Mesopotamia

Mesopotamia is significant in modern cultures. 

For starters, it has one of the world's most extensive collections of ancient manuscripts and relics. Mesopotamian cultures are deeply entrenched in Judeo-Christian and Islamic philosophy. 

Mesopotamia has a clear link to ancient Egypt and the Indus Valley civilization. Commerce, social and political exchanges are described as a result of Mesopotamian cultures.  Many world empires came together in the ancient cradle of civilization, as evidenced by documents such as the Treaty of Kadesh.

The Mesopotamian city-states were not united as a single entity but rather they were all separate states. This is because  there was no central government nor authority in place to prevent a war, which allowed for violent disputes between municipalities. 

If this did apply this concept to present times, it would be similar to New York and New Jersey fighting over the statue of liberty, which is located in between both states. However, because New York and New Jersey are united under the United States, this conflict is unlikely to occur. 

Even if it did, the United States government would solve the issue. The fight between the Sumerian city-states Umma is one of the most well-known disagreements between the Sumerian city-states.

The Assyrians are a people who have lived in the Middle East since antiquity and are now spread around the globe. The ancient civilization was based on the city of Assur, whose ruins can today be seen in northern Iraq.  

The Assyrians held a wide region that spanned from southern Iraq to the Mediterranean coast at periods. Around 4,000 years ago, the city of Assur became independent. Before independence, the city was ruled by the Sumerians, and it was only after the Sumerian civilization collapsed that it achieved its independence. 

Following its independence, Assyria conquered the small city states and united Mesopotamia under a single civilization. Their empire stretched from Anatolia to Egypt to Iran and was considered a large inspiration to foreign civilizations. The Assyrians, and later Babylonians, would be the beginning of modern cultures.

There were two major factors which contributed to the fall of Mesopotamian civilization. 

The first is that fighting wreaked havoc on Mesopotamia's way of life. The various people and provinces of Babylon were vying for control of each other's lands and would engage in all-out wars to win control. They fought primarily over farms and irrigation. The second reason for the Mesopotamian civilization's demise was attributed to their irrigation methods. 

The same processes that made farming effective also made it impossible for farming to exist at a later time. When irrigation water remains on the field for a long time, mineral salt is left behind, eventually eroding the farming area. This caused many foods and land to be destroyed and caused even more violence. Mesopotamia could not continue.

Religion was central to Mesopotamians as they believed the divine affected every aspect of human life. Mesopotamians were polytheistic; they worshipped several major gods and thousands of minor gods. 

Each Mesopotamian city, whether Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian or Assyrian, had its own patron god or goddess. Each Mesopotamian era or culture had different expressions and interpretations of the gods. Marduk, Babylon’s god, for example, was known as Enki or Ea in Sumer.

Mesopotamia was a sparsely populated region with little natural resources. As a result, residents needed to negotiate with neighboring nations in order to obtain the materials they required to survive. Grain, oils, and textiles were exported from Assyria and swapped for lumber, wine, rare metals, and stones in foreign cities. Furthermore, traders from different countries came to Babylonia to trade their products. 

Depending on what they were delivering, merchants employed a variety of means to carry their products. Grain, for example, was substantial and needed to be transported by water, whereas precious stones were likely to be small and could be conveyed on foot or by horse.