Mesopotamia's religion is the oldest that we have records of. From these records, we can understand that Ancient Mesopotamian people worshiped gods and goddesses. Today, modern Iraq the center of the Mesopotamian delta between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Not only was the land fertile in terms of agriculture and civilization, but religion as well. The religious environment featured gods and goddesses such as Ishtar, Dumuzi, and Enki. The language and religion influenced Mesopotamian mythology and history for centuries later religious groups and cultures were also influenced by Mesopotamia's beliefs.
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Mesopotamia's ReligionThe polytheistic people of Mesopotamia took their gods and goddesses very seriously and would always do everything they could to please them. They believed that it was the gods that controlled the flooding of the rivers. They built religious buildings called ziggurats. These ziggurats were massive and they were the "stairway to heaven." There were also shrines that were built in dedication to these deities that only priests and priestesses can enter.They would partake in a daily ritual of serving the gods a special meal. The courses were spread in front of the statue of the god or goddess, music was played, and incense was scattered.
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Iraq's Religion Today"The Fertile Crescent” was dominated by the Persians for some time. During the Persian era of Iraq, the culture in the area was shaped by Hebrew. Although, over time, Zoroastrianism became the accepted religion of the Persian culture. Zoroastrianism, one of the world’s oldest surviving monotheistic religions.
Assyrian Christianity was introduced later and includes some of the most ancient forms of Christianity in the world. When Islam took over, the people of Mesopotamia were predominately Christian. Slowly, through intermarriage and conversion Islam overcame Christianity. The modern religion of Iraq is dominantly Islam. |