Cylinder seals were a small, carved stone cylinder that was used to make an impression in wet clay. When rolled on the wet clay, the seal left an impression that could prove ownership or identity. These small—about an inch to an inch and a half long—seals are delicate works of art, intricately carved with the tiny figures of gods, beasts and men, usually relating a myth, a banquet or an heroic deed.

For 3,000 years cylinder seals were used all over Mesopotamia and wherever Mesopotamian influence was felt. Most were made of stone, whether limestone or semi-precious stones such as carnelian or lapis lazuli. Some were made of copper, bronze, gold, ivory or bone.

Organized Government: The rulers were inscribed in stone.Mesopotamia was ruled by Hammurabi.The weak and powerless were protected.The Laws of Hammurabi are the longest and best organized collections of lawRuled by kings- had absolute power
Complex Religion: Had a polytheistic belief systemWorshipped many gods and goddesses- influenced much of what happened to them in their livesMeaning of life was to live life contentlyReligion helped them face dangers and their fears
Job Specialization: Some of the jobs in ancient Mesopotamia included farming, pottery, weaving, teachers, astronomers, and livestock raisingTrading was also a big deal in Mesopotamia
Social Classes: There are 6 different social classes in the Ancient Mesopotamia Hierarchy: Kings, Priest, Scribes, Merchants and Artisans, Commoners, and Slaves. King: Was the top rank holder of the social class Ancient Mesopotamia; the king created the laws for the civilization; served as the head of the armyPriest: the upper class; considered as the doctors of that time; very influential because religion was important during that timeScribes: the upper class; well educated; undergo a training program to be a scribeMerchants and Artisans: the upper class; had a major role in creating wealth and growth of the civilizationCommoners: laboring lower class; engaged in agriculture; not educatedThe Slaves: were at the bottom of the social class; had no rights and worked for the upper class
Arts and Architecture: Arts included paintings, sculptures, and pictures of life and religion.Some buildings in Mesopotamia were ziggurats and the some of the citizens lived in caves.Art and poetry was a big part of the wealthy citiesArt had religious theme that honored the godsThey enjoyed music and sports
Public Work: The king had made irrigation works to boost the economy.Some types of public work are making irrigation systems, building ziggurats, creating sewage systems, making moats, and building public bathrooms.

Writing:  The earliest writing was based on pictographs, that were used to communicate basic information.Over time, the need for writing changed and cuneiform was developed. Cuneiform was the official Mesopotamia writing form.Mesopotamia scribes recorded daily events, trade. astronomy, and literature on clay tablets. They kept excellent records and list of things. 

Gender Roles in Roman Empire

1.One of the more modern features of Roman society was the widespreadprevalence of the nuclear family. Adult sons did not live with theirfamilies, and it was exceptional for adult brothers to share a commonhousehold. On the other hand, slaves were included in the family.

2.The typical form of marriage was one where the wife did nottransfer to her husband’s authority but retained full rights in theproperty of her father’s family. While the woman’s dowry went to thehusband for the duration of the marriage, the woman remained aprimary heir of her father and became an independent property owneron her father’s death.

3.Marriageswere generally arranged, and there is no doubt that women were oftensubject to domination by their husbands.Whereas males married intheir late twenties or early thirties, women were married off in the lateteens or early twenties, so there was an age gap between husband andwife and this would have encouraged a certain inequality.

4.Divorce was relatively easy andneeded no more than a notice of intent to dissolve the marriage byeither husband or wife. On the other hand,Augustine, the great Catholicbishop, tells us that hismother was regularly beaten by his father and that most other wivesin the small town where he grew up had similar bruises to show!

5. Finally, fathers had substantial legal control over their children –sometimes to a shocking degree, for example, a legal power of life anddeath in exposing unwanted children, by leaving them out in the coldto die.

Papyrus, writing material of ancient times and also the plant from which it was derived, Cyperus papyrus (family Cyperaceae), also called paper plant.

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 ziggurat 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.

Manorial estates were self sufficient estates, it represented division of land into estates headed by the Lord. d. These estates had within themselves, peasants who tilled the land, carpenters, blacksmiths, ​stone masons. e. The land remained under the control of the Lord who rented it to the tiller and received dues.

Mesopotamia existed on the flood plain between two rivers, the Euphrates and the Tigris, as the name Mesopotamia, derived from ancient Greek “between two rivers” suggests. Mesopotamia existed from about 5000 BC, believed to be the first evidence of human culture and ends with the rise of Achaemenid Persians around 1500 BC. A diverse, richly cultural civilization grew up over several thousand years and was shaped by many ethnic groups.

The word “mesopotamia” is formed from the ancient words “meso,” meaning between or in the middle of, and “potamos,” meaning river. Situated in the fertile valleys between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, the region is now home to modern-day Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey and Syria. Flax was mainly used to produce oil and linen. Wool production was large with the need for textiles. Sheep and goats also provided milk, meat, and hides in order to produce leather. Donkeys were the main source of transportation.

In Ancient Literacy W.V. Harris provides the first thorough exploration of the levels, types, and functions of literacy in the classical world, from the invention of the Greek alphabet about 800 B.C. down to the fifth century A.D. Investigations of other societies show that literacy ceases to be the accomplishment of a small elite only in specific circumstances. Harris argues that the social and technological conditions of the ancient world were such as to make mass literacy unthinkable. Noting that a society on the verge of mass literacy always possesses an elaborate school system, Harris stresses the limitations of Greek and Roman schooling, pointing out the meagerness of funding for elementary education.It gave some stimulus to critical thought and assisted the accumulation of knowledge, and the minority that did learn to read and write was to some extent able to assert itself politically. The written word was also an instrument of power, and its use was indispensable for the construction and maintenance of empires.

• Both a protectorate and a colony are territories of larger countries. A protectorate is its own state merely protected by a larger country.  A colony is a part of a larger country governed by that same country.
• A state which is a protectorate has the aid of a larger nation when conducting foreign relations. For a colony, all foreign relations are created and dealt with by the mother country.
• Protectorates can be seen as an alliance. The more allies, the stronger the territory and country. Colonies can be seen as a threat to other nations, as it is the spreading of one country.
• Barbados was a protectorate, it was governed by Britain. A New England was originally made up of colonies, ruled by Britain.

 

A dependency is commonly distinguished from country subdivisions by not being considered to be an integral territory of the governing state. ... A dependent territory conversely often maintains a great degree of autonomy from the controlling central state. Historically, most colonies were considered dependencies. Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which its residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over the territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a dependent territory.

The period following the fall of the Roman Empire is known as the Medieval Ages, the Middle Ages, or the Dark Ages. In historiography, ancient Rome is Roman civilization from the founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, encompassing the Roman Kingdom (753 BC–509 BC), Roman Republic (509 BC–27 BC) and Roman Empire (27 BC–476 AD). The legacy of Ancient Rome is still felt today in western culture in areas such as government, law, language, architecture, engineering, and religion. Many modern-day governments are modeled after the Roman Republic.