Ch. 2-1

City-States of Ancient Sumer

City-States of Ancient Sumer

Early civilizations arose in the Fertile Crescent

Fertile Crescent: Region of the Middle East named for its

rich soil and golden wheat fieldsBecome an area for many people to

collide.

Geography Influences Fertile Crescent CivilizationFertile Crescent curves from the

Persian Gulf to the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea

Greeks called it Mesopotamia “Between the rivers”

Between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

First civilization developed in Sumer around 3300 B.C. in Mesopotamia

Organizing for Floods and IrrigationEuphrates often flooded1st recorded orally in The Epic of

GilgameshPriests or royal officials organized

people to build dikes to control the rivers

Also built irrigation ditches

Sumerians Build Thriving CitiesHad few natural resourcesBuilt with clay and waterUr and Uruk were built with these

bricksTrade brought riches to the cities of

SumerTraded with Egypt and India

Sumerian Civilization Takes ShapeAfter a few hundred years, 12

separate city-states were bornOften went to warMilitary leaders protected the people

Complex Government Unfolds

In the city-state, the ruler was in charge of the walls and irrigation

Also led his armies to warUsed scribes to collect taxes and keep

recordsLeader was supposed to be close to

the gods and keep them happy This could be real bad for the leader or

real good

Sumerians Structure Their SocietyEach city-state had a distinct social

hierarchyRuling family, officials, and high priestsSmall middle class = scribes, artisans,

and merchantsMany farmers at the bottom with

occasional slavesWomen had more power in Sumer

then they would later. Still had no legal power

Sumerians Practice ReligionBelieved in many godsGods and goddesses lived like

ordinary peopleGods reason for violence and sufferingSumerians believed they had to keep

the gods happyBuilt ziggurats, or large stepped

platforms, topped by a temple dedicated to the city’s chief gods

Believed in an afterlife

Sumerians Invent Writing

3200 B.C. Sumerians invented the earliest known writing

Cuneiform---based on pictographsUsed to keep records, exchange

myths, prayers, laws, etc…Difficult to learn the writing and

required intense schooling

Lasting Legacy of Sumer

2500 B.C. others came inBy 1900 B.C. Sumerians were

replaced by other civilizationsAkkadians, Babylonians, and

AssyriansMost of their ideas lived onCreated 60 minute hours, 360 degrees

in a circle, basic algebra and geometry