Between c. 3200 BCE and 500 BCE, Mesopotamia saw the rise of many powerful kingdoms and empires and the growth of important cities. In this context, answer the following questions:

1. What does the word 'Mesopotamia' mean? How does it relate to the Fertile Crescent?
2. Why is Mesopotamia also referred to as 'cradle of civilisation'?
3. What do you know about the Mesopotamian burial habits?
4. Why did the Mesopotamian Civilisation decline and eventually disappear?

1. Mesopotamia, in Greek means the land 'between rivers'. It lay in the triangular valley between the rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. This area falls within the region known as the Fertile Crescent because it extends to the Persian Gulf in the form of a crescent.

2. Due to the large number of kingdoms and cultures that flourished in this region, Mesopotamia is also referred to as the Cradle of Civilisation.

3. The discovery of objects such as weapons, ornaments and vessels in the excavated graves suggest that the Mesopotamians believed in life after death.

4. The Mesopotamian Civilisation declined because of natural forces. The soil became less fertile, and people lost their means of livelihood and moved away. Some historians also mention invasions by the Hittites of Anatolia. In the end, sandstorms buried the civilisation under the desert.