Post on 27-Mar-2015
Chapter 1, Section 2
Mesopotamian Civilization
Mesopotamia’s Civilization
• Over thousands of years, some of the early farming villages developed into civilizations.
• The first civilizations arose in river valleys:– Good farming conditions– Easier to get from place to place– Easier to trade goods & ideas
Mesopotamia’s Civilization
• As cities took shape, so did the need for organization. – Someone had to make plans/decisions about common concerns– Formed governments– Leaders took charge of food, supplies & building projects– Made laws to keep order– Assembled armies to fend off enemies
Mesopotamia’s Civilization
• With fewer worries about meeting their basic needs, people had more time to think about other things.
• They developed religions & arts, ways of writing and calendars to tell time.
• Early civilizations had a class structure– People held different places in society depending on what work
they did & how much wealth or power they had
The Rise of Sumer
• The earliest know civilization formed in what is now southern Iraq.
• It was a flat plain between the Tigris & Euphrates River.
• It was called Mesopotamia.
The Rise of Sumer• Mesopotamia lay in the eastern part of the fertile
crescent.
• This was a curving strip of land that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.
• It had a hot, dry climate.
• In the spring the rivers flooded leaving rich, fertile soil behind
The Rise of Sumer• In the spring the rivers flooded leaving rich, fertile soil
for farming.
• The flooding was very unpredictable leaving the farmers to believe they needed their gods to bless their farming efforts.
• Over time they learned to build dams & channels to control the seasoned floods.
The Rise of Sumer
• They also built walls, waterways & ditches to bring water to their fields (irrigation).
• Irrigation allowed them to grow plenty of food & support a large population.
• By 3000 B.C. many cities had formed in southern Mesopotamia in a region known as Sumer.
City-States• Sumerian cities were isolated
from each other by geography.
• Each Sumerian city & the land around it became a separate city-state.
• It had its own government & was not part of any larger unit.
City-States• Sumerian city-states often
went to war with one another.
• They fought to gain glory & to control more territory.
• Each city surrounded itself with a wall for protection.
• Stone & wood were scarce so they used river mud as their main building material.
City-States
• They mixed the mud with crushed reeds, formed bricks & left them in the sun to dry.
• The bricks were waterproof and used for walls in homes, temples & other buildings.
Gods & Rulers• The Sumerians believed in many
gods.
• Each was thought to have power over a natural force or a human activity.
• They tried hard to please the gods & would build a grand temple called a ziggurat to the chief god.
• Ziggurat means “mountain of god” or “hill of heaven”
Gods & Rulers• The ziggurat dominated
the city.
• At the top was a shrine – a special place on the top where only priests & priestesses could enter.
• The priests & priestesses controlled much of the land.
Gods & Rulers
• Later, kings ran the government, led armies, & organized building projects.
• The first kings were probably war heroes & their position became hereditary.
Life in Sumer• Sumerian kings lived in large palaces.
• Most people in Sumer farmed & lived in mud-brick houses.
• Some were artisans who made pottery, metal products or cloth.
• Others worked as merchants or traders.
Life in Sumer• People in Sumer were divided into 3 social classes.
– 1. Upper Class: kings, priests & government officials
– 2. Middle Class: artisans, merchants, farmers, fishers
– 3. Lower Class: enslaved people who worked on farms or in temples.
Life in Sumer
• The Sumerian left a lasting mark on world history.
• Their ideas & inventions were improved upon by other people.
• As a result, Mesopotamia has been called the “cradle of civilization.”
Why Was Writing Important?• The Sumerians greatest
invention was writing.
• This is important because it helps people communicate & pass on their ideas to others.
• They developed writing to keep track of business deals & other events.
Why Was Writing Important?
• Their writing was called cuneiform.
• It consisted of hundreds of wedge shaped marks cut into damp clay tablets with a sharp-ended reed.
• Archaeologist have found thousands of these cuneiform tablets.
Why Was Writing Important?
• Usually only boys from wealthy families learned to write.
• They became known as scribes.
• Scribes held honored positions in society, often going to become judges & political leaders.
Sumerian Literature
• The Sumerians also produced works of literature.
• The world’s oldest known story comes from Sumer.
• It is called the Epic of Gilgamesh.
• An epic is a long poem that tells the story of a hero.
Science & Math• Sumerians also invented the wagon wheel to help carry
people & goods from place to place.
• Other inventions included the plow & sailboat.
• They first used geometry to put up buildings.
Science & Math
• They created a number system based on 60 (60-minute hour, 60-second minute and 360-degree circle).
• They also recorded the position of the planets & stars and developed a 12-month calendar based on the cycle of the moon.
Sargon & Hammurabi• Over time, conflicts weakened
Sumer’s city-states.
• They became vulnerable to attacks by outside groups such as the Akkadians from northern Mesopotamia.
• The king of the Akkadians was named Sargon.
• He conquered all of Mesopotamia in 2340 B.C.
Sargon & Hammurabi
• He set up the world’s first empire.
• Sargon’s empire lasted for more than 200 years.
• In the 1800s B.C. a new group of people became powerful in Mesopotamia.
• They built the city of Babylon on the Euphrates River & it quickly became a center for trade.
Sargon & Hammurabi
• In 1792 B.C., the Babylonian king, Hammurabi began conquering cities to the north & south creating the Babylonian Empire.
• Hammurabi is best known for his laws or collection of laws.
• He took what he believed were the best laws from each city-state & put them into one code.
Sargon & Hammurabi• The code covered crimes, farming and business activities,
and marriage & family.
• Many punishments in the Code of Hammurabi were cruel, his laws mark an important step toward a fair system of justice.