The Cities of Sumer

1. The Cities of Sumer 2.2

2. A. Inventions • Irrigation systems, pottery wheel, wheeled vehicles, & sailboats • But most importantly – WRITING • Cuneiform (picture writing) • Began as scratches on wet clay • Eventually had over 500 regularly used symbols

3. B. Schools • Only a few boys & no, nada, zip, zilch, zero girls went to school • Learned to read & write cuneiform and some math • After years of training they would become a scribe

4. C. City-states • These were self-governing cities that controlled the nearby villages • Since city-states were often at war they built walls for safety • The gates in the walls became natural areas for markets

5. D. Religion • Ziggurats had temples at the top • The Sumerians were polytheistic • They tried to please their gods with gifts and worship

6. E. City-states Unite • Sargon created the world’s 1st great empire centered around his city of Kish • He conquered all of the city-states of Mesopotamia • He then extended his empire into Syria

7. E. City-states Unite • He built a new capital at Akkad • He used cuneiform to send messages (I guess you could say he was the 1st person to send a text message) • His empire broke up after his death

8. F. Daily life in Sumer • The wealthy live in mud-brick houses • Slaves had a special haircut for I.D. purposes • The poor had mud walled huts • Fathers were the head of the families (rich or poor) • Even rich women did not have the same rights as men

9. F. Daily life in Sumer 6. Life was hard but there was some free time: • Board games • Music • Festivals • Storytelling – the most famous of these stories is about Gilgamesh, who tried to find eternal life