Fertile Crescent Research Paper

Geography of the Fertile Crescent also known to the Greeks as Mesopotamia played a crucial role in the development of civilization in the region. The mountains provided water to the low lands to irrigate crop and the peoples of the region learned to domesticate animals for farming. As the Mesopotamians learned to use the land agriculture became the central way of life. During the rule of Alexander the Great, the Hellenistic era brought an expansion of Greek language and ideals, and trade with regions outside the Greek city-states. Religion and politics became a major focus during the period. Differences between religion and politics often led to warfare, which meant city-states had to protect themselves by organizing a military. The military …show more content…
Employing flood management and irrigation systems, the peoples of the region established civilizations based on agriculture. (Essential pg.9) Linguistically the Fertile Crescent was a region of great diversity. Historically semetic languages generally prevailed in the lowlands, whilst in the mountainous areas to the east and north a number of generally unrelated languages were found including Elamite, Kassite, and Hurro-urartian. (Wikipedia) The region’s dramatic variety of elevation gave rise to many species of edible plants for early experiments in cultivation. The Fertile Crescent was home to the eight Neolithic founder crops important in early agriculture, and four of the five most important species of domesticated animals including cows, goats, sheep, and pigs, and the fifth species, the horse, lived nearby. …show more content…
Christian wrath was directed against the Muslims, and at the end of the eleventh century, Christian Europe found itself with a glorious opportunity to attack them. (Essential pg.324) At first it might appear that the beginning of the crusades was a purely political and military affair. However, there were many other elements which laid the groundwork for crusading, which involved the participation of Christians in organized warfare on behalf of their religion and their God. Christians believed that violence was evil, but acknowledged that passivity in the face of others’ violence might be a greater evil. Therefore three conditions were laid down, the war must have a just cause, it must be waged under due authority, and the Christian combatants must have right intentions. If these conditions were met, Christian people could engage in warfare without fear of damnation. (History) Some historians argue that the crusades might be considered a Christian holy war whose memories still trouble the Muslim world and the West today, while other historians argue that early crusaders were motivated as much by economic and political reasons as religious ones. (Essential