Cities in Mesopotamian Culture Class 11 – Concept, MCQs & Notes PDF

Topic covered: Cities in Mesopotamian Culture class 11 notes and MCQs questions: Writing and City Life (All single detail notes are exam-oriented).

We have discussed in-depth and exam-oriented pointers that can be asked in the board exam of class 11th about “Cities in Mesopotamian Culture“ from the NCERT history notes for class 11th chapter 1 Writing and City Life.

Download the NCERT History for Class 11th Chapter 1 Writing and City Life Notes PDF

Chapter 1 of Class 11 History, Writing and City Life, takes you into the early world of Mesopotamia, where writing first appeared, and cities began to shape human life in new ways. Students often find the connection between trade, administration, and the development of writing a bit overwhelming, so these notes break everything into clear, story-like sections. You’ll understand how cities grew, why records became essential, and how everyday life looked in the earliest civilisations. If you want a simple, exam-friendly guide, you can download the NCERT History for Class 11th Chapter 1 Writing and City Life Notes PDF and revise with ease.

Cities in Mesopotamian Culture

1. Value of City Life:

• Mesopotamians deeply valued city life.
• Their cities housed people from many communities and cultures living together.
• When cities were destroyed in wars, they remembered them through poetry.

2. Gilgamesh Epic and Mesopotamian Pride:

• The Gilgamesh Epic, written on twelve tablets, preserves this pride in cities.
• Gilgamesh ruled the city of Uruk, succeeding the earlier ruler Enmerkar.
• He was known as a great hero who subdued people across regions.

3. Search for Immortality:

• Gilgamesh faced a shock when his close companion died.
• This event pushed him to seek the secret of immortality.
• He crossed the waters surrounding the world in this quest.
• Despite heroic efforts, he failed to obtain immortality.

4. Consolation in the City of Uruk:

• After his failure, Gilgamesh returned to Uruk.
• He walked repeatedly along the city wall for comfort.
• He admired the strong fired-brick foundations he had built.
• The epic ends on this image of the city wall, where the long narrative fades out.

5. Idea of Legacy:

• Unlike a tribal hero, Gilgamesh does not claim his sons will carry his legacy.
• Instead, he finds solace in the enduring city built by his people.

The Legacy of Writing

1. Need for Writing in Science:

• Oral transmission works for stories, but science needs written records for future scholars.
• Writing allowed knowledge to be preserved and expanded over generations.

2. Mesopotamian Scholarly Legacy:

• Mesopotamia’s greatest legacy was time-reckoning and mathematics.
• Mathematical tablets from around 1800 BCE include:
  • Multiplication and division tables
  • Square and square-root tables
  • Compound-interest tables

3. Example of Mathematical Accuracy:

• Mesopotamians calculated the square root of 2 as 1 + 24/60 + 51/60² + 10/60³
• The answer they reached (1.41421296) is extremely close to the modern value (1.41421356).

4. Student Problem-Solving:

• Students solved practical mathematical problems.
• Example: calculating water volume for a field flooded one finger deep.

5. Creation of Time Divisions:

• Mesopotamians created the time system we use today:
  • Year → 12 lunar months
  • Month → 4 weeks
  • Day → 24 hours
  • Hour → 60 minutes

6. Spread of Time-Keeping System:

• These divisions were adopted by:
  • Successors of Alexander
  • Roman world
  • Islamic world
  • Medieval Europe

7. Astronomical Observations:

• Eclipses were recorded precisely with year, month, and day.
• Positions of stars and constellations were also documented.

8. Role of Writing and Schools:

• Mesopotamian achievements depended on writing and urban schools.
• Students copied earlier tablets to learn.
• Some boys were trained to become scholars, not just record-keepers.

9. Early Efforts to Preserve the Past:

• Mesopotamians made conscious attempts to locate and preserve old texts and traditions.
• Shows that interest in the urban past existed even in ancient times.

An Early Library

1. Assyrian Empire and Economy:

• The Assyrian Empire reached its peak between 720–610 BCE, extending west to Egypt.
• The state economy was predatory, extracting labour, food, animals, metals and craft goods from subject populations.
• Assyrian kings were originally immigrants who viewed Babylonia as the centre of high culture.

2. Assurbanipal and the Early Library at Nineveh:

• Assurbanipal (668–627 BCE), the last major Assyrian king, built a large royal library at Nineveh.
• He actively collected tablets on history, epics, omens, astrology, hymns and poems.
• Scribes were sent south to search for old tablets.

3. Role of Southern Schools:

• Southern (Babylonian) schools trained scribes through tablet copying.
• Many towns in Babylonia had huge collections of tablets and were famous for them.
• Though Sumerian stopped being spoken after 1800 BCE, it continued to be taught through vocabulary lists, sign lists and bilingual tablets.

4. Preservation of Ancient Knowledge:

• Even in 650 BCE, tablets written around 2000 BCE could still be read.
• Assurbanipal’s scribes knew where to find early tablets or their copies.
• Important works, including the Epic of Gilgamesh, were recopied with the copier’s name and date.

5. Assurbanipal’s Own Records:

• Some tablets included notes written by Assurbanipal himself.
• He claimed vast intelligence, checked and collated the tablets, and placed them in the library of the god Nabu for the future.
• The library had around 1,000 texts, or about 30,000 tablets, organised by subject.

6. Early Cataloguing System:

• Clay labels identified baskets of tablets, e.g. “n tablets about exorcism, written by X.”
• This shows one of the earliest examples of library cataloguing.

7. Rise of Neo-Babylonia:

• Nabopolassar, from the southern marshes, freed Babylonia from Assyria in 625 BCE.
• His successors expanded territory and undertook major building projects at Babylon.

8. Babylon as a Premier City:

• From Nabopolassar’s time until Alexander’s conquest in 331 BCE, Babylon remained the world’s premier city.
• The city covered over 850 hectares, with a triple wall, palaces, temples, a ziggurat, and a processional way.
• Babylonian trading houses had far-reaching commercial links.
• Babylonian mathematicians and astronomers made discoveries.

9. Nabonidus and Early Archaeological Interest:

• Nabonidus was the last ruler of independent Babylon.
• He claimed that the god of Ur instructed him in a dream to appoint a high priestess.
• The office had been forgotten, so he searched for earlier evidence.

10. Discovery of Ancient Objects:

• Nabonidus found a stele of a king from around 1150 BCE, showing the image of a priestess.
• He used the carving to identify clothing and jewellery, helping him dress his daughter for consecration.
• On another occasion, he received a broken statue inscribed with the name of Sargon of Akkad (ruled c. 2370 BCE).
• Knowing Sargon’s fame, he repaired the statue out of reverence for the gods and respect for kingship.

Summary of Cities in Mesopotamian Culture Class 11

Mesopotamian cities weren’t just places to live; they were symbols of identity and pride. Stories like the Epic of Gilgamesh demonstrate how people viewed their cities as lasting achievements, even as individual lives faded. This urban culture thrived because writing allowed ideas, science and mathematics to be preserved and expanded. Mesopotamians developed timekeeping systems, advanced calculations and detailed astronomical records that shaped later civilisations. Their respect for knowledge created early libraries, most famously Assurbanipal’s vast collection at Nineveh, where thousands of tablets were catalogued and copied to protect older traditions. Later rulers, such as Nabonidus, treated the past with the same care, restoring ancient statues and utilising archaeological finds to revive forgotten rituals. Together, these efforts show a civilisation deeply committed to memory, scholarship and the power of the written word.

Next & Previous Topics of NCERT/CBSE History Class 11 Chapter 1: Writing and City Life

MCQs on NCERT History Class 11 Chapter 1 Topic – Cities in Mesopotamian Culture Class 11 Notes

Here are the top exam-oriented MCQ-type questions on “Cities in Mesopotamian Culture Class 11 Notes” that you should prepare for your CBSE or state board exams:

Question 1. Which city was ruled by Gilgamesh according to the Epic?

a) Mari
b) Ur
c) Uruk
d) Nineveh

Answer: c) Uruk

Question 2. What did Gilgamesh admire when he returned to Uruk after failing to achieve immortality?

a) Its temples
b) Its city wall
c) Its ziggurat
d) Its palace

Answer: b) Its city wall

Question 3. What does the ending of the Gilgamesh Epic highlight about Mesopotamian culture?

a) Focus on military power
b) Importance of trade
c) Value placed on city life
d) Superiority of rural life

Answer: c) Value placed on city life

Question 4. The tablets showing multiplication, division, square roots and compound interest belong to which period?

a) 2500 BCE
b) 2000 BCE
c) 1800 BCE
d) 1500 BCE

Answer: c) 1800 BCE

Question 5. Which Mesopotamian contribution still shapes our daily time-keeping?

a) Sundials
b) Division of the year, month, day and hour
c) Decimal number system
d) Mechanical clocks

Answer: b) Division of the year, month, day and hour

Question 6. What material did the Mesopotamians use for recording scholarly work?

a) Papyrus
b) Birch bark
c) Stone slabs
d) Clay tablets

Answer: d) Clay tablets

Question 7. Which institution played a key role in preserving Mesopotamian written knowledge?

a) Marketplaces
b) Schools
c) Military camps
d) Temples only

Answer: b) Schools

Question 8. Who created the vast library at Nineveh?

a) Hammurabi
b) Sargon
c) Assurbanipal
d) Nabonidus

Answer: c) Assurbanipal

Question 9. What types of texts were collected in Assurbanipal’s library?

a) Only religious hymns
b) Only business records
c) History, epics, omen literature, astrology, hymns and poems
d) Only astronomy and mathematics

Answer: c) History, epics, omen literature, astrology, hymns and poems

Question 10. Approximately how many tablets were preserved in Assurbanipal’s library?

a) 5,000
b) 10,000
c) 20,000
d) 30,000

Answer: d) 30,000

Question 11. What ensured that even in 650 BCE, tablets from 2000 BCE were still readable?

a) Use of durable stone
b) Sumerian was still spoken
c) Schools taught Sumerian through bilingual tablets and sign lists
d) Clay tablets were rewritten every decade

Answer: c) Schools taught Sumerian through bilingual tablets and sign lists

Question 12. What did a clay label attached to a basket of tablets usually contain?

a) Price of tablets
b) Number of tablets and subject
c) The writer’s birthplace
d) The king’s name only

Answer: b) Number of tablets and subject

Question 13. Who freed Babylonia from Assyrian rule in 625 BCE?

a) Sargon
b) Nabopolassar
c) Nabonidus
d) Assurbanipal

Answer: b) Nabopolassar

Question 14. Which city became the premier city of the world after 625 BCE?

a) Mari
b) Ur
c) Uruk
d) Babylon

Answer: d) Babylon

Question 15. What major structure was found in Babylon during its peak?

a) Hanging gardens only
b) Triple wall, palaces, temples and a ziggurat
c) Fortress of copper
d) Obsidian towers

Answer: b) Triple wall, palaces, temples and a ziggurat

Question 16. Which ruler tried to restore old traditions by identifying ancient priestly clothing from a stele?

a) Hammurabi
b) Sargon
c) Nabonidus
d) Zimrilim

Answer: c) Nabonidus

Question 17. Nabonidus repaired a statue belonging to which ancient ruler?

a) Assurbanipal
b) Sargon of Akkad
c) Gilgamesh
d) Hammurabi

Answer: b) Sargon of Akkad

Question 18. Why did Assurbanipal send scribes to southern Mesopotamia?

a) To collect taxes
b) To gather old tablets
c) To train soldiers
d) To build temples

Answer: b) To gather old tablets

Question 19. What mathematical value did the Mesopotamians estimate accurately using tablets?

a) Pi
b) Square root of 2
c) Golden ratio
d) Square of 3

Answer: b) Square root of 2

Question 20. What does Mesopotamian timekeeping rely on?

a) Sun’s revolution
b) Moon’s revolution
c) Ocean tides
d) Movement of Jupiter

Answer: b) Moon’s revolution