Mesopotamia

Ms. HuntRMS IB Middle School

2012-2013

THE ANCIENT SOCIETIES OF MESOPOTAMIA

• “LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS”• The Fertile

Crescent

• The land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers

EFFECTS OF GEOGRAPHY ON CIVILIZATION IN MESOPOTAMIA

• No natural barriers = INVASIONS!• Cultural changes (migration)• No stone, people created bricks for buildings and clay tablets

for writing• Lots of water- AGRICULTURE and towns!• Flooding of the rivers– PRO- fertile land– CON- loss of land and homes

SUMERIANS• Earliest society• Established city-

states (nation within a city) 4000 B.C.

• City-states constantly at war with others

• City-states surrounded by walls and guard towers

ANCIENT FESTIVAL IN UR

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE SUMERIANS

• Cuneiform Writing- wedged shaped writing completed on clay tablets

• Created a number system based on 60• Now used to measure time

• Architecture- Sumerians invented the arch and Ziggurat (square pyramid)

• Developed the wheel

ZIGGURAT

SUMERIAN RELIGION

• Government- Theocracy• Leaders looked to

the Gods for guidance

• Religion- Polytheistic

• Ziggurat- center of government and religion

EPIC OF GILGAMESH

ONE OF THE OLDEST KNOWN WORKS OF LITERATURE, THE EPIC POEM OFGILGAMESH TELLS THE STORY OF GILGAMESH, A KING, AND HIS FRIENDSHIPWITH ENKIDU, A WILDMAN MADE BY THE GODS.

BABYLONIANS

• BABYLON –city state in Mesopotamia

• Ruler- King Hammurabi, greatest ruler

• Hammurabi established the Babylonian Empire• Overthrown by invaders, 1700

B.S.

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE BABYLONIANS

• Code of Hammurabi- Oldest known legal system

1. AN EYE FOR AN EYE2. DIVISION OF CLASSES3. FAIR TREATMENT OF WOMEN4. BUSINESS LAW

CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE BABYLONIANS

1. Astronomy and Astrology- believed their ancestors came from the stars

- Studied movement of the heavens

2. Religious literature- story of creation, first man and woman, the “great flood”

Hammurabi’s Code- You be the Judge!

For each of the following events, decide as a team what you think should happen to the person accused.

Be prepared to defend you verdict to the court!

Case #1

What should be done to the carpenter who builds a house that falls and kills the owner?

If a builder builds a house for a man and does not make its construction sound, and the house which he has built collapses and causes the death of the owner of the house, the builder shall be put to death.

Case #2

What should be done about a wife who ignores her duties and belittles her husband?

If the woman has not been careful but has gadded about, neglecting her house and belittling her husband, they shall throw that woman into the water.

Case #3

What should be done when a "sister of god" (or nun) enters the wine shop for a drink?

If a "sister of god" (nun) who is not living in a convent opens a wine shop or enters a wine shop for a drink, they shall burn that woman.

Case #4

What should be done if a son is adopted and then the birth-parents want him back?

If a man takes in his own home a young boy as a son and rears him, one may not bring claim for that adopted son.

Case #5

What happens if a man is unable to pay his debts?

If a man be in debt and is unable to pay his creditors, he shall sell his wife, son, or daughter, or bind them over to service. For three years they shall work in the houses of their purchaser or master; in the fourth year they shall be given their freedom.

Case #6

What should happen to a boy who slaps his father?

If a son strikes his father, they shall cut off his hand.

Case #7

What happens to the wine seller who fails to arrest bad characters gathered at her shop?

If bad characters gather in the house of a wine seller and she does not arrest those characters and bring them to the palace, that wine seller shall be put to death.

Case #8

How is the truth determined when one man brings an accusation against another?

If any one bring an accusation against a man, and the accused go to the river and leap into the river, if he sink in the river his accuser shall take possession of his house. But if the river prove that the accused is not guilty, and he escape unhurt, then he who had brought the accusation shall be put to death, while he who leaped into the river shall take possession of the house that had belonged to his accuser.

Our Hammurabi’s Code On your blank poster paper, complete the

following assignment. From our discussion on the government system in

Babylon, write a 4 new laws that you think would govern a society in the best possible way. Your laws must be written in complete sentences. The group must decorate their tablet like a Sumerian

ruler would have! Keep the following questions in mind while your

group is creating new laws. Do you feel that this government system is a fair one for

it’s people? Do you think that this type of government would work in

today’s world? Do you think that the US government should be more

like Hammurabi’s?*Your group has 25 minutes to complete your tablet