City-States in Mesopotamia

Chapter 2 Section 1

I Geography of the Fertile Crescent• Fertile Crescent= fertile area of land between

the Persian Gulf & Mediterranean Sea in Southwest Asia

A. Fertile Plains• Land btwnTigris & Euphrates river became

known as Mesopotamia– Mesopotamia= Greek word meaning “land btwn

the rivers”• Rivers flooded at least 1 a yr. leaving behind

silt– Silt= Thick, fertile, mud on which farmers could

plant• Food surpluses allowed villages to grow

B. Environmental Challenges• Good soil attracted Sumerians whose

language dominated the regionDisadvantages– Flooding unpredictable– Vulnerable to attack because the lack of natural

barriers– Limited natural resources (wood, stone, metal)

C. Creating Solutions• Irrigation= ditches that carried water to fields– Allowed food surplus

• Built city walls out of brick & mud for defense• Traded grain for stone, wood, & metal that

they needed

• Large building projects required laborers and ppl to oversee the labor– Projects created a need for laws to settle disputes

over land and water distribution• Laws marked the beginning of organized gov’t

II Sumerians Create City-States• Sumerians 1st group to create a civilization• Shared same culture & developed goat's each

with its own ruler– City-State=city and surrounding land it controlled

A. The Power of Priests• Sumer early gov’t controlled by priests

• Priests collected part of farmers crop as tax

B. Monarchs Take Control• In time of war a man was chosen to lead the

city & soldiers instead of priests– As war became frequent, ppl 7 priests gave

commanders permanent control of armies– Eventually became full time rulers– Passed down power to their sons to forma

dynasty• Dynasty= series of rulers from a single family

• City states came under rule of dynasties

C. Spread of Cities• Food surplus prosperous city– Able to exchange extra food for goods they

needed• Trade spread of ideas– Cities arose in fertile crescent (now Syria, Iraq,

Turkey)• Sumerians also learned from nearby cultures– Cultural Diffusion= the process of a new idea or

product spreading from one culture to another

III Sumerian CultureA. A Religion of Many Gods• Sumerian culture & others in

region practiced a polytheism– Polytheism= the belief in many gods

• Sumerians described gods doing things humans did but believed they were immortal & all powerful– Built impressive ziggurats & offered

sacrifices to keep them happy so they wouldn’t cause them harm

• Epic of Gilgamesh offers a glimpse of their beliefs and concerns– One of the earliest works of literature in the world– Story of king Gilgamesh in his search for

immortality– Influenced other ancient cultures like Hebrews &

Greeks

B. Life in Sumerian Society• Civilization saw establishment of social classes

Priests

Wealthy merchants

Majority= farmers & craftsmen

slaves

• Slaves were POWs & Sumerians who were sold into slavery to pay debts of their poor parents

• Slaves could earn freedom through obedience & working all day

• Women could pursue most occupations of city life– Could own property– Join lower ranks of priesthood– Could not attend upper class schools where boys

learned to read and write– More rights than many other women in later civ.

IV The First Empire Buildings• Sumerian city-states almost always at war

weakened them & left them vulnerable to attacks– Sumerians were taken over but their culture lived

on and was adapted to meet needs of following rulers

A. Sargon of Akkad• Led his army to defeat

Sumerians• Akkadians were Semitic– Semitic= spoke language related

to Arabic & Hebrew• Sargon created 1st empire– Empire= uniting multiple ppl,

nations, or previously indep. States under 1 ruler

• Lasted only 200 due to invasions & famine

Babylonian Empire• Nomadic warriors known as Amorites invaded

Mesopotamia & established Babylon as its capital– Reached its peak during reign of Hammurabi

C. Hammurabi’s Code• Recognized that a single code would unify the

diverse population of his empire• Engraved in stone for all to see– Different punishments for rich & poor

• “eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”