Ancient Mesopotamia is thought to be one of the first civilizations on Earth and is the foundation for language and government infrastructure. The collection of countries, including the Babylonian Empire, Sumerian Empire, Akkadian Empire, and the Assyrian Empire, started roughly in 3400-3000 B.C.E. and had completely disintegrated by 100 C.E.

Ancient Mesopotamians were polytheistic with several major Gods and hundreds of minor Gods. Each city had a patron God or Goddess. Many of the most respected Gods controlled the rivers or nature in general. The most important God in Mesopotamian religion was Anu or An, the personification of the sky and the ancestor to all other Gods. His two sons, Enlil (God of air) and Enki (God of Earth) were also members of the Supreme Triad.

Mesopotamia was the first civilization to have a form of writing called cuneiform which has allowed for their myths, poetry, and legends to survive for millenniums. Mesopotamians believed that they had been sent to Earth to continue their gods’ work, meaning that laziness wasn’t tolerated.

Ancient Mesopotamia was a monarchy, which thought of the king as a divine individual born from the Gods. Furthermore, a high priest or priestess also held power in the government, mostly in conjunction with the temple. The government was structured much like a household with the king and priest being at the top of the hierarchy and then the queen, counselors, lesser priests, and then military commanders.

Ancient Mesopotamia stretched from the Tigris to the Euphrates, now in present-day Iraq, eastern Syria, and southeastern Turkey.

Ancient Mesopotamia marked the first civilization with its own government and cities. They also formed the first writing system, cuneiform. Ancient Mesopotamians had advanced knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. The most important inventions were the wheel, sails, and the concept of a day, hours, minutes, and seconds.