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Main Idea: The story line of this podcast is like the Magic Tree House series. We go on a trip to somewhere as usual. This time we go to Mesopotamia.We try to go back to the tree house to get back home but it won't work. Now we have to learn the 7 characteristics of the civilization so we can adapt to the place.

Anish shall do stable food supply and social structure. Shakib is doing political and military structure. William is doing Gilgamesh and urban focus Andrea is doing religion and writing. Anish- green Shekib- purple Andrea- red William- pink

Shekib will go at 6:30 to 8.5 Anish will go at 8.5 to 10 Andrea will go at 10 to 12

__Info about stable food supplies:__ Water was main source for food. They got fish and healthy plants( watering them). Two keys to help them, one key was their complex irrigation systems, built networks of canals, dams, and crops with regular supply of water. Second key was the plow tool invented by the mesopatamians, which helped prepare soil for their crops. Built levees higher to to keep from floods. The chief crop was barley. Others were wheat, sesame, and others.

__Info about social structure:__ Includes different jobs, social levels, and how well people are respected. Higher levels have a greater status. They were mostly made up of Priests, landowners, and government officials. They had two story houses that were big. The middle class were merchants and artisans, they worked with metals and gold and made weapons and other things. It also included farmers. At the bottom were slaves who lived in owners rooms.

__Info about political and military structures:__ The Political structure for Mesopotamia was vary well organized. It consisted of the Hammurabi Laws. Its vary similar to the Constitution of the U.S.A. The Codes are vary good in keeping the city proper. The Judges are always honest and truthful

The Military Structure in Mesopotamia was very strategic. In Mesopotamia the military and defensive tactics were different. The Sumerians invented the horse-drawn chariots, allowing quick movement and execution during the battles in the field. Akkadians and Babylonians focused mainly on their military power because threats from neighboring empires. Among all the tribes however, the Assyrians were one of the most successful military empires because they were the first to produce steel in which they smith the swords for the men. the Army Consists of two men: Professional and temporary

__Info about Gilgamesh:__ gilgamesh was a story written by the mesopatamians. It is considered to be the first piece of literature ever recorded. gilgamesh is about two friends who go on a journey that will change their lives

__Info about Urban focus:__ The urban focus of the mesopatamians city-states were the ziggurat. The ziggurat was located at the center of the city-states. The whole mesopatamian city-states revolved around the ziggurat therefore it is the urban focus

__Info about writing:__ cuneiform was wedged writing. they used it for tradingoriginally. Gilgamesh was written incuneiform on clay tablets. itwasusually written on clay tablet. cuneiform was sorta like pictograms. Theboys in the family went toschool tobecomescripes. Some scribes went aroundthe marketplace and wrote down the informationof thetrading almost like today'srecipts.

__Info about religion: had many gods. religion is very big in this culture. legends. __

Character roles: Jack- Anish Annie- Andrea Bobby- William Hustam (Nice man that teaches us three what everything is like around the place)- Shakib





= __Script:__ = = Jack: So... Annie where do you wanna go today? =


 * Annie: Ummmm... I don't know. We've pretty much been everywhere by now. What do you think Bobby? **

**Bobby: Well, I was reading an article about Mesopotamia also known as the fertile crescent and the land between two rivers last night. It sounds pretty interesting; it has nice people, great laws, and cool writing called Cuneiform. **

**Annie: Isn't Mesopotamia in the Middle-east or what we call Iraq now?**

**Bobby: Yeah It is**

Bobby: So... do you wanna go there?

**Jack: Why not!**

**Annie: Sounds great!**

**Jack: Okay team lets get in the tree house.**

**Tree house voice: Where would you like to go to today?**

**Annie & Bobby: Mesopotamia!**

**Tree house voice: Your wish is my command. Destination: Mesopotamia. **

**Jack: Here we go!**

**Tree house Voice: Launching In Sequence: Five, Four, Three, Two, One,**

**Annie: Wow this place is real hot!**

**Bobby: Guys! My mom just called and she said that I need to be back home because I didn't do my chores.**

**Annie: Bobby!**

**Jack: How could you forget and yet you were the once so excited to come here! (Sigh) Oh well, I guess we'll come back some other time.**

**Tree house voice: Destination, Please?**

**Jack: Back home. (in dissapointed voice)**

**Tree house voice: Your wish is my comanzzznzzzzzzzz. System Malfunctioned RED ALERT! RED ALERT! PLEASE EVACUATE THE TREE HOUSE! **

**Annie: What happend!**

**Jack: It looks like the tree house isn't working.**

**Bobby: Now how are we supposed to get home?**

**Annie: I'm starting to feel a little homesick.**

**Bobby: Me too.**

**Jack: Me three.** **Let's go talk to the man over there.** **Hustam: Wwej skjd ruyt kdis.** **JAck: it's a good thing i got my voice translator now when ever he talks it'll be in english. And when we talk it will translate in his language.**

*Hustam: Hello kids, my name is Hustam.

Jack: I'm Jack.

Annie: I'm Annie.

Bobby: And I'm Bobby.

Hustam: Well you guys look sad do you have a problem? Do you need to get somewhere?

Jack: Yup we're from the future and we can't get back home.

Hustam: Well if you're going to be staying here for a while then come to my house and have some tea and some fried fish. Then we could discuss about everything.

All of the kids: That would be great thank you kind sir.

(At the House) Well guys do you know about Mesopotamia?

Bobby: I do, but they don't. Would you like to see my book?

(Bobby taking out the book realizes that its early time and there is no English language, and anyway the book describes about the outcome of the war that was going to happen in a couple years,so he puts it away)

Hustam: Well while you are here, you'll need to know the parts of our civilization, of course it is the first one. Many other priests and merchants call this the 7 characteristics of a civilization for Mesapotamia. The are stable food supply, social structure, political and military structure, urban focus, religion, and writing. Plus, I can even tell you about the first piece of literature, Gilgamesh.

Annie: Wow! That sounds awesome.

Bobby: Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

Time for a commerical break

Unnamed voice: Ever need to quickly tell time? Come get our water clock.Easy to firgure out the time using the weight of the water quickly using this tool. Come get it now for 20 shekels. Come quick. Annie: and we're back.

Hustam: Okay, now first let me tell you about how our food works over here. Our main source of food comes from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Bobby: Just like in our times!

Hustam: It probably is. From the rivers we get two important things water for our crops and food like fish.

Jack: We use our water the same way too.

Annie: Do you use the water for anything else?

Hustam: Of coarse we do! (laughing) We use it for drinking and bathing. Now one invention that is the backbone to our civilization is the plow tool.

Jack: Hey! I heard of that you guys invented that?

Hustam: We most certainly did. Also, some of the crops we grow here are sesame, wheat and our main crop, barley!

Bobby: What's barley?

Hustam: Oh! you might know it as the word groats.

Bobby: Eeew! Groats my mom makes that all the time!

Hustam: You are a funny kid aren't you? Anyways going back to the water, it also could be our enemies sometimes!

Jack: How is that?

Hustam: Because over here the flooding is so unpredictable that when it floods it takes all the crops and some houses with it.

Annie: That sure must stink!

Hustam: Yes it does.

Jack: Then how do you keep it from stealing all your crops.

Bobby: Oooo! That's easy I think that they build things called Levees high so it protects the crops.

Hustam: Correct! You should come teach here at the school! **

Bobby: I can't possibly teach, i have school myself, and don't forget my family

Annie: Hey, what's that rock looking things that has those wierd writings in it?

Hustam: That's a clay tablet. Those wierd wedge shape writing marks are called cuneiform.

Jack: Cuneiform? Is that your way of writing down stories?

Hustam: Not really. It was originally used to record things we have traded.

Bobby: That sounds like recipts. We still have them today.Sounds like your civilization must have been a pretty big deal to have all this stuff carry on to our time.

Hustam: Yes Indeed. But recently we have discovered that we could use cuneiform,or wedged shape writing, as a way to write down stories. Like recently, one of our people wrote down a story about a guy named Gilgamesh on a clay tablet. In addition, Gilgamesh is the first piece of recorded literature. But I will tell you that later.

Annie: That's so cool!

Hustam: Yes. Also, our civilization is very big on our religion. We have over 3,000 gods. Some including Ea, Enlil, Ishtar, and many more. A lot of gods are also put into legends. The legends are sometimes Epics...like Gilgamesh.

Jack: Where do you get all your ideas of gods from?

Bobby: Ya and why do you create so many gods?

Hustam: We get our ideas from natural occurrences that we cannot explain why it is happening. We create them so we can pray to them so bad things don't happen. For instance, a flood.

Annie: So... this Ea and Enlil, what gods are they?

Hustam: Ea is the god of water, and Enlil is the god of Earth. Now if you look over there that's a Ziggurat.

All three: Wow!

Hustam: It sure is! That's basically our temple or church whatever you want to call it.

Jack: So you pray over there?

Hustam: Exactly. The very tippy top of the Ziggurat is used for the priest. The priest is very high and respected in our land. Almost the highest of them all. The priest believe he has communication with the gods. We all follow that and believe that as well. The next layer down, is the praying portion of the Ziggurat. Thats were we all pray in. We go there often. The bottom of it is the marketplace. We trade and sell in there. It can get very busy in time. But, it's very useful. Scribes roam around the Ziggurat asking merchants if they could hire them so they could write down their trades and sales.

Bobby: Whoa..that's so..awesome!

Annie: It truly is.

Jack: Is that like the Urban Focus or something?

Hustam: Very Good Jacky! It's exactly that. All the civilizations around here have one Ziggurat that do the same things. It's the focus of our town. Isn't it wonderful?

Annie: It is!

Bobby: What are all those buildings around it.

Hustam: Those are courts, and for the rich people their houses!

Annie: That's so cool!

Hustam: Oh ya! I almost forgot their are other ways we pray to our gods. We also respect our gods by offering food to them before we eat, priests and kings go in the towers to ask the gods for blessings, expressing our religious beliefs through poetry, songs, books, and statues. Sometimes we even light incenses as a offering to a god aswell. We also believe that it is good to chew upand spit out the gods food on a plate infront of the statue. It makes it easier for the gods to take them. Sometimes we do human sacrifices as well.

Annie: EW! No way.... That's Cruel and messed up!

Bobby: AWESOME!!

Jack: Gross... Wow! Look at that man! He dresses so nicely for the old days.

Hustam: He sure does! He is probably high in the social structure.

Annie: What's the social structure?

Bobby and Jack: Ya what is it?

Hustam: You have the social structure in your days too.

Jack: We do?

Hustam: Ya you do. The social structure is a status on high or low level people and includes different jobs. The higher class were priest, government officials, and landowners. The middle level are people ;like me. It includes farmers, fisherman, and many others. The lowest class is slaves.

Bobby: I think i get it now, Its like Opera, my dad, then the poor people!

Hustam: Well yes. Kinda. I have no clue who Opera is though.

Jack: Well its no one, until the 1965 when she gets born

Jack: Anyway What benefits do they get from being high in the class.

Hustam: Ohhhh! Many! One of them is if you are ever fined or punished your punishment or fine will be less if it is too or for someone lower in a class than you. Also, they usually live in two story building and sometimes around the Ziggurat.

Bobby: What about the other classes?

Hustam: Yes there are other classes. The middle class is filled up of artisans, farmers, and merchants. Lastly, the slaves are at the bottom.

Annie: Hey! That’s like the old days for us.

Now time for a short break.

Unnamed voice: Have you ever heard of something called a calender?

Well this little device, shows all 12 months. These 12 months are based on 29 or 20 days out of the year.

You can help plan using this calender! It's easier to mark down special occasions. Also easier to see if you're free or not to make plans!

Lets see what some of our own people think of it.

Hustam: I have had it for 14 days already and I just love it. It's so easy to see everything we've planned recently. I can find the date so quickly. Today is the 3rd month and 26th day. I always know when we have off from work on the holy days because of this. Buy one now!

Unnamed voice: Get one now for a great price for all social levels!

Annie: And we're back.

Bobby: That was odd.

Jack: Where did that commerical come from?

ANnie: I honestly have no clue..

Hustam: Hey, do you guys want to know about the Political and Military structures, after all they are very important to us.

Jack: Of course we do

== Hustam: Well we were the first ones to make a horse- drawn chariot with light wheels. You know that really helped with our maneuvering in the battlefield. __**The military structure is made of temporary and professional army**__ men. And don't forget about the great and powerful codes of the sacred Hammurabi, It helps keep a balance in the city-states. ==

Annie: Can you name a code that they use?

Hustam: If anyone finds a runnaway slave, and brings them back to their owner, they would be payed 2 shekels of silver. Another one is the eye for an eye method. which means that if someone does something to someone the same thing will happen to them. For example, if i knock out someones teeth then i have to get my teeth knocked out. Sometimes these codes don't seem very fair. If a slave denies his masters ownership of him, he gets his whole ear cut off.

Annie: Ouch. They were kinda brutal.

Bobby: Hey i think i know where we found out something like that, in the other adventure of the civil war with the slaves and all.

(Annie and Jack get furious for telling Hustam the future of the universe)

Hustam: It probably is. Anyway do you guys want to hear about Gilgamesh and His loyal companion Enkidu?

Annie: Sure Do!

Husnam: Well my friend only told me this much because he didn't finish writing all of the Epic.

Jack: Well tell us how ever much you heard about it

Husnam: So there is one King named Gilgamesh and His trusty Friend named Enkidu. They are truly best friends but when Humbubba comes along he puts the two pals to the test. They defeat him. and then the god Ishtar comes along and falls in love with Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh Being vary smart that she is also the god of war declines. So she gets mad and sends down the Bull of Heaven to the city and drought. Gilgamesh and Enkidu as usual come to the rescue and kill him but then sickens Enkidu. He dies at the end and Gilgamesh searches for the answer to immortality and on the way he finds the Gate to the River of the dead.

That's all I heard so far from him and he is also putting a lesson or moral at the end of the story about Compassion Being the Key to Immortality.

Jack: That's very touching

Jack: Lately I have been hearing about an urban focus what exactly is an urban focus Hustam?

Hustam: Funny I was just going to explain to you about an urban focus. An urban focus is the main meeting place for all the civilizations. For us Mesopatamians they are ziggurats.

Annie: What's the purpose for it?

Bobby: Probably to discuss all their problems and all.

Hustam: Yes that's one of them. But they also discuss on ways to improve the city. Also they are always in the center of the cityh-state.

Jack: Whew! We sure learned a lot today!

Annie: Yah! Maybe this might help us live here... forever (almost about to cry.)

Jack: Thanks for all your help Hustam! It was nice meeting you.

Hustam: My pleasure! Nice to meet you too guys. Bobby: Was someone eating in the Treehouse again?

Jack: Maybe...

Annie: That's the problem!

Bobby: Jack, you dripped CHOCOLATE MILK in the controls!

Annie: Can you fix it?

Bobby: I can try..

Tree house Voice: Reboot engine! Starting... gzzzz, gzzzz, where would you like to go!

Jack Bobby and Annie: HOME!!!!!!