Writing and City Life Class 11 History Notes by The Twin Bros

WRITING AND CITY LIFE [THEME ONE]
Mesopotamia derives from the Greek words "mesos" (middle) and "potamas" (river),
meaning the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. This region is now part of
modern-day Iraq.
Mesopotamia was renowned for its:
• Writing
• City life
• Trade
• Literature
• Mathematics
• Astronomy
Initially, the land was known as Sumer and Akkad, where the Sumerian language was
spoken. By around 1100 BCE, the Assyrians established their kingdom in the north,
while the southern region, Babylonia, gained significance post-2000 BCE.
Languages:
• Sumerian
• Akkadian
• Aramaic
Sources of Knowledge:
• Buildings
• Statues
• Ornaments
• Graves
• Tools
• Seals
• Written Documents
Geography of Mesopotamia:
Iraq encompasses diverse environments:
• The northeast features lush plains that gradually rise to tree-covered

mountains with clean streams and wildflowers, receiving ample rainfall for
crop cultivation, which began between 7000 and 6000 BCE.
• In the north, there is a stretch of upland steppe suitable for animal herding,
providing meat, milk, and wool.
• The eastern tributaries of the Tigris connect to the mountains of Iran.
• The south, primarily desert, is where the first cities and writing appeared. The
Euphrates and Tigris rivers deposited fertile silt on the floodplains. Their small
channels served as irrigation canals, providing fish and fruit from date palms.
Significance of Urbanization:
Urban centres engage in various economic activities such as food production, trade,
manufacturing, and services. City dwellers were not self-sufficient, depending on
tools and materials from others, which marked the division of labour in urban life.
Social organization was crucial for city functioning, requiring trade, storage, and
written records. Obviously, in such a system some people give commands that others
obey.
Movement of Goods:
Despite abundant food resources, Mesopotamia lacked stones, wood, and metal,
leading to imports from Turkey and Iran and exports of textiles and food. Transport
was vital, with canals and natural channels facilitating trade, making the Euphrates a
major trade route.
Development of Writing:
• Writing began in Mesopotamia around 3200 BCE to record transactions,

initially using clay tablets with picture-like signs and numbers.
• Scribes used reed styluses to imprint wedge-shaped signs on wet clay, which
were then dried to become nearly indestructible. This necessity for recording
each transaction led to numerous tablets at archaeological sites.
• By 2600 BCE, writing evolved into cuneiform, primarily using the Sumerian
language.
Cuneiform, derived from Latin "cuneus" (wedge) and "forma" (shape), refers to
wedge-shaped letters used for:
• Record-keeping
• Creating dictionaries
• Legalizing land transfers
• Narrating kings' deeds
• Announcing changes in laws
• Storing information and sending messages
System of Writing:
Cuneiform signs represented syllables, not single consonants or vowels, requiring

scribes to learn hundreds of signs. Writing was a skilled craft demanding swift
handling of wet clay tablets.
Literacy:
Reading and writing were limited to kings and a few individuals, given the complexity
and number of signs. Literacy often reflected status, with kings boasting about their
ability to read.
Urbanization in Southern Mesopotamia:
By 5000 BCE, settlements in Mesopotamia began, leading to the emergence of the

first cities.
There were three types of cities:
1. Cities around temples

2. Trade centres
3. Imperial cities
Construction and Maintenance of Temples in Mesopotamia:
• The earliest known temple was a small shrine made of unbaked bricks.
Temples were residences for various gods, like the Moon God of Ur and
Inanna, the Goddess of Love and War.
• Temples grew larger over time, with several rooms around open courtyards
and outer walls with regular intervals of in-and-out movement.
• The god was the focus of worship, with people bringing grain, curd, and fish as
offerings.
• The god was considered the theoretical owner of agricultural fields, fisheries,
and herds of the local community.
• Production activities such as oil pressing, grain grinding, and woollen cloth
spinning and weaving were conducted in the temple, making it a central urban
institution.
• Temples organized production, employed merchants, and kept records of
distribution and allotments of grain, plough animals, bread, beer, and fish.
Role of Kings in Construction and Maintenance of Temples:
• Archaeological records show villages were periodically relocated due to river

floods and changes in river courses.
• Man-made issues also existed, such as upstream channel diversions causing
water shortages downstream, leading to continuous warfare over land and
water.
• Victorious chiefs distributed loot among followers, took prisoners for labour,
and offered precious items to gods for temple beautification.
• Kings organized temple wealth distribution by maintaining records, enhancing
their status and authority.
• War captives and locals worked for temples or rulers, receiving rations as
payment. Hundreds of people were employed in making and baking clay cones
for temples.
Life in the City of Ur:
• Mesopotamian society followed the nuclear family system, with the father as
the head.
• Marriage procedures involved declarations by the bride's parents, gift
exchanges, and temple offerings. The bride received an inheritance from her
father, while sons inherited the father's property.
• Excavations in the 1930s revealed Ur's narrow, winding streets, indicating
limited access for wheeled carts. Goods were transported on donkeys. Ur
lacked town planning and street drains, with clay pipes used in courtyards
instead.
• Rainwater was channelled via drain pipes into courtyard sumps. Refuse swept
into streets raised street levels, necessitating threshold adjustments to
prevent mud ingress after rains. Light entered rooms through doorways
opening into courtyards.
• Superstitions about houses included beliefs recorded on omen tablets: a
raised threshold brought wealth, a front door not facing another house was
lucky, and a main door opening outwards predicted a tormenting wife.
• The town cemetery at Ur contained graves of royalty and commoners, with
few individuals buried under house floors.
A Trading Town in a Pastoral Zone (Life in the city of Mari):
• After 2000 BCE, Mari, located upstream of the Euphrates, flourished as a royal
city.
• The region supported agriculture and animal rearing, with most land used for
pasturing sheep and goats. Herders traded animals, cheese, leather, and meat
for metal tools with farmers.
• Nomadic groups from the western desert settled as herders, laborers, or
soldiers, including Akkadians, Amorites, Assyrians, and Arameans. Mari's kings
were Amorites who built a temple for Dagan, the god of the steppe.
• Mesopotamian society was open to various cultures, enhancing its vitality.
Mari prospered as a trading centre.
• Goods like wood, copper, wine, and oil were carried in boats along the
Euphrates between the south and Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. Boats carrying
grinding stones, wood, and wine and oil jars, would stop at Mari on their way
to southern cities.
• Officers inspected cargo and levied charges, making Mari prosperous despite
its lack of military strength.
Cities in Mesopotamian Culture:
• Mesopotamians valued city life, recalling destroyed cities in poetry, such as

the Epic of Gilgamesh.
• Gilgamesh was the ruler of Uruk and a great hero who subdued people far and
wide. He got a shock when his heroic friend died. He then set out to find the
secret of immortality. After a heroic attempt, Gilgamesh failed, and returned
to Uruk. There he consoled himself walking along the city wall, back and forth.
Legacy of Writing:
• Mesopotamia's greatest legacy includes its scholarly tradition of time

reckoning and contributions to mathematics. They divided the year into 12
months, the month into four weeks, the day into 24 hours, and the hour into
60 minutes. They observed and recorded solar and lunar eclipses and had
schools where students studied earlier tablets.
• Mathematics contribution dating around 1800 BCE are tablets with
multiplication and division tables, square- and square-root tables, and tables
of compound interest.
Highlighted Book and Important Questions [Click Here]
Explanation Video [Click Here]
All Important Playlists [Click Here]

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WRITING AND CITY LIFE [THEME ONE]

Mesopotamia was renowned for its:

Iraq encompasses diverse environments:

• The northeast features lush plains that gradually rise to tree-covered

• Writing began in Mesopotamia around 3200 BCE to record transactions,

Cuneiform signs represented syllables, not single consonants or vowels, requiring

Urbanization in Southern Mesopotamia:

By 5000 BCE, settlements in Mesopotamia began, leading to the emergence of the

There were three types of cities:

1. Cities around temples

Construction and Maintenance of Temples in Mesopotamia:

• Archaeological records show villages were periodically relocated due to river

Life in the City of Ur:

A Trading Town in a Pastoral Zone (Life in the city of Mari):

Cities in Mesopotamian Culture:

• Mesopotamians valued city life, recalling destroyed cities in poetry, such as

• Mesopotamia's greatest legacy includes its scholarly tradition of time

Highlighted Book and Important Questions [Click Here]

Explanation Video [Click Here]

All Important Playlists [Click Here]

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