Urban Revolution
Student’s Name
University
Course
Professor
Date
Urban Revolution
The development of agricultural-based villages into politically, socially, and economically composited societies is known as the urban revolution. Factors contributing to the urban revolution over the years are the availability of a steady flow of food supply, development of technology, and concentration of wealth, to name but a few. Europe and Mesopotamia were some of the cities where urbanization was commo. The suitable location of Mesopotamia was one of the reasons for its growth.
The first cities that rose from Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia was well known for its fertile soil; agriculture is said to have been invented there. Its suitable location and culture facilitated the development of Mesopotamia as an urban center. This attracted other communities who attached themselves to Mesopotamia. The city was known for agriculture and their restorations in caves and their practice of magic; these gave rise to densely populated cities. The temples which was the locale of ceremonial, commercial, and social functions. Religious activities, such as festivals, were the main social gatherings of the time. These occasions were often used to distribute surplus food and supplies to the populace of the city. According to Helen Chapin, the cities’ development was due to inhabitants who struggled to live in the environment. Uruk is described to be the first city to rise in the 4500BCE, and Ur around 3800BCE; the two cities were located near the banks of the river Euphrates. The security and structure of Uruk city attracted many settlers. Urbanization, however, continued as the city expanded out from the center, and, in time, the once fertile fields which fed the populace were depleted. The over-use of the land, combined with a mysterious shift in the Euphrates, which drew the waters away from the city, resulted in the complex finally being abandoned around 500 BCE. Although many factors contributed to the collapse of cities like Ur city, it has been suggested that urbanization and, mostly, the over-use of the surrounding lands for farming was a major cause.
Urbanization in Europe was mainly influenced by rural-urban migration. Urban centers influenced the development of Renaissance Europe as Europe was famous for its cities. Most of the population continued to live and work in the countryside. Still, towns and cities functioned as crucial centers of production, consumption, and exchange, political control, ecclesiastical organization, and cultural influence. Since the 1960s, the range of approaches to the field has widened considerably from concerns with political and economic organizations to take in governance, social structure, and, most recently, overlapping urban cultures. The role of religious belief, particularly in the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, runs as a thread throughout the history of the urban experience. In my opinion, the Mesopotamia urban revolution was great as their spiritual beliefs and ways of life contributed to the development. Their location and fertile soil also contributed.