There have been several major civilizations in history, but they all eventually fell. Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, and the Middle Ages were all major powers in their time, but they all eventually lost power. Mesopotamia or “the land between the rivers”, as the Greeks called it, was a crossroads of 3 continents. . It was a major port, they specialized in trading a difficult-to-make purple dye. They had a king who communicated through the gods, unlike the Egyptian king, who was considered a god. In Sumer, they discovered how to use wheels for a specific purpose and how to use animals for agriculture. They invented chariots, using wheels and their horses; this gave the soldiers a great advantage over their enemies on foot. But there were many rivalries between the cities, each city worshiped a different god. Often they fought to exalt their city over the other and fought over the river. Mesopotamian priests were chosen from the aristocracy, their social system consisted of free people and dependents. The dependents were mostly slaves; although in Mesopotamia slaves had certain rights. Their government was similar to a democracy. Eventually, Hammurabi, also known as the "judge" and "lawgiver", came to power. Mesopotamia achieved a certain degree of political integration by creating rules to govern the people. The most important contributions of Mesopotamia are metal smelting, weapons and jewelry, cuneiform writing (wedge-shaped writing). ), and scribes. The culture of Greece was shaped by the Minoans, Mycenaeans, Phoenicians and Dorians. Greece was located in the southern part of Europe. They are famous for three products they produce: cereals, olives, which are used to make olive oil, and grapes. The Greeks became master shipbuilders because they live in the middle of paper, and they both like to live in "luxury". There is a saying by George Santayana: “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” This is why we must know our past, in order to prevent it from repeating itself in the future. All of these civilizations became very powerful, and yet they all fell. But they created a legacy that we should all learn from as we move forward into the future. Works Cited Boardman, John. “Greece: ascension without falling.” Common Knowledge 11.2 (2005): 306-310. Premier Academic Research. Internet. November 25, 2013. Cole, Joshua, Carol Symes, Judith G. Coffin, and Robert C. Stacey. Western civilizations: their history and culture. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print. Norman, Yoffee. “American Antiquity.” Society for American Archeology 44.1 (1979): 5-35. http://www.jstor.org/stable/279187. Internet.