Question

How did geographic challenges lead to the rise of city-states in mesopotamia

Answer 1

Well it had more to do with geographic wonders. Rivers in the area meant fertile soil and reliable water sources. This encouraged people to settle in Mesopotamia and eventually start city-states.

Answer 2

I would almost agree with the previous statement, but here is a bit more information about it: Mesopotamia or "Land between two rivers" had a reputation for random and harsh flooding. They weren't as predictable as the Nile's seasonal floods, so the lack of knowing and the destruction cause but the Tigris and Euphrates rivers caused the people living within the land to have a YOLO view on life. They did have fertile land, however, because of the flooding. With this land came the cultivation of many cereal grains (From the grains came beer and bread which was often times used as, surprisingly, currency). The Mesopotamian culture, remember, was one of the first civilizations who adopted agriculture. From the Agriculture encouraged the growth of the population and development of cities. Anyway, food thrived with the great land and trade became a big thing, especially with the rivers to help trade with other lands around them. Other lands looked in and said to themselves "Hey! they have cool cookies! Let's attack them so we can become rich!" (That's not a direct quote btw) Mesopotamia became a land whose history was often filled with warfare...a lot of it. (It was basically a change in the leader who won the battle and what they named the territory most of the time) This factor, along with the flooding factor, caused a significant difference between their view on the afterlife versus the neighboring Egyptian land.  Early civilizations are SO cool! You should consider taking AP World History sometime.