Original subtitles

The discovery just 1 50 years ago of the Syro-Mesopotamian civilisation

was exceptional because we gradually realised

that it was an extremely diversified. extremely developed civilisation.

lt had known many different ways of life.

had gone through many social experiments

in a world we were not aware of.

We believed everything began with Greek civilisation

but we saw there had been something else before

that influenced the development of classical civilisation.

The history of the Syro-Mesopotamian civilisation

matches the Syro-Mesopotamian geographical region.

the area irrigated by the Tigris and the Euphrates.

But water was not only important for survival. farming and people.

it was also important for transport.

lt was an area where waterways became shipping routes.

And in a country like Mesopotamia.

which had agriculture but was short of wood. stone

and of metal-bearing ore when bronze or copper were needed.

in a country like this one.

the river became the preferred shipping route

between two complementary economic spheres.

When this discovery was made around 1 5.000 BC

in the hilly region where the Euphrates flows into Syria.

when the very unusual situation arose

of wheat growing wild all over the hills.

allowing people to settle down in one place.

it was something entirely new.

When they discovered that wheat produced seeds

that they could use.

and above all that they could store.

the storage of food became very important.

lt meant that instead of having to look for food

within three days of killing an animal.

people could store food for several weeks or months.

From then on. people's lives changed.

Realising they had this crop. they remained where it was.

Wheat could only be harvested at a certain time of the year

but it couldn't be transported

so after the harvest it had to be stored

and protected from anyone who might want to take it.

So the settlement of that region at that time

happened for a definite reason.

to store food that could only be harvested at a given time.

The human mind played a fundamental part in this.

We may call it "an accidental discovery"

but l think the human mind is constantly observing. discovering.

trying to understand recurrent phenomena.

until it can go beyond its limits on its own

and do something new.

That's how agriculture was born.

The transformation of the world and the environment

by the people of Mesopotamia

is a fundamental phenomenon.

Not only did they build villages.

they also used the land for farming.

Later. when they built cities.

they didn't simply let them expand.

they also developed the region.

And they developed a way of life that dominated nature.

which is absolutely amazing.

They dominated their natural world to make it serve their own survival.

We discovered the Mesopotamian myths

only a little over 100 years ago.

particularly in texts from the library of Nineveh.

in particular. the Deluge.

ln fact. all of Western civilisation. all of Western Christianity.

is steeped in Biblical texts

and in those texts are myths

that come directly from the Mesopotamian world.

And the whole history of Western Christianity

is dominated by these myths.

understood or not. often re-interpreted

perhaps not always understood for the deep meaning they held

for the people of Mesopotamia.

But our civilisation is suffused by these myths.

The Mesopotamians' religious feelings are not easy to grasp.

We find temples. texts full of myths and rituals.

namely. what had to be done during religious ceremonies.

But their deeper feelings are not well understood or explained.

ln Mesopotamian culture

there is a general concept of divine power.

There are forces which men have to serve

and with which they must come to terms.

Make a compact with them.

Their religion was a religion of man serving God.

What did it mean?

lt ensured that life ran smoothly.

that there would be food and drink for the day's meals.

that one would have fine clothes befitting one's status.

and wear necklaces or not. depending on the occasion.

From time to time. they paraded their gods through the town

and returned them to the temple.

From the facts we know. that's what the Mesopotamian religion was like.

Can we speak of "a decline" ?

To a certain extent. yes. but a better word might be sclerosis.

All these great discoveries made in the fourth millennium BC.

all their philosophy displayed in religious representations

or within the framework of religion...

all that changed. and in the long term.

they realised there was less and less freedom

to express a number of things.

For instance. Mesopotamian art was infinitely more diverse.

more flourishing. in the third millennium BC

than it was in the first.

What happened around 1 200 BC? They discovered iron.

lron was an asset. lt was better than copper

and easier to work. even if at a higher temperature.

lt had many applications. so it was an improvement.

But Mesopotamia had little iron ore.

The question of a source arose. as they had to go much further.

Therefore. the regions which had iron ore

began to play a much bigger part than Mesopotamia.

To talk of a decline is not correct.

lt was a power that developed.

a civilisation that reached its peak after producing wonderful things.

These things and its philosophy never perished.

Their thought was transmitted.

The Greeks and Persians. who were very well educated.

like the Mesopotamians. well. l mean. certain elites.

transmitted their science and their knowledge.

They passed through Anatolia towards the Greek world

and through the Greeks. to the whole Mediterranean.

lt inherited the achievements of the Mesopotamian civilisation

without realising their source was the Mesopotamian civilisation.

Subtitles SBS Australia 2007