Ch 1, Sec 2: Mesopotamian Civilization

Civilization• Complex societies that have:– Cities– Organized Governments– Art– Religion– Class Divisions– Writing system

How were rivers helpful?

• Rivers:– provided fertile farm land– helped people trade with each other– Spread ideas to new places– Rise of cities

Role of Government

• Helped distribute food• Built buildings and other projects• Created laws• Made armies for defense

New inventions

• Writing systems• calendars

Mesopotamia• In present day Southern Iraq• Earliest known civilization• Created between the Tigris and Euphrates

Rivers• Unpredictable weather made farming a

problem

Farming in Mesopotamia• Rivers flooded lands for rich soil• Farmers built dams to control the water• Created irrigation ditches to water fields away

from the rivers• Led to lots of cities to develop in the region of

Sumer

City-States• Cities were far from each other• Did not talk to each other• City-State: Individual city with the surrounding

land run by their own government• Went to war with each other• Built mud walls for protection

Religion

• Believed in many gods• Built ziggurats (temples) to each god– Biggest buildings in a town– Means “Mountain of god” or “hill of heaven”

• Priests and priestesses ran the temples– Only people to go to the top for ceremonies

• Priests and priestesses ran the government

Sumerian Kings• Priests and priestesses-first rulers• War heroes-second rulers– Position was passed along through family

• Ran the gov’t• Led the army

Life in Sumerian Cities• Kings lived in palaces• Common people farmed and lived in mud

brick houses• Artisans specialized in making tools, clothes,

and pottery• Traders moved goods between cities

Social Classes

• 3 groups:– 1. Upper class: priests, kings, gov’t officials– 2. Middle Class: artisans, merchants, farmers,

and fishermen– 3. Lower class: slaves• Slaves were property• Slaves were could be prisoners of war, criminals, or

owe someone money

Men and Women

• Men:– Could go to school– Could run businesses– Head of the house

• Women:– Had some rights– Could buy and sell property– Could run businesses– Raised the children

Cuneiform

• Helps keep records and pass on ideas• a system of writing using wedge shaped marks

cut into clay tablets• Scribes were rich boys that kept gov’t records

using cuneiform

Literature

• Epic of Gilgamesh:– Oldest known story– A poem that tells the story of a hero– A story of a king who searches for a way to live

forever

Advances in Math and Science

• Irrigation• Wagon Wheel• Plow• Sailboat• Breakthroughs in Geometry• A new number system based on 60– 60 min in an hr, 60 sec in a min

• Created a 12 month calendar based on the moon

The End of Sumer

• City-states fought each other• Outside groups attacked the city-states• The Akkadians, led by Sargon, attacked Sumer– Defeated Sumer– Set up an empire by 2340 B.C.

Babylonians• Took over Sargon’s empire in 1800 B.C.• City of Babylon was center of trade• Ran by King Hammurabi– Created a justice system called the Code of

Hammurabi