CHAPTER 3: THE FERTILE CRESCENT

1. CHAPTER 3: THE FERTILE CRESCENT

2. SECTION 1: THE CIVILIZATION OF SUMER This is what Sumer might have looked like. Image taken from: arcturi.com

3. AGRICULTURE IN MESOPOTAMIA The Fertile Crescent is located in the Middle East. The area located by the Tigris, Nile, and Euphrates Rivers are known as the most fertile areas. Image taken: mrdowling.com

4. GEOGRAPHY OF MESOPOTAMIA • Northern Mesopotamia- includes foothills of the Taurus and Zagros mountain chains. • Southern Mesopotamia- The foothills of Zagros and Taurus flatten into plains that stretch southeast towards the Persian Gulf. • The southern region was also hot and dry with little rainfall. Owes its good soil to the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Each summer the river flood their banks spreading floodwaters and slit across the plain. When the flooding ends, left is fertile land that is perfect for growing crops. • The geography of Mesopotamia also gave farmers many challenges. The flooding could wash away crops and entire villages. The hot sun could dry the land making it rock hard. With little rain, plants often died.

5. FARMING THE LAND • Farmers used technology to turn Mesopotamia’s land into productive farmland. • Technology-practical application of knowledge to accomplish a task. • Sumerians used a process called irrigation to bring water to their crops. • Sumerians also developed new ways of farming by attaching a seed funnel to their plows, which allowed the seeds to automatically drop into the soil, as farmers plowed.

6. CITY STATES OF SUMER What city-states might have looked like. Image taken from: christiansofiraq.com

7. CITIES EMERGE, TRADE, SOCIAL CLASSES • Do to the increase in food production, populations also grew…this growth in populations led to the creation of cities and eventually city-states. • City-states grew such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, and Nippur. A city-state is an independent state that includes a city and its surrounding territory. A city-state also has its own government. • Each city-state was the center of trading. Trading was very important as it brought goods that were not found in that particular city-state. • Trading was often done through the barter method. • The Sumerians had a class system that had three distinct classes: Upper(priest, landowners, wealthy merchants, rulers), Middle(farmers and skilled workers), and Lower(slaves).

8. SUMERIAN RELIGION Pic of Ziggurat, Sumerian religious temple. Image taken from: crystalinks.com.

9. SUMERIAN RELIGION • Sumerian people practiced polytheism, which is the belief in more than one God. • Sumerians believed that there was a God for every aspect of their lives. • They also believed that the Gods lived like humans, in which they married, had children, ate, drank, but they did not die like humans. • Sumerian people believed that priest had a direct link to the Gods and thus they knew what the Gods wanted. • The priests lived and ran the Ziggurats (religious temples). The Ziggurat were seven stories high, with each story smaller than the one below. The Ziggurats often held statues and painting and precious things belonging to the kingdom.

10. SUMERIAN WRITING Sumerian Alphabet Image shows that they used phonics in their pronunciation of words. Image taken from: ancientscripts.com

11. CUNEIFORM AND GILGAMESH • Sumerians initially started drawing pictographs to show how many things were in their storage. Eventually this led to the first form of writing called cuneiform. • Cuneiform is the writing system that uses triangular-shaped symbols to stand for ideas or things. The priests of Sumer created this system. • Cuneiform eventually went from being used to record things such as taxes paid, agreements, and sales to books and stories. • The most famous of these stories is the Epic of Gilgamesh.

12. SUMERIAN GOVERNMENT Image shows the Sumerian king Anunnaki sitting on the throne. Image taken from: 1anunnaki.co.cc

13. KINGS, PRIESTS, LAWS, ACHIEVEMENTS • Priests were known as the major rulers of city-states. As states grew powerful, they often fought for control of land. • When states went to war, priests often appointed someone to be a leader. When the war was over, the leader would give up their power, but sometimes they would retain their power and thus they became kings. • Kings were always aware of the fact that they needed the people’s support to stay in power and thus they always were careful to respect the rights and the powers of the priests. • Kings often collected city laws into a law code. This allowed all citizens of the city to know the specific rules for that city. Law codes included laws about slavery, marriage, and causing harm to others. • Some of the achievements of the Sumerians were: irrigation system, an improved plow, and development of bronze.

14. SECTION 2: THE FIRST EMPIRES What Sumer looked like after the Akkadians took over. Image taken from: alternativearchaeology.jigsy.com

15. THE CONQUEST OF SUMER • The city-states of Sumer were constantly fighting with each other. This constant fighting led to the creation of empires. • Two of the largest city-states, Umma and Lagash often fought for power for Sumer and its city-states. In a battle fought around 2450 B.C., Lagash won. This defeat led to the near destruction of Umma, but in another battle around 2375 B.C. Umma defeated Lagash…this defeat didn’t last very long.

16. SARGON • He was an Akkadian. • He was originally king of Kish. • Sargon’s army eventually took over Mesopotamia. • Gave his daughter the position of high priestess. • Created the world’s first empire. Picture of Sargon. Image taken from: socialstudiesforkids.com

17. AKKADIAN CULTURE After the Akkadians took over, they kept the way of life of Sumer. They practiced the same religions and used their writing system. Akkadian and Sumerian culture was able to spread throughout the Indus Valley, because they combined their culture and introduced it wherever they went.

18. AKKADIAN’S END • The Akkadian empire survived for almost 100 years after Sargon died. • The empire fell due to the fact that there was constant invasions and rebellions. • After 179 years, a new king by the name of Ur-Nammu was able to gain control and unite Sumer once again.

19. BABYLON This is what Babylon looks like today and what it used to look like. Image taken from: providenceprecepts.blogspot.com

20. THE BABYLONIAN EMPIRE • Babylon became the center of the Mesopotamian empire when Hammurabi took power. • Hammurabi- • 1. He was king for 30 years. • 2. Ruled his people with a strong government and army. • 3. Retained control, because of his strong practices. • 4. Encourage growth of trade and building projects. • 5. Had well trained troops. • 6. Able to retain power, because he had excellent people working for him.

21. HAMMURABI’S CODE • Hammurabi’s Code are a set of laws that governed life in the Babylonian empire. • The code includes over 200 laws. • Laws concerning robbery and murder have specific punishments. • The code also dealt with businesses, contracts, taxes, marriage, and divorce. • Hammurabi’s Code was the first attempt to organize and write down specific laws that governed a society. • Hammurabi’s Code ensured that all rich and poor must obey the laws.

22. HAMMURABI’S CODE OF LAW This is Hammurabi’s Code of law in Cuneiform. Image taken from: tomgpalmer.com

23. DAILY LIFE IN BABYLONIA AND SUMER’S LEGACY • The daily life of Babylonia revolved around agriculture. • People also bought and sold goods. • People used new technologies to make new weapons, pottery, perfumes, and medicine. • Artist used bronze to make sculptures. • Jewelry was made from used gold and precious stones. • After the death of Hammurabi, the empire collapsed. • Sumer eventually faded away, but the culture was kept alive through all that was in contact with the Sumerians.

24. SECTION 3: THE ASSYRIAN AND PERSIAN EMPIRES This was the entrance to Ninevah, last capital of the Assyrian Empire. Image taken from: goodcleannovels.com

25. THE ASSYRIAN AND NEO-BABYLONIAN EMPIRES • Assyria was part of both the Akkadian and Babylonian empires. • Assyrians became fierce warriors, because they were in constant conflict with invaders. • Assyrians built a strong army that had the strongest weapons of the time, made of iron. They also fought riding horses, which was a first for their time. • To keep stability in the empire, the Assyrian rulers appointed governors to each province. Each governor reported directly to the Assyrian ruler. • The first library was created at Ninevah by the Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal. It consisted of tablets on mathematics, law, literature, and sciences.

26. NEBUCHADNEZZAR This is a common depiction of the Hanging Gardens. Image taken from: scead303.com Nebuchadnezzar came to power after Ashurbanipal’s death. He is best known for expanding his power as far as Egypt. He captured Jerusalem and exiled the Jewish people. He spent most of his money on building projects. The picture above depicts the Hanging Gardens, which he built for his wife, who missed her homeland.

27. RISE OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE • Cyrus the Great- King of Persia. He was able to conquer land from Iran to Asia Minor. • This great accomplishment was due to the fact that he had a standing army of 10,000 elite soldiers called the “Immortals”. They were called the “Immortals”, because as soon as one died, he was replaced by another soldier immediately. • Cyrus was able to rule such a large empire, because those who he conquered were treated well. He allowed conquered people to practice their own religion and keep their own customs. • Cyrus died in 530 B.C. and his son Cambyses took power. His son failed to continue his father’s quest. After Cambyses died, Darius took power by force and made Persia an even stronger empire.

28. PERSIA’S GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION This is the symbol of Zoroastrianism. This image was taken from: kidsfreesouls.com.

29. PERSIA’S GOVERNMENT • Darius decided that instead of forcing the people of Persia to have one culture, he allowed them to follow their own culture and allowed them to have some control over their government. • Like previous rulers, Darius separated the Persian government into satrapies or provinces. Each province was led by a satrap. • Darius allowed each satrapies to continue on with their own rituals and laws. • Darius- improved the finances of Persia. Created the tribute system, in which the people paid tribute to show loyalty to a stronger power. • Darius also created a common currency and built new roads. Finally, he created one of the first postal service stations.

30. PERSIA’S RELIGION - ZOROASTRIANISM • Zoroastrianism- created by Zoroaster, who taught that there was one supreme God. • The religious text of Zoroastrianism is called Avesta. • They believe that there is a struggle between good and evil. They also believe that people play an important role in the conflict between good and bad, by working for good. • Zoroastrianism also believe in the concept of the afterlife. • Zoroastrianism has affected Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

31. ARTS OF MESOPOTAMIA- SAMPLES OF ART Image taken from: abbeville.com Image taken from: flickriver.com

32. ARTS OF MESOPOTAMIA • Mesopotamian art shows the way the Mesopotamian people lived their lives. • Seals- Sumerians used seals to show ownership of a particular item. A seal left the owner’s personal mark on the object signifying that it did not belong to anyone else, but him. • Sculptures- Sumerians carved statues that looked like real humans. This form of sculpture is called relief, in which the scene sticks out from the surface of the base material. A relief sculpture is found on a stele or a carved stone slab or pillar that stands on one end. • Babylonians and Assyrians used relief sculptures to add to what their already amazing art work. This was done on the Ishtar Gate and on the sculpture that has Hammurabi and the God Shamash with Hammurabi’s Code of Laws below it.

33. THE PHOENICIANS A Phoenician ship. Image taken from: timetoeatthedogs.com

34. THE PHOENICIAN PEOPLE • Fearless sailors who guided ships full of trade goods through ocean waters. • Origins- Developed from earlier Canaanites. Phoenician society was created when Egyptian rule ended. The Phoenician rulers were priest-kings who shared power with leading merchant families and citizen assembly. • Geography- greatly influenced the Phoenician development. The Lebanon Mountain formed the Phoenician border. This heavily forested mountains sloped down and close to the Mediterranean cost. This left little land for farming. • Phoenicians made a purple cloth that was sold for a significant amount of money. They also made pottery and and furniture. • Due to their lack of natural resources, the Phoenicians traded with other cultures. Phoenicians imported and exported with other countries to ensure their success.

35. PHOENICIANS AND THE SEA • The location of the Phoenicians was ideal for trade. People often depended on them to ship their trade goods across the Mediterranean Sea. • Navigation- Phoenicians became experts at navigation. They developed a thorough knowledge of wind patterns and ocean currents. They are believed to be the first people to use the North Star to guide their voyages. • The Phoenicians were known to be very courageous sailors, as they were known to sail through unknown waters. • Phoenician sailors often found sheltered harbors along the coast of the Mediterranean. At first these served as trading ports, but they soon became colonies of Phoenicia. • One of the richest city-states of Phoenicia was Carthage, on the North African coast. The Romans eventually defeated the Carthaginians and took over.

36. THE PHOENICIAN’S LEGACY • Through the process of cultural diffusion, the spreading of cultural traits from one region to another, the Romans and Greeks absorbed the Phoenician culture. • The Phoenicians also created an alphabet. He first writing system was created by the Sumerians, called cuneiform, but it had hundreds of symbols that one had to memorize to write in cuneiform. The Phoenician alphabet only had 22 symbols, in which each stood for a consonant sound. • People who traded with the Phoenicians learned their alphabet in order to communicate with them efficiently. • Both the Greeks and Romans adopted the Phoenician alphabet.

37. PHOENICIAN ALPHABET Phoenician Alphabet. Image taken from: phoenician.org