Chapter 3: Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent

1. Chapter 3:Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent Section 1 Geography of the Fertile Crescent

2. Geography of the Fertile Crescent The Big Idea The valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers were the site of the world’s first civilizations. • Main Ideas • The rivers of Southwest Asia supported the growth of civilizations. • New farming techniques led to the growth of cities.

3. Main Idea 1: Rivers Support the Growth of Civilization • Early people settled where crops would grow, which was near rivers. • The Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the most important physical features of the region known as Mesopotamia. • Farm settlements in Mesopotamia eventually developed into civilizations.

4. Land Between Two Rivers • Mesopotamia means “between the rivers” in Greek. • Mesopotamia is part of a larger area of rich farmland called the FertileCrescent, that extends from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. • Mesopotamia was divided into two regions in ancient times: northern and southern Mesopotamia.

5. Hunter-gatherer groups settled in Mesopotamia more than 12,000 years ago. • Annual floods on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers brought silt that made the land ideal for farming. • Silt is a mixture of rich soil and tiny rocks. • Plentiful food led to population growth and the formation of villages, and later into the world’s first civilizations. Rise of Civilizations

6. Main Idea 2: Farming and Cities – Controlling Water • Region receives very little rain and flooding was unpredictable. • Farmers used irrigation and canalsas a way to control river flow. Irrigation A way of supplying water to an area of land Canals Human-made waterways

7. Food Surpluses and Effects • Irrigation increased the amount of food farmers produced and created a surplus, or more food than needed. • Fewer people needed to farm, so new occupations (jobs) developed. • When workers specialize in a particular task or job, a divisionof labor is created.

8. Section 2:The Rise of Sumer

9. The Rise of Sumer The Big Idea The Sumerians developed the first civilization in Mesopotamia. • Main Ideas • The Sumerians created the world’s first advanced society. • Religion played a major role in Sumerian society.

10. An Advanced Society • A people known as Sumerians developed the world’s first civilization in southern Mesopotamia. • By 3000 B.C., several hundred thousand Sumerians had settled in a land they called Sumer.

11. City-States • Basic political units: consisted ofa city (urban) and all of the surrounding countryside (rural). • The amount of countryside in each city-state depended on its military strength. • Fought each other to gain more farmland • Built walled cities for protection

12. Sargon and the Rise of the AkkadianEmpire • Akkadian society developed just north of Sumer. • Akkadian king, Sargon, was the first ruler to have a permanent army. • Sargon wanted to expand Akkadian territory and conquered all of the city-states of Sumer, as well as northern Mesopotamia.

13. Sargon/Akkadia continued • With these conquests, Sargon established the world’s first empire – Land with different territories and peoples under a single ruler. • Sargon was emperor – ruler of his empire – for more than 50 years. • After his death, the empire lasted only a century longer.

14. Main Idea 2: Religion Shapes Society • Religion was the basis for all Sumerian society. • Sumerians were polytheistic: • Polytheism is the worship of many gods. • Gods had enormous powers. • Priests, people who performed religious ceremonies, gained high status in Sumerian society.

15. Sumerian Religion continued… • Each city-state considered one god to be its special protector. • Enlil – lord of the air • Enki– god of wisdom • Inanna– goddess of love and war • Nanna – moon god • Utu – sun god • Priests performed religious ceremonies in giant temples called ziggurats – shaped like squared, tiered wedding cakes.

16. Sumerian Social Order • Social hierarchy: the division of society by rank or class • Kings were at the top of the order because they claimed to be chosen to rule by the gods. • Social order • Kings • Priests • Skilled craftspeople, merchants, and traders • Large working class of farmers and laborers • Slaves

17. Men and Women in Sumer • Men generally held the political power and made laws. • Women generally took care of the home and children. • Education was generally reserved for men, but some upper class women were educated. • Some women were priestesses in Sumerian temples. • Enheduanna, a priestess who wrote hymns and Sargon’s daughter, is the first known female writer in history.

18. Section 3 Sumerian Achievements

19. Sumerian Achievements The Big Idea The Sumerians made many advances that helped their society develop. • Main Ideas • The Sumerians invented the world’s first writing system. • Advances and inventions changed Sumerian lives. • Many types of art developed in Sumer.

20. Main Idea 1: The Invention of Writing • The Sumerians made one of the greatest cultural advances in history – they developed writing. • The cuneiform (kyoo-nee-uh-fohrm) system of writing involved people using sharp tools called a stylus to make wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablets.

21. Writing continued… • Earlier writing had used pictographs, or picture symbols. • In cuneiform, symbols could represent syllables, or parts of words, and be combined to express more complex ideas. • First used to keep business records • A writer, or scribe, kept the records

22. Writing continued… • Sumerians wrote works on history, law, grammar, and math. • Also created works of literature: stories, proverbs, songs, and long poems that tell stories of heroes, called epics. • Famous Sumerian epic poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh, is a story of a legendary Sumerian king.

23. Main Idea 2: Advances and Inventions • Development of the wheel • Used for carts and wagons • Potter’s wheel • The plow increased farm production. • Sewers under city streets • Math and science • Number system based on 60 • Names of animals, plants, and minerals • Used medicines for healing and catalogued medical knowledge

24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki8S5I83Ccc Main Idea 3: The Arts of Sumer • Architecture • Rulers lived in large palaces. • Most Sumerians lived in houses with many rooms around a small courtyard. • Mud bricks were the houses’ main building blocks. • A ziggurat, or pyramid-shaped temple tower, rose above each city. • The Arts • Sculptors produced many statues of the gods for their temples. • Jewelry was a popular item made from imported gold, silver, and gems. • Engraved cylinder seals are one of Sumer’s most famous types of art. • Battle scenes • Show ownership • Highly decorative

25. Section 4 Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent

26. Later Peoples of the Fertile Crescent The Big Idea After the Sumerians, many cultures ruled parts of the Fertile Crescent. • Main Ideas • The Babylonians conquered Mesopotamia and created a code of law. • Invasions of Mesopotamia changed the region’s culture. • The Phoenicians built a trading society in the eastern Mediterranean region.

27. Main Idea 1: The Babylonians conquer Mesopotamia • Babylon was located on the Euphrates River near what is today, Baghdad, Iraq. • In 1792 B.C., Hammurabi became Babylon’s king. • He would become the city’s greatest monarch, or ruler of a kingdom or empire.

28. Hammurabi • Brilliant war leader who brought all of Mesopotamia into his Babylonian Empire. • Oversaw building and irrigation projects and improved the tax system. • Most famous for his code of laws. • Ruled for 42 years

29. Hammurabi’s Code • Hammurabi wrote down 282 laws which contained some ideas still found in laws today. • Specific crimes brought specific penalties. • Social class was taken into account. It was a greater crime to injure a rich man than a poor one. • It was unique not only because of how thorough it was, but also because he wrote it down for all to see.

30. Main Idea 2: Invasions of Mesopotamia • Armies battled for control of fertile land. • Different peoples ruled Mesopotamia. • Hittites • Kassites • Assyrians • Chaldeans • Each group affected the culture of the region.

31. The Hittites & Kassites • The Hittites were the first to master ironworking, so they made the strongest weapons of the time. • They used the chariot,a wheeled, • horse-drawn cart, which allowed • them to move quickly around the • battlefield. • They were taken over by the Kassites after their king was assassinated. • The Kassites ruled for almost 400 years.

32. The Assyrians • The Assyrians had a strong army that used chariots and iron weapons. • They spread terror before battles by looting villages and burning crops. • Assyrian kings ruled their empire through local leaders who each governed a small area. • The local leaders demanded heavy taxes.

33. The Chaldeans • The Chaldeans destroyed the Assyrian Empire in 612 B.C. • KingNebuchadnezzar (neb-uh-kuhd-NEZ-uhr) rebuilt Babylon into a beautiful city that had the famous Hanging Gardens. • They admired the Sumerian culture, studied their language, and built temples to Sumerian gods. • Babylon became a center for astronomy.

34. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ5YPVRn7hA

35. Main Idea 3: The Phoenicians (fi-NI-shuns) • Located at the western end of the Fertile Crescent, in what is now Lebanon. • Became excellent sailors and sailed throughout the Mediterranean building trade networks, and founding new cities. • Grew wealthy from trading

36. Main Idea 3: The Phoenicians continued… • Resources • Traded: • prized cedar • silverwork • ivory carvings • purple dyed cloth • slaves • Built great harbors • Expansion of Trade • Excellent sailors • Traveled around Mediterranean to: • Egypt • Greece • Italy • Sicily • Spain • Alphabet • Created one of the world’s first alphabets – set of letters that can be combined to form words • Made writing much easier for everyone • Is the basis for the English language

37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLHNh4caX4Y

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