Analysis Assignment of Mesopotamia and Roman Civilizations (Essay Sample)

Analysis of Ancient Civilizations
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Analysis of Ancient Civilizations
Methods of Dating and its Impact
Archaeological dating techniques can be broadly divided into relative dating technique and absolute dating technique. The two different types of techniques have its flaws and they impact the interpretation of history in its own way. Popular relative dating techniques include Stratigraphy whose underlying principle is that of superimposition, which means the artefacts that are embedded below are older in age. This assumption is not necessarily true since often landslides or slips change the entire topography of the region thereby burying younger artefacts deep in the ground. Absolute dating techniques include Radiocarbon dating or Uranium-Lead dating which are scientifically proven and has the ability to determine the exact year of the artefact which relative dating techniques are incapable of doing. Therefore, the type of dating technique has a significant influence on the interpretation of history and shaping the image of ancient civilizations.
Kingdoms of Ancient Mesopotamia
The southern part of Iraq in ancient times was known as Mesopotamia and the people who inhabited the region came to be known as Sumerians. The Sumerians had established a huge empire in Mesopotamia which consisted of twelve city states such as Kish, Uruk, Ur, Akshak, Larak, Nippur and so on. Eight kings had ruled the Sumerians till 2800 BC before the great floods had devastated their civilization. After the floods, each of the states had become center of power in different eras. Sumerians were first united under one king by Etana of Kish but the reign did not last long. The primary reason for such a short reign in the Sumerian civilization was the absence of a strong army. The Sumerians believed in having a citizen army which would be summoned only in times of danger. However, the rulers around Mesopotamia took advantage of this weakness and invaded them. For example, King Sargon of Akkad had invaded Mesopotamia and conquered Sumerians. Then, he established a huge empire whose boundaries extended westward up to Mediterranean Sea. This empire was also short lived as he focused more on art and literature rather than investing efforts in developing good governance and resistance for foreign invaders. Ur succeeded Sargon who ruled Mesopotamia from 2150 to 2050 BC and Sumerian culture reached its epitome under his rule. After his rule there was no strong Mesopotamian ruler. However, their culture spread westward in the form of language, mythology, law and scientific knowledge (Maisels, 2001). The Babylonians and Assyrians became the carriers of Mesopotamian culture to other regions. Therefore, it is justified to mention that although the Sumerian culture lived on through their language and mythology, none of the Mesopotamian kings were able to build a strong empire and rule for long. The reason can be identified as their reluctance to build a strong army and consolidate the governance of such a big empire.
Code of Hammurabi
Hammurabi was one of the most celebrated kings of Mesopotamia who ruled from 1792-1750 BC. He was famous for his code which consisted of around 282 laws inscribed on a stone pillar which was discovered by a French archaeologist in 1901 AD. Hammurabi had captured and consolidated a huge territory which required a good governance system in order to flourish. As a result, he had sent his officials to explore length and breadth of his empire to understand the existing laws. The outcome of this exercise was the Hammurabi Code which became famous for its statements such as “Eye for an eye”. Several scholars have viewed such interpretation of law as harsh and vindictive in nature (Maisels, 2001). However, Hammurabi has sound logic behind establishment of such a code since he wanted to establish law and order throughout his empire. He had the vision of curbing any malpractice and punish wicked persons through his code. Although, prima facie it may seem harsh but there are several layers to the Code of Hammurabi. The code says that if someone blinds a person from gentleman class then his eye would be destroyed but if someone blinds a commoner then punishment would be fine of a silver mina. Therefore, it proves that people were not equally treated in ancient Mesopotamia (Maisels, 2001). This can be considered as the major difference...