Civilization Develops in the Ancient Middle East

5000 BC to 600 BC

I. The City States of the Sumerians

A. Settled in Mesopotamia- “between the rivers”

1. Between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers2. 7000 years ago3. Rivers helped them raise crops and

animals4. Fertile Crescent

B. Life in Sumer

1. Better than prehistoric humans2. Woman had legal rights3. Slaves could set up a business and buy their

freedom4. Children could be sold into slavery and

beaten by teachers5. Hierarchy 6. Complex government

C. Ziggurats and Religion

1. Temples located in ziggurats2. Main building in each city-state3. Dedicated to the city’s chief god or goddess

a. Believed gods had human feelingsb. Kept gods happy through worship in temples and

sacrificing animals

4. Belief in afterlife

Ziggurat

D. Sumerians invented writing

1. Cuneiform- Sumerian writing2. Symbols created for each sound or word3. Wrote on soft clay tables with a stylus- a

sharp, pointed writing tool4. First people to write down history

Cuneiform Tablet

E. Other Sumerian Inventions1. Plow, sailboat, wheels on carts, potter’s

wheel2. Arches and ramps3. Astronomy and mathematics

- Number system based on 60

POD 10/8/14

1. Mesopotamia means….a. The land between two mountainsb. The land between two riversc. The land between two lakes

II. Akkadians and Babyloanians

A. Sargon I united the city-states of Mesopotamia- FIRST EMPIRE

1. Akkad- north of the Sumeriansa. used bronze weaponsb. Sargon ruled for 35 years

B. Sargon I borrowed from the Sumerians1. System of writing- used cuneiform for written

records2. Translated Sumerian writings about

government and religion into their own language

3. Akkad collapsed after the death of Sargon I

C. Babylonians- 1800 BC

1. King Hammurabi’s army defeated the Akkadians and Sumerians

2. Built a ziggurat to honor Marduk3. Merchants came from Asia to do business

b/c of developed trade routes

D. Hammurabi’s Code

1. First system of laws2. Civil law and criminal law3. He ruled for 40 years and recorded 300 laws

at the end (found in 1902 in Iran)4. Golden Age of Babylon5. Mesopotamia divided into city states again

after his death in 1750 BC