Chapter 1, Section 2

1. Chapter 1, Section 2 Mesopotamian Civilization

2. Mesopotamia’s Civilization • Over thousands of years, some of the early farming villages developed into civilizations. • The first civilizations arose in river valleys: • Good farming conditions • Easier to get from place to place • Easier to trade goods & ideas

3. Mesopotamia’s Civilization • As cities took shape, so did the need for organization. • Someone had to make plans/decisions about common concerns • Formed governments • Leaders took charge of food, supplies & building projects • Made laws to keep order • Assembled armies to fend off enemies

4. Mesopotamia’s Civilization • With fewer worries about meeting their basic needs, people had more time to think about other things. • They developed religions & arts, ways of writing and calendars to tell time. • Early civilizations had a class structure • People held different places in society depending on what work they did & how much wealth or power they had

5. The Rise of Sumer • The earliest know civilization formed in what is now southern Iraq. • It was a flat plain between the Tigris & Euphrates River. • It was called Mesopotamia.

6. The Rise of Sumer • Mesopotamia lay in the eastern part of the fertile crescent. • This was a curving strip of land that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. • It had a hot, dry climate. • In the spring the rivers flooded leaving rich, fertile soil behind

7. The Rise of Sumer • In the spring the rivers flooded leaving rich, fertile soil for farming. • The flooding was very unpredictable leaving the farmers to believe they needed their gods to bless their farming efforts. • Over time they learned to build dams & channels to control the seasoned floods.

8. The Rise of Sumer • They also built walls, waterways & ditches to bring water to their fields (irrigation). • Irrigation allowed them to grow plenty of food & support a large population. • By 3000 B.C. many cities had formed in southern Mesopotamia in a region known as Sumer.

9. City-States • Sumerian cities were isolated from each other by geography. • Each Sumerian city & the land around it became a separate city-state. • It had its own government & was not part of any larger unit.

10. City-States • Sumerian city-states often went to war with one another. • They fought to gain glory & to control more territory. • Each city surrounded itself with a wall for protection. • Stone & wood were scarce so they used river mud as their main building material.

11. City-States • They mixed the mud with crushed reeds, formed bricks & left them in the sun to dry. • The bricks were waterproof and used for walls in homes, temples & other buildings.

12. Gods & Rulers • The Sumerians believed in many gods. • Each was thought to have power over a natural force or a human activity. • They tried hard to please the gods & would build a grand temple called a ziggurat to the chief god. • Ziggurat means “mountain of god” or “hill of heaven”

13. Gods & Rulers • The ziggurat dominated the city. • At the top was a shrine – a special place on the top where only priests & priestesses could enter. • The priests & priestesses controlled much of the land.

14. Gods & Rulers • Later, kings ran the government, led armies, & organized building projects. • The first kings were probably war heroes & their position became hereditary.

15. Life in Sumer • Sumerian kings lived in large palaces. • Most people in Sumer farmed & lived in mud-brick houses. • Some were artisans who made pottery, metal products or cloth. • Others worked as merchants or traders.

16. Life in Sumer • People in Sumer were divided into 3 social classes. • 1. Upper Class: kings, priests & government officials • 2. Middle Class: artisans, merchants, farmers, fishers • 3. Lower Class: enslaved people who worked on farms or in temples.

17. Life in Sumer • The Sumerian left a lasting mark on world history. • Their ideas & inventions were improved upon by other people. • As a result, Mesopotamia has been called the “cradle of civilization.”

18. Why Was Writing Important? • The Sumerians greatest invention was writing. • This is important because it helps people communicate & pass on their ideas to others. • They developed writing to keep track of business deals & other events.

19. Why Was Writing Important? • Their writing was called cuneiform. • It consisted of hundreds of wedge shaped marks cut into damp clay tablets with a sharp-ended reed. • Archaeologist have found thousands of these cuneiform tablets.

20. Why Was Writing Important? • Usually only boys from wealthy families learned to write. • They became known as scribes. • Scribes held honored positions in society, often going to become judges & political leaders.

21. Sumerian Literature • The Sumerians also produced works of literature. • The world’s oldest known story comes from Sumer. • It is called the Epic of Gilgamesh. • An epic is a long poem that tells the story of a hero.

22. Science & Math • Sumerians also invented the wagon wheel to help carry people & goods from place to place. • Other inventions included the plow & sailboat. • They first used geometry to put up buildings.

23. Science & Math • They created a number system based on 60 (60-minute hour, 60-second minute and 360-degree circle). • They also recorded the position of the planets & stars and developed a 12-month calendar based on the cycle of the moon.

24. Sargon & Hammurabi • Over time, conflicts weakened Sumer’s city-states. • They became vulnerable to attacks by outside groups such as the Akkadians from northern Mesopotamia. • The king of the Akkadians was named Sargon. • He conquered all of Mesopotamia in 2340 B.C.

25. Sargon & Hammurabi • He set up the world’s first empire. • Sargon’s empire lasted for more than 200 years. • In the 1800s B.C. a new group of people became powerful in Mesopotamia. • They built the city of Babylon on the Euphrates River & it quickly became a center for trade.

26. Sargon & Hammurabi • In 1792 B.C., the Babylonian king, Hammurabi began conquering cities to the north & south creating the Babylonian Empire. • Hammurabi is best known for his laws or collection of laws. • He took what he believed were the best laws from each city-state & put them into one code.

27. Sargon & Hammurabi • The code covered crimes, farming and business activities, and marriage & family. • Many punishments in the Code of Hammurabi were cruel, his laws mark an important step toward a fair system of justice.