Two Civilization: An Historic Perspective of Ur

The ancient patriarch, Abram, was born in the city of Ur in the Kingdom of Sumer in Mesopotamia (located in what is now Iraq.)  The city was, as the time of Abram, the largest and richest city in the world.  It lay between two rivers: the Tigress and the Euphrates and was the place where the first of two mighty civilizations arose.

Civilization is recognized by several factors:

• Farming and animal husbandry rather than hunter/gatherer
• Surplus of food sufficient to allow for the rise of specialization within the cities
• Government with taxes and law codes (believe it or not, most anthropologists claim that taxes came before government and was, in fact, the impetus for both government and law!)
• Religion (usually polytheistic)
• The rise of a class system

Several great civilizations rose and fell in Mesopotamia - the Sumarians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Babylonians again, Persians, and Greeks.  The political instability of the region was a factor of its geography.  There were no natural barriers to keep any one group of people in power for more than a few hundred years.

There was little to no vegetation in ancient Mesopotamia.  All there was available was mud.  Everything, from the humblest hovel to the greatest palace or temple was made of mud brick.

The religious philosophies of the area were pessimistic.  There was nothing but anguish and suffering after death no matter how chaste and noble the person was in life.  I can imagine it didn't make for a very happy people.  Every few years, floods destroyed everything and the people had periods of famine and sickness.

This lack of optimism about a reward in heaven led to a hedonistic life style, particularly among those who were of a higher economic class.  Abram's father was one of these.  He was a descendent of Noah's son, Shem (hence the term Semite) but he had fallen away from the worship of one true god to the worship of many gods.  These gods demanded everything, including human sacrifice.  Before he fell away, he must have taught his son, Abram, to love the monotheistic god of his ancestors.  As time went on, Abram remained faithful, but began to fear for his life.  He and his family left Ur and traveled north to Haran, a region in what is now Turkey.

© Gebara Education