Mesopotamia
description
Transcript of Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia
Cradle of Civilization
MesopotamiaGeographic area-In modern day country
of IraqThe name means “land
between 2 rivers”2 Rivers- Tigris River and
Euphrates River
Mesopotamia The constant water supply from the 2
rivers provided rich farm land ideal for growing crops.
The rivers flooded each spring, the early people in the area built levees to keep the flood waters back and built irrigation systems.
Mesopotamia Area was first settled about 4500-4000
B.C. These people were originally farmers,
herders, and fishermen. They made tools, bricks, clay figures, and
pottery.
Sumer The people who lived there were called
Sumerians The first known civilization around 3500 B.C. The Sumerian people made wagon wheels, used
copper and bronze, made sail boats, used plows, wrote laws, and studied astronomy.
Sumer Important city states developed Built strong walled cities for protection
from outside invaders Important Sumerian city-Ur (capital of Sumer) had a population of
around 200,000Most cities were unattractive- no public
services available to remove garbage and sewage. This was left to pile up on the streets.
Sumerian Cities Streets were narrow, unpaved, winding Houses were one story mud brick structures with
flat roofs. Members of the upper class had 2 story houses
with many rooms that included sleeping quarters and servants quarters and burial plots below the house
Household utensils made out of stone, copper and bronze
Merchants supplied the townspeople with material items
Religion Sumerians constructed shrines or temples called
Ziggurats. Ziggurats were to serve as a pedestal for the
gods to descend to Earth. On top was a shrine room where people would
pray or hope to entertain a divine visitor.
Religion Public was not invited to engage in temple
rituals, but they needed to constantly pray or the gods would not bless their lands.
Around the ziggurat were courts where artisans worked, children went to school, and people traded and stored goods there.
Sumerians believed that all of nature was controlled by gods
Education The Sumerian schools were called “tablet houses”
and were used to educate scribes for various religious, governmental, and commercial jobs.
Schools at first were mostly religious and were for rich children
Male only Classes went from morning until sunset Curriculum included- grammar, penmanship,
science, and math
Writing Writing helped man maintain a complex
economic and political society Sumerian writing dates back as early as
3100 B.C. Dried Mud tablets with a sharp pointed
reed called a stylus was how they wrote the cuneiform.
This writing was adopted by their conquerors and used for about 2000 years.
Family Life Woman had rights in Sumerian society They could buy and sell property and
could run businesses The husband was the head of the
household He could divorce his wife or rent out his
wife and children for up to three years Children were expected to support their
parents when they became old
Priests and Kings Priests were also the kings of the city-states Gilgamesh was the most famous Received advice from an assembly of free
men During wars, the assembly chose a military
leader to serve until the war was over Eventually, these leaders stayed in charge
and became kings. Kingship became hereditary
Ticket out the Door
Accomplishments
Irrigation canals
schools
First city builders
Developed religion and government
Section 2
Later Mesopotamian Empires
Sargon 1 Ruled an area called Akkad Began to conquer city-states one by one
and became king of all of them Created world’s first empire Ruled for 50 years
Hammurabi of Babylon Hammurabi was king of Babylon who
conquered Akkad and Sumer The Babylonians took on the language and
religion of the people they conquered Hammurabi improved irrigation systems
and changed the religion Developed his own set of laws called the
Code of Hammurabi
Hammurabi Appointed judges to carry out the code Judges were punished if not honest He believed people were innocent until
proven guilty During Hammurabi’s rule, Babylon became
a trade center Hammurabi’s reign is known as the Golden
Age of Babylon
Ticket Out the Door How is Hammurabi’s code similar to the
laws in the United States?
Section 3
Contributions
Inventions and Contributions Inventions and customs of the Sumerians
and Babylonians were copied and improved upon by other cultures.
Inventions and Contributions Oldest written records in
the world First written laws Cuneiform was a model
for other people’s system of writing
Inventions and Contributions Invented the wheel which aided
transportation Invented the plow which allowed farmers
to grow more food Invented the sailboat which replaced
muscle power with wind power
wheel
Inventions and contributions Developed a 12
month calendar based on the cycles of the moon
It marked the times for religious festivals and planting
Inventions and Contributions Contributions to math Developed a number system based on 60 60 minute hour 60 second minute 360 degree circle Clock that was controlled by water
Ticket out the Door