Land Between Rivers - Mesopotamian and Sumerian Civilisation

Our perception of the world thousands of years ago is frequently one of ancient men and women living in cane huts and cooking unappetizing food over fire pits. While that was certainly how people in early settlements lived, thousands of years ago, there were also places on the planet that were different. Much more advanced than we could ever imagine In fact, this region was so advanced. That some of the innovations that emerged from here, such as the wheel and the zodiac, are still being used in today's societies. This place is known as Mesopotamia: the ancient land located in modern-day Iraq, housing the earliest known civilisations to mankind.

This course will teach you all about how advanced these Mesopotamians were. You will embark on a journey to study their mastery over irrigation agriculture, how their complex urban societies were developed, and how they lead in incredible ways of thinking about the world through their writing, art, literature, astrology, and even warfare.

The course will be delivered in 10 modules:

Module 1: Mesopotamian Origins and the Influence of Sumer

The course will start off with a geographical study of the Mesopotamian lads before moving on to discuss the region in the context of the well-known phrases: "The Fertile Crescent" and the "Cradle of Civilisation". This will then be followed by a chronological breakdown of the different people and empires that resided within Mesopotamia.

Module 2: Innovation and Inventions by Sumer

The course will continue its journey with you by exploring the known Sumerian inventions such as the basic concept of time, Hydraulic engineering, the wheel, and more. This will develop your understanding of how innovative and complex the Sumerians were and how they influenced many of the technologies and systems found today.

Module 3: Cities and Architecture

As time passed, the Sumerians started to innovate and build different buildings according to purpose. They also started to develop cities and city-states to house these buildings and infrastructure. Therefore in the third module, you will be introduced to the development of Sumerian cities and you will study the different building types and features of the Sumerian architecture.

Module 4: Ancient Sumerian Religion

This module will help you examine the role of religion in Sumerian civilisation by exploring Sumerian cosmology, their myth of creation, and the predominant gods they worshipped.

Module 5: Writing and Literature

At this stage, you will be exploring the formation of cuneiform and the world's first writing systems. You will then be taken on a journey of the rich tradition of literature that the cuneiform instigated.

Module 6: The Rise and Fall of the Sumerians

Here you will be studying the importance of the rivers to the Sumerian and Mesopotamian culture, the rise of the city-states, the constant fighting for land and water, and how all three combined to cause the downfall of the first civilisation known to mankind.

Module 7: The Empire of Akkad

In this module, you'll be focusing on the rise and fall of the Akkadian empire. Primarily you'll be learning about the first emperor Sargon the great, as well as the valuable contributions the Akkadians made to the world.

Module 8: The Assyrians

Here you'll embark on the journey of the period where the Assyrians rose to power. You will learn about the various kings who were most significant and their contributions, both the good and bad ones, that not only impacted their local region but the world as a whole and which remained for long periods after their empires have disappeared.

Module 9: The Centre of Mesopotamian Civilisation - Babylonia

Kings Hammurabi and Nebuchadnezzar II were the most important kings in Babylonian and Mesopotamian history. In this module, you'll be introduced to them and you will study the contributions this remarkable city has made to humankind, from its first-ever written laws to astronomy and the zodiac.

Module 10: Cyrus the Great and the Demise of Mesopotamia

The final few centuries of the Mesopotamian civilisation will be introduced to you in the last module of this course. This includes learning about the various foreign powers that overtook the region such as the Persians under Cyprus II and the Greeks under Alexander the Great.