The Mesopotamians were one of the four great ancient civilizations.
The Mesopotamian civilization, which was established on the fertile slice of land that lies around the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers - the so-called "cradle of civilization" - is known for having developed farming techniques earlier than the Egyptians. Its ancestors, the Sumerians, are believed to have arrived in the region as long ago as 9,000 BC - when Japan was of course still in the Jomon Period!
The urban civilization, literature and mythology that emerged in this region are still connected to the present in that they form the foundations of contemporary culture. For this edition of "Arab in One Minute," we let our minds go back many millennia, to the romance of the ancient worlds, and explore the region through its ruins and World Heritage sites.
Nowadays, we don't use the expression "the four great ancient civilizations," but the fact remains that Mesopotamia - present day Iraq - was the oldest of them all. Do you know the name of the place that was part of Mesopotamia and that in recent years has had a close connection with Japan? It's Samawah, where the Japanese Self-Defense Forces were dispatched and the site of an important ruin.
About one hour from the built-up area of the city of Samawah lies a place called the Uruk Ruin. It is in the middle of the desert - in an area far out of reach, as far as vegetation, is concerned from the life-giving waters of the Euphrates.
The giant ruins, which loom suddenly in the middle of the desert, were once center of the thriving Sumerian civilization.
The Uruk Ruin of the Sumerian civilization (Presently southern part of Iraq).
The "Mesopotamian civilization" is an all-encompassing term used to describe all the civilizations that thrived in the vicinity of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The first such civilization was the Sumerian civilization.
Photo: Watanabe Satoru
Mesopotamia in 2nd millennium BC (Wikipedia)
At the ruins there was a father and child living in a small house - the care-takers. When I first cast my eyes over the scenery all I could see was sand, but when they took me to a small hill overlooking the area, then the ruin suddenly became visible. There are ruins of shrines, palaces and houses, and there are the rusted remains of trolley rails that were once used to excavate the site in the past. This is the area where, around 3,000 BC, the city state of Sumer thrived.
The Uruk Ruin, which sits quietly in the middle of a vast dessert.
The remains of shrines, palaces and houses can be identified, suggesting that many people once lived here.
Photo: Watanabe Satoru
The word "Mesopotomia" means "between two rivers" - the Tigris and the Euphrates. Because the temperature is high and rainfall scarce, the people had to use artificial irrigation systems in order to grow their barley crops and achieve a level of prosperity. The 900km or so between Baghdad and the Persian Gulf is just 34 meters in elevation, so the two rivers and their alluvial plain nurtured the civilization.
Euphrates River
By Hovic
Tigris River
By mattebb
Uruk is also known for The Epic of Gilgamesh. It is a tale based on the life of King Gilgamesh, who was half man and half god. He was such a tyrant that the citizens appealed to a goddess for help. When the goddess tore off pieces of clay from a slab and threw them, a strong man who would become the king's rival was born... That is just a fraction of the tale. It is a very long adventure story that also includes what is thought to have been the model for the tale of Noah's Ark.
This work of literature was written in cuneiform lettering on clay tablets. Cuneiform lettering was developed in around 3,500 BC by the Sumerians. The oldest clay writing tablet was in fact excavated at Uruk, and this region may well be the origin of written language. The famous Code of Hammurabi, which you would know from school textbooks, was also written in cuneiform lettering. Until a little while ago it was believed that the Code of Hammurabi was the oldest extant legal text in the world, but now it is considered to be around the second oldest, behind the Code of Ur-Nammu, which was produced by the Sumerians. The Code of Hammurabi dates from the time of the next successful kingdom, that of Babylon, and its King Hammurabi. The ruins of Babylon lie roughly 160km to the northwest of Uruk.
The Code of Hammurabi is written in cuneiform lettering on a basalt slab (Louvre).
Photo: Watanabe Satoru
In Iraq alone there are over 20 ruins as important as Uruk. And with Egypt's pyramids, Petra in Jordan (where the third Indiana Jones film was shot), and the remains of the Roman Empire outpost of Palmyra in Syria, there really are too many ruins and World Heritage sites scattered across the Arab world to count.
Text: Watanabe Satoru
Journalist, photographer. Reported on the Iraq war in 2003 and has continued to report in Iraq since. Publications include Kurudo, Iraku, Kyukutsu na Hibi - Senso o Hitsuyo to Suru Hitobito (The Kurds, Iraq and Days of Feeling Locked In: The People For Whom War is a Necessity; Gendai Shokan). Also involved in editing the magazine Kikan Arabu (Arab), which is published four times per year.
季刊アラブ
What is "Arab in One Minute"?
An attempt to explore the attractions of the Arab world in five themes.
You'll surely feel much more familiar with Arab culture after reading them all.
Next update is scheduled to be on Wednesday, 30 May 2012.
■Relevant information
・"Arab in One Minute"
File-01 The Arab World on Screen
File-02 My first time at the cafe, the meeting place of men
File-03 Lamb or Chicken, That Is the Question / Cuisine and Hospitality
File-04 Ruins from Time Immemorial: Mesopotamia, the Birthplace of Civilization
File-05 The Beauty is in the Geometry:Calligraphy and Arabesque
"Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World" introduces the work of about 30 artists from the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding Arab countries. This exhibition will bring you up to date with the latest developments from an art scene that is now the focus of international attention.
・Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World
16 June - 28 October, 2012
