Ancient Mesopotamia

The land between the rivers in Greek

Mesopotamia - The Fertile Crescent Covers area of Iraq, parts of Syria, Turkey Region called Fertile Crescent due to shape, fertile soil

Mesopotamia is a region, not a country. Refer to the individual Peoples that

made up Mesopotamia; the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians,  Assyrians, Chaldeans, and to some degree the Hittites, Phoenicians and Persians

The Mesopotamian City-States City-state—city and areas it controls.

• high walls protect it from invaders.

• irrigation canals provide water to areas with little

rainfall.

• allow safe trading of grain, dates, stones, metals, & timber.

The Mesopotamian City-State Sumerians—form city-states around

3000 B.C.E.

• Ruled by temple priests, then elected leaders later became kings.

• Kings control politics, military; priests control religion, economy.

The Mesopotamian City-State Each city-state

built a temple to aspecific guardiangod.

Ziggurat – Temple that is a pyramid-shaped tower.

HammurabiBabylonian emperor who ruled Mesopotamia between 1792–1750 B.C.E.

Hammurabi’s code – the first set of written laws.

Very strict “eye for an eye”