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Early River Valley Civilizations 3500 B.C.E.-450 B.C.E.

Early River Valley Civilizations 3500 B.C.E.-450 B.C.E. Do Now: Name as many countries in Europe as you can Obj : Explain why the Fertile Crescent was able to support civilizations Understand the function of City-states HW: Active Reading pg. #35-41; Main Ideas #3-5; Critical Thinking # 6.

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Early River Valley Civilizations 3500 B.C.E.-450 B.C.E.

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  1. Early River Valley Civilizations 3500 B.C.E.-450 B.C.E.

  2. Do Now: Name as many countries in Europe as you can • Obj: Explain why the Fertile Crescent was able to support civilizations Understand the function of City-states HW: Active Reading pg. #35-41; Main Ideas #3-5; Critical Thinking # 6

  3. Vocabulary • Fertile Crescent • Mesopotamia • silt • City-state • Dynasty • Cultural diffusion • Polytheism • Empire • Hammurabi

  4. Mesopotamia • Fertile Crescent • Great farm land in Southwest Asia, surrounded by desert • Mesopotamia- “land between the rivers” (Greek) • Tigris and Euphrates rivers surround Mes. • Rivers flood the land every year and leave behind silt

  5. Environmental Challenges • Sumerians (3300 BC) faced with 3 challenges: • Unpredictable floods • No protection • Low natural resources • Solutions Through Organization: • Irrigations ditches from river to crops • High city walls made of mud bricks (lots of mud) • Trade: surplus food for raw materials

  6. Sumerians Create City-States • 3000 BC several city-states emerge • Same culture different rulers • Act as independent countries • First ruled by priests • Farmers pray for crops to grow • During war, elected strong fighter to lead • After a while fighters kept control permanently • Led to dynasty

  7. Sumerian Culture • Polytheism • Belief in more than one god • Describe gods are doing “human” things; i.e. falling in love, having children, quarreling • However; viewed as immortal and all-powerful-humans are servants • Built large ziggurats to offer sacrifices to the gods

  8. Sumerian Culture • Life in Sumerian Culture: Social Class

  9. Sumerian Culture • Science and Technology: • The wheel, the sail, plow, and among the first to use bronze • Arithmetic: number system based on 60; still used for measuring time (60 seconds=1 minute) and 360* in a circle • Architectural: arches, columns, ramps • Cuneiform: writing system carved into clay tablets. • Some oldest written records of astronomy, chemistry, and medicine

  10. Building Empires • 3000-2000 B.C.E. Sumerians city-states plagued with war • Left Sumer weak and vulnerable to outsiders • Sargon of Akkad: • 2350 B.C.E. Sargon led his Akkadians to victory over Sumer • Control over both North and South Mesopotamia created the world’s first empire • Akkadians maintained strong Sumerian culture

  11. Babylonian Empire • 2000 B.C.E. nomadic tribe called Amorites invade Mesopotamia • Gradually overwhelm the Sumerians and establish capital in Babylon on the Euphrates River.

  12. Hammurabi and his Code • Babylonian Empire reached its peak under the rule of Hammurabi. (1792 B.C.E. – 1750 B.C.E) • Hammurabi’s Code: • Attempt to unify diverse people of his empire • Code consisted of 282 specific laws • Dealt with everything that affected the community • Protected women and children from unfair treatment • Code was copied onto stone tablets and spread throughout the empire.

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