modern world, even the world of his day, knew about the people of Mesopotamia. We actually know a good deal more than just the names of kings and the sales of slaves.

Temples overtime developed huge structures, built in shape of step pyramids. But early temple were much like house. They were small shrines made of unbaked bricks except that had outer walls going in and out at regular intervals unlike ordinary building. Early temples were like a house because:
(i) The temple symbolize the community as a whole and was the nucleus around which the city developed.
(ii) It was here that the processing of produce- grain grinding, spinning, weaving was done as in household.
(iii) The rulers of early Mesopotamia's cities were priests.They lived and administered from there. Since temples were used for residential purposes they looked like houses.
(iv) The complex was not only a place of rituals and worship but contained warehouses, workshops and living quarters of artisans.

Hammurabi was a famous king of Babylonia. He got prepared the world's first Code of Laws. He also got it engraved on a very big stone shaft in the form of 282 articles.

These laws were connected with trade, exchange of money, payment of taxes, theft, murder etc. Most of the laws were based on the principal of "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth".

The contributions:

• The Mesopotamians were the first people to introduce the use of the potter's wheel to the world.
• They were the first to enter into written trade agreement.
• They also introduced to the world the idea of a written Code of Law.
• They were the first people to divide a day into 24 hours, an hour into 60 minutes and a minute into 60 seconds.
• They were first to develop a script and established the libraries and reading rooms.

Examine the position of the Pope in the Medieval Europe.

During the medieval period in Europe the Pope enjoyed the position of importance. The Pope began to be regarded as the spiritual representative of Jesus Christ. In this capacity he started interfering into the internal affairs of the Christian kings and their subjects.

The authority of the Pope became so effective that none among the Christian kings dared challenge him.

The Greek society was divided into three classes :

1. Nobles or Upper Class.

2. Demos or free people.

3. Slaves.

The Roman society was also divided into the three groups :

1. The Patricians or the Rich.

2. Plebeians or the Common People.

3. The Slaves.

The upper class in both the countries included in rich and  the landed aristocracy which led a very luxurious life. The second class was comprised of traders, craftsmen, warriors and the cultivators.

The people enjoyed all the civic rights but they had to bear the burden of most of the taxes. For the purpose, they were against the upper class.

The condition of the third class i.e. the slaves was very bad in both the countries. They were bought and sold in the markets. They were treated like animals by their masters.

Monasteries were Christian institutions of the medieval Europe where devotee Christians lead a life of isolation dedicated to the worship of God. These monasteries were located far from the areas of human habitation. The two famous monasteries were St. Benedict in Italy and Cluny in Burgundy. The functions performed by these monasteries are as follows:

(a) Preaching: Monks and nuns moved from one place to another to spread the words of Christianity among the people.

(b) Charity: Monasteries served the sick and arranged food for the poor people. The monasteries served as inns for the travellers. They could rest in these monasteries and then continue their journey.

(c) Learning centres: Monasteries provided education to the community children and those who wanted to become monks.

(d) Cultural Enrichment:

(i) Most monks and nuns were educated and learned, so they spent their time copying books and masterpieces like the works of Cicero and Virgil. 

(ii) Monks also wrote chronicles; they noted down all important events of their times.

The word ‘Mesopotamia’ is derived from two Greek words ‘Mesos’ and ‘Potamos’. The word ‘Mesos’ means the middle and ‘Potamas’ means river. Hence, the land lying or situated between two rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) is called Mesopotamia.

• The term ‘Industrial Revolution’ was used by European scholars – George Michelet in France and Friedrich Engles in Germany.
• It refers to the great change in the field of industries when the production of goods by hand in the houses were replaced with the help of machines in factories.
• The transformation of industry and the economy in Britain between the 1780s and the 1850s is called the ‘first industrial revolution’.
• It was used for the first time in English by the philosopher and economist Arnold Toynbee (1852-83), to describe the changes that occurred in British industrial development between 1760 and 1820. These dates coincided with those of the reign of George III.
• It revolutionised the techniques and organisation of production in the later half of the eighteenth century.

Economic factors – 

a) Agriculture

• The economic condition of the Islamic world, during medieval period was very prosperous.
• Agriculture was the principal occupation of the settled populations in the newly conquered territories
• The lands conquered by the Arabs that remained in the hands of the owners were subject to a tax (kharaj), which varied from half to a fifth of the produce, according to the conditions of cultivation.
• When non-Muslims started to convert to Islam to pay lower taxes, this reduced the income of the state. To address the shortfall, the caliphs first discouraged conversions and later adopted a uniform policy of taxation.
• Agricultural prosperity went hand in hand with political stability
• Islamic law gave tax concessions to people who brought land under cultivation.

b) Urbanisation 

• Islamic civilisation flourished as the number of cities grew phenomenally.
• Among this class of garrison-cities, called misr (the Arabic name for Egypt), were Kufa and Basra in Iraq, and Fustat and Cairo in Egypt.
• Their size and population surged, supported by an expansion in the production of foodgrains and raw materials such as cotton and sugar for urban manufactures
• A vast urban network developed, linking one town with another and forming a circuit.

c) Commerce

• Political unification and urban demand for foodstuffs and luxuries enlarged the circuit of exchange.
• Geography favoured the Muslim empire, which spread between the trading zones of the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean
• For five centuries, Arab and Iranian traders monopolised the maritime trade between China, India and Europe.
• This trade passed through two major routes, namely, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
• High-value goods suitable for long-distance trade, such as spices, textile, porcelain and gunpowder, were shipped from India and China to the Red Sea ports of Aden and Aydhab and the Gulf ports of Siraf and Basra.

Roman Law is the common foundation upon which the European legal order is built. Government: Many modern-day governments are modeled after the Roman Republic. Concepts such as balance of powers, veto, and representation all were developed and recorded by the Romans. The classical jurist Gaius (around 160) invented a system of private law based on the division of all material into personae (persons), res (things) and actiones (legal actions). This system was used for many centuries.

The factors responsible for the decline of the Roman Civilization are as followings :

1. Wars and Luxurious Life : Repeated wars and conquests bent and broke the back of democracy. The luxurious and easeful way of living demoralised the ruling class.

2. Slave Revolts : The number of slaves had out numbered the free men. They grew rebellious and could not be quelled by the ruling class.

3. The Weakness of Emperors : The Roman emperors being incompetent and weak could not face the invaders.

4. Spread of Christianity : The Christian religion gave meassage of love and equality. It weakened the rule of emperors since it created rebellions feeling among the slaves.

5. Raids and invasions : Invaders and raiders shattered the Roman Civilization.

Mesopotamia (Arabic: بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن‎‎ Bilād ar-Rāfidayn; Ancient Greek: Μεσοποταμία) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent, in modern days roughly corresponding to most of Iraq, Kuwait, the eastern parts of Syria, Southeastern Turkey, and regions along the Turkish–Syrian and Iran–Iraq borders.[1]

The Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians and Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. It fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his death, it became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire.

Central Islamic Islands class 11 Notes History in PDF are available for free download in myCBSEguide mobile app. The best app for CBSE students now provides Central Islamic Islands class 11 Notes History latest chapter wise notes for quick preparation of CBSE board exams and school based annual examinations. Class 11 History notes on Chapter 4 Central Islamic Islands class 11 Notes History are also available for download in CBSE Guide website.

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